150's and 172's about the only planes flying!!

"Margy Natalie" wrote

Also debuting this year for "Become a Pilot" (if we can get it done in
time) a C-150 inside the museum that, when staffed, kids will be able to
sit in and learn how to use the control surfaces. Of course right now
it's sitting in the barn, filthy and with no wings on. Guess what I'm
doing on Wednesday!

Your old 150?
--
Jim in NC

Margy Natalie wrote:

Well, Landmark provides overnight parking for participants who want to
come in early and the taxi from there is at least 5 miles. They are on
the NW corner of the airport and we are about a mile and half south of
the runways and halfway between, but our gate access is on the SE corner
of the airport. So it's a long way, but a very nice taxi for at least a
mile through the woods after you exit the first gate from the main airport.

For the big airport squeamish (since the taxi route takes you through
just about everything on the airport) and to make the ATC issues easier
we did a taxi for many of us as a "flight" (either me or Michelle in
the lead). This works pretty well except for last year where I kept
telling them (Navion in the lead, five airplanes back to the biplane),
every controller kept asking "is that four planes", no it's five,
everything back to the biplane...(the reason I put the biplane in
the rear, I figured it was pretty distinctive for Dulles).

I used to be based at Dulles (and Margy actually learned to fly
there), but it's much busier now both for the airlines and all the
bizjet traffic that was effectively kicked out of National.

Margy Natalie wrote:


Also debuting this year for "Become a Pilot" (if we can get it done in
time) a C-150 inside the museum that, when staffed, kids will be able to
sit in and learn how to use the control surfaces. Of course right now
it's sitting in the barn, filthy and with no wings on. Guess what I'm
doing on Wednesday!

Hey Margy, I bet Meridian could get that thing shiny in no time all :-)

By the way, Margy didn't mention it, but one of the stipulations of
being "on exhibit" is that you gotta stand around and talk about
your aircraft (which is not a problem for most aircraft owners).
Many of us have let kids sit in, work the controls, and get their
pictures taken in our aircraft.

One thing I observed and Jay and others who were there can also say,
unlike some disaster public fly-ins (the Dulles Special Olympics
Plane Pull event for instance), the public is REALY REALY well
behaved at these. First, I think that they are already in a
"museum" mind set, but the real key is that before they go out
on the ramp, they have to sit through a safety lecture about
not touching airplanes, dangers of propellers and the like.

Of course, a big hit (and oddly with the museum director as
much as with the kids) is our mascot, a four foot teddy
bear named Piper who rides in with me. The first year
he wore my Navion shooting down the Bonanza t-shirt (the
overall director of the Air and Space museum is a Bonanza
owner who declined the offer to bring his airplane to the
event). Last year he wore a shirt that says "Bears Fly"
shirt (mimicking the Woman Fly shirt I wear).

Morgans wrote:
"Margy Natalie" wrote

Also debuting this year for "Become a Pilot" (if we can get it done in
time) a C-150 inside the museum that, when staffed, kids will be able to
sit in and learn how to use the control surfaces. Of course right now
it's sitting in the barn, filthy and with no wings on. Guess what I'm
doing on Wednesday!

Your old 150?

No, it was one that was donated to the museum by one of the curators but
was otherwise historically undistinctive. It was never on display and
has been bumped from the collection by Bill Kernsher's plane (which is
on the floor right now).

Margy has been fighting to get a 150 (either on display and/or at the
flyin) ever since the FRZ bust by one. She wants people to see
what a big threat they really are :-)

"Ron Natalie" wrote

I used to be based at Dulles (and Margy actually learned to fly
there), but it's much busier now both for the airlines and all the
bizjet traffic that was effectively kicked out of National.

Do you think they will ever open National back up to the smaller guy again?
--
Jim in NC

"Ron Natalie" wrote

Margy has been fighting to get a 150 (either on display and/or at the
flyin) ever since the FRZ bust by one. She wants people to see
what a big threat they really are :-)

Good point.

Now if you could get ALL of the senate and house down there to check one
out.
--
Jim in NC

Mike Isaksen writes:

I hope the LSA/SP bring in a new breed of hobby flyers who can stay in for
the long haul.

It would make more sense to lower the barriers to PPL.

This is not intended to put down the Airline Capt wannabees,
but I do not think that "new student pilot model" has served Rec GA well.
The guys who go career aviation don't tend to do much small GA flying, and
I've seen too many bitter outcomes from the student to private to CFI (time
building) pyramid scheme.

Flight instruction should be an end in itself, not just a stepping stone to
something else.

--
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Jay Honeck writes:

But you're right about computers. They have sapped the life out of
our kids, by allowing them to experience the world without ever
leaving their chairs. I suppose you might look at this as a good
thing, from an evolutionary standpoint, but I find it terribly sad.

Computers are the effect, not the cause. Kids resort to computers because
just about anything with the slightest element of risk is now forbidden to
them. Everything that requires movement or strenuous exercise or being away
from constant supervision for more than a few minutes or involves any type of
insurance or liability (which covers practically everything) is no longer an
option. They live with their parents in a state of fear of everything, and
about the only thing that carries very little risk is playing with a computer.

--
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Morgans writes:

One BIG thing that pilots need to do, is to invite people along with them,
when they go flying.

In our fearful and litigation-oriented society, that's a great way for a pilot
to go bankrupt and never fly again, should even the slightest thing go wrong
during a flight (just having a passenger get airsick would be enough).

--
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Morgans writes:

Myself, I will not allow my life to be ruled by geeks, bean counters, and
lawyers at insurance companies.

You may not have a choice, if someone decides to bankrupt you with a lawsuit.

In my case, these are relatively close friends, so I don't think that is the
cause.

The most bitter proceedings in the legal world are those of probate and
divorce, and yet all the parties involved are family.

--
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