Author Archives: Chris

Flying A Standard Holding Pattern

By Chris | Published: September 12, 2011

This is a quick reference for flight simmers – DO NOT USE FOR REAL, LIVE FLIGHTS. Notes: Standard Holding Pattern is typically right-hand turns on VOR, DME, NDB, GPS, or intersection Legs are typically 1 minute below 14,000 feet and 1.5 minutes above 14,000 feet. Parts of a Pattern: inbound leg (1:00) fix end outbound [...]

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Boeing 737 Takeoff Video

By Chris | Published: June 5, 2011

I think I finally figured out the screen resolution I need in order to fill a youtube video viewing box. I set my screen and FSX to 1280 x 720. It makes everything pinched, but the outcome is widescreen 16:9. I also converted the video from Fraps’ AVI to MPEG4 using widescreen setting for both input and [...]

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Fairhope, AL

By Chris | Published: February 2, 2011

This adventure was huge in comparison to all the others. Flying in a de Havilland Beaver DHC2, I covered more than 1,000 miles from Martins Ferry Seaplane Base (WV43) in West Virginia, to Fish River Seaplane Base (5AL) in Fairhope, Alabama (southeast of Mobile). The planning required for this trip took more than 5 hours; seaplane bases [...]

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Wheeling, WV

By Chris | Published: January 2, 2011

On this flight I was hauling 1,000 lbs of snow in a Grumman Goose G21A from John H Batten Airport (KRAC) in Racine, Wisconsin, to Warwood – Martins Ferry Seaplane Base (WV43), near Wheeling, West Virginia. That’s right, a half-ton of snow! The challenge was that with that much weight I could only carry 140 gallons of fuel or [...]

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Racine, WI

By Chris | Published: December 1, 2010

This one is a really short adventure. Without navigation equipment the Piper Cub is like a powered glider. I couldn’t go very far and I needed VFR conditions so I could use dead reckoning to find the airport. I looked at SkyVector just to see that it was a straight shot across Lake Michigan on [...]

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Saugatuck, MI

By Chris | Published: July 28, 2010

There is an interesting story behind this adventure. Somehow I read a Twitter post from @saugatuck that was an ad for the Saugatuck Visitor’s Bureau.  I Googled it and it looked like a cool place so why not fly there. There isn’t an airport at Saugatuck, but there is one 10 miles south in Holland, Michigan – [...]

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Oshkosh, WI

By Chris | Published: June 8, 2010

For this adventure I’m on a mission: I’m headed to Michigan via Oshkosh, WI (KOSH). My problem this time was choosing an aircraft with enough power to make it over the 12,000 foot peaks of the Rocky Mountains and have enough fuel to make it to Oshkosh. For kicks I chose the Douglas DC-3. That’s [...]

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Aspen, CO

By Chris | Published: May 5, 2010

What better way to “celebrate” an one-way-in, one-way-out approach than with an only-one-approach aircraft: DG–808S Competition Sailplane – a.k.a. glider. Half of the reason I wanted to fly the glider here is to see if the AI tow-aircraft  (a Maule) could get off the ground at Leadville, Lake County (KLXV). The other reason is what [...]

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Leadville, CO

By Chris | Published: April 16, 2010

If you’ve ever been to Leadville, CO, you know it’s a small town, with a small airport, surrounded by Pike National Forest in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. What you may not know, however, is that the airport is North America’s highest (public) airport.  We’re starting at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, KBJC, at 5,673 feet, [...]

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Denver, CO

By Chris | Published: March 2, 2010

Now for a little fun in a Mooney Bravo. The Mooney has a ceiling of about 25,000 feet and we’ll need something with a little kick to get into the Rockies. I decided to fly to a little airport west of Denver called Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, KBJC.

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