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Forget second-screen TV viewing with a tablet or smartphone — so-called second screens are a kludgy, old-school method of extending a show. What's new? SeeSpace InAiR: The World's 1st Augmented Television.
SeeSpace InAiR is a Kickstarter project that intercepts your TV content stream, analyzes it, then reaches out to the Internet to grab relevant content, which it then displays in navigable layers right on your HDTV screen.
With a 3D HDTV, the display is even better: The new layers of augmented reality content float in space in front of you, creating a "Minority Report-like" experience that you can reach out and manipulate.
How Does SeeSpace InAiR Work?
InAiR is basically a smart HDMI cable in the shape of a hockey puck that you can affix to the rear of your HDTV. Through a USB connection from your cable or satellite TV set-top box, you connect to InAiR (and power it, too). Then, out from the InAiR device, you plug an HDMI cable to your TV.
InAiR has built-in WiFi to connect to your home network.
With a patented content recognition engine, InAiR identifies relevant Internet and social media content with what the viewer is watching and delivers it to the screen in real time. InAiR also lets you search for any term while watching the TV program.
How? InAiR is paired with a simple track-pad app that you can use with Android, iOS and Windows smartphones and tablets.
How Might InAiR Be Used?
In the case of a movie — for example, the James Bond flick Skyfall — InAiR can serve up layers of information about the music, the actors, the movie itself or even information about the product-placement Jaguar in the movie. Along the way, viewers can navigate feeds from their social networks.
For a sporting event — say a golf tournament — a viewer could look at a course or hole map while checking out a player's stats or active highlights.
During a news show, a viewer could see what a newspaper or writer had published about the topic or — again — check out a relevant social media stream in real time.
Documentaries could let you bring up additional photos or even 3D representations of an object — a satellite, Mars Rover or the human circulatory system, for instance. Plus, using the trackpad app, you could rotate or manipulate the information layer.
Hand Gestures Work, Too
When you pair InAiR with a Microsoft Kinect or Leap Motion device, you can use hand gestures in the air in front of you to manipulate the content on-screen — enabling what InAiR's makers compare to scenes from the Minority Report film.
Meanwhile, some apps that have already been produced — like a Formula 1 racing app for smartphones — can be projected onto the screen for a multilayered viewing experience. Plus, the InAiR team plans to release a software development kit to let app developers build specific content for even smarter, more enhanced viewing.
The Numbers
InAiR currently has more than 450 backers pledging more than US$50,000 toward a goal of $100,000. With 50-plus days to go (until March 8), the odds look positive for a fully funded project.
The lowest-cost early bird options are already gone, and while there are some stickers and t-shirts to be had, the most likely deal left is the Standard InAiR for $99 or the InAiR 3D version for $149, though at the time of this writing there were also a handful of early-bird options left at $89 and $119, respectively.
The Upsides
The InAiR project is backed by three key people: Nam Do, Dale Herigstad and A-M Roussel. Do is the former CEO and co-founder of Emotiv; Herigastad is a four-time Emmy award winner and thought leader in TV interactive design; Roussel is a serial tech investor and former Microsoft Xbox and Sharp TV investment executive.
The three have clearly come together to cover their bases — the technology, the content and the financing.
Because the hardware prototype is essentially produced and nearly ready for manufacturing, a fully funded project seems to have the key elements in place to deliver a shipping product by September 2014. Early backers who pledge $199 or $249 could actually get an InAiR device by July or August.
One more thing: InAiR is compatible with all network televisions in all countries — live or on-demand.
The Downsides
While the InAiR trio doesn't currently see any competitors in this space, they do acknowledge that a potential competitive risk is that other large businesses like Apple or Samsung could have similar interfaces in development.
Aside from possible competition, the InAiR team has already locked in partners for product and manufacturing design. They recognize the risk of moving from prototype to manufacturing and then from low volume to high volume manufacturing and shipping.


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This article is more than 1 year old
MetaRAM double stuffs servers with memory
256GB box for $500k $50k
Fred Weber has a good thing going. As CTO of AMD, he spearheaded much of the work around adding 64-bit extensions to x86 processors. Those extensions made it possible for x86 servers to tap vast amounts of memory. Now, Weber, as CEO of start-up MetaRAM, wants to sell you a ton of memory.
MetaRAM has rolled out technology that memory makers can add to their products to increase the amount of data their DIMMs can hold. In fact, companies using MetaRAM's wares can double or even quadruple the capacity of their memory products. Best of all, the likes of Hynix and Smart Modular - two early MetaRAM customers - can double-stuff their hardware without shifting over to pricier DRAM chips.
Overall, Weber sees MetaSDRAM bringing memory performance closer to that of processor performance.
As many of you know, memory speeds have failed to keep up with Moore's Law-blessed processors. As a result, we have 2, 4 and 8 multi-core processors crammed into x86 servers that spend an awful lot of time waiting for memory. In addition, high performance computing (HPC) applications, databases and virtualization software all tend to go after as much memory as they can get.
"The direction over the next decade is clear," Weber told us. "We're moving to multi-core chips that do more software threads. These processors will require much more memory bandwidth."
MetaRAM sells a chipset that slots in between the memory controller and the DRAM. The company's hardware then takes care of some of the electrical dirty work needed to get up to four times as many DRAMs onto DIMMs. Memory makers can take the MetaRAM technology and add it to their products without requiring any hardware or software tweaks.
Weber admits that the MetaRAM magic does technically introduce a "light performance hit" to the memory modules. But, all told, you're only looking at two extra cycles of lag.
You can compare that to 6 cycles of lag for each FB-DIMM slapped onto a motherboard or take note that MetaRAM is doubling/quadrupling the amount of memory in your box for just a few extra cycles.
"When I am fully stuffed, I have added two cycles of latency," Weber said. "With FB-DIMMs, you're adding 40 to 50 nanoseconds of latency. That really shows up. We add a little latency, but it's totally worth it."
The MetaRAM chips also add a couple of watts to DIMMs, although the company has rolled out something called WakeOnUse power management, which turns of DRAMs when they're not in active mode.
"Even though we have more chips, we burn about the same amount of power as standard DIMMs and fit in the same power envelope," Weber said.
As MetaRam sees it, you could take a four-socket box today, stuff it with 256GB of memory and pay about $500,000 for the privilege. By contrast, a system using MetaRAM's chips could come in at $50,000 thanks to the use of cheaper, fatter DIMMs. In addition, an eight-socket box in today's configurations could hold up to 1TB of memory.
Smart Modular has agreed to offer an 8GB DIMM for $1,500 that includes the MetaRAM chipset. That's waaay below the $5,000 that the device would usually cost. As mentioned, Hynix will sell product as well.
MetaRam's Gear
Weber is encouraged by the prices shown by Smart Modular and Hynix and thinks his company's technology will add some pricing "linearity" to the memory market - where vendors have been fond of kicking the prices of higher-capacity DIMMs much higher.
Memory by the Boatload
While focused on DDR2 today, MetaRAM is prepared to piggyback off DDR3 as well.
TSMC makes the chips for MetaRAM, which charges about $200 for 8GB DIMM parts and $450 for 16GB DIMM parts. Both Intel, which has invested in MetaRAM, and AMD are backing the technology, and server makers such as Rackable Systems, Appro and Verari are expected to begin offering the double-stuffed memory soon.
Weber and the MetaRAM team appear to have hit on a very sweet spot of the server market. The hardware makers have been trying hard to keep up with customer demands around memory, and this could help ease some of those issues.
In addition, you can imagine some novel systems arriving on the back of MetaRAM. The company's technology opens up room for more experimentation around in-memory databases and makes buying higher-end hardware more attractive to the average customers, since it lowers the formerly prohibitive memory cost bar.
We're wondering why some of the other major memory makers balked at MetaRAM's initial pitch. They're not slaves to their higher-margins, surely.
You can hear more from Weber on the memory front and the chip game in general here. You'll find MetaRam here. ®

subset: commoncrawl


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The holiday season is a popular time for charitable giving. It is helpful for those considering gifts–particular sizeable donations–to properly think through all of the tax and legal implications. There are smart ways to make contributions and clumsy ways. As always, an estate planning lawyer or similar professional can explain how any such decision is best carried out.
For example, the Wall Street Journal reported recently on the rise of "donor-advised" funds. The use of these tools is likely spurred by two tax uncertainties in the upcoming year. Will charitable deductions on taxes be limited in the future, counseling toward a large gift this year? Will income tax rates increase next year, counseling toward using the deduction next year instead of this year? It is a somewhat tricky problem, as no one knows for sure what lawmakers might decide.
That is where these donor-advised funds come into play. They are accounts managed by national charities and foundations. The basic idea is that a donor can give the gift this year–locking in a tax deduction–while waiting to actual disperse the funds to the charities as they see fit over time. The funds grow tax-free throughout this period.
Interestingly, the National Philanthropic Trust and other sources provides data on the sharp rise in use of these funds. Many of the largest charitable entities increased anywhere from 60% to 80% in use of these funds this year as compared to last year. And that is on top of the fact that last year saw a 10-15% rise in use from 2010.
Most accounts can be opened with $5,000–large sums are not needed. The donations can then be given out in small increments of as little as $50. In other words, there is a lot of flexibility for those with assets of all sizes. When using these tools however, it is important to have tailored advice on the best manner in which to give. For example, it might make sense to donate stock that has appreciated, instead of donating the profit after sale of the stock. By selling the stock directly some capital gains can be saved and a larger charitable deduction can be taken.
Of course, these donor-advised funds are just one of many ways that might be appropriate to give to charities smartly. Various trusts and other legal arrangements are available to ensure your gift is maximized. No matter what the case, though, it is important to act quickly, as the future remains uncertain and it is helpful to lock in current rates as soon as possible.
See Our Related Blog Posts:


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There was a 0.1 percent dip in personal income in August vs. July, the Bureau of Economic Analysis just reported. The Associated Press says that's the "poorest showing since a similar 0.1 percent drop in October 2009."
In addition, "disposable personal income" actually fell 0.3 percent after inflation.
Meanwhile, consumer spending edged up 0.2 percent — but was unchanged when inflation is factored in. Since consumers purchase about 70 percent of all goods and services, weakness in their demand ripples through the economy.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Hey, remember Operation Fast & Furious — the hyper-shady Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives gunwalking operation in which federal agents deliberately pressed American gun store owners into selling untraceable guns to known Mexican drug cartel middlemen, the best possible explanation for which could only have been gross negligence and widespread incompetence? The only thing "botched," as the media so often titles it, about that episode was that the Obama administration got caught, but the both the ATF and the head honchos at the Justice Department dismissed the whole thing as a poorly coordinated mistake and assured us that such a thing would never happen again.
Which I guess means House Oversight Chairman is just being a crazed partisan blowhard again, am I right? Nothing to see here, people.
Rep. Darrell Issa has subpoenaed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for information about what he calls a "dangerously mismanaged" program, which originally was launched to get crime guns off the street.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which Issa chairs, has been looking into complaints about the program for months. Under the operation, ATF agents set up storefronts in multiple cities to try and entice criminals to sell their crime guns, unwittingly, to the government so they could be traced. But their tactics and missteps, including using mentally disabled people, drew criticism.
Issa, R-Calif., claimed this week that the ATF has stonewalled him by withholding documents and shown a "complete lack of cooperation."
"I have no choice today but to issue the enclosed subpoena," he wrote to ATF Director B. Todd Jones. "… The time for hollow promises is over."
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has been investigating this story and it garnered national attention back in December; the conspicuously weird gist of it is that the ATF has been opening small stores in poor communities across the country, ostensibly a fronts to try and get criminals with guns and drugs off of the streets, but in at least four cities they ended up baiting locals into committing crimes in the process and then arresting them for it — some of whom were mentally disabled.
ATF Deputy Director Tom Brandon insists that, "putting this into context, there were deficiencies with the storefront operations, but there have been many successes and it still remains a viable technique when managed well" — which doesn't explain why they haven't been fully cooperative with Congress's attempted investigation. Why are the implications of the operation supposedly so very dire that you can't even let Congress in on what the real deal is? If there's no smoking gun here, why don't you just prove it? Why, why, why is the Obama administration constantly, aggressively insisting that they absolutely have nothing to hide, but then turning around and acting like they very much do?


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Top Pun offers the best Anti-Bush Designs
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Out of stock
Move over plastic wrap, the CoverBlubber® is here! It's the super stretchy food cover for use inside the refrigerator or...
Move over plastic wrap, the CoverBlubber® is here! It's the super stretchy food cover for use inside the refrigerator or freezer. CoverBlubber® is made of food safe StickyRubber™, a safer alternative to plastic wrap, that you can place directly on food or containers of various shapes and sizes. The CoverBlubber® is the perfect food storage solution--it stretches and clings and form fits to fresh cut food and just about any container.
CoverBlubber®, so cool to use you'll want leftovers!
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- NOT Microwave Safe
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Large/Blue (fits up to 7 inches/17.8 cm)
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- Works best when hands and item to be covered are dry
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- Works best on items that are uniformly shaped (circles, squares) and do not have exaggerated sides (rectangular baking dishes)
- Do NOT leave covered item on countertop, tabletop, pantry, etc.


text:
Author Archive
A day for a perfect cross country. Started with KUUU – Newport to 42B – Goodspeed – the land and water runways side by side in the river in CT. Dan and Debbie who share a 150 out of KUUU suggested we go there and we meet up at the field. Dropping in over the river a sudden right crosswind just before touchdown required a steep slip to get back to centerline and a nice shortfield drop onto the runway.
Taxi in and drop $5 in the honesty box…….
and then claw out over the bridge, the hill and power lines and a drop down south to SNC – Chester – just 6 miles away. I was last here on my first cross country pilotage exercise from school. It was as pretty as I remembered with the ends of the runway built up on either side of the hill to make it long enough.
36 departure at SNC. Short field out and on to KMMK – Meredith Markham Municipal. Nice enough but plenty big.
Taxi around and press onto 4B8 – Robertson. Easy enough to find – just to the west of a ridge with two enormous towers on it. Land and taxi round then climb out past the notice to maintain runway heading to 1100ft AGL for noise abatement. This puts you right in the lee of a sharp cliff with radio towers on it.
On a windy day I can imagine that you will suffer ridiculous lee turbulence. At a lowering of the ridge I turn east and pick up LIMA at KHFD – Brainard Hartford and drop in on 02. As I taxi round for the off – I joke with ground control that I am late for AOPA Air Venture – held last month in torrential rain – but at least the weather is nice today. Funnily enough in all my training and back and forth across New England – I have never been in here before! Hartford sends me north and all the way to the edge of the Bradley Class C to avoid the TFR over the stadium before I break east for KIJD – Windham. I haven't been here since a solo on my training.
I call for advisories and get the equivalent of a full blown PIREP! As I get closer I realize it is from an instructor who is doing engine out and slips to landings with his student. I turn final and discover I am horribly high.
The displaced runway number 9 which I judged the turn on has actually been blacked out and the runway restored to full length. I could go around or I could Flaps 40 and pitch up – which I do – and 41G drops like a stone till I make the glideslope and I drop in and taxi off. I watch the CFI and student do their thing and snap some photos of them.
Then as I taxi out I see a bright yellow 150 converted to a tail dragger. I take 36 for a straight out to the north and C44 – Toutant.
I was here the other day. It is a peach of a 1700ft field on the top of a knoll with an escape to the north through well trimmed trees. I drop in – a little long but I get stopped in plenty of time.
As I taxi back a small herd of deer watch me then break for the woods. I taxi back and get my tail hanging over the end of the runway so I have maximum length then I short field out and head for KSFZ – North Central. I've been going nearly three hours and it is time for fuel. I get a discount at KSFZ through my RI tiedown at KUUU. I fuel and watch the Providence school planes doing touch and goes.
Then off for KPVD – Providence to visit the school. It is Chris the manager's last week here – he is moving on to very exciting pastures new and I want to say good luck to him. We sit and chew the fat for a bit and discuss ways of pulling off the impossible turn with an engine failure at takeoff. One of the CFI's has a method which he says works well but must be practiced at higher altitude till it is instinctive. It is news to all the CFI's and we all discuss practicing it in the Practice Area sometime soon.
As I taxi out I see 3SP in the sunset. I passed my Checkride in her 4 months ago today.
Then a flip home to KUUU. Though I get a long vector out to Fall River which I get stuck on as Departure reads someone up a long IFR clearance. I finally get a word in and ask if I can head for KUUU. Providence apologize and I get to go home.
181 miles and 4.1 hours PIC. GREAT day!
It is also 4 months to the day since I passed my checkride. I've put in 124.9 hours in 41G,
50 hours of cross country flying,
57 hours of solo flying,
9 hours at night and
222 Take offs and landings – 16 at night.
We have visited 47 airports in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
Are we having fun yet?
30 young people got a flight at EAA Chapter 196's Columbus Weekend Young Eagles event today.
3 got to come in Cessna 150 N6141G! All were completely into it – applied their math schooling to the problem of fuel endurance after we sticked the tanks (to the delight of parents and grandparents). Helped with the rest of pre-flight – including fuel sampling and then after a cabin safety brief – we were on the way!
The very first things we do is stress the fundamental "positive handover of controls" – "Your controls – My controls – You have the controls", with visual confirmation that the other really is holding the controls. We practice this a few times, then a gentle demonstration of turning left and right (like leaning a bike) and a little bit of up and down. Then – "Your controls….." and the young person gets to keep the controls for a bit. In these pictures they really are flying the plane. They HAVE the controls. They are like sponges – absorb it all – take it absolutely seriously and within a few minutes are flying the plane without prompting.
William snuck back for a second YE flight – Hey William – were you not out with me last month?
All that simulator time is telling – he is flying standard rate coordinated turns without really thinking about it. Get it locked in, look out the window, fly it.
Abbey hates math but was able to work out the fuel endurance after we sticked the tanks – she is 8
When we closed the door on her Dad – Grace announced "Everyone says I am a Klutz". With very little
encouragement she proved everyone wrong – flying turns and maintaining altitude to PTS.
Grace flew me over Maynard and pointed out the high, middle and elementary schools. She told me
the brown mud pile will be the new high school.
Abby helps chock 41G at the end of the flight.
Then Alex and I flew over to KFIT – Fitchburg for lunch. Then Alex took off from Fitchburg and flew us home to Newport.
Today however I'm going to tell you about another inspirational character who I still wear a "Livestrong" yellow band for. Actually – I'm going to let Scott Barrett of the Newport Daily News take up the story:
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. – Joe Caruso is certain that being active is keeping him alive.
Diagnosed with Stage IV adenocarcinoma, or nonsmokers' lung cancer, in December 2009, the Newport resident scoffed at the idea of remaining stagnant during his chemotherapy and radiation treatment. He competed in the Save The Bay Swim a few months after being diagnosed and remained a fixture on the local triathlon scene.
A father of three young boys, Caruso wasn't going to let cancer beat him.
But not long after he competed in the Mooseman triathlon in Newfound Lake, N.H., in June, things took a turn for the worse. He felt a bit dizzy and went to the doctor for an MRI. He was told the cancer had spread to his brain, and the next week, he started three straight weeks of full brain radiation.
"The doctors told me I was going to be tired, but I had just completed an Olympic distance marathon," said Caruso, 44. "I was going into this feeling healthy, and I figured I would be back on my feet in a week.
"That wasn't the case. Brain radiation really knocked me for a loop because I was just so exhausted. It wasn't that I was sleeping all day, it's just that I couldn't move. Going from competing in a triathlon, to struggling to do the dishes was very difficult do deal with."
Everyone can relate to cancer, but I can relate to what Caruso is going through. My mother, who was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in September 2009, also had the disease spread to her brain. She passed away earlier this month. Throughout all of the radiation and chemotherapy treatments, she was tired. Getting out of bed was a chore, and ascending a flight of stairs was torture.
Nobody would have blamed Caruso if he never competed in another triathlon, but that's simply not his style.
He ended his brain radiation treatment on July 6 and picked up where he left off with his training. Last Saturday, he teamed with Mitch Turner of Middletown and Kathy Lewis of Newport to tackle the Amica 19.7 Newport, as part of Team Caruso.
"He's saying, 'I'm going to live my life and get out there and do things. I may not be around for this next year, but I'm going to enter it,'" Lewis said. "That's the way he marches, and that's contagious. I like being around people like that."
Lewis took the half-mile swim, Turner ran the 3.1 miles and Caruso biked 16.1 miles, which he said felt more like 100.
"I was definitely fatigued," he said. "My legs hurt, they were shaking. Mentally I felt great, but my legs were burning, and my back hurt a little bit. I started to get a pretty bad headache. There are a few hills there where I almost got off my bike and started walking."
Team Caruso finished last of the eight teams – "It was tough getting passed by the ladies and the older men," Caruso said jokingly – but winning was never the goal.
"I feel that exercise is definitely keeping me alive," Caruso said. "When I'm out there breathing hard, I try to inhale clean air and exhale those cancer cells. So that's why exercise pays off. That's what I tell myself.
"It's something that keeps me motivated."
Caruso also wants to set an example for his sons – Mason, 6, Tyler, 4 and Noah, 3.
"I want to show them that you can never give up, and that anything is possible," he said. "I want to let them know that there are always struggles in life, and you have to try your hardest to overcome them.
"I feel like I have a short time to inspire and motivate."
And Caruso will continue to inspire and motivate until he's no longer physically able. He'll take part in the Jamestown Classic, a 19-mile bike race, in October, and the Newport Pell Bridge Run in November. Then he'll spend the winter in the pool in preparation for the Save The Bay Swim.
"I know I'm going to fight to stay alive as long as I can," he said. "The two-year mark is coming up in December. I keep telling myself that I'm doing better than most people, and I attribute that to exercise and my attitude throughout this whole thing."
Said Turner, "I don't think anything is going to stop him or get in his way. What really inspires him, more than anything, is when he sees what he's doing for others. For him, it's showing what can be done, that he's changing the lives of people who he doesn't even know."
To help support Caruso, his wife Linda and their three boys, visit www.JoeCarusoFamilyFund.com.
So there was a small weather window this morning to get out of Newport and over to Providence after the cloud lifted and before the winds started to blow too hard for my little Cessna 150. Later in the day the winds will ease but the visibility will be dreadful, then there will be thunderstorms and then the winds will slowly start to build as Hurricane Irene plods its way up the coast this weekend.
I shot into the airport but the cloud was looking pretty low over the field. The automated weather said 1200ft. Well that meant I was OK to 1,000ft and within a mile of the field but I could not set off to Providence in Visual Flight Rules. However this was really my only window to "get out of Dodge". I dragged the bit out my training I said I would never use on a departure – I would need a "Special VFR clearance".
I preflighted and fired up and while the engine warmed up I managed to tune the distant weather at Providence and catch part of it. Didn't sound much better over the field there. I got out onto the runway and lined up and then took off. Thank goodness I practiced strong wind take offs and landings yesterday. As I got to the gap in the trees I was able to predict the puff from the left that would try and spin me on the runway and I held her and climbed out. I bucketed up through the turbulence while trying to tune for Providence Approach. It was hard to hold onto the radio control knobs in the bumps. At 800ft I met some wisps and if I carried on to 1,000ft I was definitely going to be in the bottom of the clouds. I turned an 800ft pattern and kept trying to get my fingers on the tuning for the radio – first to confirm the Providence weather and then to call approach. As I careened along on the downwind I eventually got it:
"Providence Approach – N6141G"
They acknowledged my call sign and I turned for the Class C airspace – definitely scud running at 1000ft with the wisps whipping over the wings.
"Providence Approach – N6141G is a Cessna 150 departed Newport for Providence to land with Lima – request a Special VFR clearance". I had not called ahead – the local wisdom is that you are usually turned down on the phone but calling when in the air will nearly always get you SVFR from Providence.
Providence came straight back with "No Special VFR required – we are VFR here – set up for left base runway 23 – Squawk 0326". Well it may be full VFR there now – but sure as heck I was running the bottoms of clouds and quite often in them at 1,000ft. I eased down to 900ft to see my way. Well at least the tapes would show I asked. Out over Prudence Island the clouds dropped astern and I could see all the way to Providence.
"N6141G – you are number 2 for the field behind the Embraer on a 4 mile final." I started looking for the traffic. It was 20 miles plus visibility to the North and West. As soon as I announced I had the traffic I was switched over to tower.
"Providence Tower – N6141G on a left base for 23". I was crabbing hard left to allow for the wind sliding me sideways. About a 40 degree crab into what would be 30+ knots of wind. This was just like the day my instructor brought me up to practice for this sort of thing. So I didn't have any fears – just a need to stay on top of the aircraft, remember that going around was completely OK and valid in these conditions and that a "plant it firmly" landing was called for when over the runway in the correct spot.
"41G cleared to land 23, number 2, with caution for wake turbulence. For your information the previous landing reported moderate turbulence".
The previous landing was a Boeing 737 – I was going to get thrown all over the sky! I would need a fast approach to punch through it and no flaps to create extra drag – the wind would stop me fast enough. I powered up and steep turned to final and nailed the centerline. I was high but making headway into the wind. I was flying at nearly 100 knots when I would normally be flying this part of the approach at 55. I was bouncing all over the place – but at least the wind was right down the runway. It was a surprisingly normal approach at this point – just fast – but the headwind was slowing me to the "normal" speed over the ground. I got over the runway and flew on down trying to get to the surface. The plane floated and hung in the flow on the surface – making perhaps 25 knots over the ground while flying along at 65 knots. I hung out – maintaining centerline and waited, and waited and waited till it was the right moment and I pulled the power. 41G touched down – the lightest greaser of a landing you could imagine. I actually made the first taxiway.
"41G- where do you want to go?" from Tower. I told them the NW ramp and I was told to "stay with them" and taxi up 34 all the way to the end. As I turned off I was caught with a beam wind. Sometimes from just ahead and sometimes on the quarter. It was a juggle to keep the plane from getting tipped over as I taxied up the runway to the end. I was flipping from the quartering set up, to the wind from ahead setup with each gust.
I pulled into the ramp next to PT Aero. Larry the AP was working on a plane and I opened my window – "Larry – will you be my badge please?" – for my security escort on the ramp. Larry came over to look at the plane. He hadn't seen it before. A man from the TSA also showed up. There as part of the screening team for the President's vacation on Martha's Vineyard. He checked Larry knew me and turned away.
We then spent the rest of the morning re-arranging the hangar to get as many planes in as possible. The Civil Air Patrol had just left to move to Quonset and CVS Caremark had taken their quarter share of the hangar. Their team was scratching their heads trying to figure how to shoehorn two Citation 10's into a space that had previously comfortably held two Cessna 172's.
So for better or worse – N6141G is tucked under the wing of a Gulfstream till Monday in a steel framed, stone and brick ArtDeco hangar at KPVD.
A long weekend planning a 241 mile cross country to Elmira Corning. Just why the examiner wants that as an objective I'm not 100% clear but as I plan it out I have to deal with designated mountain areas, turbulence in the lee of ridges and most classes of airspace. I pore over the material and get the plan down in a broad brush and then refine it at least twice through the weekend. One small solace – it is almost the opposite of the route needed to get my plane back from PA so it is certainly not wasted work. My flight suit is freshly washed. My boots are shined. In the middle of the evening of our 4th July party – I sneak off and put in my first stab at the weather as I hit the 12 hour to go planning window. Back to the guests, clear up, skip the fireworks and early to bed.
Up at 05:00, shower, trim my beard – might as well look good – even if it doesn't go well. Good impression and all that. I pull down the newest Surface Analysis Chart, Low Level Prognostic Chart, Radar Chart, Winds aloft forecast, a Full weather briefing, Notices to Airmen and Temporary Flight Restrictions and integrate them all with my plan. Print out a copy for me and a summarized copy for the examiner. I run though my document checklist:
- Aircraft Documents – in the plane
- Aircraft Maintenance Records – Filing cabinet at the school
- FAA Approved Flight manual – in the plane and my own copy
- View Limiting Device – Flight Bag
- Charts – Flight Bag
- Flight Computer and Plotter – in my Kneeboard
- Flight Plan Form – Filed at DUAT first thing and blank spare in my kneeboard
- Flight Log – In my Bag
- An AIM, AFD and other Publications pertinent to the flight – Flight Bag
- Photo ID – Passport in my Logbook cover
- Pilot Certificate – Logbook cover
- Medical Certificate – Logbook cover
- Form 8710 Application – Online in the FAA system
- Computer Test Report – Logbook Cover
- Logbook and Instructor Endorsements – Logbook cover
- Examiner Fee – Envelope in Logbook.
I head off for the school. Yes I am nervous. I'm seriously invested in this and really want to show I can do it. I use breathing exercises while driving to stay calm and go to Dunking Donuts and get donuts for the flight school crew like I usually do. Try and keep this like a normal lesson. Try and stay focused with normal routines and checklists. I arrive and the examiner pulls up in his car behind mine. We chat briefly. He was a 737 captain for Continental and flew the Caribbean routes just before he retired a couple of years ago. Now he is an FAA Designated Examiner. We wait a few minutes and my instructor arrives to open the school. We go in and fire up the computer and go online to check my paperwork, my ID is checked – we go through the application – everyone signs it online using their passcodes and then we repair upstairs to the quiet classroom to go over the game plan. The examiner outlines the way things are conducted, reminds me that I am pilot in command and in simulated emergencies I am to act that way – in a real emergency – I am still pilot in command but he is available as a team player to help get a good result. He goes through my logbook to check I have met all the flight requirements for solos, training, cross country, night flying and instrument time I am claiming. I have summarized this on a sheet of paper and this makes the entries easy to find in the log. This part goes quickly. He reviews my view limiting device to check it is suitable, I pay the fee. Any questions? I say so far it is just like the example oral exam given on the ASA CD of a sample Checkride. I get a faint smile. "The exam has started".
I'm asked about maintenance records and when annuals are due – it is quick and I have the answer at my fingertips- we don't spend long on it. AD's? Airworthiness directives – I explain what they are about and example it with the recent seat rail AD issued for Cessnas.
Then my Aircraft Performance calculation for the day. I've prepared three. One for takeoff at Providence, another for the start of the cross country at North Central and another for landing at Elmira. I explain the spreadsheet I constructed to make this easier and how it encourages prompt and regular calculation of these important numbers. I had determined too many accidents came about from people simply not doing the numbers and thought this was because extracting all the numbers from the performance tables and calculating or looking up other material in other publications made this likely to get skipped. I had made it as simple as possible. My spreadsheet has entries for airport weather, runway length, fuel and people weight. Then it calculates – Density Altitude, Takeoff and Landing performance, Crosswind Component, Weight and Balance Limits and Center of Gravity Limits. The examiner reviews one – quickly does some math in his head. Some questions about Vne, Vfe, VApp, Vso and Vx and Vy – I have the numbers and explain the meaning.
He moves on to my Flight Plan and Nav Log. While I get out my sectional chart – he is reading my cover notes and quickly checking the waypoints I have picked. He looks at the line drawn across the sectional and then there are some searching questions about fuel requirement. I point out my fuel summary calculation and my personal reserve rules that I have incorporated. The flight can be conducted in one complete hop with no fuel stop – though I have built one in as a rest, weather review point and fuel stop if needed. More questions about the fuel. The examiner says the FAA want us to be tested on long cross country plans to see if we really understand fuel exhaustion limits. Hence the length of the cross country he set. Now forget school minimum requirements and personal minimum requirements that are set at a very conservative value. What does the law require for fuel reserves at day and night? I have the numbers.
My instructor Greg steps in for a moment and hands me the aircraft dispatch sheet. We are all set.
We move on and the examiner tests me on various chart symbols down the line of the flight. Where he can't find one he wants he "moves" one to the line and asks about it. We cover Class D, C and B airspace reporting requirements and how to determine if you are cleared into airspace when talking to the controller. We also have a TRSA space – "not mandatory but treat as a Class C" is my response. Can I overfly this Class D without taking to them? Yes. It is raining and you are forced down to 2,500 ft? Now I have to talk to them as they control up to 2,700ft. An airport is picked at random. "You have a sick passenger and must get down – Without using your AFD – tell me everything you can about this airport from the chart symbology." I do. Another airport is picked – "What does this RP mean". Right hand traffic pattern on those runways is my response. Visibility requirements in the airspace? I go over it.
Sketches of Runway Markings – some questions. I answer. And if your nose wheel is there? He points – "Runway Incursion" is my response – "I may not look like I am on it –but I blew through the hold short". He seems happy with that response.
Sketches of airplanes in the sky and who has right of way? I answer a couple and then indicate the rules are essentially the same as for ships which I have used all my life. The questions cease.
Spin recovery? I outline how to do it.
He asks to see my run up checklist. It is of my own making. He takes a moment to find what he wants. He flips it over and points at the vacuum system requirement during run up. "It reads zero" – what does that tell you? "We are not going flying" is my response, "both vacuum pumps have failed." He smiles – oh yes – this Cessna has TWO vacuum pumps! What do they drive? I start to outline it – the Attitude Indicator and the, the, the, and get stuck for a moment – I start tracing the panel in the air to pick off the items driven by the vacuum pump. He stops me. Let's look at a panel on the way out to the aircraft he says. Let's go fly.
Pit stop if needed – no.
We pass a poster of a Cessna panel. What does the vacuum system drive? I immediately point out the Attitude Indicator and the DG. Fine – how many gyros? Three- the Turn and Coordinator is electric for redundancy. "Good".
I preflight the aircraft. First check for fuel – but she is topped right off. Oil is good. I get the impression my instructor or the school manager have made a point of putting her in the right spot and she is just right. I do a careful preflight and am watched doing it. I use the preflight and my checklist as a focus. This is something I do all the time. I can ignore the man watching. I can do this well. Let's show I can. I put in my additional checks on certain bolts you see better with a flashlight, my check of the stall warning horn and shaking the wings. I declare the aircraft ready to fly. Then I am asked specifically about where the components of the pitot static system are and how I inspected them. Then asked what this bent pipe is? The fuel tank vent and I explain how it works – including the cross tank vent feed that is notorious for not venting well – so an AD was issued requiring venting fuel caps on both tanks – which I have also checked. What happens if it is blocked? Fuel starvation and engine stops. I get a story back about a wet wing that collapsed because a fuel vent blockage and the engine sucked the fuel out the wing and collapsed it.
We get in and I am told that he is comfortable with the safety brief and I can move on. I give the safety brief anyway. I really want to get to the bit about him being an active lookout and part of the team. Back on the checklist and start up. I set up the radio stack and also perform a VOT check on the VOR system. "Not required for Private Pilot" is the comment. Yes I respond but as much of the cross country is VOR navigation it would be nice to check it. I get the weather and then I completely blow it and call clearance on tower frequency. Tower put me right…… Well I have heard SouthWest pilots do it. It is not the end of the world.
I refocus and get my clearance and then out to the runup pad. I run up. All is well. I preset the radios for North Central. So I don't need to do it in the air. Then I call to taxi. We get rolling. I'm told to short field out of Providence. I am setting the plane up but it is clear from listening to the radio that they will want me to go quickly before they bring in a jet. The examiner tells me to do a rolling short field – "what will I be missing out?" Tower – "503SP – Turn right heading 300 cleared to take off runway 23". As I do a token sweep towards the end of the runway to maximize length I mention I will not be holding on brakes and running up to full RPM before releasing. I swing onto centerline – just manage to set the DG to centerline and start my roll. There is no wind and probably for the first time ever I Vx out at 57 knots without having to go a hair faster to allow for turbulence or gusts. "When you are at 200ft consider yourself over the obstacle". I accelerate and get the flaps up and at 400ft turn to 300. I'm handed off to departure. I call my departure but don't hear from them. I check the radio – no – it is good and I call again. I get a departure report back. Sounds like a new controller. Then I'm on a long climb. I get an altitude clearance but no heading clearance and I'm going the wrong way – to Scituate. At 3,000ft I call with a position report. There is a pause, an acknowledgement and then a realization from the controller. I get another call with a heading clearance too. I turn for North Central and listen to the weather. Calm. Pick a runway. I call I have North Central in sight. I'm cleared to squawk VFR and have a nice day. I switch to North Central but monitor Providence. The examiner asks if meant to do that. I reply I did because I am actually still in Providence airspace. Now I have to figure which runway to use. The examiner is suggesting I might fly a pattern and let him know. I really don't think it will be worth calling UNICOM. The new management company has been at it just a week and are just getting their act together. I call my arrival on the CTAF again. Then Greg my instructor calls he is in the pattern and using runway 5. He knows I need this bone to make my life easier and he just threw me it. I announce my pattern entry and let down to pattern altitude. Then on the only occasion in the day – I blow an altitude and drop 100ft low – I'm in PTS but only just – I announce my error and corrective action and vow not to do that ever again today. (I don't). "Make this a short field please – your aiming point is the 1000ft marker".
I fly my pattern and get her in. I'm maybe 100ft past the mark. I'm allowed 200. I have the flaps off her as she is touching down and I announce – "Simulating heavy braking – but we have plenty of runway so I will not burn them out" and I roll onto the next taxiway and pull off. Greg my instructor was sitting with his pupil all this time – holding short. There was plenty of time for him to go while I was on the downwind but he held off to give me breathing room. What a nice guy! You just know everyone is rooting for you. Greg departs AND announces he is leaving the area. Boy he is giving me LOTS of room. Really nice guy. From the examiner – "soft field out please".
I taxi round and set up I ask where the soft field starts and I'm told the hold short line – so I can stop and swing both ways to check the sky which I do then roll over the hold short and get going. I have her up off the nose wheel and I get her rolling well on the mains. There is a slight squeak from the stall warning horn and I nose down a HAIR till I am sure I am flying, then into the wheelbarrow position and roar down the runway in ground effect. The examiner said "no obstacles" so I really get her cranking and at 80 pop her out of ground effect and fly. I ease the flaps off and you don't know I did – nice! I fly a pattern. "Soft Field landing please". Boy am I glad I tried this in high density altitude on this very upslope runway EIGHT times on Saturday. Even in a good flare the plane will smack the upslope and you need to over flare to get it right. I bring her in and flare and then some. I have the stall warning squealing and I pull back – I touch the power to soften it. It is not a greaser but it is OK – I think. I keep the nose up. The examiner says – "I have the flaps – 3,500ft left – take off" and "confirming flaps are up" as I power up and get back into the air. On the climb out – "OK start your cross country please".
Oh boy. I pull out my flight plan. Normally I would have set up the radio stack on the ground but now I have to do it on the climb out. I punch in the VOR and bug the DG and estimate the compass and DG are probably together. Hard to tell in a climb. I announce my departure from the pattern and climb on. I swing on course to Hartford and trim the plane in the climb. I start the clock. "I would call for flight following now" – but as I suspect the examiner doesn't want me to. "Cross country suspended a moment – maintain your heading – please climb at 70 knots". I pitch up. "Now 60" – I pitch up some more. I ask – "You want me to demonstrate the power on stall?" "Yes please – pitch for 20 knots – recover on the first indication of an aerodynamic stall". I pitch on up and she stalls. The air is still – very calm, there has been no heating and no turbulence. I really feel the aileron twitch the 1/8th of an inch to the right to hold her level in the power on stall. She stalls and I recover instantly and stay level, accelerate. BANG on heading. "Back to your cross country please." I climb on tracking the Hartford VOR and at Top of Climb – 4,500ft I level, lights off but announce I'll leave the strobes on in the haze and I lean the engine and look around. I take a cross bearing from the Scituate Reservoir and mark the chart and check the time and I enter it in the log. Gosh there is really no wind – everything is pretty much on the money. I notice the examiner watching and as soon as I make my first time entry in the log – "OK – cross country good – my controls".
I hand off the controls. He hands me my view limiting foggles. I put them on and make sure I can only see the instruments. I get the plane back. He asks me to fly this heading and altitude. He watches for a few minutes. Then – "Pretend you were VFR and just flew into a cloud – what's the plan?" I outline – straight and level flight, bug my heading, standard rate turn to the left and fly a 180 till the bug is at the bottom of the DG – then fly on till out the cloud. "OK – don't actually do it – carry on." A few minutes later – "You didn't come out the clouds – now what?" I announce I would immediately get help from air traffic control to get to clear air. "OK." Then a bit of paper appears under my nose. There is a 4 letter identifier on it for an airport. I'm told ATC has found me a clear airfield and this is it. Fly there………. I have NO idea where this 4 letter identifier is. I start cautiously programming the GPS to find it. Push a button, fly the plane, notch a dial, fly the plane, push a button, fly the plane, notch a dial, fly the plane, push a button, fly the plane and so on. It takes a good two minutes or so – but I must keep the plane straight and level. I get the code in and punch "Direct To." I get a solution. I will have to turn 120 to the right and fly 103 miles to Sandford. Where? Never heard of it! I start the turn. We have a discussion about telling "the passengers" how long it will take – my answer "an hour" and do I have the fuel to do it – "yes – I have 4 hours". I ask the examiner if he is keeping a good look out. I'm in foggles and getting my sailor's twitch that says "time to look around". "Yes we are good" from the examiner and – "Will I encounter icing in this cloud?" I get the outside air temperature. 18 degrees C – "No". What should I do about altitude? The answer is 3,500ft or 5,500ft for the direction I am flying but I also add that I would ask for ATC's help as I now have no idea about mountains that might be ahead. "My controls" from the examiner. "Eyes shut and head on shoulder."
In my head I'm chanting "Blue push / Brown pull" while he flips the plane around the sky. He is going to hand me her back in an unusual attitude and I must immediately correct it. The throttle is KEY to passing this maneuver and as I get to open my eyes I have to push it in if we are climbing – blue on the attitude indicator and pull if diving – brown on the indicator. I've never found this exercise intuitive – it is even a little artificial feeling. But you gotta get it right. "Blue push / Brown pull" in my head. "Your plane." I open my eyes – blue – I push the throttle home and level the wings then push down to level off. I recover and get her flying again. "My plane" from the examiner. "Take your foggles off". I do. "Your plane. Fly North at 3,000ft then steep turns please – first to the left". I fly my clearing turns and set up. There isn't much to set up on – it is hazy. Mount Wachusett is a possibility. The examiner tells me to bug it at North and use the bug. I get her at Va and on altitude. I roll into my left turn. Flick in a wheel of up trim and she is solid. The rivets on the cowl carve across the horizon and round she goes. I roll out. That one was perfect speed, altitude and heading roll out. YES! We pause for a moment as I re-trim. "I have checked and you are clear right – Now to the right please". I roll right, flick the trim and round she goes. The first half is OK – then she slows a hair and I chase her back into line. I roll out. I think I was up 20 ft at most and 5 knots off till I got her sorted. Still in PTS. "Fly 120 for Providence".
"OK – Into slow flight please but only with flaps 20". He holds up two fingers to emphasize the 20 instead of the usual 30. I fly clearing turns first. I think I am set up. I start into it but I'm not happy. It is headed out of PTS but not there yet. "Abort" I announce. "I can do this better". I level off and set up again and get her into slow flight MUCH better. "Turn right to 200" – I gently fly around the sky to the heading. "Now smoothly pull the throttle and recover at the first sign of an aerodynamic stall". I do and recover. At most I lost 100ft. "Back to 120 please". We are flying on for Providence.
"Imagine you were cycling the flaps and the breaker popped – what would you do?" I outline that I don't need flaps on the long runway at Providence and a breaker reset might just lead to an electrical fire because I don't know why the breaker popped. "OK – fly the rest of the mission without flaps please". Then the examiner says he will get our clearance while I get the weather…. I set up the radio stack and get the weather. We are cleared for runway 23. "Your radios" from the examiner. I'm wondering if that was the emergency? The lost flaps? I pull out my checklist to check the flaps up landing speed. I announce I am leaning the engine below 3000ft because the Density Altitude is high and we have been flying at full rich for a while. I want to clean the plugs before the landing. Then approach asks us to turn final and make best speed and over to tower. We are still 7 miles out. Final is inappropriate. Then tower ask me to square my base – they have three planes they want to get out ahead of me. Wish they would make their minds up! I announce to the examiner I will just fly a normal approach. I am descending through pattern altitude but still high for no flaps – I announce I will slip on final to get the glideslope. I push full rich at 1,000ft as the EGT starts to twitch off the stop. I turn final as I am cleared to land. The examiner asks me to slip down to the glideslope then slip as needed to make the landing. I slip down to the red over white light and recover and fly on. As I come over the threshold at 80 knots I land fast and roll on. If I stand on the brakes I could maybe make taxiway Charlie but it would be hard on the plane. We roll on down for Tango – only it is closed for maintenance and we end up at Mike One. Sheesh – a long taxi home. I get her home, park on the spot and work my shutdown checklist. As I put the keys on the dash I announce – "Safe" and I take my headset off. It is wringing wet with sweat.
From the examiner and in a dry tone – "So as to save the suspense – you passed. It was an above average Checkride. My only comment was I think you could have been airborne a little earlier on the soft field take off. Do your housekeeping and we can go in and do the paperwork." I write up the hours, check the plane for trash, chock her and put on the pitot cover to keep the flies out. I decide not to put in the cowl plugs. The engine is hot and the temperature is climbing into the mid 80's.
As we walk in Rusty the ramp rat is working on the golf cart used to tow the planes. He is signaling "How did you do?" I give him a thumbs up. He is all smiles. His Checkride is coming soon. We are walking into the classroom and everyone is briefing their students for the next lesson. Trying to look casual but I have been out representing the school this morning – all the instructors want to know…. The examiner gives my instructor a thumbs up over the head of the student he is talking to. My instructor drops his lesson and races over to shake my hand. We do the paperwork. I am issued a "Temporary Airman's License" on the spot – good for 120 days till my real license shows up. Chris – the manager – drags me out to the plane again for pictures (OK and so I could get the box I forgot to bring in).
My name is back on the school achievement board again.
9 months to the DAY since my Airman's Flight. 130 hours flying of which 110 hours instruction. 20 hours pilot in command, 10 hours of cross country. I know JUST enough to be safe in good weather and when not to go. I also know a few good ways to get it wrong and how to avoid them. But I don't need to ask my instructor anymore – but you can always call and ask. Guess I can go collect my plane this weekend! If the weather is good… If I have got the Flight Plan worked up…. If I check for NOTAMS, TFR's…… Oh yeah – I bought a plane last week……
So I soloed to the Scituate training area today. Steep turns, Slow flight, stalls, power on stalls – I'm pretty sure all to better than PTS. VFR and within my personal minimums but quite hazy. I used the VOR for real to get back to the field when I came back from 12 miles away. (The GPS was also set up but I used that to find the edge of the Class C airspace rather than to find my way home).
Then at Providence for pattern work – soft fields in high density altitude conditions. Providence offered me 16 or 23 the wind was calm (the active was 23) – I said whichever would work best with their operations. They put me on 16. I think they decided to give the controllers a work out with crossing landing traffic. So I made 16 MINE for 50 mins. Softing down (well after the first couple) and softing out. The softs outs – after a couple I really got her wheelbarrowing and then catapulting out of ground effect at 80 knots. It was a blast. I'm required to do full stop and taxi backs on solos but Providence were having fun too and had me doing taxi backs on 16 rather than drive all around the taxiways. It was like I had my own little 3000ft strip at Providence today – just a bit of runway 16 (which is actually 6081 ft long). I never used more than 2000ft of it and more often than not I was stopped in 1500ft.
Then on one pattern there was a jet for 23 pretty close behind as I was midfield downwind for 16. "Two Sierra Juliet – please make this a tight one" from the tower. I couldn't resist – I pulled a landing pattern from Commercial Rating which I had done with Greg a while back. I pulled the power, pitched up for flap extension speed put in full flaps then pitched down and SANK the plane 1000ft in a U turn around the spot to put her on the runway in a short field landing in no wind to help stop her. I was a little high at the bottom of the "U" and pitched up for 62 knots so the plane sank harder. Then pitch forward for 65 as I completed the "U". Still a little high. Was going to be embarrassing if I had to go around and so force the jet to also go around on 23. I slipped gently. She sank more and I picked the 1000ft marker as my short field point. The plane positively sank on the point as I pitched up for 62 knots and then flared her to soften the "plant it" landing. She dropped firmly but gently onto her gear and I stopped in 500ft without hurting the brakes at all. I think I surprised tower because it was a while till the jet did show up! This was fun and flying!
Another pattern and in to the school and to brief my instructor. 6 landings in total. We sign me off for the examiner tomorrow after going through my logbook to pick out the required experience to put on the form. Till then – I've to book a plane every three days or so and solo to stay on top of it till the examiner can get to me. Just call the instructor and agree the weather is suitable in advance. Examiner possibly Saturday or more likely early next week.
Saturday morning – A gap between the thunder squall line that just passed over and the next incoming block of rain. Ceilings at 5000 overcast. I evaluate we can squeeze in a lesson but must stay local. Greg agrees. It is still raining a little during preflight. I go over 503SP very carefully. I've flown her so often she is like MY plane at the school. Well I like to treat her that way. I clean off the grease and oil streaks more than really necessary for preflighting and check her over carefully. I know her wrinkles and dents and can spot anything new immediately.
She is all set and Greg and I clamber in. Though we have done this countless times – I brief him about seatbelts, air vents and door closing and tell him he is part of the team and should help keep a lookout. I start up and out we go to warm up. We are going to the training area to do steep turns. We get a new taxi route to runway 5 – the ground controllers must get bored handing out the same ones! We set up to go and though the wind is indicated as right cross wind at takeoff – we experience some left part way down the runway – I get on it but I don't think very well. We climb out to the training area and look at the rain showers over Providence and the roiling mess above. The bank of cloud towards Danielson looks lower than our altitude. Wish we had a weather radar. We get the weather on the radio at other airfields to the west and keep a close eye on the clouds and rain around us.
We skirt the rain and get to Scituate where I set up for steep turns. I haven't done them in a while and they are the first thing to go in your skill set. I perform my clearing turns and then around we go. Greg chivying and prompting and nudging me to do better. We go right and we go left. About eight times. I like about two of them. "Enough" calls Greg – "let's go do some landings." Now when Greg says "Enough" that usually means he thinks you are getting tired and you will be back up again to do better. My last one to the right was not great. "No" – I say – "I want one more". I dial around to the right again. It is locked in and nearly flawless. Well for me. I'm much happier. We head back to Providence for landings. I'm happy with about three of the nine turns.
We discover that at 3000ft the wind is blowing about 30 knots on the nose. It is a long haul home. We have called for pattern work. We are cleared for the option on runway 5. "Short or Soft Fields" says Greg. I need Short Field practice. I listen to the wind factor and the gust factor the controller reads me up. I elect for soft with only partial flaps and a 10 knot added landing speed to account for gusts. Shorts would not be appropriate in the conditions. Right gusty crosswinds. I don't do right a lot – usually left. Down we go. I wrestle and wriggle and get after the plane the whole way down to final. The kids' soccer game on the right hand corner of the safety area seems awful close. I set up, bank the wings, correct on the rudder and wriggle down and soft her onto the runway. There is some cross wind. I'm at nearly full yoke to hold her but I get stopped in about 2,000ft at the 5,000ft remaining marker, flaps up – good to go and off we go again. Four times in total. Each one a joy in staying on the plane in the gusty wind. Flying and skill practice. Love it. Each time the controller calls me up the landing wind it is stronger and gustier and each time I manage to wrestle her down on the centerline. The last one was not perfect but it was a 12 knot cross gust as I put her down and I'm pretty happy.
We taxi in. I checklist and shut down. "What did you think?" asks Greg? I say I liked about three of my steep turns and had a lot of FUN with the landings. Greg tells me my steep turns were ALL to PTS except perhaps one and he liked the landings too. "It is probably time to end our relationship." This is code of my Stage III Checkride from the Checkride instructor before the ride with the examiner. "What do I think?"
I actually think and enunciate that an examiner's job is to check that the instructor's opinion is valid and that this means he has in effect passed me as a private pilot – even though I now need to demonstrate this to two others. I also don't think of it as the end of the relationship. I want to pass my Checkride and then fly on with Greg for my IFR rating – but yes – I want this and I am ready.
We go in and book my Stage III Checkride for Sunday morning (probably get rained off) with a fall back of Tuesday morning.
So Saturday, Tuesday and today Wednesday the weather has been slowly getting on the boil. Easily hitting 24C by 08:00 in the morning this morning. Which means we have to start to worry about density altitude. The air is hot and thin and the plane doesn't fly so well. 3000ft runways that you could jump off in 800ft or less in the cold of winter are now 2000ft stretches. Short Field technique to get out is beginning to be for real and short field to land the same.
Have to do the math. Wind direction, strength, crosswind, headwind, airport altitude, temperature, dewpoint and humidity. Runway slope and condition. Suddenly that spreadsheet I labored over this winter because I thought it might become useful really is. Instead of 10 mins with a calculator and 3 sets of tables and all the chances of mistakes – you punch in the numbers from the field weather report and it gives you an immediate runway length needed and abort point as well as expected take off run and distance needed to get over the 50ft trees at the end. Newport (where we practiced today) may be at 147ft altitude – but the air today calculated as 1,400ft it was so warm. At 13:30 in the height of the day it is now 1960ft.
Take Off – 1112ft roll, 1899ft to clear the trees, Abort at 1500ft roll if plane not doing 38.5 knots – it ain't going to fly. We even leaned the mixture slightly prior to take off and got an extra 100rpm and 5% power. The air was thinner and the mixture could be leaned.
Vx hard climbing out – Flaps 10 and supposedly at 57 knots but in practice at 60 for safety as the warm turbulence can leave you a few knots short – also an exercise in speed control. Constantly chasing the airspeed as the air swirls around the wings.
Landing – Total of 1297ft needed to clear 50ft trees and get down with a 559ft roll included – with heavy braking. We stayed off the brakes to save them and managed 1600ft stops.
Getting in over the (usually theoretical) 50 ft trees at the end of the runway need not be pretty – just a smart drop in and flare onto the main wheels at slow speed, flaps up to transfer weight from the wings to the main wheels and heavy braking to stop. Saturday I was sort of getting it. Monday I had the sight picture of aiming short of the runway and diving slightly while flaps full down and power off to hold her at a sinking 62 knots then flaring in over the end of the runway to sink her in. I had it in my mind but not happening very often. Today – they were dropping in to Practical Test Standards – even with cross winds. I had the speed control. The last one my instructor had me do all power off from 900ft to control it all the way down.
By 10:00 we climbed slowly like a dog out of Newport and crawled home to Providence. Been an interesting three lessons. Tomorrow's density altitude threatens to be even higher. Speed control, Speed Control, Speed Control….
Touch and go as to whether or not the fog will lift for Saturday's lesson. I lost the first block – but though it is still thick fog in Newport it is apparently clearing at the airport. I drive in for the second block. It is hazy and my instructor and I carefully look through the weather. The satellite shows we are sitting in a growing hole as it burns off – but there is a bank of sea fog to the south – pressing against the coast. Visibility everywhere else is varying up and down in 5 mile increments. We decide to play safe and stay in the pattern at Providence. Making short fields on Providence's enormous runways seems a bit silly – but we will be close to home if the weather turns sour.
We go out and pre-flight. Then we start up. It is a nice gentle breeze Saturday for flying but we can see the coastal fog on the horizon. We get clearance for traffic in the pattern and are cleared to hold short at runway 16. We wait a moment or two – my instructor keeps looking at the fog on the horizon. Is it nearer the tree line?
I'm cleared for takeoff and I line up, correct for wind angle, everything green and throttle up – I get the plane in the air and we briefly discuss the aileron correction I used. I look ahead and a line of fog is blotting out the tree line and rapidly advancing on the field.
"Providence Tower – Tree Sierra Papa – we will make this a full stop and return to the ramp" I call as I turn crosswind. To my instructor – "We are going home". "Good Call" he says.
"Three Sierra Papa" cleared to land runway 16" from the tower. I'm turning downwind and not even climbing to full pattern altitude. We just need to get down.
"Providence Tower – Tree Sierra Papa – midfield downwind 16" I call.
"Tree Sierra Papa cleared to land Runway 16" and then in the background in the tower we hear alarms going off – "All Providence Traffic – Wind Shear Alert landing end of Runway 16. 20 knot decrease".
I'm throttling back, smacking the flaps in and turning base. "Keep it tight" says the instructor. I'm turning straight to final and power off to drop her in and tell him I'll only use flaps 20 and land fast. I'm doing the math in my head. A 20 knot wind drop on landing at 65knots means we need to be landing 85 knots in case the wind disappears. Tower are on again – we can still hear the alarms and they are calling the wind shear alert again. I'm lining up.
Everything seems normal about the landing. I'm correcting for crosswind – flying it down a bit faster than normal and I can see the windsock standing out a bit more as the wind accelerates the fog bank towards us. Tower call the wind shear alert again. The alarms are still audible in the background as they call. I'm nearly down. I'm at 80 knots over the runway when I am usually at 65. I start to flare. "get her down" from the instructor. A mixture of – you are a bit early in the flare but this is one of those occasions when you plant her. I do. We get off at taxiway Mike.
"Taxi Mike, Bravo, stay with me this frequency" from the tower. We taxi in and shut down. The wind is gusting and a layer of cloud is across the field at about 500ft blotting out the sky that was bright blue 5 mins ago.
One of the other school planes was caught over Scituate has to abandon the lesson and get special VFR clearance to get back down. The other school plane is up at North Central somewhere. Hopefully he got down there.
We go in – My lesson scores a very hard to get "Excellent" and there is a short write up put in the notes section about excellent Aeronautical Decision Making.
My cheapest (and shortest) ever flying lesson! But a great lesson.


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Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU-TV
We don't often discuss birds here, preferring instead to discuss many of the critters they eat along our coasts. But I see the bird prints in the oyster reef mud, and kayak by the pelicans in Saint Joe Bay. They are as much a part of those habitats as the snails and the crabs. And every winter, just as sure as you'll see Ohio and Michigan plates heading south on I-75, you'll see the flocks that lend the drivers of those cars the nickname us Floridians have for them.
But what happens when the birds forget the way down? Sometimes, a species numbers get so low that juveniles no longer have the adults who know the way to lead them. So they need a little help in reestablishing the route.
Possibly the most famous bird of this description brought me to a large field by the St. Marks River almost two years ago. That was the first year that whooping cranes were flying to a secluded area within the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge, and I was covering the flyover for our dimensions program (it's that video up there). It seemed like it took forever for them to get there. Starting from the cranes' Wisconsin habitats, Operation Migration pilots in ultralight planes make the journey south in several short hops. For almost a month I received e-mails saying that they could arrive within a week, but unfavorable winds were keeping the birds grounded nearby in Alabama. Finally, it was announced that they would fly in early on Saturday, January 17.
They expected it to happen between 7 and 8 AM, but advised people to get there early. I was surprised to see the parking area half full at 6 AM. It was 18 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and cars kept piling in. Did I mention it was Saturday? Over two thousand people made it out for that minute or two when seven birds and three ultralight planes flew several hundred feet over our heads and into their area of the Refuge.
Yesterday, a group of five juveniles was guided in, over a month earlier than in the first year. From the photos I saw, it was still a nice large crowd. People love endangered birds, and the whooping crane is an impressive animal.
It's ironic that a species whose existence as a whole seems so fragile comes in as a top predator in our local salt marsh habitats. Its favorite food is blue crab, though it is an omnivore that eats other crustaceans, as well as clams, fish, frogs and small reptiles. As we have seen over the last few months on this blog, they're at a veritable all-you-can-eat buffet here. Numbering only five, they aren't a significant part of the coastal food web. Yet. But as long as we have healthy habitat to offer, and the Operation Migration folks keep teaching birds the way, they might become a more regular part of the Forgotten Coast winter.


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Prominent film critic Pauline Kael infamously insisted that one need never watch a film more than once. When watching The Hangover for a second time, I confirmed what I suspected while watching it the first time: it's a movie with limited replay value. One of the movie's primary selling points is its mystery component, the perpetual element of surprise that comes from the leading characters' post-blackout amnesia, spawned by a poisonous cocktail of drugs and alcohol. Without the engagement of this surprise, the movie's weaknesses stand out more easily. Still, the stupid fun of The Hangover is worth experiencing at least once.
In a successful effort to repeat the success of Old School, director Todd Phillips rounded up a comically capable leading man (out: Luke Wilson, in: Bradley Cooper) and two clowns (Ed Helms and Zach Galiafanakis for Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell) to go on a juvenile adventure. Screenwriters Jon Lucas & Scott Moore dreamed up a bachelor-party excursion to Vegas, for groom-to-be Doug (Justin Bartha of National Treasure) and three stooges: amoral teacher Phil (Cooper of He's Just Not That Into You), Doug's seriously off-kilter brother-in-law Alan (stand-up comic Zach Galiafanakis), and wimpy dentist Stu (Ed Helms of The Office). Doug's father-in-law (Jeffrey Tambor) lends the foursome his prized 1969 Mercedes-Benz Cabriolet, and away they go on a disasterous trip that winds up posing the question "Dude, where's the groom?" The substance of the story is taken up with the heroes piecing together the events of their lost night on the town as they search far and wide for their missing friend.
What makes The Hangover work is neither the story, despite the mystery angle, nor the particular wacky incidents along the way. The "outrageous" situations tend to be either transparently random chaos for the sake of silly shocks (like the animals showing up in the heroes' swanky hotel suite and car trunk) or, even more lazily, Vegas clichés: could anyone fail to predict that one of the characters would wake up married, having done the deed at a chintzy quickie chapel? The bride in question is the ever perky Heather Graham, playing an escort named Jade; she's one of an amusing supporting cast filled out by Matt Walsh, Mike Epps, Ken Jeong, Rob Riggle and Mike Tyson, playing himself. What makes The Hangover work, above all else, is its ruthless disinterest in making the "heroes" likeable, and the comic efficiency of the actors who play them.
Phil steals cash from his students, Alan is a registered sex offender (his particular crime left to the imagination, but it involves the underage), and Stu's overly practiced but thin veneer of civility cracks early and often, the result of pent-up aggression caused by the henpecking of his girlfriend (Rachael Harris). We shouldn't like these jerks—they deserve their punishment much more than they deserve their well-made ending—but the boy-man qualities of Cooper, Galiafanakis and Helms bring us to pity them if not (heaven forfend) empathize. Galiafanakis is a particular revelation; though he has been a standout stand-up for years, he enjoys a breakout role here, making Alan a unique and bizarrely credible comic creation. Helms, too, shows his comedy chops, particularly when he sits at a piano and croons an in-the-moment musical improv of Stu's. Despite the inconvenient appearance of a jungle cat, The Hangover is no Bringing Up Baby (the women are too dreadful or dumb, for starters). Still, it's an enjoyable screwball comedy coming at the end of a largely barren decade for screen laughs.
Only the greatest of videohounds will be able to fault The Hangover on hi-def Blu-ray. Any minor issues in the video transfer are easily forgotten given the generally sharp and colorful impression made by the film, accurately rendered on disc. Black level, flesh tones and contrast are very nice, with generous detail and texture contributing to the film's mostly natural appearance. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is adequate if not terribly exciting; given the film's action elements and Vegas settings, one expects more oomph and immersive surround effects. Warner presents the film in its Theatrical Version (100m) and a new Unrated Version (108m).
The Blu-ray exclusive Picture-in-Picture Commentary featuring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and Todd Phillips is a certified hoot, with lots of reminiscences about the cast and production along with the occasional surgical wisecrack.
An interactive Map of Destruction (HD) branches out to ten brief featurettes with production designer Bill Brzeski, Helms, Galifianakis, Cooper, Phillips, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, Rob Riggle, casino dealer Keith Lyle, propert master Russell Bobbitt, and producer Dan Goldberg.
"The Madness of Ken Jeong" (7:56, HD) is a reel of Jeong's outtakes.
"Action Mash-Up" (:35, HD) is a pointless montage of action clips from the film.
The extended "Three Best Friends Song" (1:23, HD) is an alternate cut of a scene from the film.
"The Dan Band!" (1:08, HD) provides the complete performances from the film's final scene.
Also on hand: an amusing "Gag Reel" (8:16, HD) and More Pictures from the Missing Camera (HD), a big selling point for fans of the film.
BD-Live offers two more clips—"Cursing Mash-Up" and "Iron Mike Online Teaser," and a second disc houses a Digital Copy.
Review gear: |
Panasonic Viera TC-P55VT30 55" Plasma 1080p 3D HDTV
Oppo BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
Denon AVR2112CI Integrated Network A/V Surround Receiver
Pioneer SP-BS41-LR Bookshelf Speaker (2)
Pioneer SP-C21 Center Speaker
Pioneer SW-8 Subwoofer


text:
July 22, 2010
There are fans, and then there is Holick Lee.
How else to explain a man that would spend big money to buy a ticket to an NBA preseason game and then drive hundreds of miles to get to the game site a few days in advance without a place to stay?
But Holick, as you see, is not your ordinary fan. For the past decade, he has been the driving force behind ChinaPacers.com, the only site in that nation devoted exclusively to the Pacers.
July 20 marked the 10th anniversary of Holick's site, a labor of love for which he is to be congratulated. To mark the occasion, I asked Holick some questions about the overall impact of that trip on the Pacers' fan base in China and Taiwan.
Q. How has the Pacers' trip to China affected their popularity in your country?
A. The Pacers' trip to China allows the fans here to know more what Pacers basketball is all about. Basketball fans here love Kobe, LeBron and Yao Ming. But when talking about the Pacers, many fans here would just recall Reggie Miller and the Auburn Hill Brawl.
But after the China games, they know the Pacers might not be a very athletic and talented team, but they play hard to win. Especially for the first game, that was the first NBA game in Taipei for decades, and the crowd really went wild for the Pacers' shooting display.
Q. So many of the Pacers fans in China were drawn to the team by Reggie Miller's playoff heroics. Have they stuck by the team since Reggie's retirement?
A. Ninety-five percent of the fans here have been following the Pacers since Reggie Miller era. Being a fan of championship contender is easy, but being a lonely fan of a struggling team for a long time is another story. I guess those whom once claimed to be a fan of Michael Jordan here now might not know who Derrick Rose is and some of them might not even follow NBA any more.
But the Pacers fans here still stick to the team because they cherish his never-give-up spirit and loyalty to the Pacers. ChinaPacers.com being the legend in China, demonstrated the same value of the franchise.
Q. You were such a popular figure on our trip, getting to ride on the team bus and meeting most of the team. What was that experience like for you?
A. Before the Pacers China Game, I told myself "I want to become a friend of the Pacers, rather than just a fan." After all, players are just human, and they are no different than us.
Riding on the team bus, sitting on the courtside at the practice, greeting the players at the gala dinner, it was an experience that I will remember for life. But the most interesting part was to chatting with Pacers staff, Slick, Bruno, Mark Boyle, David Benner, Chris Denari, and even coach Burke. We should have done a Pacers Crate there!
Q. Please explain why you started ChinaPacers.com and anything else you'd like to say about your attachment to the team.
A. Back in 2000, sports media was not as informative as it was today. Especially in China, when you didn't have enough fan base (fans here were following Lakers), the Chinese media would not cover Pacers in Chinese.
Me and Howard, the co-founder, thought that we can make a difference for the lonely Pacers fans here in our spare time. We wrote the first Pacers daily news in Chinese on July 20, 2000, when Isiah Thomas was named as the head coach of the Pacers. Since then, we have been non-stop.
Every day after work, we will glance through the news all over the Internet and then compose the relevant story in Chinese. It will take us around 1-2 hours per day. For the past 10 years, we have written 2,200 daily reports, and achieved over 1.1 million visits in total.
Today, as NBA news is spreading much faster than before, fans here might not have to wait for our in-depth Pacers news at midnight. So we launched our micro-blog edition of ChinaPacers.com (something like Twitter in the U.S.). We will post Pacers news any time and all fans are just as updated as being in Indy.
ChinaPacers.com will continue to be the home of Pacers fans in China. We hope when the Pacers get back on the right track, we will have more friends to jump on our bandwagon!
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