ETLB Squawk Forums — Archive

Yesterday was a great day for flying, so I hollered at a neighbor to see if he wanted to go up. I don't talk to my neighbors much (or anybody for that matter) but he knows I have a plane and a little strip out here and had expressed some interest in flying, and that his wife was kinda interested too.

I'm not Paul, and I would bore you to tears if I tried to articulate the flight, but these folks each had the time of their lives on their short flights. They thought it was really neat to see their house and acreage from above.

I've come to realize that I have the most fun flying when I am just up there providing the means for somebody else to just enjoy the heck out of themselves. It makes it even better when they tell you they later looked up some of the landmarks you showed them on google earth. That's when you know they enjoyed the experience.

Demo flying a light weight, more than capable 503 powered 1500R for a "prospective buyer" would be a close second though.  

Quoted from KenL
I've come to realize that I have the most fun flying when I am just up there providing the means for somebody else to just enjoy the heck out of themselves. It makes it even better when they tell you they later looked up some of the landmarks you showed them on google earth. That's when you know they enjoyed the experience.

Demo flying a light weight, more than capable 503 powered 1500R for a "prospective buyer" would be a close second though.  

Reminds me of a flight I took about a month ago. I had just returned from a scenic hour in my 150 and when I rolled up to the fuel pump a young couple and toddler were pressed up against the fence watching. I said hello and then asked if either of them would like to go for a ride. The young lady quickly replied, "oh no, we don't have any money..." I said, "You don't need any money..." They couple looked at each other, then in about 3 seconds they guy said "I'll go for a ride!..."

I gave him a quick little pre-flight orientation. He seemed a little concerned when I gave him the egress procedure, but I assured him we would not require implementing it. When we took off he was transfixed and just kept repeating "wow, this is so cool..." I said something like "Better than flying in an airliner, huh?..." His reply... "Well, I would not know, I have never flown in anything before..."  Once we had some altitude I let him have the controls - well ok, the yoke. I managed the rudder and throttle and just had him keep altitude and make a shallow turn or two. Then we headed back into the pattern and landed. When he got out he said "Thanks man, that was about the coolest thing I have ever done..."

I put my plane away, and felt even better than I usually do after a great scenic. I agree with Ken, its always a great feeling to share the experience of flight with someone else... Maybe not as cool as landing in a corn field in an open cockpit single-seater... but a good close second...

Your story nailed exactly what I was talking about Tony.

Good on ya by the way!

I have the same feelings about that. Love it when I can take someone up that has never flown and see their reaction. I have taken up eight that have never flown. One of them said their feet would never leave the ground but she went up with me and now if I called her and asked if she would like to go flying, she would probably beat me to the airport. Another one was nervous and went up........she loved it. Then another one was just plain scared but wanted to go up......I think it was the fact that it was going up with me, but anyway I know have a flying buddy that would go anywhere I would want to go when flying because she loves it. Took one of my friends up, he liked it but got sick on me........he does want to go up again though.  Makes you feel good sharing flight with others.

those are the exact feeling i get being part of the young eagles, whether i am actually taking kids up myself in our club cherokee or talking to them and their parents on the ground and showing off the minimax and doing some smoke passes. It is an amazing feeling sharing my love of aviation with others.

Guess what.... I like mothers scared , so I grab little 10 years old Esther yesterday. First time in her life...
Than she was cleaning the bugs so enthusiastically...

Great job from all you guys!!  And now 10 yr old Esther has become a potential pilot who will never forget her first flight!!  I've been involved with EAA's Young Eagles program and the neatest part is watching their faces when we're up there!  

Claude

This shifts the thread's orientation a bit... but with respect to something else I (will) enjoy about flying.... well... I found these clips on youtube today. This is low, slow flying over the Palouse. This is the EXACT area I will be flying N27KL around. I do not know the trike pilot who shot these, but I hope I meet him...  Hopefully, before too many weeks/months go by I will share a minimax perspective of this same area.... Anyway, this is what I mean by the Palouse being an awesome place for low, slow, open cockpit, max type flying... It is going to be a blast!...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cGYaF2Qmc0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE2RnTMdPsc

Don't know anything about Trike flying but it looks like fun. Low & slow is a blast.

Man what a fun place that would be to play! That is my definition of flying to a tee. I'm not big on cross country flying, that's what I bought my Ferrari for. Just kidding... that's not why I bought it. Well, ok, I don't have a Ferrari.

That is some beautiful country. Would love to see that in person. Also if you have a problem and need to set down there...........looks like you have an abundance of places to easily land.

Quoted from lowflyer ... Also if you have a problem and need to set down there...........looks like you have an abundance of places to easily land.

You are not speaking to anyone in particular here, right?... Just being hypothetical I'll assume...

LOL Redbird, not pickin at you. Just saying after I watched the videos you posted.

Redbird, I  enjoyed both of your videos. It must be a law of physics that the closer to the ground you are, the faster you go    I am puzzled about one thing, I expected to see  more trees since you filmed  this in NH.  

Ken L, you are right about sharing the joy  of flight as being what you enjoy most about flying.  As Paul Poberenzy  says, "It's about the people".  You did a good job of expressing your feelings about flying, the photo of your passenger says the message is transferred.  It is nice to know that all the others who chimed in share  these feelings.  

Paul Fiebich

Quoted from fiebichpv   I am puzzled about one thing, I expected to see  more trees since you filmed  this in NH.  
Paul Fiebich

Sorry for the confusion Paul. I didn't shoot these, nor were they shot in NH... I found them on youtube. A trike pilot I do not know (yet) shot them. It is the exact region (the Palouse) I am moving to in Idaho. It is right on the Idaho/Washington border. I will live/work in Moscow, ID, but I will hangar my planes at PUW, in Pullman, WA.
I actually have flown over this exact area before when I was based out of PUW several years ago, in my Aeronca, but not at such low agl. I will be exploring the area in N27KL soon though and am looking forward to a similar vantage point as demonstrated in these trike videos...

Aeronca --"such a low agl". That just ain't right. Aeronca's and J-3's are the original "low" flyers. My Champ refused to fly higher than 1200' agl. Must have been something wrong with yours. LOL   Shoot, dang near every time I landed I had to clean those aggravating pine needles out of the landing gear.

Gary


and now before all you guy's get your panties in a wad, I'm just messing with Tony. I cleared those treetops by a good 50'.