Recent content by Shawn

I use "we" all the time...typically right as I rotate it is "weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"...

If only the AIM had recommendations on how to make an initial call up... Contact Procedures Initial Contact. The terms initial contact or initial callup means the first radio call you make to a given facility or the first call to a different controller or FSS specialist within a facility...

Close their hangar and put on a combo lock with a note that says "when you agree to stop blocking my hangar, I will agree to give you this code..."

Agreed this is the "safer" route and what I now do headed out to that area from NorCal unless it is a dead calm day. I have gotten into some SERIOUS up and down drafts as well as turbulence on the proposed route when the winds are moving. It is easy peasy to stay East of BUR and North of the...

There is the ol' drop the pen...ask passenger to grab it...and while he leans down drop into a steep dive while screaming "OH SH!#!!!!!"...but yeah, I might do that with an unsuspecting passenger but not a CFI...ANY in flight prank will depend on the relationship and demeanor of CFI as that...

When I use Bill Pay and bank sends an e-check the bank pulls the money from my account and send the check...it is the bank's account info not mine on the check so if there is fraud it is not taken from my account. In this day and age I can't believe checks are still a thing...I have a vendor I...

Other than where you keep the plane may require insurance as part of their lease agreement there are zero requirements to carry any insurance on personally owned GA part 91 private aircraft. Check your exclusions of the personal liability coverage with aviation...every carrier has different...

Took a stepped approach at purcahse...I did a "pre buy" with the mechanic then told him if it passes with no obvious red flags to then proceeded with a full Annual...pre buy was good but during annual found about $2500 worth of squawks which seller covered. No surprises after that.

Fun story...quite a few years ago a disgruntled but knowledgeable comms worker cut a major fiber trunk in the Bay Area in an act of sabotage...it took down everything across almost every carrier and ISP...land lines, cell, data, internet, ATMs...everything electronic and communications ground to...

While I throughly enjoy the mastery of the jargon and unpacking what they are saying and why over coms with ATC while flying...NEVER be afraid to use plain 'ol English on radio to say what you need or if you don't explicitly understand. While ATC may often rattle off like an auctioneer to a...

For FF your are either gonna be talking to TRACON (which is App/Dep surrounding C and B airspace up to around 10,000 -ish) or Center (which is all the rest of the airspace in between and above D/C/B and TRACON airspace) One of the challenges is that none of the actual frequencies for any given...

Why don't we make every car license plate owners info publicly available and trackable as to their every movement by everyone on the internet? Zero reason ownership and location data of privately owned planes should be publicly available...you could make an argument for the carriers but not...

Yeah..."field in sight" is the universal but polite "hey dumbazz...did you forget about me?" call when you need a handoff...use it quite frequently "in sight" or not...

Bulllllll Sheeeeeet! My CFI had another student concurrent with me...mid pattern she apparently go so flustered she threw her hands up and screamed "I CAN'T DO THIS!" after apparently being coerced into getting the PPL cuz husband lost his medical but still wanted to fly...CFI said it was the...

Got to see the other side of it a bit...recently purchased a vacant lot to do a build and after one deal that we pulled out of at the 11th hour and scrambling for deal #2 my relator busted her arse for a not very heft commission...as did the selling agent...made the comment "thanks for all the...