Behind The Yoke

Watch this short clip with Andy Rooney from 60 Minutes on why we shouldn’t travel. I agree with pretty much everything he says but my excitement came from the fact that it gives more credence to the importance of general aviation and the push to avoid commercial airlines.

Let’s face it - airlines must change the way they do business to attract new customers and make the old ones happy again. They’ve lost a lot of brownie points with continuous delays, canceled flights,  pricey and less affordable tickets, angry customers, and disgruntled employees. It’s a very complex issue but changes must happen or people will just get angrier and less likely to travel. A campaign “not to go anywhere” is not the answer, airlines changing their business models is. For more on the subject read the ideas IBM has for the growing problems airlines face.

On my days off of work I always try to make it up to the airport (AHN) for a couple of hours to stare at the runways. Striking up random conversations and waiting for planes to land or taxi out for take off is a great way of forgetting the stresses of the day. It takes my mind off everything except aviation. Some days are are slow some days are busy. The beauty of just sitting on the bench right outside of the terminal is the unpredictability of
what’s coming next. It could be a business jet, a wardbird, a Cessna or a military trainer. You just never know. Once I get a handheld scanner I can listen for the next approaching craft but for now I like the uncertainty.

Yesterday, I was just about to leave the airport when I saw these two aircraft on the horizon. They were two T-34c Mentors (pic above) from the Navy. Whoa…have to see these things taxi up. Two minutes later they appeared right in front of the terminal. And to think I was just about to leave. After they arrived I wanted to stay for three more hours but I was hungry. Okay…I guess I have to eat.

There’s been a lot of talk lately on the boards that there is a growing number of people concerned that GA is slowly dying. AV Gas is getting more expensive, training costs are soaring, the government is proposing more and more user fees, the number of new pilots is going down every year, etc.  And then there’s the cost of parts and maintenance, another whole side of the problem.  Basically, general aviation is getting far too expensive for the regular Joe and there’s no real solution in view.

So what do we do? Well, basic consumer economics tells us that if we manufacture more of a particular product that’s high in demand and make them more commonplace, the costs will eventually come down. Take flat screen TV’s for instance. Right when they came out they were expensive as hell, wait another five years and they’ll be $200 - $500.

I know for a fact that there is a great demand for airplanes. Everyone and their mother would want an airplane if they were as cheap to own and maintain as a car, period. But we all know this isn’t the case at all.

So in comes flying cars and personal flying machines. Mmm…how nice does that ring? We’ve all at one time have had the dream of the Jetson’s becoming a reality. Sitting in gridlock traffic sucking in the fumes listening to bad talk radio wishing that our car could only hover and avoid it all. I’m here to say that this concept is well on its way.

NASA has a program called “The Highway in the Sky” or SATS (Small Aircraft Transportation System) that is designed to let millions of people fly in their own flying vehicles where and whenever they please. “The long-term goal is to improve travel between remote communities and transportation centers in urban areas by utilizing a new generation of aircraft between the nation’s 5,400 under-utilized public-use general aviation airports. One of the most revolutionary aspects of the SATS approach is the use of a software system that will sequence aircraft into the SATS airspace in the absence of an airport controller.”  Of course there are many issues to consider but my point is that the concept is VERY real but far from being implemented. Most people aren’t even competent behind the wheel of a car let alone in an aircraft so safety is obviously the biggest issue.

Anyhow, aside from the numerous dynamics involved with making flying cars a reality, people are building them. For instance, Paul Moller makes the Skycar: The first and only feasible, personally affordable, personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle the world has ever seen.” Woody Norris has his AirScooter. Jay Carter uses CarterCopter technology to get in the sky. And then there’s Terrafugia, Inc. which makes “a roadable Light-Sport Aircraft that will be able to land at the airport, fold up its wings, and drive on the road.” The Cafe Foundation, made up of EAA members, were selected by NASA to host their 2008 PAV challenge. They create PAV (Personal Air Vehicles). Check out their video called “Race To The Future.” A very entertaining  perspective on how aviation may look in the near future.

We have a long way to go with all this flying car stuff but we have to start somewhere and these people above are the pioneers in the new wave of aviation. Will GA aircraft be relics someday? The EAA believes so. NASA believes so.  I tend to believe so. It’s my feeling that one day this “Highway in the Sky” will be filled with personal flying machines replacing the big jets.  This is only the beginning folks. Imagine what the airspace will be like in 25 years? We can only wait.

Here is a good write up of the world’s most dangerous airports to fly in and out of. The criteria is based on length of runways, amount of wind and lack of visibility. Some of these, especially Courchevel Airport in France, I couldn’t imagine landing or taking off. Gots to have nerves of steel.

On a related note, Yahoo! has a video on the worlds worst airports. Here Martin Hickman, a consumer affairs reporter for London’s Independent, explains why these airports are just plain unsafe and precarious. At some of these you may risk being shot down before you even land.

Haven’t posted here in a while due to the enjoyment of relaxing and fatting around during the holidays. I took five days off from retail hell to sit around the fire, drink some red wine and relish the time with my finance and family. Its been nice but back to reality later today. Time to make a buck…again.

During the duration on my time off I did a lot of thinking about my future flight training, change of career, etc. To be honest, it got me a little stressed out. It’s one of those situations where you know exactly what you want to do but its going to take a lot of hard work and time to get there. I just have to persevere and stick it out to get to where I want to be. My goal is to eventually become a part-time CFI, own an airplane and live on a farm. Very attainable in my book but again it will take time and money. A lot of it.

So now the question is how to get the ball rolling. What I have to do is get a job that pays more than what I make now to start my training or get an additional one to supplement my income. Problem is I live in a small cow town where the jobs are stretched thin and opportunities are very slim. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. I don’t want to leave Athens, I love it here too much and I’ll be damned if I move to some sprawl like Atlanta. Been there done that. Dislike the attitudes and pace of life to handle that again. Cities are unhealthy and mean places. So in order to avoid the sprawl I have to sacrifice making better money. I’m pretty much convinced its worth it.

I made a final decision about my PPL flight training. I’m staying away from the big schools and opting to learn from a local independent instructor based here at KAHN. I felt no soul in the big schools. They felt very distant and disconnected. I want to feel partnership with my mentor and flight instructor. Sounds a little hokey but its important to me to have a coach that demands the best from me. That’s how you learn and get better at what you do. Someone that pushes you when you get lazy and apathetic. It’s hard to get that when your relationship with someone is superficial.

Anyhow, its time for me to hit the drawing board. Time to find a means of making more money so I can earn my wings and get in the sky. Have to do what I have to do to realize my goals and aspirations. It’s gonna be a difficult road to travel. I’ll be tired and grumpy at times but anything that’s hard is worth doing, especially when its your dream. And dreams don’t come easy.