Descent, eh? Yes, we know a thing or two about descent in this house.
It wasn’t the best weather for flying this weekend, but we went anyway. Not unsafe, of course, just not ideal mostly because of wind.
Beloved Husband has to keep current on his flight ratings, and he likes to practice landing in windy weather. I am happy to report he landed that plane like a pro in a 19 knot wind with gusts to 29.
Part of my job as co-pilot is to read the checklist off to the pilot. Every time I read an aviation checklist, I gain a new appreciation for how much goes on in my pilot’s head as he keeps that plane aloft.
One of the checklist categories is descent:
And speaking of descent, here we are this summer landing on a blazing hot day in North Carolina. This particular plane has an overly-sensitive stall warning.
The high pitched whine you hear is not me!! Really.
Thanks for flying with us,
Barbara
Silver in the Barn 
Nice touchdown! So what is the whining sound? Is it a Minimums warning indicator?
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No, John, this is an overly-sensitive stall horn. Roger says this particular plane will actually alert you to “minimums’ by saying “minimums! minimums!”
All things I don’t particularly want to hear while flying!
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That whine sounded like a squeaky toy being gripped tightly in the co-pilots hands! Thanks for taking us flying with you.
It’s been windy and cold here this weekend. I can imagine the challenge of landing a small aircraft in the gusty gales.
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It does, doesn’t it? And what is going on with the weather? We’ve got a freeze warning tonight and it’s dark and dreary already. Brrrrr, feel’s like winter is on its way….
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I bet most of the country is ready for Indian Summer now!
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How wonderful to fly. It is my most common dream. I get pursued by danger but fortunately I can get away by flying. No one else can. ( there is a lot there)
What an adventurous life having to keep up ratings by flying.
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Gerard, the question that springs to mind for me is are you flying without the aid of an aircraft ala Peter Pan? I had that dream often as a child. Yes, my husband absolutely loves flying and all of its challenges. He mentioned today he wants to perhaps go on to earn his commercial flight rating. All fine by me!!
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I fly unaided. I just take off and look down on my pursuers. An overwhelming relief is the reward. Helvi reckons I have something unresolved. At my age, a career as a pilot has been left too late. Steering the curry to a successful finale is as far as it will go.
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Of course you fly unaided! YAY! That’s what I was hoping to hear. Unresolved issues or not, what a great escape from what ever might be plaguing your dreams. I lost this ability to fly as an adult and I miss it terribly. Lucky you.
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You are certainly a trooper! But as I have said before Roger is the
only one I would fly with- I worked with several Pharmacists that also have a flying club and was asked many times to fly with them – waiting to get up the nerve Roger!
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He would love that!! But you don’t want to do it on a day like today. He’ll take you up when the winds are five knots!
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While the challenge word was descent, you two are thoroughly decent human beings.
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You see, this is why I like you, Barbara!! XXX
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Terrific post Barbara! I like Gerard’s comment above, as flying is such a wonderful dream experience I share with him, though I’m not being chased. It must be lovely having to keep up the hours flying, as it gives you an excuse to visit places and avoid the traffic!
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It’s reassuring to know that pilots have to keep their currency, isn’t it? My pilot has been flying now for only two years, but he has really put in lots and lots of hours of additional training and skill-building. Like landing in high winds, for instance. Makes me a much more comfortable co-pilot knowing how seriously he takes all of this.
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Wowsers! Thank you for taking us flying – what an adventure! I haven’t been in a plane that small since I was about 5 or 6. My dad had a friend who flew a 3 seater SkyHawk, and he took us kids up in batches for a spin around the sky. It. Was. Awesome! Great post, Barbara! xx Dorreen
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Glad you enjoyed. As I say, my husband is more than happy to take anybody flying, anytime. What fun for you kids that must have been.
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Just stay safe.
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Don’t worry, Madam. We really are very careful.
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Your pictures were wonderful! And that checklist looks fierce.
I probably don’t live too far from you in Richmond. There’s quite a few Virginia bloggers and it’s nice to meet another one.
Nancy
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Well, hello Nancy. There do seem to be a lot of Virginians blogging; I follow quite a few. Before life turned things topsy-turvy for me, I had plans to host a get-together at my house for those of us reasonably close to Richmond. Maybe I’ll be able to pull it off in the spring. Interested?
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Yes, I am. Annette over at Beauty Along The Road had told me about you, but I didn’t follow up. Sorry about that! I think a get together would be great!
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Are Yankees welcome? We do travel, from time to time. Whether we have a reason or not!
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Happy landings; they’re always preferable. 🙂
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Ha! Eric, your gift for understatement made me smile this morning. Preferable, indeed!
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My how far you’ve come 🙂
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I know!!!! I am much better now, I have to say. Several hundred successful landings helped ease my nerves.
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What a fun post for the photo challenge!!! You are a brave and adventurous one! Xo. Now get that Roger to fly to Mars….. PA that is. 😄
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Thank goodness you were specific here, Jodi. We will definitely do it!! Won’t that make for a fun co-post. I can see the headline now….”Flight to Mars!”
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Oh – I can’t wait – what fun we will have!!!!
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Pingback: 11-2-14 Let’s Descend Again (Photo Challenge 2nd Pass) | The Quotidian Hudson
Thank you for taking us through your duties as co pilot. I was sitting behind the co pilot on a light aircraft flight down to the south of Costa Rica when he started pulling out a manual and going through stuff…I wondered what on earth was going on.
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I would have felt a bit uneasy seeing a pilot reading a manual prior to my co-piloting days. Yes, there is a seemingly infinite amount of adjustments needed for the various phases of flight and it is impossible to remember them all. Checklists to the rescue. Is that volcano simmering down?
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It’s throwing rocks about now…and they’ve found traces of magma….
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I have a guest room….
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Perfect post for the challenge, Barbara!
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Inspired by the checklist, Eliza, thanks!
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I have a deep and abiding respect for you and your marriage!! If Gilles had been a pilot, it’s unlikely our marriage would have survived
Unfortunately I can’t hear the warning on your link … and maybe it’s just as well. I already have too many ‘issues’ when I fly!
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Our marriage survived his teaching me to drive a stick shift. After that, we can endure anything together. “How many times do I have to tell you…..” involved me bursting into tears and storming out of the car. I was more high strung in my youth….
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LOL!! I can relate to that scene 😀
On a road trip, I was once banished to the back seat of the car. Now when my gasps and foot searching for the brake pedal annoy him, he just threatens.
Thankfully I learned how to drive a stick before I met him!
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We can’t help it if we are better drivers and see things before they do. I swear my husband has two speeds while driving: accelerating and braking. And the braking part never happens soon enough for me. I’ve never been banished to the back seat….not yet anyway. LOL!!!!
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Stall horns always make me flash back to stall recoveries in lessons. Hated it, mostly because of how freaking hard it is to stall anything with a STOL kit. You end up feeling completely vertical, which is beyond weird
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I’ve never flown, Cherity, during the lessons so I don’t know what stalling feels like. The next step in all of this flying is me learning the basics in case….you know….something happens to the pilot. I’ve forbidden him to have a heart attack or anything else while we’re in the air, but stuff happens and he wants me to start learning things. Step number one: the radio, I guess.
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How exciting to fly at will! And what a great pilot and copilot. I can’t imagine going up and coming down in all the wind we have had lately. It practically blew my car off the road. You two are true adventurers.
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Well, let’s just say that after I shrieked a few times, Roger “descended” to a less bumpy elevation. It was windy yesterday, wasn’t it? Thanks, Dor!
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That. Is Seriously Cool.
I’ve never experienced a landing in a small plane. Took off in one once but since I jumped out of it before it came down, I don’t know what the landing was like. (Mine was fine, by the way.)
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Good god, woman! Even my husband, somebody who loves to experience life, wouldn’t do that. You are too cool, Heather. Llama, grasshoppers, parachutes…oh yes, ukuleles….
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Oh yes, we ukulele players live on the edge!
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Laughing, laughing, you nut.
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I’m glad I’d had my breakfast before I read this. I am to flying what Dracula is to daylight… Do your talents know no bounds? 🙂
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Let’s just put it this way, Drac, I am constantly being pushed outside my comfort zone by a certain adventurous spirit I live with. “I’d rather be reading” is the answer to most questions offered me…
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🙂 I know what you mean.
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I’d spend whatever it takes to get that damned thing fixed ! – the thought of being told the engine’s about to stall, unnecessarily, makes me squirm.
Yer a brave lady ! 🙂
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That particular plane is decked out with all the bells and whistles and is my least favorite of the four in his club for exactly what you’re saying, M-R. Give me a good old reliable Cessna that blows the stall horn necessarily, I say.
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Yes, it was a nice landing!
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That’s what we strive for. “Uneventful” is a very good thing when flying, Linda.
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Oh, cool! I’m learning new things about you all the time! I’m both thrilled and terrified when in a small plane–it’s so REAL, in ways, well, thrilling and terrifying.
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Now you have nailed it, Kerry. In a big plane you are literally and figuratively insulated – in a metal cocoon – from what is really going on. That’s exactly why small planes are simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. YES!
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One of my few experiences in a small plane was flying over Seattle in a seaplane. We took off from and landed in Lake Union in the heart of the city. I loved the feeling of riding on the air currents.
Thank you for the video. I doubt I’ll ever sit in the cockpit for a landing, so that was fun.
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Great! I’ve never been in a seaplane and the only time I’ve ever seen one in action was in Vancouver, BC. I’m glad you enjoyed the ride!
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What a smooth landing! Flying’s not my favorite thing to do – my ears always hurt SEVERELY as we begin our descent. I can’t imagine being a co-pilot!
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I know exactly what you mean. My ears kill me in the big planes but for some reason not in the little ones. We never go above 8,000 feet for one thing and our descent is gradual. In the big planes, you’re at 30,000 feet. Maybe that has something to do with it. But I can so relate to that agony which goes on for hours afterwards too.
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That’s true – we’ve taken a few small plane rides, and I didn’t have any ear problems. Thanks for the video: it was fun!
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CH says, from one pilot to another.. Nice Landing! Loved hearing voice.. 🙂
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*your voice
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Your husband is a pilot too! Awesome!!!
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