The only noise I could hear in my space suit was my own deep breaths, much a kin to the sound of Darth Vader. A faint and distant roar reminded me that behind me was a single engine, whose thrust was the only thing keeping my pilot and I aloft at the edge of space. With Huggy’s seat 18 inches below me, I was the highest person in the whole world cruising along above 70,000 feet at just below the speed of sound. And in doing so, I had just become the first Indian to fly in U-2 Dragon Lady and became the fourth highest flying person of Indo-American decent (following Rakesh Sharma, Kalpana Chawla (who died aboard the space shuttle Columbia) and Sunita Williams).

In the next few weeks, I will be blogging on my incredible adventure with the men and women of Beale A.F.B. and their incredible mission flying the U-2 Dragon Lady. While this is an amazingly unique airplane, one that has been reinvented over the past 55 years, it is merely a finely crafted hunk of steel. One that soars to the sky thanks to a crew of hundreds of anonymous Airmen, ranging from the pilots, to maintainers, life support, physiological support, intelligence analysts, egress trainers, fire fighters, air traffic controllers, public affairs, to countless other members of Team Beale.

In addition to images, thanks to Walter Colby Productions, we will be sharing a rare peek into what it takes to send someone to the edge of space. From a checkup with the flight doc, to egress and parachute training, to an explosive decompression in a hyperbaric chamber, we will show what it takes to strap on the suit and become the highest person in the world. But until then, here is a teaser of this incredible flight aboard an amazing airplane.

Hey guys, just a quick post, but wanted to let you guys know to keep an eye out for the May 2010  issue of Combat Aircraft because  my image of the B-2 Spirit is featured on the cover.

It can be found on magazine stands all over the world! Be sure to check your local Barnes and Noble and Boarders bookstores for a copy. For more images and to read about my adventure at Whiteman AFB, click here

One of the most rewarding flights you can do here in the Bay Area is the “Bay Tour.” For a pilot, it is both rewarding in terms of beautiful scenery, green mountains, the classic San Francisco skyline, famous landmarks such as Alcatraz Prison and the Golden Gate Bridge and a challenge to fly due to the numerous airspace’s and congested air traffic. I had promised myself that once I had my Private Pilot’s license, and my training was completed, I would set off to concur this beast.

My local airport, Palo Alto, is approximately 30 miles south of San Francisco, but to get there, I have to deal with 4 different controllers: Palo Alto Tower, San Carlos Tower, San Francisco Tower, and NorCal Approach. And on a flight that is about 45 minutes round trip, juggling that many radio frequencies in rapid succession can be intimidating. And add to it the other planes that fill the skies, and it can be quite a daunting flight. But as with all things in aviation, good planning and preparation makes the flight that much more safer and enjoyable.

First thing first, I decided to take along an experienced pilot who is familiar with the airspace up with me. This way I have a sort of safety blanket that can help out with the radios and air traffic. To prepare for the flight, I plotted my route and wrote down all the potential frequencies that I would encounter along the way. I would start off by contacting Palo Alto Ground, and requesting a straight out departure for a Bay Tour. This would tell the controllers that I was intending to fly to San Francisco up along the peninsula and pass through the SFO Bravo airspace. Then contact Palo Alto Tower for departure clearance and anticipate being handed off to San Carlos Tower. At that point, I would tell San Carlos that I was requesting a Bay Tour and a discrete sqwak code for my transponder so that I could enter the SFO Bravo. With that in hand, I would go to either NorCal Approach or directly to San Francisco Tower and through the Bravo. After that I end up with NorCal and enjoy the Bay. And on the way back, reverse the order.

Now there is a way to get to SF and go around the San Francisco Bravo airspace, but that is dependent on if there is fog along the coastline and navigating around a sliver of Class Bravo over the ocean that starts at 1500 feet. Pilots do it all the time, but I wanted to take the most direct route and be assisted if need be by radar control. So I did one last weather check and started my preflight.

As I prepared to taxi, I contacted Palo Alto Ground and told them my intentions. To my surprise, they gave me my sqwak code right then and there. That was easy! This took one item off my checklist. Shortly after, I was switching over to Palo Alto Tower and getting my clearance to take off. But before I did, I tuned my second radio San Carlos Tower as that would be my next controller. With the roar of the engine, my little Piper leapt to the skies eager to start a new adventure.

As I passed through 1,000 feet, I finished up my post take off checklist and Palo Alto Tower told me to contact San Carlos Tower. Luckily I simply switched radios and was ready for them. “San Carlos Tower. Cherokee 4378N’s with you, just departed from Palo Alto airport at 1,000 feet and would like to transition your airspace for a Bay Tour.” “Cherokee 4378N, Ident and stay west of the Bayshore Freeway and above 1,500 feet.” Easy enough. But just as soon as I was done talking to the controller, I set the primary radio to NorCal Approach and the backup frequency on the secondary radio to San Francisco Tower. I had about 5 minutes to enjoy the green hills to my left before the Tower told me to contact San Francisco Tower.

The main thing to remember about the Class Bravo airspace is that you can not enter unless you are cleared in by the tower. And I had about 1 mile to get cleared before I illegally entered the Bravo and would have some serious explaining to do. I quickly switched frequencies to SFO Tower and immediately I hear this controller that would make an auctioneer sound like a third grader sounding out the alphabet. “United 288 Heavy cleared to land 28R. American 988 Cleared to take off 28R, caution landing traffic on parallel runway. Redwood 1590 hold short 28L.” Man, this guy was quick and I needed to jump in and get cleared before I entered his airspace. I looked down on my chart and saw that I had until the Bay Meadows Racetrack just south of the 92 freeway before I busted airspace; and that was quickly approaching. And just like that the radio went quiet for a second.

“San Francisco Tower, Cherokee 4378N departing San Carlos airspace at 1,500 would like to transition your Bravo airspace on a Bay Tour.” There was a pause. “American 988 contact departure and have a nice day.” Did I forget something? Wait, where is Bay Meadow. There it is. And I have not been cleared to enter yet. Better turn to the left and do a 360 for time so I don’t accidental go into the Bravo. And just as I started my turn, Tower cleared me in and told me to stay at or above 2,000 feet and remain west of the Bayshore freeway. Whew. I was good to go.

I add a little power and start my climb and tune the other radio to NorCal Approach. I look to the right and see a blue and white 747 floating above the water and about to touch down at SFO. The airport looks so beautiful. I look off at the horizon and can see the tall buildings of downtown San Francisco coming up quickly. I double check that I have not crossed the 101 freeway and am shortly handed off to NorCal Approach. NorCal advises that I am out of the Class Bravo and am free to fly anywhere as long as I stay West and North of the Bay Bridge and below 2,000 feet. With the tallest buildings of downtown San Francisco at 800 feet, I fly past them and aim towards Alcatraz. The prison once made to house the most dangerous criminal looks so calm and peaceful as I pass it by. Next stop, the most famous bridge in the world, the Golden Gate. I make a few laps around it and the green Marin Headlands and figure it’s time to head back to Palo Alto airport.

I contact NorCal Approach and advise them that I’d like to cross through the Bravo and head back to Palo Alto. They clear me on my way and advise me to stay at 2,000 feet. Just south of The City, I get handed off to San Francisco Tower, who clears me in and tells me to drop down to 1,500 and keep an eye out for a Cessna at 11 o’clock, 3 miles ahead at 2,000′. I don’t see him at first, but no doubt another pilot on a Bay Tour. I spot his landing light and he passes off my left wing. And with that, I get handed to San Carlos Tower, and eventually Palo Alto Tower.

The flight back seemed a bit less rushed. Maybe because I knew the Class Bravo transition was behind me, or I was just feeling a sense of accomplishment that I slayed the mighty dragon. I was speaking to my uncle a few weeks prior to the flight and he told me that in his 6 years of flying, he has yet to do a Bay Tour with a Bravo transition. I can see how it can be intimidating and obviously a busy workload switching frequencies and worrying about different airspaces. But when you are passing by a 747 a mile off your wing, skyscrapers of a major city getting bigger in front of you and the coastline just a few miles on the other side, who wouldn’t want to do it? I know I am sure glad I did.

In a major announcement by the DoD last Friday, the Deputy Secretary of Defense recently signed a new policy regarding the use of internet based capabilities. Recently members from around the blogosphere had a chance to speak with Mr. Price Floyd, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, in another installment of the DoD’s Bloggers Roundtable and hear first hand how these changes will affect the Armed Services and its’ members.

From his opening statement, it was clear the enthusiasm Mr. Floyd felt from opening up the Social Media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc to the men and women of the Armed Services and how it would benefit not only them, but their families/friends as well.  In the hour long conference call, he outlined many of the benefits that such a move would offer, as well as acknowledged the hurdles that the DoD faced in educating and properly training it’s members as this policy is rolled out over the next six months.

But in the most simplistic form, this was a policy that has been long over due. The use of “new social media” has been a common way to communicate amongst friends and family as well as offer another avenue to “get the message out.”  Mr. Floyd said”…I think we have work here to do at the Defense Department on culture. And using social media I think is as much a cultural issue as it is an education one. People who are coming into the military, they take all this for granted. They can’t imagine a world where one didn’t have access to these sort of sites.

For those of us who are a little longer in the tooth, and I’d put myself in there, this is something that’s fairly new. Only in the last couple years have we discovered this and found how useful it can be.
I think people at the most senior levels understand it as well. I think in the middle, we have some education, cultural shifting to do. And then that’s going to take a little time.

I think though people will find quickly as I did, when I started using it, the benefits to using this sort of communication tool. My ability to engage with audiences far and wide, people I have never and probably will never meet, is amazing because of these tools. And notice I said engage, not just communicate to but engage with, because that’s the promise and the actuality of this, the actual outcome of this kind of technology.”

But as Mr. Floyd initially encountered, I think many others in the military will have a hard time embracing this new policy out of the fear of the unknown. I think many of us take for granted being able to send emails, attach pictures, blog, tweet, etc.  But how many people even know what a “tweet” is? Over the next six months, as this directive is rolled out, I am sure there will be a substantial amount of training and knowledge transfer amongst those that are web savvy to those that wish to learn how use this technology. Mr. Floyd also suggested that “As far as education, if you go to the dod.gov homepage, right now, at the bottom of — one of the — the main pictures on there is our social media site. And if you go to that site, you’ll find on there lots of short videos on how to use Twitter, Facebook appropriately, things to do and not to do, how to set up your own account, how — you know, how does OPSEC matter in these areas of communication. Everything you need to know is already there.”

One of the benefits of discussing a subject such as this amongst numerous ‘experts’ is helping identify issues that may not have originally be considered. One such example simple access of these social pages.  “… this new policy was just signed Friday, so it’s going to take a little time for it to be promulgated amongst all the commands. … In other words, even if you did have a Facebook page, folks there couldn’t access it… which is a problem people here in the building have as well. Some people in the building can’t go to the DOD website, much less someone else’s… So it’s a challenge. We need to push this out there, and — this DTM. And I think one of the quicker ways to do it is amongst the CIO community, the chief of mission officer. And so — actually, because you raised it, I will call the CIO here after this call’s over and find out what she’s doing to push out this new DTM.” And just like that, a critical link was restored. Afterall, what good is having a tool if you do not have the access to use it.

I am greatly encouraged by this new DTM, if only from the simple fact that it will allow the men and women of our Armed Forces to better communicate with their loved ones. I look forward to seeing how this is rolled out.

I think that SMSgt Ellen Hatfield, Deputy Chief, Public Affairs for the 349th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base summarized it best. “I’d say that although we realize there are some challenges with social media, such as operational security and protecting our cyber space, we also recognize how essential it is for our deployed Airmen to have contact with their families and friends back home.

What helps them maintain some level of normalcy while deployed is chatting with those they love about the routine and mundane in life — work, school, sports, what’s happening around town. Births, deaths, the circle of life, so to speak, is magnified when you are in an austere location, and have to stay focused on the fight, and watching each other’s backs.

Having that link and being able to share information via the social network on line helps our deployed Airmen to stay focused, and look forward to returning home. You learn quickly what your priorities are, and reach across the internet to keep a grasp on them.”

To learn more visit the DoD Social Media page, which includes lots of guidance.  Also, if you would like to follow the progress of this directive, or have some suggestions for Mr. Price Floyd, check him out on Twitter and Facebook.

The flight on spin recovery was actually the one I was most afraid of. Visions of the plane tumbling out of control had been dancing through my head all week long. Flashes of “Maverick” trying to reach for the ejection handle as he and “Goose” plummet towards the ocean in a flat spin were in my thoughts. And I was going to be in an aircraft AND expected to recover??? You’ve got to be kidding me.

But the reality was that this was a calculated maneuver. One where I had an amazing airshow pilot watching out for me, and who always had safety in mind. We setup the maneuvers at a very high altitude so that we had time to recover, and Tim was always there to recover in case I was unable to.

On the ground we talked about the various types of spins: Upright spins, flat spins, accelerated spins, inverted spins, inverted flat spins, and inverted accelerated spins. But during the flight, we would only work on upright spins.

While trying to remember the exact flow, I asked what would happen if I messed up the order? Tim started to tell me about one student that he had. “I had a young guy who came in who had his own Pitts S-2B and said that he nearly killed himself doing a spin in his own airplane and he had no idea why it wouldn’t come out of the spin. He said by luck and the grace of god he came out of it but had no idea why and now he’s scared of his own airplane. So I sat with him and we talked about it and I realize what he had done. First he was using the traditional spin recovery technique and not the emergency spin recovery technique and then he got it out of order. What he was doing was that he was trying to break the stall before he got rid of the rotation. If you are in a full spin with the rudder stomped in, and lower the nose, it accelerates the spin tremendously. And this guy was lowering his nose first, accelerating the spin tremendously, and he stomped on the opposite rudder, he was not getting out of it.”

So while this was all ‘fun’ to a degree, it reminded me that this was serious business. If I had actually been an owner of a Pitts or an Extra, I could easily see the benefit of taking a course like this. As Tim put it “the typical Private Pilot or even Commercial Pilot, doesn’t look at spins. The benefits are tremendous, because when you start flying a Christian Eagle, Pitts, Extra or something like that, it’s very easy to find yourself in a spin just due to a blown maneuver. So it would be naïve to buy or regularly fly an airplane like that without going through spin training. Because sooner or later, you can find yourself easily in these situations. As an airshow pilot, I purposefully try to get myself in these situation because it looks cool. And I want to be able to consistently be able to recover myself from that each and every time.”

But enough talk, it was time to get back in the air. After our safety check and making sure the area was clear of other air traffic, Tim demonstrated the first spin. Straight and level at 5,000 feet. Pull the airspeed to idle, back pressure on the stick to slow us down to nearly a stall, horn starts going off, kick in full left rudder, and away we went.

The two things that have to be present to cause a spin were both there. Stall and yaw. A couple of turns and Tim recovered and we climbed back for my turn.

With Tim talking me through it, I entered the spin. Then it was like I actually knew what I was doing. Power to idle, Remove your hands from the stick, full opposite rudder till the rotation stops, neutralize the rudder, and recover to level flight. Or so I thought. On my first attempt, I feed a bit of forward stick nearly causing us to enter an accelerated spin, which is harder to recover from because the rudder becomes ineffective. On my second attempt, I did better, but still, not quite there.

Return to base, debrief, water, bathroom, brief and back in the air. It was as if I was in the military flying back to back sorties. But if I was flying, I would want this former U-2 Commander watching my back. As we made it back to the practice area, I was reviewing everything that we had gone over in the past two flights.

Aerobatics was the ‘real world’ scenario where I would need to employ the unusual attitude and spin recovery. The goal was to quickly and efficiently recover from blown maneuver, without loosing excess altitude and gaining excessive airspeed (Vne), or end up nose high and stall the aircraft (and if I did, then to stay coordinated and so I don’t turn it into a spin). Easy enough right?

For our final flight, Tim was going to have me do a Loop, Cuban 8, Immelman, and a Hammerhead. While I had seen airshow performers do it countless times, this was going to be one of the first where I would be trying it myself.

Even the most basic of maneuvers, a loop, was challenging for me. I started the maneuver at 160 kts and pulled back on the stick at 4 G’s. As I brought the nose up, I relaxed the back pressure on the stick, tilted my head as far back as possible and find “my line” which was a road on the ground to keep me on track through the loop. During the pull I was constantly looking left and right at the trailing edge of the wings and tried to keep them symmetrical on the horizon. If they were not both symmetrical, then I had some extra bank in them and needed to compensate by adding rudder. As I floated the plane over the top, I started to gain airspeed and had to compensate by adding backpressure to the stick. And still looking left and right to make sure the plane is level and pull through the loop. The couple of times I tried it, I couldn’t keep a smooth nose track. I was pulling too hard, too light and ratcheting the airplane instead of smoothly pulling through the loop. Guess I was not going to perform in any airshows this season.

We then continued though the rest of the three maneuvers. Ironically, during the Cuban 8, I passed through the 45 degree line and ended up in a nose low attitude and had to recover. Unfortunately I did not recognize that until Tim told me, and in that one moment, the value of this training was evident.

The final part of this weekend’s flying was that Tim was going to give me a taste of what it was like to be in the plane with him during his airshow routine. Well, let’s just say that I have a new found respect for what he does and will never look at another airshow act without my stomach tightening and little beads of sweat forming on my forehead. So with the flick of the stick, we leapt right into it. Well, all I got through was the first 5 of a total of 24 maneuvers before having to call it quits. In the span of less than two minutes, Tim put me through a ¾ of a Loop with 1 ½ turns on the downline followed by a 4 point roll followed by a torque roll then a centrifuge, and a half Cuban 8. Imagine the coolest rollercoaster that you’ve been on and then multiply that by 100! And no, I did not lose my lunch!

If you are thinking of getting an aerobatic airplane or want a refresher course on safety maneuvers, or are a pilot who just wants to become a safer pilot, I highly recommend that you go fly with Tim Decker Airshows. For more information visit: http://www.timdeckerairshows.com

A special thanks to Tim Decker,  Dennis Pearson, David Salmassy, John Kluenker and James Baker for all of their help.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to get a taste of flying a high performance aerobatic airplane with airshow great Tim Decker in his immaculate S-2B. In his 6^th year of airshow flying, Tim has perfected flying at the edge of the envelope and invited me out to his hanger in Lincoln, CA (KLHM) for a weekend crash course (no pun intended) of unusual attitude recoveries, spin training, and a taste of some basic aerobatics.

Originally meant for someone who is planning or has just purchased an aerobatic airplane such as the Pitts Special, a Christian Eagle, or Extra 300, Tim Decker Airshows offers a custom course on learning how to safely handle your aircraft by becoming familiar with safety maneuvers and techniques to recover your aircraft. But as Tim showed me, you do not have to have aspirations of becoming an airshow pilot to take advantage of this invaluable training; a simple private pilot’s license and the desire to become a safer pilot will do just fine!

Unusual attitude and spin recovery are maneuvers that were once taught to all general aviation pilots. But over time, the FAA dropped the requirement and left a vital hole in pilot safety. While some CFI’s talk about them, they themselves may only have a basic understanding of the maneuvers and how to recover. But flying with a professional pilot such as Tim Decker, who has logged over 5000 hours in both military and civil aircraft such as the U-2, F-117, T-38, RV-4, and the Pitts S-2B, and whose logbook endorsements include Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), Certified Flight Instructor Instruments (CFII), Multi-Engine Instructor (MEI) ratings, an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, and a Level 1, Unrestricted Solo Aerobatics, and Statement of Acrobatic Competency License, is a guarantee of flying with someone who can teach you not only how to recognize, but to prevent and recover from these potentially fatal situations. According to a 2003 AOPA study, 28 percent of stall/spin accidents were fatal compared to other types of GA accidents. And while flying is a relatively safe activity, arming yourself with the proper training and tools to be an even safer pilot is common sense.

And being a newly minted Private Pilot, I wanted to get an introduction to the proper techniques before I developed any bad habits of my own. Even though I am a new pilot, pilots with thousands of hours can find themselves in dangerous situation such as suddenly having to perform an upset attitude recovery for a wake turbulence encounter, or sudden avoidance maneuver (impending mid-air) that results in unusual attitude or spin. So with my logbook in hand, I drove up to Lincoln for my weekend with Tim.

The plan was to simply get a brief taste of the three major components of Tim’s course, with the mindset of being a pilot who is interested in owning a Pitts or Christian Eagle. I would fly 3 flights in the Pitts and get and introduction to Unusual Attitude Recovery, Spin Recovery, and Aerobatics, with each flight laying the fundamentals for the following. Normally, each of these subjects would warrant 3-5 flights each, ensuring proper grasp of the fundamentals before moving on, but I wanted to get a feel of it all.

As I walked into the green hangar, the red and white S-2B sat calmly but looked like it was itching to jump in the air and let its’ prop take a bite of the sky. With a warm smile and hearty handshake, Tim welcomed me in. After a few minutes of small talk, it was time to get down to business. With the weather clearing up, we wanted to get up in the air as soon as possible.

First flight of the day was an introduction to Unusual Attitude Recovery. Unusual attitudes are when the aircraft is in anything other than straight and level flight. Depending on the degree of the disparity, the application of recovery will vary drastically. The two basics that I was going to be introduced to was a “nose high recovery” where my nose is pointed nearly straight up and in a banking turn where I would be climbing rapidly and losing airspeed and setting myself up for a potential spin. And in the other situation, we would focus on a “nose low recovery” where the nose of my aircraft would be in a dive, quickly gaining airspeed and approaching the never exceed speed (Vne)of the aircraft and the ground.

As I listened to Tim walk me through the two scenarios, he broke it down into the basic elements where I could understand why we were doing each maneuver. I will admit that it was a lot of information to take in, but using the models and explaining how we were utilizing the lift vectors to our advantage, I felt good to go.

So we pulled out the plane and I jumped into the front seat to get strapped in. First I had to strap on the parachute’s chest strap, two leg straps, then the 5 point harness (two over the shoulder, two across the lap, and one in between your legs) and finally one more lap belt for good measure. Oddly the tighter the straps, the safer I felt. With a roar the engine came to life. Before I knew it, we were roaring down the runway and leapt skyward.

The benefit of flying out of quiet Lincoln, was that we at our practice area within minutes. A few quick safety checks and clearing turns and it was time to get unusual! For each maneuver for the weekend, Tim would first demonstrate it, then hand me the stick and I would do it. Easy enough right? Ohhhh nooo!

Tim put the Pitts Special into an 80 degree nose high, 25 degree bank and told me to recover. Starring ahead at nothing but blue sky, I grabbed the stick and was ready to go through my recovery checklist. With my airspeed dropping really fast, I add power so I didn’t decelerate. Then I had to roll and pull the aircraft’s nose back down to the horizon (half ground, half sky), get to the horizon, and roll out to wings level. Easy enough right? Well, that is what I was supposed to do. Here’s what actually happened.

“We were doing a nose high recovery that you (Sagar) turned into a nose low one. What I (Tim) wanted you to do was roll and pull to the horizon, and then when you got to the horizon, roll out. Instead you rolled and pulled past the horizon. Then you partially rolled out and just kept going into a spiral. I think what you did was that you kept pulling harder and harder, and somehow got the lift vector past the 90 degree point and recovered. Luckily we were at 55-5600 feet, and I was like ‘Ok, this is interesting.’ But you recovered.”

How I recovered, I have no idea. But apparently if you pull hard enough, long enough, you’ll solve anything! Just kidding! Kids, don’t try this at home. Honestly I lucked out, because I could have easily turned that into spin. But save it for the debrief. Time for the “nose low recovery.”

Once again Tim demonstrated it, and then set me up for me to try it. Pull the power back. Roll wings level, Pull aggressively and briskly. Use the lift vector. If you pull too hard you will go through the stall and mush right into the ground. If you don’t’ pull hard enough, you risk hitting the ground. Easy enough right? Well, luckily I did much better at the two nose low attitudes that Tim threw at me.

Normally unusual attitudes would be spread out over 3 flights: first with some gentle ones, second with more aggressive ones, and third would be blown aerobatic maneuvers. But as we debrief and I just focused on absorbing as much as I could with the realization that I was just scratching the surface and not trying to go after perfection. It was a good time to end for the day.

All wanted to go for a flight and see the world from a new perspective. I was mentioning this to one of my pilot friends and we had a good laugh about it. But then he eventually asked me who is going to be the first person I take up. Honestly I had not given it much thought until then. Unfortunately my airplane was not big enough to take everyone up at once. So I would have to choose.

I slept on it and realized that the one person who had not asked me to go flying was one of my biggest supporters; my Dad. He was the one who took me to my first airshow as a kid, bought me toy airplanes and listened to me complain about my flight lessons even if he didn’t understand a thing about p-factor, side slips, or VOR navigation. So I had my answer. And with Mom overseas for a few months, it was a convenient decision maker between the two.

Now just had to find a clear day in between the storms that have soaked the Bay Area. And on the horizon, there was a break on Saturday. I check to see if the plane was free at the flying club, and it was. Now I had to choose where to go. My Dad has never flown in a small airplane before, so I wanted something nearby, but still exciting. During my training, it was always a treat to fly along the coast. When I set out to get my pilots license, I always envisioned taking my friends flying along the coastline on a “Bay Tour” over San Francisco. Since I was not comfortable going through the Class B airspace of SFO, I decided to just take Dad to Half Moon Bay for lunch.

Starting 24 hrs out, I must have called the Weather Briefers a half dozen times to make sure it was going to be clear along the coast. All was looking good. On Saturday morning, I finished up my volunteering at the Moffett Field Museum and called up my Dad to grab some lunch. I had told him the day before that we were going to meet up, so I knew he was free. I told him I’d pick him up in 30 minutes and to dress warmly.

As he got in the car, I asked him if was ok for some diner food. He was up for anything. Little did he know! I told him I had to make a quick stop at Palo Alto Airport before we ate. And as we pulled into the parking lot, I told him that we were actually going for a “$100 Hamburger”. After I explained what that was (fly somewhere to have lunch and the cost of the food ends up being $100 including the food and airplane costs) a nervous look crept up on his face. But he was also very excited.

After a quick tour of the flying club and one last weather check, I took him out to the plane and preflighted like I had done dozens of times before. I got into my Warrior first and then helped Dad get in. Showed him how to use the seatbelts, pointed out the emergency exits, how to adjust the volume on the headsets, and we were good to go.

He didn’t say much as we taxied out to the run up area, so I figured I’d tell him everything I was doing to put him a bit at ease. These are the flight controls, here is how I tell how high we are and how fast we are going. This is the fuel gauge, just like in a car, and here is the accelerator (throttle), etc. I think that analogy helped. And before he knew it, Tower had cleared us for takeoff. One last check of the seat belts and to see if he was ok. Thumbs up, good to go! Full throttle and pull back on the yoke and we were airborne. A quick glance over and I could see the smile starting to show.

We turned west and headed out to the coastline. I told Dad to anticipate a few bumps as we crossed over the ridge line, but there were none. It was a smooth and clear day. I then asked Dad if he wanted to try to fly the plane a little. He gingerly held the controls as did I on my side. I walked him through some gentle banking, climbs, and descents. But for some reason that was not putting him at ease.

So in my vast piloting experience, I decided to show him that the plane was very trustworthy and would fly no matter what. I proceeded to demonstrate a steep turn followed by pulling the engine to idle to demonstrate its glide capability. Not a great idea. Not at all.

Dad did not say anything, but I don’t think he quite enjoyed it at all. He faked a smile, but it was clear that was a bad idea to do for a first time passenger. Guess not everyone is as comfortable in tiny planes as I am.

We then proceeded to Half Moon Bay airport. As we neared, I had made all my position calls needed for an untowered airport and was aware of the traffic in the area. But as we were 5 miles out, a plane popped up over the ridgeline and called out his position. It was clear that we were on an intersecting course. I announced my position to that aircraft, but did not receive an acknowledgment. Even though I was lower and had the right of way, I decided to do a 360 degree turn and let the other plane go ahead and get some space between us. But in order to do that, I had to do a steep turn two thousand feet above the ground, over some foothills. As I did that, I could see my Dad reaching for a handle to grab for safety.

We entered the pattern and had an uneventful landing. And as we taxied to the airport café, my Dad was not that hungry anymore and wanted to head back. I think I understood what he was saying and we headed back to Palo Alto Airport.

The flight back was straight and level, and ended in a smooth landing. When it was all said and over, my Dad said he had a great time and was very proud of me, but was glad to be back on the ground. Maybe I shouldn’t simulate an engine out for a first time passenger or do steep turns. But you live and learn.

On the dive back, we stopped off at Taco Bell to grab a bite to eat. After all, we were both still starving.

Last week, I had the chance to get some air to air images of San Jose Police Department’s Air Support Units’ EC-120. What made this a special shoot was that over the past few years, I’ve gotten to know the men and women of the Air Support Unit and consider them friends. If they are not patrolling the skies over San Jose, CA, they are selflessly supporting the community through programs helping kids with cancer or their fellow police officers. But today the camera was pointed at them.

I arrived at San Jose Airport to meet with the pilots who were doing today’s photoshoot. With Northern California battered by storm after storm, we were very lucky to get a break inbetween them to get airborne. And as with any photoshoot, safety was the number one priority. What would make this shoot a bit more interesting was that it was a mixed formation of a Cessna 182S and a Eurocopter EC-120.

In an airplane, the pilot sits in the left seat and photographer in the right. But in a helicopter, the pilot sits in the right seat. So when we are airborne, both pilots have to look through their passengers to maintain a visual on the other aircraft. But “POLICE1″, the SJPD helicopter, had a safety observer in the left seat to help maintain safety. Just as if they were on patrol, the safety observer and pilot are in constant communication as they fly.

We briefed safety issues, airspace requirements, squak codes, air to air frequencies, and a plan for the shoot. The Cessna would take off from SJC and POLICE1 would depart Moffett Field, where they are based, and we would rendezvous over the San Jose Flea Market and form up.  Then head over to the foothills for some ‘clean’ shots, followed by a few race tracks over downtown San Jose to get the new City Hall in the background, and finish up over Moffett Field where the formation would break up and head back to their respective airports.

Then it was time for us to head back to SJC. It was quite surreal landing a Cessna on an 11,000 ft runway with large commercial aircraft landing and taking of next to us. And to make it that much special, we got to land in the “wrong” direction. Normally aircraft land from the south due to the Bay Area’s consistent winds, but with yet another storm approaching, planes were cleared to land from the north.

After getting the Cessna back into the hangar, I packed up my gear and headed to Moffett Field to do some ground to air shots. We really lucked out due to a small break in the storm.

Here was our flight track over San Jose to get the air to air shots:

View SJPD Air 2 Air in a larger map

And the one shot that I really wanted to get was with an SJPD police car in the foreground and AIR2 hovering in the back.

Then the photography gods smiled upon me and gave me a stunning dark background with some amazing golden lighting and a full rainbow.

Here are a couple of videos taken on the ramp at Moffett with my new Contour HD 1080p bullet camera from VHoldR. With at 135 degree wide angle lens, it really give you an ‘in your face’ angle.  Click on the video’s to view them in High Definition. First a low flyby and then as the shoot ended, AIR2 taxied past me back to it’s hanger at Moffett Field.

And for the photographers out there, the shot below was taken at 12mm while laying on the ground and nearly under the helicopter. The water drops were caused by the massive rotorwash blowing the water on the ground onto the front of the lens. So cool!

Half way around the world, four zebras cautiously wait near a watering hole not knowing the danger that lurks in the bush. Luckily the four pictured above are at the Lion Country Safari in West Palm Beach Florida where their biggest concern is when the next feeding is. Last year I was treated to an afternoon adventure through the “safari” with my cousin. What a cool and unique experience! As we drove through the park, we were just a few feet away from these beautiful animals. Here are a few images from the day. Enjoy!