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Well, that was different. Just look at all that water:

Okay, just kidding. The water had no import on the flight, however the Bravo was on the bucket list for a while. And surprisingly, they even cleared me into it, albeit on the way back.

You can tell it wasn't like Denver, where a controller once told me: "I don't have the time to deal with you", after the usual "Squack VFR, remain clear of Class Bravo". I went into Glendale (KGLU), and thought better than zig-zag around without knowing the landmarks. Instead I squeezed on top of the Scottsdale Delta at 4800 and then dived down under a shelf at 2800, from where it was smooth sailing to a 45 degree entry for right traffic at 16. Score!

On the way back it was another story, as I had to gun 2700 r.p.m. all the way from Metro Center and contemplated a careful switchback to climb on top of Deltas. Speaking of Metro Center, I never saw it on either way there or back. So much for a supposedly prominent landmark.

Another funny thing happened on departure, too. Since I went left crosswind for a north-east departure out of GLU, I checked in with Phoenix at 120.7, who immediately told me to contact Luke at 118.15. That was despite me hearing how they called me as a traffic to someone else. When I got through to Luke, they bounced me back to Phoenix, while also advising another aircraft about me. Fortunately by that time was almost at Metro and Phoenix agreed to deal with me.

It felt like both controllers were confused by my attempt to get on top of Scottsdale. Apparently locals take north and go around Deer Valley in such circumstances. Oh well, it was Sunday. I never saw another airplane except in the pattern at Glendale.

Oh, and one other thing. While the scaremongering about thraffic and ATC turned out to be overblown, the airspace is complex indeed. I had to resort to flying by the terminal approach chart, because Phoenix sectional was just too dense with symbols. In Denver, TAC only made me confused due to scale being twice off, but here I had to suck it up and focus on hitting pre-planned altitudes carefuly (which would be impossible even to write on the sectional).

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 01:42 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The subject is a reference to Wonderduck's series of "mystery ship" postings, but only a reference. I am not asking anyone to guess what it is, and there's no prize. But it certainly offers a mystery. Like, if it actually flies.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 06:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Now that Vladimir Putin stymied President's Obama attempts at war in Syria, there is a talk of giving him a Nobel Peace Prize. I think this would be incorrect, and Nobel Prize Committee ought to give him at least 2 prises.

President Obama already has one Peace Prize. Therefore, should Mr. Putin be awarded the same prize, he would be of equal rank. However, it is clear that in the fight for peace he's victorious. Therefore, the situation would be incorrect.

One possibility to correct it would be to institute a "Super Nobel Peace Prize", awarded for forcing regular Prize holders to maintain or establish peace. But I think awarding two Prizes would be more expeditious.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 08:39 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Sorry to disappoint anyone, but I did not actually do it. It's merely on my bucket list.

A local airline flies a little airplane between Albuquerque and Los Alamos in a rare case of a short line making sense. Most of the time, a feeder line (such as Oakland to Modesto, or any hop to Stockton like what America West used to offer) does not pay for itself, because it adds between $200 to $500 to the cost of airline ticket, and passengers are willing to drive for hours in order to avoid it. In this case, mere $50 is quite competitive with the cost of a van ride.

Of course, this is helped by the lack of a decent road between Santa Fe and Los Alamos. It did not take me long to notice that weak roads correspond to healthier GA, which is why New England is still a hub of practical personal aviation in America (Texas is just full of RV jocks).

Interestingly enough, a sizeable ratio of passengers are not airline travellers, but residents of Los Alamos who visit Albuquerque.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 08:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Look at this storied antique:

It still looks sharp and attractive despite decades of neglect.

Tags: cars

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 08:07 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In an article about two Democrats recalled for helping to pass awful Colorado gun laws, Sean Sullivan writes in paragraph three:

On one end, the National Rifle Association dished out six figures. On the other, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg did too.

You could easily imagine that Bloomberg responded to NRA in kind, if you aren't attentive enough. But deeply inside... woa:

And the anti-recall side easily outraised the pro-recall interests.

The article looked like Mr. Sullivan tried to pass for an objective journalist, and it's almost there, but no cigar. Maybe it's his editor's paw prints.

P.S. Just so you know, although it's not mentioned in the article, Obama won Morse's district by 21% and Giron's district by 19% a year ago.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 11:06 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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A mysterious sporty kei car by Honda (may be Beat according to Thomas' article about Cappucino):

The aforementioned Cappuccino near Toyota Comfort:

The Unmatched GT-R:

A common pickup truck:

A less common pickup: Toyota Tundra, which may even be re-imported from Sun Antonio, TX, U.S.A.:

And as the final oddity, a one-lane freeway:

Tags: cars

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 10:28 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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While not frolicking in Akihabara on my trip to Japan, I took a detour to Takikawa Skypark to fly with a local soaring association. Unfortunately, conditions weren't good, so the flight was reduced to a short joyride rather than a soaring flight. We took a tow to 1500 ft up, found no lift, and landed after 15 minutes up (I logged 0.2 of dual just to be honest).

Here's a big blue gap at our 10 o'clock while under tow:

But with the rest of the sky being like this:

And here's my instructor's head while on final to 19:

One interesting part is that someone felt like it was necessary to maintain a controlling authority at a field where all of a glider, a motor glider, and a towplane may be flying around. In America, it would be ridiculous. In Japan (and Russia) it is the way to operate, apparently. I am somewhat more familiar with Russia, where every airfield has a control tower, often a monumental concrete building presiding over a grass field. Takikawa offers a more reasonable facility: a trailer that looks like a greenhouse:

The overall lesson is that it's paramount to find the good weather, and it may not necessarily occur in the afternoon. The low ridges that surround Takikawa may provide wind lift in the mornings when the sea breeze blows over them in a certain direction. Their website actually has a document that discusses pecularities of the local weather, but not being a real glider pilot, I was unable to make a good use of it.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 08:56 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I am back home, so there's no need for odd ways to post, but here's the clincher: I hit the wrong stalk in my own car while returning from the airport. Took less than a week to get this far. Fortunately, wipers are enabled by a rotation of a knob, so all I got was one sweep ("mist" mode), instead of wipers "flapping madly" in the words of Thomas Kruizer.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 09:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Some fucker was boiling pasta in our room's coffee pot. They'll let anyone into that Hilton.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 12:04 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Finally found the elusive NBOX: in a Hondarent's lot. There as not one of them in the streets. "King of The Kei Cars" indeed. Bertel, I am disappoint.

Tags: cars

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 04:32 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Atsuko "Acchan" Maeda is still poppular.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 04:28 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Lots of women walk in lame ways: limping, pigeon-toed, etc.. Worse, sometimes a mother comes with 2 daughters in tow and all three do.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 04:57 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Hit the wrong stalk 7 times in 1 day.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 04:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I can hardly believe that Cure Maid Cafe would not allow to take a picture with the maid (for any money). Isn't it supposed to be what maid cafe is all about? General Tengel had such a service offered.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 03:02 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Psyching myself up to use the correct (right) stalk. This is the hardest.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 06:18 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Instapundit tests an Audi, and:

First, the Navigation system uses an annoying rotate-and-click knob to enter information; this is the same interface that was on an Audi A4 that we rented in LA last year, and it’s vastly inferior to, say, Lexus’s point-and-click interface.

Oooooh yes, the sweet smell of affirmation.

Tags: cars

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 11:44 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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At PoA, they have a section where people can post anonymously, to discuss safety issues frankly. Someone posted this today:

A couple years ago I busted a TFR when the president was visiting the big city in my local area. I was so clueless I took off right into it just to go fly around for fun on a Sunday morning. That's what you get for not checking, or reading the newspaper, or turning on the radio on the drive to the airport. I was doing touch and goes at a little airport about 20 miles away when the attendant Tom (not his real name) there called me on unicom to tell me that the Secret Service was on the phone and that they wanted to talk to me, NOW. It was very embarrassing and all the authorities were very kind and apologetic about everything including suspending me for 45 days.

Fast forward to a couple days ago when I landed at the same airport again and introduced myself to Tom the attendant as that idiot who'd busted the TFR. After a laugh he said he had an even better story about busting a TFR.

The president was in town. Not the big town nearby but at the same town his airport was in. The local National Guard was on alert at the field. A portable surveillance radar truck was brought in and set up at the airport. The Secret Service set up a command post at the airport. Nothing was moving. Quiet hours passed.

Then, as Tom tells it, a small single engine plane landed and taxied up. It was a local pilot based at this airport. He was on his day off from his job as a 747 pilot. He didn't know about the TFR and "turned white as a sheet" when informed. They both looked around and realized that apparently no one had yet noticed the little plane. So, they quickly and nonchalantly pushed it into a hanger and went about their business.

Tom ended his story with this, "The best part is that when that plane landed the Secret Service guys were in the pilots lounge playing Monopoly! They never noticed a thing!"

Emphasis mine. You can see why the guy turned white: his career would be ruined completely if he were busted.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 07:08 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Pilot boards are still abuzz with the SFO crash and, naturally, some people lean towards discussing the Asian flying skills, as we seen previously. Today they finally reached outside of Korea:

Japanese flight students tend to be the better Asian students that you'd want to be assigned. Although there was that guy in one of IASCO's King Airs that came up on Oakland Center reporting VFR at 19.5 requesting flight following. Oakland came back with an incredulous, "19.5? You can't be there!" To which JAL replied, "No, we can. This SUPER KingAir!"

Spoiler: Class A over CONUS begins at 18 thousand. Getting there while under VFR is unlawful. Here's what Bob Gardner wrote in "Say Again, Please":

Almost every Center controller has a story about an exchange with a pilot who has been legally flying in Class A airspace:

PILOT: "Center, are you talking to that Centurion [or Malibu, or 340, or...] at my two o'clock, about my altitude?"

CENTER: "Negative. He's squacking VFR and we're not talking to him. Are you close enough to get his tail number?"

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 07:27 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Someone posted an anonymous enough e-mail to PPRune, which had a few interesting passages. First, I'm going to point out what I see as a contradiction:

Actually, this is a worldwide problem involving automation and the auto-flight concept. Take one of these new first officers that got his ratings in the US or Australia and came to KAL or Asiana with 225 flight hours. After takeoff, in accordance with their SOP, he calls for the autopilot to be engaged after takeoff. How much actual flight time is that? Hardly one minute. Then he might fly for hours on the autopilot and finally disengage it (MAYBE?) below 800 ft after the gear was down, flaps extended and on airspeed (autothrottle). Then he might bring it in to land. Again, how much real flight time or real experience did he get. Minutes!

The Koreans are very very bright and smart so I was puzzled by their inability to fly an airplane well. They would show up on Day 1 of training (an hour before the scheduled briefing time, in a 3-piece suit, and shined shoes) with the entire contents of the FCOM and Flight Manual totally memorized. But, putting that information to actual use was many times impossible. Crosswind landings are also an unsolvable puzzle for most of them.

Emphasis mine. Apparently they fly through the flare and touchdown by hand, and yet crosswind landings are supposed to be an unsolvable puzzle? Whenever a glossy magazine posts an article "how to stay current on 35 hours a year", they say the same: cut circuits around a field. You have no time, so do not fly anywhere, just fly patterns. This is the most critical skill, so make sure it decays last.

Someone may suppose that they just slam it down in crab, fine, but at least they flare and manage throttles.

Then there's this:

[...] He also failed to put in ANY aileron on takeoff with a 30-knot direct crosswind (again, the weather was dictated by KAL).

Umm, what? Honestly, the only reason why I start with full aileron on crosswind is to prevent accidential rolling on downwind wheel and being thus blown off the runway (or flipped clear over). As the speed builds up, I start sensing the force and relax ailerons accordingly. I found that even in stiffest cross-winds that I am comfortable to tackle (say, about 20G25 knots), the required aileron is miniscule. I only continue this technique in case of a gust (N.B. This is different in a taildragger). I strongly suspect that a 737 would not care for 30 knot cross-wind with neutral ailerons. Now if it's blowing 55G65, this may be a problem. But still, some of those captains may fly for years and not hit a situation like that.

So, with Mic's friend's credibility under a slight question mark, here's the really interesting part:

The other thing that I think plays an important role is the fact that there is virtually NO civil aircraft flying in Korea. It's actually illegal to own a Cessna-152 and just go learn to fly. Ultra-lights and Powered Hang Gliders are Ok. I guess they dont trust the people to not start WW III by flying 35 miles north of Inchon into North Korea. But, they dont get the kids who grew up flying (and thinking for themselves) and hanging around airports. They do recruit some kids from college and send then to the US or Australia and get them their tickets. Generally, I had better experience with them than with the ex-Military pilots. This was a surprise to me as I spent years as a Naval Aviator flying fighters after getting my private in light airplanes. I would get experienced F-4, F-5, F-15, and F-16 pilots who were actually terrible pilots if they had to hand fly the airplane. What a shock!

First things first: don't dump on ultralights. But more importantly, this prompts a couple of observations.

First is Japan. Japanese fly almost as freely as Americans, or more like Europeans. But anyhow, it's something possible (I'm going to report on that separately). So, Japanese pilots should be decent stick and rudder men. Therefore, if you are afraid of an accident like Asiana's, fly with JAL or ANA.

Second is America. It is well known that personal aviation is collapsing, and this is a concern for the pilot training. If the GA is removed from the picture, and legions of freelancing instructors are forced to change careers, who's going to prepare pilots? Korean-style academies, that's who. Embry-Riddle is going to ramp up.

I think that safety-wise, it's not going to be a disaster that proponents of GA predict. Russians have no GA to speak about, yet most of them are good aviators. Heck, they solo in Yak-18 at 9 hours. If you can't make the cut, you're out of the program. They also die in training accidents a lot, which is probably what happens when healthy disregard for authority cannot find a better channel.

I still mourn GA, just not because of forecast difficulties with airline staffing.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 08:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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