Behind The Yoke

Dedicated to Aviation and Adventures of Getting a Private Pilots Certificate and Ratings Beyond



Archive for the ‘General Aviation’


Night Before Christmas

I felt it was necessary to post something X-mas related so here you go:

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp,
Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ.
The aircraft were fastened to tiedowns with care,
In hopes that come morning, they all would be there.

The fuel trucks were nestled, all snug in their spots,
With gusts from two-forty at 39 knots.
I slumped at the fuel desk, now finally caught up,
And settled down comfortably, resting my butt.

When the radio lit up with noise and with chatter,
I turned up the scanner to see what was the matter.
A voice clearly heard over static and snow,
Called for clearance to land at the airport below.

He barked his transmission so lively and quick,
I’d have sworn that the call sign he used was “St. Nick”;
I ran to the panel to turn up the lights,
The better to welcome this magical flight.

He called his position, no room for denial,
“St. Nicholas One, turnin’ left onto final.”
And what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a Rutan-built sleigh, with eight Rotax Reindeer!

With vectors to final, down the glideslope he came,
As he passed all fixes, he called them by name:
“Now Ringo! Now Tolga! Now Trini and Bacun!
On Comet! On Cupid!” What pills was he takin’?

While controllers were sittin’, and scratchin’ their head,
They phoned to my office, and I heard it with dread,
The message they left was both urgent and dour:
“When Santa pulls in, have him please call the tower.”

He landed like silk, with the sled runners sparking,
Then I heard “Left at Charlie,”and “Taxi to parking.”
He slowed to a taxi, turned off of three-oh
And stopped on the ramp with a “Ho, ho-ho- ho…”

He stepped out of the sleigh, but before he could talk,
I ran out to meet him with my best set of chocks.
His red helmet and goggles were covered with frost
And his beard was all blackened from Reindeer exhaust.

His breath smelled like peppermint, gone slightly stale,
And he puffed on a pipe, but he didn’t inhale.
His cheeks were all rosy and jiggled like jelly,
His boots were as black as a crop duster’s belly.

He was chubby and plump, in his suit of bright red,
And he asked me to “fill it, with hundred low- lead.”
He came dashing in from the snow-covered pump,
I knew he was anxious for drainin’ the sump.

I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work,
And I filled up the sleigh, but I spilled like a jerk.
He came out of the restroom, and sighed in relief,
Then he picked up a phone for a Flight Service brief.

And I thought as he silently scribed in his log,
These reindeer could land in an eighth-mile fog.
He completed his pre-flight, from the front to the rear,
Then he put on his headset, and I heard him yell, “Clear!”

And laying a finger on his push-to-talk,
He called up the tower for clearance and squawk.
“Take taxiway Charlie, the southbound direction,
Turn right three-two-zero at pilot’s discretion.”

He sped down the runway, the best of the best,
“Your traffic’s a Grumman, inbound from the west.”
Then I heard him proclaim, as he climbed through the night,
“Merry Christmas to all! I have traffic in sight.”

Maine GA ‘use tax’ response letter

Last week I wrote a letter to Maine’s Governor Baldacchi asking to explain the states GA ‘use tax’ and this was the response I got on Friday from the Deputy Commissioner from the Department of Administrative and Financial Services:

“Thank you for your recent correspondence to Governor Baldacci regarding the imposition of Maine’s use tax on aircraft. The Governor’s office has asked that I review your concerns and respond on his behalf.

Much of the contact we have received about this issue followed a story in the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) newsletter and on the AOPA website about AOPA President Phil Boyer’s June 7, 2007 letter to Governor Baldacci. I responded on the Governor’s behalf by letter dated June 21, 2007, addressing the issues that Mr. Boyer had raised.

Since that time, a great deal of incomplete and inaccurate information has been circulated concerning the application of Maine’s use tax to aircraft.

There are indeed certain situations in which a use tax is owed when an aircraft that is based outside of Maine is brought into this state, and I am satisfied that Maine Revenue Services is properly administering the laws that have been enacted by the Maine Legislature.

However, in most situations there will be no use tax consequences when an aircraft is flown into Maine. It depends on the particular facts of the case. The attached document gives a good overview of the relevant principles.

One key thing to remember is that Maine use tax is not even an issue unless an aircraft comes into Maine within the first 12 months after its purchase by a nonresident. And even if the aircraft is present in Maine within the first 12 months for purposes other than repair and maintenance, no Maine use tax is due if sales or use tax of 5% or more was paid in another state. Finally, even if an aircraft is present in Maine within the first 12 months after its purchase by a nonresident, no use tax is due if the aircraft is here for no more than 20 days during the 12 months following its purchase.

If you have further questions, please contact Maine Revenue Services directly. David Bauer, a staff attorney, will be glad to help you. He can be reached at (207) 791-8188, or by e-mail at david.e.bauer@maine.gov.

Thank you for taking the time to share your views on this important topic.

Sincerely,

Domna Giatas, Deputy Commissioner”

I was very happy to recieve a quick response from the office. She also sent me an attachment explaining the law in more detail. Its exactly the same one AVweb published on their website the other day.

Snoopy’s Sopwith Camel

The video below features some background history of a very nicely restored British WWI Sopwith Camel. As the video progresses the Camel is shown flying next to a Spitfire, a famous WWII plane. Pretty cool to see two of the most famous warbirds flying right next to each other. I found it fascinating how the Sopwith rotary engine sounds and how it hard was to control during takeoff and flight. The scarf pilots had on was not for looks it was for wiping their goggles from the twelve pints of oil that flew overboard each hour. Give the video a watch, pay attention to the sound of the engine, and then continue reading the post.

So, I saw the above video sometime in the middle of October. A couple of weeks later during Halloween, I heard another Sopwith Camel. Stay with me, I’m getting somewhere. Its tradition for me to watch every year Charlie Brown and The Great Pumpkin. I really don’t think I’ve missed an episode since I started watching it as a boy. Anyhow, one of my favorite parts in the cartoon is when Snoopy gets on his Sopwith Camel warbird/doghouse and launches an attach against the infamous Red Baron. I noticed something very familiar. The sound of Snoopy’s engine was in fact an audio clip from a real Sopwith Camel engine. This made me giggle. Watch the clip from the Great Pumpkin below and at about 3:15 Snoopy’s engine starts. Call me a nerd but I thought it was awesome that they used a real Sopwith Camel engine sound for the cartoon.

Aviation TV

I have no idea until today that the Aero-News Network launched a beta site called AeroNews TV. Looks pretty cool. I just started going to the site last week and I love the daily briefing. Its nice to hear a voice reporting aviation news once in a while rather than reading everything.

Strange Denver International Airport

I have to admit that I have kind of a fond weakness for conspiracy theories, UFOs, unexplained phenomena and just plain weird stuff. I’m a huge fan of X-files, I want but have yet to buy the ‘I Want to Believe’ poster that Mulder has hanging in his basement FBI office and my green alien coffee mug is on its way for a X-mas gift to myself this year. With that being said, and please pardon my French, there is some weird shit going on at Denver International Airport (KDEN). Without spoiling all the fun, read what Anomalies Unlimited has written about it. Start doing some research and you’ll discover some bizarre factoids. For starters, ever notice that the runway layout is in the shape of a Swastika? Very creepy. Go ahead call me crazy.

Build A Plane

Today I discovered a really great non-profit organization called Build A Plane headquartered in West Point, VA. Build A Plane is “dedicated to promoting aviation and aerospace careers by giving young people the opportunity to build real airplanes.” Really cool. Their website explains in detail how the program works and how to start a project in your own town. The Aero-News Network has a podcast you can listen to to get more background on the organization.

In addition, Build A Plane has opened an Ebay auction to support the organization. All of the donations and products bought on the store support operations to put planes in schools for kids free of cost! Executive Director Katrina Bradshaw talks about it in this podcast sponsored by IFR Magazine. Please take the time and learn more about this. I think its awesome and if there’s anyone out here in Athens, GA that wants to partner up with me to start a project let me know.

Maine GA ‘use tax’ follow up

I just sent an email to Maine’s Governor Baldacchi that says:

“Hi there Governor Baldacci how are you today? A popular aviation news site recently published this article. Could you explain to me how exactly this ‘use tax’ works and how it affects the general aviation community flying into your state? It seems to be upsetting a lot of people out there and I was wondering if you could enlighten us? Thanks a lot!”

I also sent this exact letter to the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Transportation and to the Maine Aeronautics Division. Let’s see who responds first and I’ll obviously post updates. I would also encourage sending the Governor an email as well to express concern.

Maine Gets Colder

Why on earth does the state of Maine charge general aviation pilots a ‘use tax’ for merely flying into the state? This article states that the use tax “is intended to discourage residents of the state from purchasing planes in states with lesser sales tax, then flying them back home to Maine.” So, anyone that stays in ME with their airplane longer than 20 days would have to “make up the difference between Maine’s five-percent tax, and whatever tax they paid in the state where they actually bought the plane.” Give me a break. This use tax supposedly gives ME residents a tax break and puts that money into their pockets. Are they that cheap? This scares me because once one state does it others could follow. Someone here is obviously trying to make a quick buck and I think its fishy as hell. I’m definitely following this one closely. Its funny that no one knows about it until they get a bill in the mail. HERE is where I found about all this. Come to find out that Maine pretty much followed suit from Florida. Yay! Let’s go to Maine and Disneyworld this summer in our new plane. Oh wait…they charge that stupid GA use tax. Forget about it.

Strangers On My Flight

frank22.jpgLittle did most people know that Frank Sinatra was an avid pilot. He wrote many many songs in reference to aviation and his love for flying found on the album Come Fly With Me. The song, “Strangers In The Night” was originally called “Strangers On My Flight”. The song is one of my personal favorites and for some reason, unknown to anybody, the original version was never released to the public until a couple of days ago. I’m so thrilled I found it. Definitely worth a listen.

Crazy Landings

Here is a video that shows a couple of STOL Grasshoppers in a short landing/takeoff competition held in Alaska. I personally like the landing one. I’m wondering what the actually speed of the airplane was just before touchdown. The video makes me giggle in astonishment.

Continuing in Alaska, this one is shot from the cockpit showing a pilot landing on a gravel-bar in the middle of a river. I can do that. Swear. This Super Cub pilot takes a dip in the water just before landing on some river rocks. Definitely the mountain biking of flying.

And last but not least, this pilot demonstrates a landing on the world’s shortest runway. I want to land here for my PPL checkride. I’m sure the FAA examiner won’t mind.