Turning 1000

[Dan Luke]

When I totalled up the hours in my log book after the OSH trip Friday,
they came to over 1,000. As I did when I turned 500 a little over three
years ago, I stopped to reflect on what has changed about flying for me
in the last 500 hours:

* I used to do a lot of just flying around the local area, doing t &
g's, etc. Now, 95% of my flying is IFR cross country for business,
pleasure and Angel Flights.

* Angel Flight has become an important part of my flying and my life,
even though it makes up only about 20% of my hours these days.

* At the end of 2001, I had no weather gear of any kind in the airplane.
Thunderstorms were my masters; they kept me from flying a few times
every year. Now, I've got XM weather and I haven't canceled a trip for
t'storms since I first started the system up in September of '03.

* Complacency is more difficult than ever to resist. Flying ~140
hrs./yr has rendered many things routine and there's a real tendency to
let my attention wander. This is dangerous, I know, and I'm struggling
to find ways to maintain an alert attitude.

What hasn't changed:

* I'm still flying my "starter" airplane. It isn't big enough, it isn't
fast enough, and it damned sure ain't sexy, but I've never quite gotten
around to trading up to that Bonanza I thought I'd have by now. "Delta"
has taken me a lot of places safely and has never missed a mission since
some early engine problems were fixed a few years ago. She'll carry 600
lbs. of payload at 155 mph for a looonnngg time. Every time I start to
put the ad in Trade-A-Plane, something makes me back off. Some day I'll
do it - no, really, I will.

* I'm still nuts about flying; doing more of it now than ever. I may
not read as many magazines or buy as many gadgets as I used to, but I'd
still rather be in my airplane than anywhere else, and I feel very
fortunate to be able to be there.

--

Dan
C172RG at BFM

[Jay Honeck]

Congrats, Dan. 1000 hours is a loong time in the air, and don't let all the
inevitable "I've got 20,000 hours" guys burst your bubble.

I'm closing in on the millennium milestone myself (woulda made it long ago,
if Mary hadn't earned her ticket a few years back -- she just turned 500
hours!), and share many of your thoughts.

Many parts of flying that were once extraordinary have become routine, and
it's rare that we just go up for the sake of being "up" -- but that hasn't
changed my love of aviation. When I'm not flying, I'm thinking about
flying -- and heaven help me if that ever changes.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[tony roberts]

Hi Dan

Congratulations. 1000 hours! That's quite an achievement.
As for trading up? As long as you remember that when you trade up
performance you trade up operating costs, annual, insurance, etc. etc,
How badly do you want to trade up? :)

Tony
--

Tony Roberts
PP-ASEL
VFR OTT
Night
Cessna 172H C-GICE

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

Dan Luke wrote:
>> * I'm still flying my "starter" airplane. It isn't big enough, it isn't
> fast enough, and it damned sure ain't sexy, but I've never quite gotten
> around to trading up to that Bonanza I thought I'd have by now. "Delta"
> has taken me a lot of places safely and has never missed a mission since
> some early engine problems were fixed a few years ago. She'll carry 600
> lbs. of payload at 155 mph for a looonnngg time. Every time I start to
> put the ad in Trade-A-Plane, something makes me back off. Some day I'll
> do it - no, really, I will.


A decently equipped C-172RG is a damned nice airplane... I always think of a
wasp as those gear start folding up on climbout. Don't worry about sexy... only
a moron would look down on one.

Congrats on the 1000 hours accident-free. Keep up the good work.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

[Dan Luke]

"Jay Honeck" wrote:
> When I'm not flying, I'm thinking about flying -- and heaven help me
> if that ever changes.

Amen.

[Newps]

Dan Luke wrote:


>
> * I'm still flying my "starter" airplane. It isn't big enough, it isn't
> fast enough, and it damned sure ain't sexy, but I've never quite gotten
> around to trading up to that Bonanza I thought I'd have by now. "Delta"
> has taken me a lot of places safely and has never missed a mission since
> some early engine problems were fixed a few years ago. She'll carry 600
> lbs. of payload at 155 mph for a looonnngg time. Every time I start to
> put the ad in Trade-A-Plane, something makes me back off. Some day I'll
> do it - no, really, I will.

I am moving up to that Bonanza, if you're interested in 182 let me know.

[[email protected]]

Dan,
Congratulations on achieving the millenium milestone. I am just
about to reach my 500hrs mark and looking forward to add more flying
hours. We will be joining Skyark soon then Angle Flight once we gain
more IFR flying experience.
I have learned quite a few things from reading your posts especially
about XMweather. I had just ordered a T43 laptop with bluetooth and
will add an LCD touchscreen display for XMweather.
You are right that the more we fly, the more we want to fly. I have
enjoyed every single trip and hardly turned down an opportunity to be
up in the air.
Like you, we will most likely stay with our 'starter' plane, a
Cardinal, for many years to come. At 120kts, it is not a speed demon
but many times, I have slowed it down to approach speed to stretch my
hours on the air to enjoy the views below and around. Life is fabulous
when you can experience it in 3 dimensions.

Hai Longworth

[Dan Luke]

"Newps" wrote:
>
> I am moving up to that Bonanza, if you're interested in 182 let me know.

Yeah, I saw your ad; sounds like a good bird.

Thanks, but if and when I move up, I want something *lots* faster.

--
Dan
C-172RG at BFM

[Gene Seibel]

Congratulations on nearly 6 weeks in the sky. ;) I flew my starter
Tri-Pacer for 20 years. Flying is flying. Most who commented about when
I was going to upgrade didn't even have a plane.
--
Gene Seibel
Tales of Flight - http://pad39a.com/gene/tales.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

[Cecil Chapman]

Congratulations!!! You should have a little party to celebrate! (always a
great excuse I use to eat some chocolate cake <GRIN). Myself, I'm just
nearing 500 and will probably have a little 'birthday cake' to celebrate the
personal milestone (okay, yeah,,, it is also an excuse to eat some chocolate
cake <g>)

Once again great job! Enjoy every minute in the skies!!! :0)

--
--
=-----
Good Flights!

Cecil
PP-ASEL-IA
Student - CP-ASEL

Check out my personal flying adventures from my first flight to the
checkride AND the continuing adventures beyond!
Complete with pictures and text at: www.bayareapilot.com

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery -

"We who fly, do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with
this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"
- Cecil Day Lewis -
"Dan Luke" > wrote in message
...
> When I totalled up the hours in my log book after the OSH trip Friday,
> they came to over 1,000. As I did when I turned 500 a little over three
> years ago, I stopped to reflect on what has changed about flying for me in
> the last 500 hours:
>
> * I used to do a lot of just flying around the local area, doing t & g's,
> etc. Now, 95% of my flying is IFR cross country for business, pleasure
> and Angel Flights.
>
> * Angel Flight has become an important part of my flying and my life, even
> though it makes up only about 20% of my hours these days.
>
> * At the end of 2001, I had no weather gear of any kind in the airplane.
> Thunderstorms were my masters; they kept me from flying a few times every
> year. Now, I've got XM weather and I haven't canceled a trip for t'storms
> since I first started the system up in September of '03.
>
> * Complacency is more difficult than ever to resist. Flying ~140 hrs./yr
> has rendered many things routine and there's a real tendency to let my
> attention wander. This is dangerous, I know, and I'm struggling to find
> ways to maintain an alert attitude.
>
> What hasn't changed:
>
> * I'm still flying my "starter" airplane. It isn't big enough, it isn't
> fast enough, and it damned sure ain't sexy, but I've never quite gotten
> around to trading up to that Bonanza I thought I'd have by now. "Delta"
> has taken me a lot of places safely and has never missed a mission since
> some early engine problems were fixed a few years ago. She'll carry 600
> lbs. of payload at 155 mph for a looonnngg time. Every time I start to
> put the ad in Trade-A-Plane, something makes me back off. Some day I'll
> do it - no, really, I will.
>
> * I'm still nuts about flying; doing more of it now than ever. I may not
> read as many magazines or buy as many gadgets as I used to, but I'd still
> rather be in my airplane than anywhere else, and I feel very fortunate to
> be able to be there.
>
> --
>
> Dan
> C172RG at BFM
>
>
>

[Michael]

You know, I remember 1000 hours, and I remember the way things changed
from 500 to 1000. In a lot of ways, there's a lot less change from
1000 to 2000 than there is from 500 to 1000.

> I used to do a lot of just flying around the local area, doing t &
> g's, etc. Now, 95% of my flying is IFR cross country for business,
> pleasure and Angel Flights.

Buzzing around and doing touch&goes gets old quick. My flight profile
is a lot like yours, except that I also do a fair amount of instruction
and I don't actually file IFR unless weather or airspace makes it
advantageous.

> Angel Flight has become an important part of my flying and my life,
> even though it makes up only about 20% of my hours these days.

Pretty much the same here.

> Now, I've got XM weather and I haven't canceled a trip for
> t'storms since I first started the system up in September of '03.

Since I got my Stormscope, I have cancelled exactly one trip for
weather - it would have required me to land in the eye of tropical
storm Charlie. It was an Angel Flight, and I offered to buy the guy an
airline ticket, but it turned out the airlines had pulled out and
wouldn't fly in there either.

> Complacency is more difficult than ever to resist.

That is indeed the big fight. I find that the only practical way to
fight it is to get out of my comfort zone. It was an issue at 1000
hours, and it's more of an issue at 2000+, and from what I've seen it
only gets worse. I still take recurrent training on a regular basis,
but it's getting harder and harder to find a challenge. So I make it a
point to fly something different whenever I can, and to do something
different in the airplane when I can, but it's only marginally
effective.

The big thing that keeps me from getting too complacent, though, is
flying with students. What has changed most for me from 1000 to 2000
hours is this - close to half my time in the air is spent instructing.
Students don't let you get complacent - they keep finding new and
exciting ways to try and kill you, or at least wreck the airplane. As
much IFR as you fly - have you considered getting your instrument
instructor ticket? You will find that all the recurrent training in
the world isn't a match for sitting in the right seat of a Bonanza in
IMC, watching the attitude indicator coming up on 60 degrees of bank as
a student tries to enter the hold, waiting for him to go too far.

> I'm still nuts about flying; doing more of it now than ever.

Amen.

Michael

[Cecil Chapman]

>* I'm still flying my "starter" airplane. It isn't big enough, it isn't
>fast enough, and it damned sure ain't sexy, but I've never quite gotten
>around to trading up to that Bonanza I thought I'd have by now. "Delta"
>has taken me a lot of places safely and has never missed a mission since
>some early engine problems were fixed a few years ago. She'll carry 600
>lbs. of payload at 155 mph for a looonnngg time. Every time I start to put
>the ad in Trade-A-Plane, something makes me back off. Some day I'll do
>it - no, really, I will.

If she serves you well, hold on to her! To borrow from Richard Bach in "A
Gift of Wings"

"Why fly has nothing to do with aircraft. It has nothing to do with
'by-products', those reasons so often put forth in those pamphlets to
potential [airplane] buyers. If you find that you are a person who can love
to fly, you will find a place to come whenever you tire of a world of
TV-dinners and people cut from cardboard. You will find people alive and
adventures alive and you will learn to see a meaning behind it all. The
more I wander around airports across the country, the more I see that the
reason that most pilots fly is simply that thing they call 'life'."
Richard Bach, "A Gift of Wings"

--
--
=-----
Good Flights!

Cecil
PP-ASEL-IA
Student - CP-ASEL

Check out my personal flying adventures from my first flight to the
checkride AND the continuing adventures beyond!
Complete with pictures and text at: www.bayareapilot.com

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery -

"We who fly, do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with
this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"
- Cecil Day Lewis -
>
>
>

[Doug]

As we gain in experience we tend to do less flight planning. Keep an
eye on fuel and the weather. Spend a little time doing some flight
planning. Maybe do a fully flight planned trip or two, just like when
you were a student! Congrats and keep flyin' !

[Dan Luke]

"Michael" wrote:

> You know, I remember 1000 hours, and I remember the way things changed
> from 500 to 1000. In a lot of ways, there's a lot less change from
> 1000 to 2000 than there is from 500 to 1000.

That's the way it feels -- like the big humps are behind me.


>> Complacency is more difficult than ever to resist.

> Students don't let you get complacent - they keep finding new and
> exciting ways to try and kill you, or at least wreck the airplane. As
> much IFR as you fly - have you considered getting your instrument
> instructor ticket?

Yeah, thought about it; I certainly have the perfect airplane to get the
ticket. I fear that I'm too much of a control freak to sit on my hands while
students try to kill me. Ask Tina what I did when she was landing my
airplane at P'ville two years ago.

--
Dan
C-172RG at BFM

[Peter R.]

Dan Luke > wrote:

> When I totalled up the hours in my log book after the OSH trip Friday,
> they came to over 1,000. As I did when I turned 500 a little over three
> years ago, I stopped to reflect on what has changed about flying for me
> in the last 500 hours:

Congratulations, Dan. That is indeed a milestone.

Fly safe for the next thousand hours, and those thereafter.

--
Peter
























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[john smith]

Cecil, you're the only other person I have come across in my 25 years of
flying that has mentioned A GIFT OF WINGS. I have two copies of the
paperback version.

[Gene Seibel]

It's a favorite of mine too. Great little collection of thoughts about
flying.
--
Gene Seibel
Aviation books - http://pad39a.com/gene/avbook.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

[RST Engineering]

I particularly like "Found at Pharisee" and "School for Perfection". "Cat"
has to stand as the aviation chiller of all time.

Jim



"john smith" > wrote in message
. ..
> Cecil, you're the only other person I have come across in my 25 years of
> flying that has mentioned A GIFT OF WINGS. I have two copies of the
> paperback version.

[Journeyman]

In article >, Dan Luke wrote:
> When I totalled up the hours in my log book after the OSH trip Friday,
> they came to over 1,000. As I did when I turned 500 a little over three
> years ago, I stopped to reflect on what has changed about flying for me
> in the last 500 hours:

Congratulations on the milestone.

I happened to be looking at my logbook over the weekend, reflecting
on the changes in my flying patterns since buying my own plane. A
year and a half ago. There's been a lot more cross-country flight,
IFR whenever operationally desirable (weather or airspace). I've
really enjoyed being able to go places on my schedule, and working
around weather patterns.

Angel flight has also become a big thing for me, with 8 completed
missions under the belt since signing up in January.


Morris
--
aviation blog (slightly out of date): www.compilerguru.com/aviation

[Michael]

> Yeah, thought about it; I certainly have the perfect airplane to get the
> ticket.

No you don't. NOBODY has the perfect airplane for getting an initial
CFI. The perfect airplane for that ALWAYS belongs to someone else,
because the FAA will try to ground it.

> Ask Tina what I did when she was landing my
> airplane at P'ville two years ago.

That was two years ago. I seem to recall you were pretty relaxed when
I landed it.

Anyway, I'm not suggesting you do primary instruction. When you teach
landings, it's a much more visceral thing - they're trying to kill you
right now. Flying instruments, it takes longer for stuff to happen,
and there's more time to recover - it's more of a mental thing.

Michael

[Cecil Chapman]

Glad to hear it!

I carry one of my copies around with me like some people may carry a
personal 'Bible' <g>.... My main copy is highlighted, underlined and
dog-eared and is clearly very well-used and loved! :) "Nothing By Chance"
and "Biplane" are two of my other favorite R. Bach books! :)

--
--
=-----
Good Flights!

Cecil
PP-ASEL-IA
Student - CP-ASEL

Check out my personal flying adventures from my first flight to the
checkride AND the continuing adventures beyond!
Complete with pictures and text at: www.bayareapilot.com

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery -

"We who fly, do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with
this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"
- Cecil Day Lewis -

[RST Engineering]

My personal favorite is "Illusions"

Jim

"Cecil Chapman" > wrote in message
. ..
> Glad to hear it!
>
> I carry one of my copies around with me like some people may carry a
> personal 'Bible' <g>.... My main copy is highlighted, underlined and
> dog-eared and is clearly very well-used and loved! :) "Nothing By Chance"
> and "Biplane" are two of my other favorite R. Bach books! :)

[buttman]

I just turned 200 hours today. Me and my (good looking) flight
instructor flew to Cincininati and got some skyline chili. As we were
driving the late model Jaguar curtesy car back to the FBO I had a
little moment of reflection aswell. Not too many years ago I was not at
all in the place that I'm in today.

Its funny how sometimes we need to have a big milestone in order for us
to look back and appreciate the wonderful life phenominom known as
change and progression...

[Dan Luke]

"Michael" wrote:
>> Yeah, thought about it; I certainly have the perfect airplane to get the
>> ticket.
>
> No you don't. NOBODY has the perfect airplane for getting an initial
> CFI. The perfect airplane for that ALWAYS belongs to someone else,
> because the FAA will try to ground it.

I know what you mean. A friend of mine had his Mooney checkride airplane
grounded by the Birmingham FSDO because the tail # was painted in an
"insufficiently contrasting color" - it was the factory paint job.

>> Ask Tina what I did when she was landing my
>> airplane at P'ville two years ago.
>
> That was two years ago. I seem to recall you were pretty relaxed when
> I landed it.
>
> Anyway, I'm not suggesting you do primary instruction. When you teach
> landings, it's a much more visceral thing - they're trying to kill you
> right now. Flying instruments, it takes longer for stuff to happen,
> and there's more time to recover - it's more of a mental thing.

Yeah, I'm still considering it. After the airplane gets done with the
fixups I have planned, I just might do it.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

[Dan Luke]

"buttman" wrote:
>. As we were
> driving the late model Jaguar curtesy car back to the FBO

Hold it. "...Jaguar courtesy car...?"

[john smith]

RST Engineering wrote:
> My personal favorite is "Illusions"

Mine also.
At one time I made a booklet containing just the sayings.
I may have to make another copy.

[buttman]

If you ever go to an airport with a MillionAir they always have a
Jaguar as the curtesay car. Or at least the one in Cincinnati (Lunken)
and Columbus. Thats why we always go there :)

It was funny how we were both really cautious with our driving when the
Jag only costs maybe 80 thousand, but the bonanza we flew there in is
worth multiple times that...

[Jay Honeck]

>>. As we were
>> driving the late model Jaguar curtesy car back to the FBO
>
> Hold it. "...Jaguar courtesy car...?"

Right. This guy has GOT to be a troll.

Unless his hand just slipped, and he really meant to type "Impala" or "1984
Crown Victoria"...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Marty Shapiro]

"buttman" > wrote in
oups.com:

> If you ever go to an airport with a MillionAir they always have a
> Jaguar as the curtesay car. Or at least the one in Cincinnati (Lunken)
> and Columbus. Thats why we always go there :)
>
> It was funny how we were both really cautious with our driving when the
> Jag only costs maybe 80 thousand, but the bonanza we flew there in is
> worth multiple times that...
>

Were they loaning you an XK-R? Only the XK-R's have sticker prices over
$80K. A quick look at http://www.Jaguar.com shows that an X-type can be as
little as $31,495.

--
Marty Shapiro
Silicon Rallye Inc.

(remove SPAMNOT to email me)

[buttman]

No, I'm dead serious. Go to Lunken Airport in Cincinatti Ohio. Make
sure you use Millionaire. Ask for the curtesy car. It will be either a
green or black Jag S-type. They have a deal with a local car rental
place which is how they can afford them. Do a google search for "jaguar
millionaire fbo"

And I just guessed on the price. I definitely remember it being a
S-type. And it was definitely a V8, so acording to Jaguar's website the
car cost ~$50K

[Jay Honeck]

> No, I'm dead serious. Go to Lunken Airport in Cincinatti Ohio. Make
> sure you use Millionaire. Ask for the curtesy car. It will be either a
> green or black Jag S-type.

Dang. I am clearly using the wrong FBOs!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[john smith]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>>No, I'm dead serious. Go to Lunken Airport in Cincinatti Ohio. Make
>>sure you use Millionaire. Ask for the curtesy car. It will be either a
>>green or black Jag S-type.

> Dang. I am clearly using the wrong FBOs!
> :-)

No, you shop for an FBO with the lowest priced fuel.
Notice he didn't mention what he paid per gallon. :-))

[Michelle P]

Congratulations! the first 1000 is the sweetest.

Dan Luke wrote:

>* Angel Flight has become an important part of my flying and my life,
>even though it makes up only about 20% of my hours these days.
>
>
>
Angel flight is responsible for several hundred of my flight hours.
Michelle

[Dave Butler]

Michelle P wrote:
> Congratulations! the first 1000 is the sweetest.
>
> Dan Luke wrote:
>
>> * Angel Flight has become an important part of my flying and my life,
>> even though it makes up only about 20% of my hours these days.
>>
>>
>>
> Angel flight is responsible for several hundred of my flight hours.
> Michelle

Great to see so many Angel Flight pilots on this thread!

Dave