You can call me Captain

The Alaskan VOR

While you, pilot, are flying merrily on your way but secretly earnestly searching for the airport that you 'know' is somewhere up ahead, keep a skewed eye on your pax. When you see them all looking at, say your 11 o'clock, then 9 o'clock, then to 7 0'clock that is when you make your turn to final. Let them believe you knew all along and you flew past their village in order to set up for final approach, you think. Meanwhile, they know you didn't know but they'll let you go on believing you know. The biggest toothless grin aimed at you means you did great, sonny.

You do fly merrily, doncha?

David "I didn't sign up for this" White, you must be stoked.
 
Congratulations! I didn't realize you were so young. For some reason, I thought you were like 60 or something!
 
Perfect hire underage pilots make it harder for your pilots to smuggle booze into the dry towns.
 
Congrats on the job Dave!
 
ClimbnSink said:
Perfect hire underage pilots make it harder for your pilots to smuggle booze into the dry towns.
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Dude, where are you from? I quit drinking when I could legally buy it. As BB King would say "The thrill was gone".

Smuggling booze into the native community isn't something you want to get caught doing even though a $10 bottle of whisky will give a 2000% ROI. I'd rather smuggle peruvian coke into the CONUS. Much lower risk job.
 
DavidWhite said:
In most states (not sure about AK though) you only need to be 18 to serve alcohol.
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Okay. I'll give you that. Just remember, no samples! And most definitely, no matter how irrisistable it might seem, no " Watch this! Hold YOUR beer!"
 
cirrusmx said:
Congrats on your flying gig!!
I am curious, what does a 135 checkride to fly a 172 consists of?
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It's a commercial checkride in a 172 along with an instrument approach to prove "competency" (as required by our GOM) along with short/soft field landings, and stalls all the way to the break.

I decided to fly to ATP standards because that's what our chief pilot said he would prefer.
 
Well actually in his words exactly "If you only fly to commercial standards I won't fail you but thats pretty ****ing sloppy if you ask me."
 
bartmc said:
Dude, where are you from? I quit drinking when I could legally buy it. As BB King would say "The thrill was gone".

Smuggling booze into the native community isn't something you want to get caught doing even though a $10 bottle of whisky will give a 2000% ROI. I'd rather smuggle peruvian coke into the CONUS. Much lower risk job.
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It's a joke.
 
One of these days David will have to, as Paul Harvey said it, "tell you the rest of the story...".

The only time he will be wearing his penguin suit (dork bars optional) will be while non-revving back and forth to the outside. In the meantime it's arctic extreme Carhartts! Actually, the wx has been pretty gentle on him so far... Lets see what happens during the next 72 hrs, as we are expecting some really crappy wx to come through.
It'll be interested to see how he handles the SVFR procedures we use when the wx goes to hell. PABE (Bethel) does more SVFR ops than any airport in North America! There are times when each portal will have 5-8 ac in the SVFR hold at once, waiting to come in, while other ac are exiting the airspace via the SVFR DP routes. Got to admit, it does get exciting sometimes, and not necessarily in a good way. Especially when some of the ac are not CAPSTONE/ ADS-B equipped!

He and I had a long chat this evening about setting wx limitations until he becomes more experienced and comfortable with this environment. I think he has some very good ideas, but until he actually has to go out in the crap, only then will he know if those limitations are feasible. But at least he has had the opportunity to get a general "lay of the land" before the wx gets nasty.

BTW, David..... when are you going to divulge your new nick name/ handle to everyone? (and it certainly isn't CAPTAIN....) lol
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
I would assume that a 172 flying 135 is VFR?
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Probably for varying values of "VFR" considering it's Alaska... :(

From everything I've read, I'm guessing there will be some unlogged IFR time, and some unforecast icing, and that only he and the airplane will ever know it happened or didn't happen.

T'is Alaska, after all.

Be safe Dave. But probably more important, be smart.

Again only from reading, but no need to push weather up there. It finds ways to push you, all on it's own.
 
spiderweb said:
Congratulations! I didn't realize you were so young. For some reason, I thought you were like 60 or something!
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Well if you would ever make it up to this tiny airshow in a little Wisconsin town, Ben, you would see that David's a very pleasant young man who needs to get home before curfew. :)
 
DavidWhite said:
It's a commercial checkride in a 172 along with an instrument approach to prove "competency" (as required by our GOM) along with short/soft field landings, and stalls all the way to the break.

I decided to fly to ATP standards because that's what our chief pilot said he would prefer.
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And since you'll be an ATP soon anyway might as well. Hope you're taking the written soon! And of course congrats. I envy the fact that you know exactly what you want to do, and you found a way to do it. Enjoy the new adventure Mr. White.
 
denverpilot said:
Probably for varying values of "VFR" considering it's Alaska... :(

From everything I've read, I'm guessing there will be some unlogged IFR time, and some unforecast icing, and that only he and the airplane will ever know it happened or didn't happen.
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Word I've heard from an Alaska pilot is that a coat of Lemon Pledge on the leading edges will buy you an extra 20 minutes. :hairraise:

Be safe Dave. But probably more important, be smart.
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This. I was well into my 30's before I finally discovered I wasn't immortal. Sure glad I didn't find out the hard way. The old saying about carelessness, incapacity, or neglect applies doubly so in the remote, harsh environment of Alaska.

Dave, really hope you can post some stories and lessons learned (and pictures!) here or on Facebook. You're gonna have a blast and learn a ton.
 
denverpilot said:
Probably for varying values of "VFR" considering it's Alaska... :(

From everything I've read, I'm guessing there will be some unlogged IFR time, and some unforecast icing, and that only he and the airplane will ever know it happened or didn't happen.

T'is Alaska, after all.

Be safe Dave. But probably more important, be smart.

Again only from reading, but no need to push weather up there. It finds ways to push you, all on it's own.
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Yup, I've flown some VFR legs in the states, and the quickest way to hang yourself is to go VFR sometimes. Not legal to launch IFR, go VFR and hope for the best. Can get in a ****ty situation quick.
 
silver-eagle said:
Poor Paul looks despondent because someone's singing his only hit song!
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You're kidding, right?

And Dave, congratulations on the flying gig. I know you'll shine at it... but be careful, anyway. :)

-Rich
 
Well, today CAPTAIN White had his first experience flying in AK WITHOUT an adult on board! I'll let him tell about it, but you might imagine the ribbing he took before and after that flight!
So far, the wx has still been gentle to the CAPTAIN, but he'll get his fill of it soon enough, I'm sure!
 
colomtnflyer said:
Well, today CAPTAIN White had his first experience flying in AK WITHOUT an adult on board! I'll let him tell about it, but you might imagine the ribbing he took before and after that flight!
So far, the wx has still been gentle to the CAPTAIN, but he'll get his fill of it soon enough, I'm sure!
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There's not a whole lot to tell. I went to Akiachak to pick up a family and take them to Kasigluk (sp?) and then I headed back to Bethel. I decided on the way back in to practice the SVFR procedures so I intercepted the 120 radial inbound and headed in. Made a nice greaser of a landing on runway 12 (1800') and taxied back in.
 
DavidWhite said:
There's not a whole lot to tell. I went to Akiachak to pick up a family and take them to Kasigluk (sp?) and then I headed back to Bethel. I decided on the way back in to practice the SVFR procedures so I intercepted the 120 radial inbound and headed in. Made a nice greaser of a landing on runway 12 (1800') and taxied back in.
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Living the dream, man! :lol: Congrats on the new gig.

RJM62 said:
You're kidding, right?

And Dave, congratulations on the flying gig. I know you'll shine at it... but be careful, anyway. :)

-Rich
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I hope he is... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Simon#Awards_and_honors
 
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