Recent content by Whirlwind

Wouldn't that be nice? :) It really doesn't work that way, you have to spend money in Washington to get anything done. True, it sometimes happens that popular opinion makes a difference, but it won't on a subject like this, WAY too far below the RADAR screen of the American Public. Ed got...

Congratulations Mike!

That was in a helicopter, and after doing pattern after pattern, then autorotations, hovering autos, etc. you get worn out. You can't ever take your hands off the controls, since the aircraft is unstable, so having a break for a minute makes sense. In real life flying, you would not be doing...

They both have their value, but I'd vote for the handle transceiver for two reasons... The first was when I had a complete electrical failure at night over the middle of Oklahoma. While it is true that I had a handheld GPS and it did help, I could have technically navigated using my charts...

Two reasons why a discount on the hourly rate isn't likely... First, most airlines in flight school fleets are leasebacks, which means that the flight school isn't the person you need to be haggling with. Talk to the owner of an airplane, especially one that doesn't get flown as much, and ask...

A very nice lady tried this on my Mom a few years ago... Kirby's are indeed well built, but expensive even for that. Well of course a brand new heavy duty vaccum is going to pick up more than a 5 year old vaccum with a 3/4 full bag is going to, duh. :) And yes, the scholarship line is just...

Sigh, I know I'm gonna hear it for this one, but here goes... I was doing touch and go practice with a student pilot last year when Denton Muni (DTO) got their tower going for the first time, and they were just up and running, but with no RADAR in the cab, so it was all position reporting when...

And there, in a nutshell, is the issue... The Su-30K has a US pilot on-board, and that makes all the difference. As has been said before by military pilots, a highly skilled and trained pilot in an older airplane will almost always win against a poorly trained pilot in the newest and greatest...

No kidding... What I'm waiting for is to see one parked next to a 747...

I flew back to Dallas from LA yesterday, and sitting next to me was a very nice young lady who works for a biotech company as a researcher. Smart and bright person, terrified to fly. She started the flight off with a Xanax and one of those small bottles of wine. I spent the first half of the...

I wouldn't know, having never tried it... I should have my 15XL headset back from Lightspeed any day now, sent it because because I stepped on it and broke the mic boom clean off... they still fixed it for free. :) Maybe I should send my first Bose X headset back to them just to see what...

Diana, I left a good paying business to fly helicopters for a living, so your son isn't all crazy just yet. :) I agree he needs to go up for an intro flight first, maybe even the first 5 lessons or so, to really get the feel for it... If he's still in love with it at that point, then he...

There are more restraunts than you can shake a stick at in Dallas... :) Sometimes I get the feeling that eating out has become a sport here, but thankfully Sue has gotten me eating at home more, saves money and is better for you anyhow... We just had two ears of corn and some ground beef for...

I know exactly what you mean... My first turbine experience was in a 2004 King Air 350 with about 30 hours on the HOBBS, and even cooler was that I was co-pilot. :) Got 93 hours in that thing in just 5 months of flying part time, including a few dozen landings and a few actual instrument...

Good to know, thanks... Now if they would only cover helicopters... :)