Sea Plane

"The adventure is worthwhile in itself." - Amelia Earhart

Iceman's Christmas gift was a Sea Plane Rating. He spent a day and half learning to fly a sea plane to get an added air craft class rating.  He had such a great time. He said, "Awesome!!! It is flying and boating -- a perfect combination!"  He did take offs and landings while hoping from lake to lake all day long!

It was so good to see him smile!

Fancy Cat

"As every cat owner knows, no one owns a cat." - E. Berkeley

My Beloved has been doing interactive computer course-ware on a new plane. So, I had to capture this moment at his desk because I get these looks from both of them regularly when I am disturbing them.  Fancy Girl is our shy kitty-cat.  You can often find her hanging out on the back of chair but when she wants her ears scratched she finds him and finds the Little Lady.  The rest of us are just to busy for her liking.

An Afternoon of Flying

 

"A whole new world...." Aladdin

 

 

 

Pigs Fly

"When pigs fly!" - Unknown.

Well, of course, in this case, you might just see a little bit of everything!

There is a little BBQ restaurant called "Pik n Pig" that is located at a private airport that pilots and locals go to eat. This weekend, we headed out that way!

It is extremely festive this time of year!

They have flying pigs as decor items.

It makes you chuckle.

If you want to you can eat either inside or outside on the Christmas Light Patio.

But, you will be eating beside "Pigs!" 

...eating beside local pilots

And eating with babies who are snuggled up like  "pigs in a blanket".

All  the while, watching lots of Children waiting for....

Christmas Elves who drop out of the sky!

Reindeer Men who fly planes and who drop off Santas!

The flying community really are just nuts who never keep their feet on the ground long and always want an excuse to drop out of perfectly good airplanes!  

Flying Precious Cargo

"The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious. And why shouldn't it be? - it is the same air the angels breathe." ~Mark Twain

A couple of days ago, Beloved's Sister and her Children came over to spend the night with us before we move.  The night before we were talking about Beloved taking me flying and  I said to him, "You should take your Sister up tomorrow."  Every one's eyes just got big.  I then said, "Is the weather going to be good?"  He said, "The weather is supposed to be very nice." After getting the assurance that they would be interested, he got up the next morning to make arrangement to rent the plane.

So, for a few hours, Iceman spent time taking up some very precious cargo!

He took the 3 Little boys up first!

This is our nephew and he has never flown before ever!

He was so excited!

He really liked it.

It was the Little Man's first time flying with his Daddy as the Pilot.  

He enjoyed it too.

Then it was the girls turn to go.

The Littlest one had never flown before ever.

The tallest one doesn't remember flying but did when she was around 2. 

And, the Little Lady had never flown with her Dad as the Pilot.  

I just adore the hands and hands picture.

Such a girly thing to do!

The expresssions....

It was also the first time Beloved was able to fly his sister!

(Iceman, his Sister and her oldest girls)  

This is how the story goes.... 

As they were coming in for a landing, Iceman asked her, "Are you going to get out and kiss the ground?"  His sister told her LITTLE brother that she wouldn't mind putting her feet on the ground. When she said that to him, my Beloved called to tower and said, "Touch and Go" and off he went -- taking her back up again. She came back laughing!

It was a really special treat and a fun day!

Flying with Beloved

The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious. And why shouldn't it be? - it is the same the angels breathe. ~Mark Twain

Yesterday, I flew with the Iceman for the first time! And, I was my Beloved's  first civilian fixed-wing passenger! He has had plenty of military passengers, of course!

 He took me up in a Cessna 172.

The airplane Cessna that he has been flying lately was in its 100 hours mechanical check-up. So, he called another airport to see if their Cessna was available.  For airplane/airport insurance the instructor of the airport has to give you a 1 hour flight ride before they just let you go take their planes out for a cruise when it is your first time renting from them.

The Iceman doing his pre-flight.  (aka: Checking out the plane. )

Beloved didn't know what an airport insurance flight meant for him but he encouraged me to come along. So, I did.  He got me settled into the back seat while he and the instructor did a few things outside.  So, I took a picture of the cockpit and his bag!

This is his mysterious flight bag! It is more mysterious than his military flight duffel bags!

It is what I would say is equivalent to a woman's purse. I have no idea what is all in it!

The only items that I know about is a log book, his airplane license, his I-pad maps, and 2 head sets!

I don't mind flying in heavy airplanes  but I don't like the feeling of  take-off and landings in big jets. They make my feel like my tummy is going down to my feet! So, I was wondering what I would think of being in a small peddle jumper (Single Engine airplane with only 4 small seats) being tossed around in the wind. And, I was wondering what the little girl in my tummy was going to think about it too!

When we got up in the air, I took a picture of the tiny little airstrip we took off from thinking that I won't see it much. But, then I found out that Beloved was going to do a touch and go landing for the instructor. That meant I had just gotten off the ground, just to go back and land and then take off again!  (We ended up doing 6 landings in an hour and 20 minutes.)

Once we got up in the air again, Beloved had to do several maneuvers for the insrance instructor.

He had to do a simulated engine failure and 2 power stalls. This is just protocal to let them know you can recover from an emergency.

Beloved says I was a good passenger  through it all! We only fell from the sky about 500 feet. The Iceman says, “I wouldn’t use the word ‘fell’ from the sky. I would use the word descended!”  He can call it what he wants to! ;)

 I am glad my Lord has given these pilot hand's blessings in his finger tips! 

                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Once he finished his check-out ride. We landed and the instructor got out. Beloved wasn't sure if I would get back in but I did! ;) 

This time Iceman took me up for a easy take off, a less dramatic flight, and a calmer landing! 

                                                                

















If you know what his military job is you would know that this was just normal boring flying for him!  For me? It was a crazy day!! So, I keep teasing him that he doesn't have the concept of easing his wife into flying!

What did I think of it all? Any words in a thesaurus under the words “Overwhelmed" and "Over Stimulated" would describe it perfectly!

Next time, I hope not to be so overloaded! I hope eventually I will be able to concentrate on how handsome my Pilot looks at the controls! I guess I should be just happy that I had my wits about me enough to take a picture of him while he was flying. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the moment frozen for me to admire!

Go to work with Daddy day

National take a Child to Work day is April 28, 2012 - NTCWD

Well, we are several months early on doing the above National Holiday! :)

We had our little field trip today!  And, since I am not allowed to take pictures of our field trip I am actually going to open up more than I normally do and write about it. So, you will get a little more than just a quick snap shot, today. 

Well, It was one of those “GO TO WORK” with Daddy mornings where Beloved schedule a little time where we could slip into his “aircraft” simulator while it wasn’t being used. Anyway, It was really fun.  It was also a little over stimulating to be in a  super-duper simulator that has full motion with 4 Kiddos who wanted to take the simulator flying behind planes, under bridges, over mountains, landing on dams, landing on boats, and landing in dust clouds! Never so fast can you go from the East Coast to the West Coast and then over to the other side of the world with just a few clicks of a button.  

Everyone wanted to have a turn at the controls.  And, so with Beloved being in the left seat we were able to keep the simulating aircraft from crashing a red alert! (Please, notice I didn't say we didn't freeze it to a crash point!)  Sometime during the flight, the Little Gentleman found the daytime/night time button and he kept putting it on and off. That could really wig your eyes out! They also found the head sets that must make you think you have to talk extremely loudly!  And, then one of our old time pilot friends gave the Little Miss a stick in the back and she spent a good bit of time using the simulator machine gun bullets up which made the simulator vibrate even more.

 Oh, the excitement.  The excitement  was just building and to see if I could just tip it over the edge a little, it was about an hour into it that with all the motion and happiness that I asked if anyone had ever gotten sick in the simulator.  (I am naughty like that though! giggle) One of the pilot looked at me! I smiled. I am pregnant after all.

A little while into the flight one of the Kiddos had to take a bathroom break, so an old time retired pilot friend who is one of the simulator operators, got in the seat and took us to the Hoover Dam -- simulator style. He landed on the Dam. He did a few little helicopter turn arounds and said to the Little Man, “Your Daddy trained me how to do this!”  I couldn’t help but smile. I forget who he has trained over the years! And, then it dawned on me, this pilot that Beloved trained is retired! 

When Beloved got back I remarked that the retired pilot's landing was smooth with not even a hint of a contact bump while with Beloved's you could fill a contact with the ground. Beloved just looked at me and then looked at him. (I am picky on pilot landings!)  The Pilot said, "I had it off motion, sir!"  I thought I almost ruffled Beloved's feathers. (giggle --see just naughty!)

The simulator retired pilots were great! They are all old friends that we have met from over the years who have flown in action with Beloved.  All the ones up there today, all knew Beloved and I before we even had Children.  Some of them had never met the Kiddos! Which really is a shame since they are just around the corner but that is the nature of this job – in and out and all around. It is easy to keep up with family news but not so easy to run into everyone even though it is a tight knit community. 

Our time finally ended.  Even with all the toddler and elementary action, the “A TYPE Pilots” didn’t get ruffled up!  But, I teased anyway and said, “I am sure it is going to take several hours for you guys to detox from our clan!”   One of the guys laughed and said, “It sure is hard to remember what this age is like because my teenagers are all sloths!”  Yes! It is easy to forget, I guess.  But , Oh, how I hope that I won't ever miss the wide-eye excitement of watching them seeing new things and doing fun things with such expression.  I hope they will forever be excited about new things.  This age is fun and challenging. I love how they just let joy flow so abundantly at this age!

Pilot Humor

Santa is really talented - unknown

(Beloved's humor!)

Everyone knows that Santa is rated in a sleigh.

He is also rated in a balloon!

But, did you know...

Santa has an ASEL (Airplane Single Engine Land) rating with tail dragger sign off?

He is also dual rated in rotor craft helicopter.

He just got his AMEL (Airplane Multi Engine Land) rating recently too.

On to the C 12 V

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."  ~ This quote is attributed to many people such as Smithsonian, The Post, and Leonardo Di Vinci

Iceman's C-12 study poster changed last night after he finished his check ride. I get to call out procedures for a new C-12 model now! This post look complicated to me but Iceman assures me from his Avionics Human Factor's Master's Degree perspective that this is so much better!

That last poster was for a C-12 that he was flying over the last two weeks. Yes, the cock pit was one of the oldest versions of the C-12.  The rumor is that the fleet was going to be turned into airplane pedestals before they rescued them from being gutted. How does that make you feel when it comes to students learning to fly planes?

Iceman in the Zlin Aerobatic Plane

The two seater Z 242L is a training and fully acrobatic aircraft intended for basic and advanced training in civil or military air schools, for glider and banner towing, for night and IFR flight training and above all for acrobatic flying and acrobatic training. ~ Zlin Aircraft website

Iceman flew the Zlin today. It is an aerobatic plane! Now typically the military doesn't own any Zlins. However, they have contractors that teach the students how to do an upset-recovery training. This means if the plane was to get in an unusual attitude (I just call this something similar to the plane being upside down or vertical with the nose down) They would know how to return the plane to a normal flight.

Here is Iceman passing by us with the canopy open. This was so the Children were able to see him and his instructor waving at us. The Little Ones were very happy to see him. -- Okay! That statement would  probably be one that is  underestimating the energy level.  They were uncontrollable --- yes, that type of excited!

Here they are before they are taking off to do their spins, rolls, lazy 8s, crazy 8s, and other maneuvers. The guys had just tipped their left wing to us to say "Goodbye".

Iceman in a Baron B-58

The Baron is a light, twin engine piston aircraft. - Beachbaron definition

Iceman has switched over from a single engine aircraft to flying the Baron B-58. He flew it this past week. While hanging out in the back of the plane, he took this picture of the instructor and his classmate practicing engine failure emergencies.  In other words, it was his classmate's turn to stop the left Engine of the plane while flying at 6000 feet and then do what they call a recovery.  Apparently, Beloved thought it was cool that you could see the propeller just stopped outside the window.  (The propeller is the long, dark line in the left window beside the front left seat just sticking up.) 

When he got out of the Baron the first day he text the words, "AMAZING!"

When he got home, I asked him if he was nervous when doing his recovery.

I wasn't surprised when Iceman said, "No. You are too busy flying the aircraft to be nervous."

It is fun to see Beloved enjoying something new and getting a little break from his normal duties. He is like a kid in a candy store right now. He is preparing himself to fly the Zlin (an aerobatic sports plane) next week.   I am hoping we can be blessed again to be there at the right time to see him fly it.

Iceman in a Cessna 182

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."  - unknown but typically attributed to Leonardo da Vinci

Iceman didn't know what his flying schedule was going to be so the Little Ones and I took the off -chance of going to the airport to see if we could see any of the Cessna's flying. We were there only within a 20 minute period of time. We watched this Cessna take off and fly a little before it went out of sight.  It just so happens that it was Beloved airplane tale number! Yippee!!!  We were so tickled that God blessed us in watching him take his VERY FIRST take off in a Cessna 182. If we had just been a few minutes later, we would have missed him totally! God is so good.

 And, he is loving it!

A Civilized Pilot

Here's to the pilot that weathers the storms. ~ George Canning

Beloved said, "No one could slap the smile off my face all day!"

And, in order to get this 6'5" tall man into that Aerobatic plane,

He said,  "They might have to fold me up but I am getting in it!"

Iceman came home from his 1st day of Military Fixed Wing School with this type of headset! (Of his 24 years in the military, 22 has been flying helicopters.)

He almost looked civilized! I say almost because he still had his green suit on.

It was strickingly different from what he normally wears when he is flying! 

Wouldn't you say so? (giggle)

Don't they look sexy? I mean TOUGH and SCARY?

Our "unit" guys are once again GI Joe action figures. You can now buy Pilots off the T*y R Us shelf.

Airport Play Station

The world is as many times new as there are children in our lives. ~Robert Brault

We had several hours to wait until our plane took off.

So, we found the "play" station in the airport.

This place station had an appropriate theme. Don't you think?

It is a really great place for a Child to hang out if he want to play in a cock-pit.

And, it is the perfect place, where the little brother can get away with telling big brother what to do since he is in the control tower.

A great way to get some energy out!