The Ultimate off-road adventure

A Lenten message

2012-03-01T12:45:00.000-08:00

Lord;
I offer thee
Every flower that ever grew,
Every bird that ever flew,
Every wind that ever blew.
Good God!
Every thunder rolling,
Every Churuch bell tolling,
Every leaf and sod
Laudamus Te!
I offer thee
Every wave that ever moved,
Every heart that ever loved,
Thee, thy Father's well-beloved.
Dear Lord!
Every river dashing,
Every lightning flashing,
Like an angel's sword.
Benedicimus Te!
I offer thee
Every cloud that ever swept
O'er the skies and broke and wept
In rain and with the flowers slept
My King!
Every communicant praying,
Every angel staying
Before thy throne to sing
Adoramus Te!
I offfer thee
Every flake of virgin snow,
Every spring of earth below,
Every human joy and woe.
My Love!
O Lord! And all thy glorious
Self o'er death victorious
Throned in heaven above.
Glorificamus Te!

Aerial Samples

2012-02-21T08:49:00.002-08:00

On Friday the 17th I had oppertunity too snap a few sample shots. these two sort of stood out as good examples of the beauty of the area, and of my capabilities for getting the big view of things. This week I hope to put some close up & personal shots on the blog

This is a valuble tool for real estate sales, Consruction documentation and other promoional work. I can do this at a fraction of the cost of the big "helicopter" or "Aerial survey" operators. I will be set up for vertical work by April and ready for Video by June.

Winter wierdness

2012-02-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

This morning in Tehachapi it was cold and wet, "Soggy, Foggy, and Cold"! A bit of ice in the mix, NOT a good day to fly. However at the sky clears we get some really interesting cloud formations.

This week promises to be busy and exciting. Lots of work to get done and some new adventures to fly. who could ask for more?

Update 02/10/2012

2012-02-10T09:18:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update to share that a lot of changes are in the wind from the FAA regarding aircraft certification and comopliance issues. There are a lot of fast moving policy changes that will affect how airworthiness certificates will be issued. Not all is bad, but it will make the work of the DAR more important then ever.

Happenings

2012-02-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

Since the last report a lot has transpired. The runway you see is that of Furnace Creek, in Death Valley, the lowest public use airport in the country. This fall we went there, and at a cool 107 degrees F the place lived up to it's name. A word of warning, don't even thnk about it in the sumertime! The food is "OK" but the experiance is quite delightfull. Just remember, they dont call it "Death Valley" for nothing. Pack a lot of water.

At the other end of the specrum, the King Air was parked at Tromso Norway! I had the task of going there to issue a "Ferry Permit" to allow it to be flown to Manila. As a DAR I can issue a Ferry Permit on any US regitered aircraft anywhere in the world! What fun! Tromso is above the arctic circle by the way, even further north than Bodo!

The food in Norway is great (but pricy) the country beautiful. I would love to see more of the place.

We have been doing a fair bit of Aerial Photo support flying, and working that angle a bit. Student flying is down, but some "special project" aircraft are cluttering up the hangar here, waiting for either the owners to cough up some cash, or jsut make up their minds as to what they want!

Just put on a part time helper, a young A&P fresh out of school, lots of enthusiasim but shy on experiance. Work gets done a bit quicker and I have time to market and fly, not to mention take care of the mountain of paperwork that all the work generates.

Coming up soon

2011-12-12T12:06:00.000-08:00

By the first week of January, a new re-designed website will be up and running!

Effective today

2011-07-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

Mountain Hawk Aviation is now Mountain Hawk Aviation Inc.
Our incorporation paperwork is now in and a done deal.

MUSTANG!

2011-06-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

On the 18th (every third Thursday of each month) the folks at Mojave Spaceport (KMHV) hold a "plane crazy" day. People fly in from all over, there is often a presentation of some kind, and there are interesting airplanes on display.

OK, this is not the first P-51 I have ever seen, nor is it the best restoration per se. It does however evoke a lot of feeling.

A lot of our young men went to war in one of these. Often with less then 21 years old with barely 100 hours in their logbook, little in the way of air-to-air tactical or gunnery training, and they were charged with managing nearly 1500 horsepower, and protecting our bomber formations against some of the most experienced fighter pilots in the world! This was accomplished more by sheer guts and "Yankee ingenuity" than anything else.

There are less and less of these veterans, both human and mechanical left. Be thankful some "rich fat cat" spends his very hard earned money to keep a few flying for us to remember the sacrifice of our fathers.

ALL TIME LOW

2011-06-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

On Monday the 13th we hit an all time low here with the "ultimate off road adventure" ,211 feet below sea level that is. That is the field elevation of "Furnace Creek" airport, (L06) in Death Valley. As you can see from the Photos, there is not much there! Not much Humidity, not much shade. There is a lot of heat, 110 at the least, some fuel and a "Pilot's lounge" complete with a bathroom, a chair, and two "phoneless cords" (cell service is OK).

A call to (760) 786-2345 gets you the front desk the the Furnace Creek Hotel, and a courtesy car will gladly pick you up, and the lunch buffet is not too bad. If you need fuel, they can arrange someone from the gas station to go out and pump some expensive 100 octane for you, but I suggest you plan on landing with return fuel.

Flying over from KTSP required threading the dreaded "Trona Gap" which is a narrow and not easy to define corridor between R-2505 (China Lake NAWS) and R-2524 (Edwards AFB), then hanging a hard right over Trona.

Dropping into Death Valley itself is visual overload. It is as the same time incredibly bleak, and otherworldly. Impossible for a camera to do it juistice. To think that this was once a giant lake is hard to picture. About thirty nautical miles south of L06 is the lowest point in the USA, Minus 282 feet below sea level, and to think it is less than 70 NM due west from the highest point in the Continental US, Mt. Whitney, at a plus 14,491 feet above sea level.

There are jeeps to rent, tours, visitor's centers, a museum, lots of rocks, a gift shop or two. Bring LOTS of water, and good comfortable shoes, sunscreen (the Rangers reccomend lightweight LONGSLEEVE shirts and LONG pants rather than shorts to avoid rapid dehydration and sunburn).

It is worth the flight, and seeing your altimeter read "backwards" on short final is a bit odd, but anyone who has not flown out here is missin a real treat.

Happenings at the Hawk Nest

2011-04-08T11:04:00.000-07:00

With the odd weather patterns we have been having it has been hard to get much flying in, the hangar is like an icebox at times, and the wind , well it has been odd even for Tehachapi, which is known for it's wind! More East wind than ever!

IA renewall went OK, a bit "last minet" but I am back up to speed. The folks at the VNY FSDO are the best!

Kenny, the apprentice hase been doing well, I need to get him started on both some flying, as well as his FAA A&P writtens (the poor A&P needs to take three) We ahve our work cut out.

New hours, Wednesdays and Fridays I will be opening at 0930 rather than 0830. I will be focusing on the flying part mostly on Thursdays through Saurdays, dedicating Tuesdays & Wednesdays to shop work, Morning flights, and admin stuff.

Big day for the big guy!

2011-04-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

On April 30th the big guy witht he big grin made his first SOLO flight! Despite the crazy winds and really unusual weather for this time of year he did good, logged three un assisted landings! Say "congratulations" to Don Colvin!

So now the world has a new pilot in it's midst. Next comes the fun of learning to add the words "Navigate" and "Communicate" to his skills.

Teaching and working with someone as enthusiastic as Don makes my job a real joy.

"Buck and a half"

2011-02-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

Ah, the humble Cessna one fifty. In my opinion one of the best airmanship trainers ever built. Defiantly one of the cutest airplanes if noting else. Simple, rugged, student proof, and rather forgiving. An easy airplane to fly, but not easy to fly well. It makes one work
This example is a 150F, the last of the "flat sided" 150s. The next variant the doors bowed out slightly giving some desperately needed elbow room
As a classroom, it leaves a lot to be desired. Narrow and noisy, the student and instructor learn about "up close and personal" An intercom is essential, both to provide communication as well as preserve ones own hearing. Cessna added "soundproofing" in later models. This was usually removed as it did little to the environment, but added about 18 pounds, which the little bird does not need.
Over 13,000 of the little critters are still out there flying around, teaching new pilots that the laws of aerodynamics are damn serious business, and providing their owners with economical and pleasurable flying.
One of my students brought this one up, and we are getting his licence finished up in it. As many older examples of the breed, it is a bit rough around the edges It could use a coat of wax, and has been victim of too many bad landings, poor maintenance and occasional periods of inactivity.

I earned my private licence in one, built up most of my early flying time in one, flew all over (West) Germany in one back in the seventies. About a third of my time in one was spent climbing to altitude. On a good day you might see 600 feet per minute. But cruise economy is good! Leaned out at 6000 feet you can get up to 20 MPG! (depending on winds) and see t he country at a stately 88 Knots. Not bad for the modest 100 HP Continental up front!
So it brings back a few memories, and once more I feel united to the sky more than the machine. As Elory Jeppesen once said: "Lets get one thing straight. There is a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician, the other is an artist in love with flight".
I like being an "Aviator"

Date flight

2011-01-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

With business being slow in December & January, getting out and having "fun" has not been that much of a priority. While some couples have a "date night" My wife Georgia & I had a "date flight"! A variation on the traditional weekend "$100.00 hamburger" that many aviators and their friends enjoy.

For us, it was a quick getaway to Camarillo (KCMA) where they offer a pretty good burger! In fact the restaurant on the field, the "Waypoint Cafe" is renown for excellent food, good company and the best view of the field.
Overall, CMA is a very friendly airport. Even the tower staff are polite! (I hope the FAA doesn't read this, they might get fired).
The interesting thing was the weather however. As the photos show, looking north to Bakersfield, they were socked in. Everything south of the foothills & "Gorman pass" was severe clear! This is why I love flying and instructing in the mountains. My students get to see and fly in for themselves what others only read about until after they get their licence.
For example: the mini-cumulus cloud forming over the power station. As you can see it is formed by the heat from the evaporators, and the conditions were just right to show this phenomenon in a very visible way.
Yes indeed, I have the best deal going. And I get paid to do it!

Great Week!

2011-01-19T13:26:00.000-08:00

After a lot of gloom, wet and cold we are finally enjoying some sunshine! The poor folks at Bakersfield ar clouded in, but the mountains are great. Good flying weather. Speaking of which, the monthly :Plane Crazy Day" at Mohave (KMHV) was great! Barry Schiff form AOPA magazine was guest speaker, Lots of unique aircraft equally unique pilots.

With the sunny skies now my once frozen students are thawing out and getting back into the swing of it. Looks like a busy flight schedule for the next few weeks. One new one starting Saturday. One is so hyped up that he is in the process of buying his airplane already!

Now that I am getting the hang of loading photos on the blog, you can expect to see more of the action. Weather permitting this Monday we will be flying out to Camarillo (KCMA) for the day, and a "photo safari" There are a lot of restored classic and WW-II aircraft there. Hope to be able to share some with you.

Mountain Hawk is taking on some good changes too, watch for some new things on the website: http://www.mountainhawkaviation.com/ in the coming month.

An odd occurance to one of my clients, after he "assisted" in putting the end plug in his crankshaft,
the first itme he went to "full power" it blew itself out! Fortunatly he was on his take-off roll and not airborne when it happend. the poor gut lost two quarts of oil and made one terrible mess! The picture at the top shows what I found when I pulled the spinner off the propeller.

Fresh in the New Year!

2011-01-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

Today, January 4th is special! No I am not making a "new year's resolution", but I am following up on some things that have been in the planning stages for the past six months. Expect this blog to have something new every Tuesday from now on.

As you look down the approach end of Runway "two niner" at Tehachapi Muni (KTSP) you will see what has to be the most familiar thing I see in a day of instructing. Sometimes seven to eight times an hour! I am planing on doing a lot of this in the new year!

This year, Mountain Hawk Aviation will be changing a bit. The "ultimate off road adventure" is still in slow but steady progress. Preparation of "Winston" is underway piece by piece. A VHF/DF to be installed this month, and some air photo ops prep work in progress.

Since most of my instruction work is being done in aircraft that the students own, wear and tear on Winston is down. As the price of avgas goes from absurd to insane, I am shopping for a Cessna 150 or 152 "Aerobat"! I hope to use this for primary and emergency maneuver and spin training, reserving the 172 for instrument training and personal and business usage rather than "rental". I don't care if most people see the little "buck-and-a-half" as a "toy" airplane, it is still one of the best airmanship trainers ever built, and has operating costs that are hard to beat! If I can latch on to one of the Aerobatic versions, I will have a low cost, multi role trainer that is cheap, fun and effective! Mostly cheap fun for all concerned.

I will be getting out of the "heavy maintenance" business this year. At nearly 62 I find it harder and harder to keep up the production rate. I will be doing mostly inspection and compliance work, now that my clientele is getting better established. I will continue to serve a select clientele of airplane owners, but be very selective about new accounts. The "big" project about did me in.

Next, getting inviolved in EAA and more fly outs to events. No more being stuck in the hangar or office. This weekend I will be getting out and gettng more photos of neat places to post. Keep looking!

I am too young to feel this old!

2010-09-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

Doing an annual & engine change on a Cessna twin (414) is making me really wonder if I am in the right line of work anymore. At the tender young age of 61 getting into and out of the tight places ain't as easy as it used to be. I just don't fold up like I once did. ugh!

Oh well, I am grateful for the work! Seems a lot of folks don't have any, or are unwilling to do what there is to do. Maybe I am extreme, but perhaps we should place a total moratorium on any immigrant labor until all US citizens are employed in some form or the other. OK; that would mean some people may have to work the fields, packing plants and dig a few ditches. I did some of that, it did'nt kill me, and during the peach harvest in Grand Junction, picking peaches was a good way for a high school kid to pick up a good size wad of pocket cash before starting school! Worked for me!

In the meantime, I pull panels, seats, floorbords, get real grungy stripping down an engine for replacement and wishing I was 20 years younger (and 20 pounds lighter). This bird needs a lot of work. The onwer has the money, and I have the time.

Slowly getting Winston dialed in. As I said last post, I now have a working IFR GPS in the panel, now I need to re-learn how to do approaches with the dang thing. Getting from point A to point B is the easy part, figguring out how to access, input and fly a GPS instrument approach has been a challenge. I may still need to replace the fuel gauge senders, overhaul the Nose gear, Aquire a high effficiancy exhaust system and install an auxillury fuel tank. (Donations gratefully accepted). These plus a few other odds & ends and the old girl (12,800+ hours TTAF) will be ready for one last grand adventure.

Need to pick up a few more students. Have lots of work coming at me. I wish I could find a young eager "understudy" that I could teach the airplane business to. Not being blessed with children of my own, and no worthy heir, I feel a bit lost. Anyone out there wanting to adopt a "grandfather"?

Something new

2010-09-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

Several new things here in Tehachapi.
1. "Winston" (our trusty Cessna 172) is getting used, and now has a working IFR GPS. In fact I just graduated a student who now has his instrument rating! One step closer to some more adventures flying.
2, I am now "credentialed" by the department of Homeland Security to instruct foreigne students! This is a new addition to the services oferd here at Mountain Hawk.
3. I am working on a new project, that is not aviation related so much.

About a week ago I watched a report on the flooding in Pakistan. It really got to me. The situation is pretty grim. Too much water, and none of it fit to even swim in, let alone drink, cook or maintain basic hygene. The disease factor due to this sea of contamination is horrific at best.

I recall in my USAF days, a simple "Solar Still" that was packed in aircrew survival kits, that could mak fresh water out of sea water. These were removed due to aging, but the concept came back to me.

What would it tke to make a simple, expendable solar water distillation device that could be either placed over a puddle or slow moving stream (or filled by a bucket), that could produce a couple of gallons a day out of even sewage? What would it be worth to the fatehr who could purify water so that his wife & children could get a safe drink, and cook their food without mud?

I have a few scetches, and an idea. I have no idea how much it could cost to develop and get into production. If there is anyone there that is interested to help, PLEASE contact me ASAP. It may be too little to late for this disaster, but who knows where or what the next one will be

Hot to Fly

2010-07-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

Or perhaps too hot is a better description. A quick trip to Mojave for their monthly display day, and to play a bit with my new camera. The temps were over 100! the winds gusting up to 22 Kt. and the place was too quiet.

Oh well, the food is fairly good and those that do show up are pretty friendly. There were a couple of intersting homebuilts and a classic beech 18. Any donations and sales of goodies go to suppport the Mojave AIrpot musem, so it is for a good cause. they do a lot of work with the youth trying to get the interested in aerospace stuff.

Having a new camera is fun. I am trying to learn the world of digital photography. feel llike I betraying my old F-1 Cannon. Hopefully the photo results will be better once I learn all the tricks

Trona; HOT and windy!

2010-06-06T12:26:00.001-07:00

Over the Memorial day weekend the fine folks a Trona Airport held a bit of an "Open House" and display day.

As it turned out, it was the first of it's kind there.

many moons ago I landed it trona and found it to be nearly dead. It seems some folks are trying to breath life back in the place, and I say more power to them!

We arrived on Monday AM, The flyer said Sunday & Monday, the 30th & 31st. But the big day was actually Saturday, when they gave rides to some kids and had a barbeque!

Why anyone would fly to Trona is a mystery, except the hospitality is fanastic! The people ther are real wing-nuts, and everyone was super freindly. The treated us to lunch cooked to order, and the hangar flying was the best I have enjoyed in years!

Getting there from KTSP meant shooting the dreaded "Trona gap", a narrow corridor between two restricted areas that are never "cold". and dealing with 85+ degree heat and sone pretty wicked winds. The runway at Trona is always a crosswind, and anything cooler than 80 is considerd freezing.

The place needs a bit of publicity so I offersd to set them up a blog site, you can find it at www.Trona-L72.blogspot.com Lee Phillips is the guy to contact.

Labor Day flying

2010-06-06T11:29:00.000-07:00

On Memorial day weekend we did two flights, one to Catalina Island (KAVX) and one to "romantic" Trona (L72).

Flying to Catalina is always special. Not so much because of the overwater part, or the challenge of the odd runway. but rather,the bus ride to town and the great seafood!

A brief stop a Fullerton (KFUL) to pick up PAX (Brother-in-law & Girlfriend) and a quick check of W&B, I figured that with he fuel burned off on the way there from Tehachapi that I was about two pounds under gross! The box of chocolates smuggled aboard were not counted.

Wheels up, frequency change to Los alamitos and we were "feet wet" in ten minuets. I climbed to 4500' and aimed for Two Harbors, which is a good entry point as it sets you up for a good 45 to downwind, and everyone knows where you are when you report in. At this point the "horror stories" about landing at AVX start coming out. Ok lets check it out...

Landing on 22 will be Right Traffic. this puts the visual field in the hard to see side, and once you pass the touchdown zone (numbers) pretty much all the visual ques go out the window. The field is aver 1400' MSL on a plateau, and there are no over-runs, just drop offs at each end. You turn base and final over the water. The trick is to (1) get the altimeter setting off the AWOS, and once you pass the numbers, descend to 800' above runway elevation, then turn base, and descent to 500' above the runway. Now then, ignore what you think you see, and set yourself up on the numbers, cross checking the PAPI (if its working that day) and make a NORMAL "soft field" approach and landing. Ignore the illusion of the runway suddenly appearing very short, stay off the brakes, cuz your gonna crest the rise and discover another 2500' in front of you.

Once you are down and parked, proceed to the flight office upstairs and pay your landing fine, (er,, landing "fee") which at present is $25.00. You can also get your tram tickets to Avalon, which are also $25.00 per person. OK, the trip is setting us back $75.00 plus fuel etc. Now you see why we don't fly there every weekend.

The tram to Avalon is well worth the price and the ride is just short of an "E-ticket" experiance. The "road" is onlyone bus wide, with switchbacks that make you think the buss will have to tie itself in a knot to make the turns. The view is great, and with luck you may see some of the Buffalo the Island is famous for. (Which by the way they serve truly fantastic Buffalo Burgurs at the airport resturaunt).

Avalon is definatly a tourist trap of a village, but the food is always great, the there is generalysomething going on inthe summer. Jusp plan on dropping more than a few dollars. sort of re-defines the "$100.00 hamburger", If you make it the seafood combo, its $250.00+

Plane Crazy at Mojave and density altitude.

2010-05-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

Once a month at Mojave "Spaceport" (KMHV) they have a day of static displays and events. Generaly the third Saturday, unless something comes upor the weather turns sour.
It is well worth attending, as there is always something interesting to see, people to meet and I have to say the resturant has improved greatly!
On the 30th there will be an airport day at Trona (L72) which I find interesting, as tghe last time I was at Trona, the place was dead as a dornail. Apperantly someone has put lif back into the place.

Summer is coming, and the issue of density altitude is once again a real thing. Some rules of thumb: deduct 5% of your horsepower for each 2000' either pressure or density altitude. For example, here at Tehachapi (KTSP) on a hot day, the density altitude can reach 7000'! This means that your non turbocharged engine is already down by 17 1/2 %, for a little Cessna 150, that means you have only 82 1/2 horsepower for take off, and that is if you lean it properly before you go.

Yes, at these conditions, it is a good idea to take the runway, go full power and then lean until you get either a RPM rise, or your EGT is close (maybe a tad higher) to where it normally is for a sea level take off with full rich.

And don't forget, the true airspeed will be higher, even though you are using the same indicated airspeeds. Airplanes are not to bright. All they know is true airspeed and density altitude. and you need to know them too, and you need to know how to deal with them, especially as t hings get hot.

A new quest!

2010-05-07T14:38:00.000-07:00

What you see in the picture is poor ole "Winston", even before I touched up the paint a bit. A wee bit rough around the edges, but it has a good solid engine, and despite it's nearly 13,000 hours of flight experience, flies great!

A wise gentleman once said; "Some people make things happen, others watch things happen, and some wonder what happened". The past few years I feel that I have been in either the second or third category. Its time for a change. But I cannot do it alone. So I am crying out for help. The plan is ambitious to be sure. Perhaps even a bit "out there". No guts, no glory they say.... so.....
Lets fix up this critter and set a weird kind of record. A circumnavigation of the globe, but not laterally, but longitudinally. Yes.. a POLAR circumnavigation. That would defiantly qualify as an "Ultimate Off Road Adventure! One for the books!
I need sponsors, parts, avionics, flight handeling, diplomatic and airspace clearances and a support network, which means, money, and lots of it.
Anyone interested in helping, contact me. Lets set a record.

Back to work!

2010-05-03T08:50:00.001-07:00

Spring has prung, well sort of, and between the cold snaps, rain and occasional snow, it has ben a time of work, gatting readyu for the summer flying and trying to keep the wolves from the door.

Two engine overhauls in the mill. and the usual annual inspections and customer stuff. After the long dry winter, it feels good to be busy.

Also need to work on "Winston" our faithful little Skyhawk. It does have to earn it's keep too, and suffers through no small number of student landings, poor engine management and training maneuvers. Also the IFR GPS died, and really needs replacing (any donations to a worthy cause gratefully accepted). As time and money permits I hope to upgrade a few things this summer.

Look for our next adventures. we are planning some flights from the highest to the lowest points in the USA, and trips to the coastal airports as well.

Folded wings

2010-02-16T13:08:00.001-08:00

This has been a sad week, annother fellow aviatior and friend, his wings are forever folded. Scott Richmond, a pilot here at Tehachapi passed away Saturday the 13th. Truly tragic, as he was only 58, athletic and so very much full of life.

Pray for his family. All of us here who know him will deeply mis his friendship, zest for living and the happiness he always shared.

Weekly Report

2010-02-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

Cold and snowy in tehachapi! Not much flying as Skyhawks are not set up for known icing.
Anyone flying into Tehachapi needs to be aware of the weather, as this place has it's own "micro climate" that is not always related to whats happening in either Bakersfield or Mojave. Some rules are:
1. Call the local AWOS number and get the current conditions. The phone number is (661) 823-0473. If flying in, dial up 120.025
2. Never assume runway 29 is in use.
3. Use your radio! CTAF is simple, 123.00 on your radio dial, and it could save a lot af grief, and maybe even a mid-air or two. (we have had some really close calls lately)
4. After you tie down look me up and say Hi!

Call me up for some mountain flying tips or my course sometime. It's a lot of fun, and you will get to see some really great country.

The MOUNTAIN HAWK is flying again

2009-12-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

A leap of faith, and we are bringing Mountain Hawk Aviation out of hibernation.

The business model is a wee bit different though, a bit "downsized" from what it was in the past. More of what I was doing as "G. Davis Aviation" the website for which is still active, but will be changed over sometime next month. The transition is happening slow, but steady.

Other changes, I am going "wireless" effective January 01, 2010. The old "land-line" number, (661) 822-7634 will be inop. The cell number, (661) 805-0435 will be the primary number for the business. It seems I hardle got any calls on the land-line, and except for an occasional FAX need, hardly used it that much. All other contact information is the same.

Our "Mission Statement" is: "Buliding relationships through personalized aviation services" That is our goal, after all, it is not about airplanes as much as it is about the people who fly them.

God bless you all, have a safe and healthy New Year!

Holiday thoughts.

2009-12-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

Latest Developments!

2009-11-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

Its been a while, too much going on to play with computers etc.

Getting checked out in a Cessna 414 has beeen fun Been a long time since I have played with a twin, and it is a challenge to be sure. Am re-learning a lot of good stuff. Seems that I have flown over 350 hr this year, am thinking of going for a Pilot Examiners Desigation.

The lowly Cessna Skyhawk (172) has a lot going. It seems that it still holds the record for the most produced aircraft in the world (second only to the Messerchmit ME-109) at nearly 43,000 produced. Only the Beechcraft Bonanza can claim a longer un-inerrupted production run. It seems that Cessna got it right the first time, and looking at it's developoment it really has not changed all that much, even the new ones have quite a few parts in common with the first one!

I recently flew a rather new "SP" version with the 180 HP engine an wiz-bang glass panel. Nice, but my old 160 HP version is only a couple knots slower, has about the same climb rate and sips a lot less 100 octain per hour. O.K. it does not have the groovy graphics on the panel, but that allows me time to look outside for traffic and watch the scenery, which is what flying is all about in the first place. I have trained a lot of students in the old girl, and it still keeps chuggin along, always faithfully starting even on the coldest of days, absorbing landings that sem more like runway molestation, and forgiving hamfisted flying. What more can one ask?

Plane Crazy

2009-08-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

On August 15th Georgia & I went to Mojave "Spaceport" to see what their monthly "Plane Crazy" day was all about. Essentially, it is a chance for airplane owners to show off their toys, meet with fellow aviation enthusiasts, network a bit, and help raise funds for the Mojave museum of Transportation. This month they were featuring some air race contenders, like the hot little number at left, "NEMESIS" built by John Sharp. It looks like it is already going 200 just parked on the ramp! Also, XCOR had a couple of their Rocket powered aircraft out, (see the picture below) and a cute little Cassutt based Formula one class named "Wasabi" (After the green Japanese ultra-hot horseradish sauce) With the Reno races coming up soon, it will be interesting to see how these do.

Also on display were a F-86 "Saber", and a MiG-15. I can remember a time when if either of these got this close to each other there would be shots fired. I kept thinking they should have parked them nose to nose, sort of a reminder of when things were a bit more serious.

As for life at Tehachapi, We have one big job in the hangar, and two students to finish off now. The trip to Israel has been pushed back till June 2010, but the price is fixed, and it is quite reasonable too! Special "early bird" rated if you reserve before November.

New Pilot

2009-08-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

"On Wednesday the 5th day of August 2009, Dr. Jon Anthony Smith, did, alone and unassisted take off and land from Tehachapi Municipal Airport (KTSP), thus completing his first SOLO flight." or so the SOLO certificate reads. Dr. Smith is now officially among us in the ranks of aviators. Another pilot now, and the fun begins as we start the next phase of training.
Also on the 5th, I had to put on my DAR hat and issue a "Special Flight Permit". A lot of people do not know that a DAR can issue these, even on weekends! So it was a busy day. including a flight to San Diego, all in all 4 1/2 hours flying.
On Monday the 10th I will be answering my phone "Mountain Hawk Aviation", something that has not been heard for the past three years. it is time to bring the bird back to life.

2009-07-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

The F-4 "Phantom" was built in many varieties, and had many names (other than "Phantom II). While stationed at Nellis AFB Nevada, I was attached to the 64th TFTS "Aggressors", who flew T-38 Talons in the role of the MiG-21. We were the "bad guys". The Aggressor pilots coined the tag "Big Ugly", and that has been my favorite ever since. After all, a reality check will tell us all that it was not a real "pretty" airplane. It was an airborne weapon, it was made to kill and it looked the part.
Having been a past F-4 Crew Chief, I was pretty much on top of the anatomy of this beast, and like most mechanics that crewed them, we had a few names of our own to call it. To be honest, there were times I cursed it's ancestry all the way back to the Pterodactyl. It was not "maintenance friendly".
During a training class, the instructor (a civilian who was a Mc Donald /Douglas Tech Rep) said "the F-4 was designed with A mechanic in mind". We later determined the mechanic the designer had in mind was the one who got his daughter pregnant the night before. Let face it, any airplane that put the battery in the rear cockpit, down by the rudder pedal, under the console really makes me wonder what, or even if they were thinking. A lot of man hours went into each mission.
But the old girl did good. She served in Viet Nam, killing MiGs, dropping bombs (the bomb load was about the same as the WWII B-17) and causing a lot of grief among the NVN. The Israelis used to great effect, without it the 1973 "Yom Kippur" war would have been a lost cause. It was all we had defending NATO in the 70s.
Some time ago, I had a bit of nostalgia while at Mojave "spaceport". (KMHV). BE Systems there has a contract converting them to "QF-4" drones, to be used for "target practice". While this is a most ignoble end for such a warrior, they do test fly them. Watching one of these beast taxi out, listening once more to the familiar howl of the J-79 engines, the "frying air" sound of the afterburners lighting up, and then seeing that veteran of who knows what service leap into the sky for which it was made brought a bit of mist to my eyes. The joy of seeing it take off was saddened by knowing it's eventual fate.
So despite the busted knuckles and skinned fingers, Ice cold launches in the dead of German winter, and trying to replace parts in parts of the plane that were never meant for a mechanic to touch, She deserves better. Next time you think of it, lift a glass to "big ugly", and thank the men who crewed and flew them. We are still free thanks in no small part to them all.

My first blog

2009-07-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

Being one of the more "senior" type pilots, and not having the computer skills of an eleven year old, I find this a new adventure. I want to dedicate this blog to sharing flying adventures, flight safety ideas, and that sort of thing. Pictures, videos and "war stories" are all welcome.
Please add your thoughts and inputs. We are all at some point of the "learning curve" in this, and we all need to learn from each other, especially me.
The following topics are "fair game": Aviation, flying stories, destinations of noteworthiness, airport coffee shops, hunting, fishing, survival tips, fly-inns, your favorite airplane, aircraft maintenance tips, FAA issues, aircraft for sale, aviation websites, things that work and things that don't.
I will be starting this off with a short report of a maintenance issue regarding a Piper Lance,
PA32R-300. This one is about a "sneaky" hydraulic leak in a really odd location. It seems the pilots kept having to use the alternate extension a lot, but the gear always seemed to retract OK. After adding fluid too many times, but finding no evidence of leakage anywhere, it was starting to get to me. The belly, and the bay in which the "power pack" sits were clean and dry. Then one of the owners noticed that carpet was wet, just under the seat. It looked loke spilled coffee, but one sniff said 5606.
There are two lines that run along the left inside wall, and sure enough, each had a pinhole leak, caused by corrosion under a "coroseal" wrapping that was done at the factory. All the fluid was being soaked up by the insulsation behind the sidewall upholstery (what a mess! I had to clean it up and replace a lot of soundproofing), thus, untill the insulation became to saturated it could hold o more, there was no evidence if leakage! All you PA32R owners out there might want to have your A&P look this area over next annual. As I said, the corrosion was UNDER the coroseal wrapping, right next to where the lines pass through the cabin frame under the pilot's side window.