The True Spirit of GA

AdamZ

AdamZ

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Feb 24, 2005
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Location
Montgomery County PA
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Display name:
Adam Zucker
Here is another great story sent to me by Col. Lowrey. Author unknown.

The Full Circle


One fine, hot summer afternoon a
Cessna 150 was flying the pattern at a quiet
country airfield. The CFI was getting quite
bothered with the student's inability to hold
pattern altitude in the thermals and was getting
impatient, at times having to take over the
controls. Just then he saw a twin Cessna
5,000 feet above him and thought, "Another
1,000 hours of this and I qualify for that twin
charter job! Ahhh...... to be a real pilot...going
somewhere!"



The Cessna 402 was already late and
the boss told him this charter was for one of
the company's premier clients. He'd already set
MCT and the cylinders didn't like it in the heat
of this summer day. He was at 6,000 feet and
the winds were now a 20-knot headwind.
Today was the 6th day straight flying and he
was pretty damned tired. Maybe if he got to
10,000 feet, the wind might die off....geeezzzz,
those cylinder temps! He looked out the
window momentarily and saw a 737 leaving a
contrail at 33,000 feet in the serene blue sky.
"Oh man," he thought, "My interview is next
month. I hope I don't blow it! Outta G/A, nice
jet job, above the weather..no snotty
passengers to wait for....ahhhhhhhhhhh".


The Boeing 737 bucked and weaved in
the CAT at FL330 and ATC advised the
captain that lower levels were not available due
to traffic. The Captain, who was only recently
advised that his destination was below RVR
minimums, had slowed to LRC to try and hold
off a possible inflight diversion, and arrange an
ETA that would hopefully ensure the fog had
lifted to CAT II minima. The Company
negotiations broke down yesterday and it
looked as if everyone was going to take a
damn pay cut. The F/O's will be particularly
hard hit as their pay wasn't anything to speak
of anyway. Finally deciding on a speed
compromise between LRC and turbulence
penetration, the Captain looked up and saw the
Concorde at Mach 2. Tapping his F/O's
shoulder as the 737 took another bashing, he
said, "Now THAT's what we should be
on..huge pay packet........super fast..not too
many routes....not too many sectors...above
the CAT. Yep! What a life!"


FL590 was not what he wanted anyway
and considered FL570. Already the TAT was
creeping up again and either they would have
to descend or slow down. That damn rear fuel
transfer pump was becoming unreliable and
the F/E had said moments ago that the
radiation meter was not reading numbers that
he'd like to see. The Concorde descended to
FL570 but the radiation was still quite high
even though the NOTAM indicated hunkydorey
below FL610. Fuel flow was up and the
transfer pump was intermittent. Evening
turned into night as they passed over the
Atlantic. Looking up, the F/O could see a tiny
white dot moving against the backdrop of a
myriad of stars. "Hey Captain", he called as he
pointed. "Must be the Shuttle". The Captain
looked for a moment and agreed. Quietly, he
thought how a Shuttle mission, whilst
complicated, must be the "be all and end all" in
aviation. Above the crap, no radiation
problems, no damn fuel transfer
problems...ahhhhhhhh. Must be a great way to
earn a quid.


Discovery was into its 27th orbit and
perigee was 200 feet out from nominated
rendezvous altitude with the COMSAT. The
robot arm was virtually OTS and a walk may
become necessary. The 200 feet predicted
error would necessitate a corrective burn and
Discovery needed that fuel if a walk was to be
required. Houston continually asked what the
Commander wanted to do, but the advise they
proffered wasn't much help. The Commander
had already been 12 hours on station sorting
out the problem and just wanted ten damn
minutes to himself to take a leak. Just then, a
mission specialist, who had tilted the telescope
down to the surface for a minute or two, called
the Commander to the scope. "Have a look at
this, sir, isn't this the kind of flying you said you
wanted to do after you finish up with NASA?"
The Commander peered through the telescope
and cried "Ohhhhhhhhh yeah! Now THAT'S
flying! Man, that's what it's all about. Geeezz,
I'd give my left nut just to be doing THAT down
there!"


What the Discovery Commander was
looking at was the Cessna 150 flying the
pattern at a quiet country airfield on a nice
bright sunny afternoon.
 
I loved it, even though I knew where it was going.
 
lancefisher said:
I loved it, even though I knew where it was going.
Click to expand...

Ditto.

My acro instructor followed nearly the same circle:

learned to fly GA => flew A-4's and F-4's in Navy => flew big iron for Eastern => returned to GA as an instructor, loves his job and life, teaches out of a 2200ft grass strip...
 
AdamZ said:
Here is another great story sent to me by Col. Lowrey. Author unknown.

The Full Circle


One fine, hot summer afternoon a
Cessna 150 was flying the pattern at a quiet
country airfield. The CFI was getting quite
bothered with the student's inability to hold
pattern altitude in the thermals and was getting
impatient, at times having to take over the
controls. Just then he saw a twin Cessna
5,000 feet above him and thought, "Another
1,000 hours of this and I qualify for that twin
charter job! Ahhh...... to be a real pilot...going
somewhere!"



The Cessna 402 was already late and
the boss told him this charter was for one of
the company's premier clients. He'd already set
MCT and the cylinders didn't like it in the heat
of this summer day. He was at 6,000 feet and
the winds were now a 20-knot headwind.
Today was the 6th day straight flying and he
was pretty damned tired. Maybe if he got to
10,000 feet, the wind might die off....geeezzzz,
those cylinder temps! He looked out the
window momentarily and saw a 737 leaving a
contrail at 33,000 feet in the serene blue sky.
"Oh man," he thought, "My interview is next
month. I hope I don't blow it! Outta G/A, nice
jet job, above the weather..no snotty
passengers to wait for....ahhhhhhhhhhh".


The Boeing 737 bucked and weaved in
the CAT at FL330 and ATC advised the
captain that lower levels were not available due
to traffic. The Captain, who was only recently
advised that his destination was below RVR
minimums, had slowed to LRC to try and hold
off a possible inflight diversion, and arrange an
ETA that would hopefully ensure the fog had
lifted to CAT II minima. The Company
negotiations broke down yesterday and it
looked as if everyone was going to take a
damn pay cut. The F/O's will be particularly
hard hit as their pay wasn't anything to speak
of anyway. Finally deciding on a speed
compromise between LRC and turbulence
penetration, the Captain looked up and saw the
Concorde at Mach 2. Tapping his F/O's
shoulder as the 737 took another bashing, he
said, "Now THAT's what we should be
on..huge pay packet........super fast..not too
many routes....not too many sectors...above
the CAT. Yep! What a life!"


FL590 was not what he wanted anyway
and considered FL570. Already the TAT was
creeping up again and either they would have
to descend or slow down. That damn rear fuel
transfer pump was becoming unreliable and
the F/E had said moments ago that the
radiation meter was not reading numbers that
he'd like to see. The Concorde descended to
FL570 but the radiation was still quite high
even though the NOTAM indicated hunkydorey
below FL610. Fuel flow was up and the
transfer pump was intermittent. Evening
turned into night as they passed over the
Atlantic. Looking up, the F/O could see a tiny
white dot moving against the backdrop of a
myriad of stars. "Hey Captain", he called as he
pointed. "Must be the Shuttle". The Captain
looked for a moment and agreed. Quietly, he
thought how a Shuttle mission, whilst
complicated, must be the "be all and end all" in
aviation. Above the crap, no radiation
problems, no damn fuel transfer
problems...ahhhhhhhh. Must be a great way to
earn a quid.


Discovery was into its 27th orbit and
perigee was 200 feet out from nominated
rendezvous altitude with the COMSAT. The
robot arm was virtually OTS and a walk may
become necessary. The 200 feet predicted
error would necessitate a corrective burn and
Discovery needed that fuel if a walk was to be
required. Houston continually asked what the
Commander wanted to do, but the advise they
proffered wasn't much help. The Commander
had already been 12 hours on station sorting
out the problem and just wanted ten damn
minutes to himself to take a leak. Just then, a
mission specialist, who had tilted the telescope
down to the surface for a minute or two, called
the Commander to the scope. "Have a look at
this, sir, isn't this the kind of flying you said you
wanted to do after you finish up with NASA?"
The Commander peered through the telescope
and cried "Ohhhhhhhhh yeah! Now THAT'S
flying! Man, that's what it's all about. Geeezz,
I'd give my left nut just to be doing THAT down
there!"


What the Discovery Commander was
looking at was the Cessna 150 flying the
pattern at a quiet country airfield on a nice
bright sunny afternoon.
Click to expand...

"The sky's always bluer off the other guy's wings..."

Not really.

I got into FAA certified flight instructing long ago because it's a multifaceted blast of many great types of flying for both me and others, in and of itself. Motivated, intelligent flight students from many aspects of life worldwide and I get to fly all over the place, savoring both the bad and great weather for what they each demand and offer, to anywhere that's attractive and we think we can get to and from. All kinds of flights for instruction into strips in the mountains, beaches, cities, towns and countrysides.

And as if that's not enough, then somebody else not only pays for the planes but gives me almost enough money to cover my espresso and gasoline habits !
 
I find it interesting that everyone insists that the top of the pole is always the best place to be but the people who actually get to the top and have it figured out often prefer to be on the ground.

It kind of says something...
 
There is nothing, but absolutely nothing, like the look on a student's face when it all comes together. "GOT IT :)!"
 
bbchien said:
There is nothing, but absolutely nothing, like the look on a student's face when it all comes together. "GOT IT :)!"
Click to expand...

...or when it's all falling apart ! (temporarily, but they don't usually know that)
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
...or when it's all falling apart ! (temporarily, but they don't usually know that)
Click to expand...
It's the ones that don't realize that it's falling apart that get me....
 
It almost always seems like someone else's problems are less difficult and/or more interesting than your own (until they become yours).
 
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