I still give PAO the thumbs up - I can grab a quick sandwich right there
next to the FBO. Now, granted, RHV has a nearby In 'n Out which gets

Yes, but the sandwich will cost you a million dollars at PAO!

But I have to drive there - it's too far to walk.

Woosy! grin


Actually I have wondered if the "Ilk" are why airplanes and CFIs cost
more there than at RHV...

Survey says............ "Yes"

But then again, there's San Carlos which has similiar HOBBS rates to PAO..
If I were to be serious for a moment, I guess that's what bugs me most about
some of the local flying clubs; ya pay the monthly dues AND enrollment fee
and you STILL pay higher HOBBS rates.

given day - to ME. Remember, I said in my post that it was MY OPINION
and MY EXPERIENCE. Clearly yours is different - no worries, but I feel
like I'm being attacked.

Yes,,, but your opinion is wrong and I felt it was my duty to point it
out... '-)

And there are TWO Starbucks in the shopping center across Capitol/Tully
from RHV. So there.

Yes, but they are generally not in plain view, so I don't find their
presence as 'obscene' as I normally would '-)

I don't like 30 year old airplanes with scratchy radios and "INOP"
placards plastered all over the place. I prefer to spend a little more $
and fly something nicer and newer. But really, my point was that PAO has
a lot more interesting planes, both in the air and on the ground, on any

But that simply isn't true,,, there are perfectly nice (AND new - especially
at Tradewinds) airplanes at RHV. Even the older trainers at Nice Air are in
respectable shape.

OK, OK. I flew out of RHV for my first four years; now I'm at PAO for
fixed wing stuff, so maybe I was just bored with RHV in general.

If you laid off the Starbucks caffeine,,, you'd 'come down' and then flying
would be exciting again, no matter where you flew ! ;-)

Criminy, don't get your panties all in a wad.

Hey!!! How did you know what I was wearing for underwear??? THAT'S what I
get for waking up at three in the morning and trying to dress in the
dark,,, knew something felt different....... :-/.

I'll close by mentioning one thing I forgot to mention about PAO - I'm
still not used to flying over water all the time in the pattern. With so
many airplanes typically in the air, it's difficult to fly a very tight,
"safe" pattern (in case of an engine failure or whatever), and that
water looks cold from 800'.

Flying over the water has never been one of my favorite things, either.
Don't know if you have your instrument rating yet, but assuming you
don't.... Just wait until you do an instrument approach into Monterey,
Norcal takes you WAAAAYYYY out over the ocean to start the
approach,,,,,,,,,,,,, YIKES!!!! Also the Watsonville instrument approaches
give me the willies too for a similar reason. For some weird reason, flying
the Bay Tour (with only Crissy Field as the only likely emergency landing
site,,, aside from a ditching in the bay) doesn't 'bug' me,,, go figure.....


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

Cecil
PP-ASEL
Student-IASEL

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 -
wrote in message
...
On Tue, 13 Apr 2004 12:00:14 GMT, "Cecil Chapman"
wrote:


- two runways (3100-ish feet long)
- helicopter training is available
- no restaurant on-field

But the area is surrounded by any number of restaurants.



IMO RHV's management is missing a bet by not making it easier for a
restaurant to occupy the upper level of the gub'ment building there.

- airspace butts up against foothills to the east, and SJC to the
northwest. There are basically two fixed-wing corridors you can fly
into
it with - "Caleveras" and "UTC" - without talking to SJC.

Calaveras, UTC are just one of the few 'corridors' as you call them that
you
can fly without talking to NORCAL or SJC, if you look at a sectional
you'd
see there are quite a bit more.

Nonetheless the ones I mentioned are what probably 90% of the
inbound/outbound VFR traffic use. (BTW I *have* been known to look at a
sectional occasionally, but mostly they're great for wrapping aviation
presents. )

- IMO, a boring selection of airplanes to kick the tires on, other than
having about 400% more helicopters than PAO

For God's sake, man,,,, if you find the process of flying 'boring' maybe
you
are in the wrong sport?




??? I spend LOTS of this time at this field... If, as you say, RHV has
"400% more helicopters than PAO",,,, then PAO must have only ONE
helicopter,
because there really aren't that many helicopters on the field. Most of
the
activity and presence is fixed-wing from tail draggers to trainers, to
twins.

My math was a little buggered. To be clear: to my knowledge there are no
rental/training helicopters at PAO, while there are three at RHV.

Oh geez,,, have you ever SEEN RHV??? there are twins, taildraggers, new
Cessnas as well as older models the field, but yes, there are also older
(but well-maintained) planes there, also.

Yawn. The most interesting plane that was there for a long time, that
you could walk up to anyway, was an old Navion that hadn't flown in a
looooong time. Beat-to-pieces 182s and Archers are boooooooring. And not
a SINGLE New Technology airplane exists on the entire field that can be
rented. PAO has four that I can think of, and even SQL has two or three.

So, if you are the kind who can
only impress the ladies with that shiny new plane and not the glory of
flight (regardless of how one gets UP there),, maybe shiny, new planes
are
what YOU need,,, but they are certainly not a necessity for the original
poster who wants to learn how to fly and discover the magic of flight -
for
that you only need a decent well-maintained plane, determination and 'the
dream',,, that's it.....

Whatever. And, BTW wtf is this nonsense about impressing the ladies with
an airplane? I fly for the challenge, not to get laid. That's what my
giant pilot's watch is for!

Oops wait,,, I think I just figured you out....

Nnnnnk, but thanks for playing. You don't have me Figured Out.

Here's the REAL problem you
have with RHV - unlike PAO (where the rich folks play), there are no
BMW's,
Mercedes' and their ilk infecting the parking lots and GASP there are
NO
nearby espresso/latte' stands ,,,, and GASP AND HORRORS, the area that
surrounds RHV is ethnically diverse! ;0)




Here's what you'll find at RHV (though, of course there are always a few
exceptions); pilots driving well-worn, older model cars 'cause they are
saving their bucks for that plane they have in the hangar, or for their
flying lessons - because in the end, it isn't the fancy car, or the
flash,
or the praise/accolades they are looking for,,, they just LOVE to fly.
All
ya need for that is the determination and a mechanically-sound airplane,
doesn't have to be brand-new and flashy. Like that bumper sticker
says,,,,,, "Flight,,,, all the rest is just 'details'".

None of what I said
implies that I don't love to fly. I just love different aspects of it
than you do! Jeez!

---



dB.