Desert Pilot Podcast

Merry Christmas everyone thanks for listening to the Desert Pilot Podcast

Santa Claus, like all pilots, gets regular visits from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It was shortly before Christmas when the FAA examiner arrived. In preparation, Santa had the elves wash the sled and bathe all the reindeer. Santa got his logbook out and made sure all his paperwork was in order. The examiner walked slowly around the sled. He checked the reindeer harnesses, the landing gear and Rudolph's nose. He painstakingly reviewed Santa's weight and balance calculations for the sled's enormous payload. Finally, they were ready for the checkride. Santa got in and fastened his seat belt and shoulder harness and checked the compass. Then the examiner hopped in carrying, to Santa's surprise, a shotgun. "What's that for?" asked Santa incredulously. The examiner winked and said, "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but you're gonna lose an engine on takeoff." I thought it was funny I got it off an aviation sit...

This the promised video from the podcast from  yesterday . In this video I did 4 touch-n-go's and I full stop landing back a Chandler. Merry Christmas! Desert Pilot: Christmas Touch-n-go's from Trevor Smith on Vimeo .

I love listening to liveATC.net  not really to listen and think really hard about what is going on but more as background, I did some of that for this experiment. This episode is largely unedited. I flew out to south of the Chandler (CHD) and did some touch-n-go at a little field called Phoenix Regional (A39). I have a Lightspeed Zulu headset and for this very relaxing flight I listened to Christmas music. This so for those that like Christmas music and cockpit audio enjoy. I took some video with this flight and will be come out with is shortly. Here are some shots from the flight. you can see this flight in 3D by download it and open the file using Google Earth the music in this podcast is from Josh Groban , The King Singers , and 259

I did my first formation flight, ok so it wasn’t a true formation we still had lots of room between us but it was closest that I’ve ever intentionally been to an other aircraft. I’m with my friend David from school and meet up with some other friends in the air to a fly-in breakfast that we didn’t know we were all going to. After breakfast we talked on the ground and thought we should meet up in the air and snap some photos of each other. We decided that we should go first and be the point of the 3 since we were in a high wing Cessna and they were both in low wing. We would get establish on an altitude and they would come up behind and below on ether side of us so we could all see each other the whole time. We are all new at this and this is this first time for most of us. I don’t do much talking in the podcast but I am very much there, we had decided to have David take the radios and I just fly the plane. We never really got too close but it was a blast doing it. The pics b...

This is part two of the podcast where we are flying back from Copperstate 2009 at Case Grande Airport (CGZ) It's not a long flight but a fun one. I posted pictures and the 3D map of this trip on the previous post Copperstate 2009 part 1. The podcast is below. enjoy.

This episode is part 1 of flying with my friends Nick and Jacob to Copperstate 2009 last month. Copperstate is an EAA event and I would say that it is like Arizona’s Oshkosh. It’s is at Case Grande Airport (KCGZ) just about .5 hobbs south of Chandler where we flew out of. Below are some pics from the day we were there and this podcast, part 1, is us flying there. Hope you enjoy. This Trimotor was giving rides that I should have taken but we saw flying in and out all day. This is the heli we got a ride in. Jacob and the Heli pilot Nick and I nice bikes that I could see my self on. Trimotor taking off. the only jet there. The l-39 on take off 2 Apache coming in Kicking up some dust Me Don't know how one got this 2 heli's and the jet taking off checking out a Huskey sitting in the roomy Super Sport Cub Over fly of some Stermans Flying back View a 3D map of this flight using Google Earth

This flight I'm flying right seat for a friend (Dave) practicing IAP.  The podcast isn't the whole flight just coming back into Goodyear (GYR) when it got a little interesting. here is a link direct to the file but you can always subscribe to the podcast using iTunes by clicking the link on the side. http://sites.google.com/site/trevjsmithfiles/podcasts/dp002dave.mp3 Dave Click here to view this route in 3D using Google Earth

This is my first try at a podcast: http://sites.google.com/site/trevjsmithfiles/podcasts/DesertPilot-flyingbackwithNick.mp3  For those of you who don't know what is that is I found a good little article about what it is. http://www.how-to-podcast-tutorial.com/what-is-a-podcast.htm I started to record cockpit audio and when I go on my flights. I haven't really got is all down with the recording and me narrating the podcast but I'll get better as I go. This flight is off to a fly-in breakfast that the Coolidge airport put on the first sat of every month in the fall, winter and spring month. So this was the kick off for the after the hot summer. here is a few pics: Stearmans flying over (sorry about the camera smudge) Andy and I next to he's pitts, if only it had two seats. Great J-3 Cub very nice newly painted Citabria Blue is there red is back Click here to see the above map in 3D with google earth

This past week has been crazy. On Friday Oct. 9, 2009 I became a father to my first child. Shadrach or just Shad. It really is a wonderful thing to be a father and really all the emotions of being a father that I've hear people talk about start to make since as I start to make these small steps in my life. Here is a shot of right after he was born.

Today I flew some instrument approaches into Gateway (IWA). I like flying into a towered airport because it is more like flying a real approach would be. Although it wasn't too busy today the controller vectored us past the final approach fix. oops, good thing it was just practice. Then after that we flew to Coolidge (P08) and did a GPS approach and came back. Like always you can see my flight in 3D   by downloading the file and opening it using google earth .

Ok so I didn't go too far south just down to Marana Regional Airport (AVQ). I still need a little more time to build up my time for commercial. On the way to Marana I stopped at a little airport called Phoenix Regional (A39) just north of Case Grande and I got out and walked around. Most people don't so I wanted to check out what was there. on the ground at A39 there was this house right on the taxi way that looks like it is a foreclosure (I could get it for cheap) very nice looking, few broken windows but other then that looks good. these are two very large radial engines that look like they've seen better days. It looks like a Baron, cool paint job, needs a little work. this office/hanger was also right on the runway and no one was in it. Also there is 100LL at A39 I never knew, doesn't show it on the charts. I didn't take many pics at AVQ seemed like an ok place might have to go back and try the restaurant out. Here are some old planes there....

I finally got my GPS to work when I was practicing VOR and ILS approaches into Case Grande (CGZ). You can see the crazy patterns to fly an approach. That's why I may seem like airlines are turning the wrong way sometimes. click here to get the file above to view in 3D using Google Earth

This week I went on a  Civil Air Patrol  flight. This mission was really awesome it was to go out and have the Air Force practice intercepting us. I was flying scanner and finished the scanner training up. Here are a few photos from the flight.