Tonight, I watched The Future of Food, a documentary on genetically modified foods. It describes how patent-protected seeds spread from crops to crops, while forcing farmers to buy new seeds every year and to spray their crops with chemicals that can be procured from the seed manufacturer only. Many thanks to Jacques-Alexandre for having introduced me to this eye-opener movie. I guess it’s time for an organic diet of sorts.
My favorite plane these days is the Columbia 400, for which I had a demo flight a couple of weeks ago. The only problem with this aircraft is that it is powered by a regular piston engine, as opposed to a turboprop engine, which makes it slightly less reliable. Also, in order to make it the fastest certified piston aircraft in production today, it is powered by a Teledyne Continental Motors TSIO-550-C, which is twin-turbocharged and twin-intercooled. Turbocharging and intercooling add to the fragility of the overall power plant, which makes long flights over the ocean a risky endeavor. The plane was originally developed as a kit plane by Lancair, which also sells the PropJet. This kit plane is essentially a beefed-up Columbia 400 powered by a 750 HP Walter 601E turbine and equipped with retractable landing gear. I’m not so sure about the Walter engine, and retractable landing gear significantly increases insurance costs for GA airplanes. So for me, the perfect aircraft would be a Columbia 400 equipped with fixed landing gear and powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-35, the same engine used by jetPROP for the conversion of Piper Malibu and Piper Mirage aircraft. Let’s hope that Columbia will be working on something like this in the future.
I just came across an article on the Epic LT, an experimental aircraft developed by Aircraft Investor Resources. Imagine taking 5 people with you for a 1,608 NM flight to 28,000 feet at 350 knots (403 mph, or 648 km/h). That’s pretty much what this composite single turboprop aircrat is capable of. It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6, the same engine used by the Pilatus PC-12, which empty weight is 61% greater than the Epic’s. This allows the Epic LT to climb to 28,000 feet in less than 11 minutes, while the Pilatus PC-12 would need more than 17. Sweet! The aircraft is available as a kit today, and certified versions are forecasted for 2009. I cannot wait to get a demo flight on this one…
When I need an escape from my daily routines, I like to take a glance at pictures of aircraft I like. This takes me back in the air for a couple seconds, then I can go back to my work. Disclaimer: I did not take these pictures, and they remain the property of their respective owners.
I watched Green Street Hooligans today, a movie starring Elijah Wood in the role of a young American student journalist traveling to London and discovering the underground world of soccer hooligans. Wood’s performance is excellent, and greatly contributes to paint a romantic yet controversial picture of the hooligans movement. As someone who still remembers the Heysel stadium tragedy of 1985, I have mixed feelings about the movie and the director’s intents in making it. Definitely worth watching though.
We’re spending the week-end at Lake Berryessa to celebrate Daniel’s birthday. Yesterday, we rented a Sanger DLX with a 300 HP engine. I gave wakeboarding a try, but results where really poor. Nevertheless, piloting this 20'8" boat was a lot of fun. I think I might get into power boats at some point. Many thanks to Kim for having organized this great week-end, and happy birthday Daniel!
Today, Sofia and Jean-Marc are getting married in France. I had hoped that I could synchronize a trip there with some business meetings, but work-related duties that had to be fulfilled in the Bay Area made this impossible. That’s too bad really, for I was looking forward to this event. So here we are guys, sorry for having missed the party. I wish you a very happy life together, and look forward to seeing you again very soon. Cheers!
Last navigation lesson, this one dedicated to Distance Measuring Equipment (DME). The Cirrus SR20 that I am flying is not equipped with DME, so we are using an IFR-certified GPS in lieu of DME. We practiced DME arc tracking, which can be very confusing when the VOR used as center for the DME arc is located on the other side of the final approach course from the destination airport, as is the case for the VOR DME or GPS-A approach to Watsonville Municipal Airport (KWVI). Needless to say, I did not get it right at first, but once I realized that getting closer to the DME arc’s center meant getting further away from the destination airport, everything became clear. Today’s flight lasted 1.6 hours.
Following VOR navigation, today is dedicated to GPS navigation. Because the GPS can accurately determine one’s position in real time, and depict it on a moving map, it would seem that GPS navigation should be a walk in the park. In reality, with power comes responsibility, and the increased situational awareness offered by GPS navigation comes at a price: one must master the complexity of the Garmin GNS 430, and also make sure that GPS satellites will still provide accurate information when time comes to initiate a GPS approach. The later is achieved through a RAIM prediction, which tells the pilot whether enough satellites will be available from any given location, at any given time in the future. We logged 1.8 hours and 2 instrument approaches.
Today’s lesson was dedicated to VOR navigation. The VHF Omnidirectional Range developed in the 1960’s remains one of the primary tools for instrument navigation. During a 1.7 hours flight, we practiced VOR tracking and VOR radial interception. The Primary Flight Display on the Avidyne FlightMax Entegra provides a digital version of the Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI), which makes VOR navigation a lot more precise than with traditional VOR equipment. I think I’m getting the hang of it.
Our friends Hugues and Leticia got legally married today! The religious ceremony and subsequent party will be held in August, in France. Congratulations guys! May and I wish you a very happy life together.
Our friends Rosie and Simon had a boy named Sam yesterday. Let’s hope that he becomes as good a scuba diver as the parents and that he can teach me some ceilidh dancing, for my last performance were not that impressive. Welcome Sam!
Today, May and I joined a group of friends to attend the Stern Grove Festival and listen to a free concert with Aimee Mann and Seu Jorge. Aimee Mann wrote and sang the soundtrack for the delicate Magnolia. She also plays on our music system at least once every week-end. Seu Jorge is a Brazilian artist and played Pelé dos Santos in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, with great covers of David Bowie songs, and Knockout Ned in the breathtaking City of God. Also, following last year’s renovation work, Stern Grove is more beautiful than ever. Highly recommended for any sunny Sunday. Last but not least, many thanks to Adam for getting us one of the best spots on the field and pointing me out to Seu Jorge’s play in City of God.
I am a big fan of Jack Black and loved his performance in High Fidelity. Today, May and I went to see Nacho Libre. The movie does not offer much more than his excellent trailer does, but we had some good laughs nonetheless. May especially liked the El Snowflake character.
Today, I got a demo flight for the Columbia 400. The plane I flew was equipped with the Garmin G1000 and the new Ready Pad. In this previous post, I was wondering whether the Avidyne FlightMax Entegra would be a better option. Today, my mind is set, I would definitely go for the Garmin. The plane’s construction is a lot better than the one of the Cirrus SR20 that I am flying for my IFR training. The Columbia is to the Cirrus what a Mercedes is to a Ford. On a very hot day, we climbed to 9,000 feet at 1,500 feet per minute, our ground speed easily reached 210 knots, and the plane felt very stable at slow speed, all the way down to 60 knots. Amazing! Many thanks to Jon Mayer for the flight.
Sky clear, high pressure, no wind, unlimited visibility. Perfect conditions for a Bay tour at lunch time. Which is exactly what I did today with my friend and fellow scuba diver Andreas. We did the usual routine in 0.7 hours, which seems to be the fastest I can get these done without rushing it. Let’s keep it that way, nice and smooth…
May is back in full-speed mode, attending classes for her Master’s Degree in mathematics and holding a full-time job at a software company. Long gone are the days when I would come back home in the evening and find her cooking dinner for us. Today, roles are switched and I am the one playing with pans and trying to figure out how to make the oven work. Bon appétit!
I watched The World’s Fastest Indian today. This sweet movie tells the story of New Zealander Burt Munro who spent his entire life customizing a 1920 Indian motorcycle and ended setting a land-speed world record at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967. The record is still holding today. Anthony Hopkins’ acting is remarkable, but the DVD’s cut is terrible. I must hope that a better director’s cut will be released one day.
May started her new job at Guidewire today. The company is developing online solutions for the insurance industry. It’s the first time May is working for a start-up, and she is quite excited about it. Congratulations for the new job! And I should also mention that our friends Arnaud and Sandy had a baby boy named Nohan today. Congratulations to the parents and welcome on board buddy!
My last three flights have been on a Cirrus SR20. In order to stay current with the Cessna Skyhawk 172SP, I took my friend Matthieu for a flight to Tracy (KTCY). Matthieu is also a pilot, but it was his first flight on a plane equipped with a glass cockpit. Needless to say, he loved it. We flew N6034D, my friend Dale’s brand new plane, which had less than 36 hours of total flight time. The cabin had this delicious smell of new leather. Awesome!
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