Recommended Terrorist Threat Level for the Department of Homeland Security

I've been doing some traveling this week to go to the Visual Studio Live conference in Orlando (for the programmer side of life). The TSA was in full force because the current Department of Homeland Security threat level is orange!

Based on the number of people complaining about the minor nuisance of standing in line for over an hour trying to get through screening and having some stranger in a booth look at a little bit of millimeter scanner porn of you, your spouse, or your daughter (which the TSA says isn't being stored, and then says it is being stored), I figured there just aren't enough people out there who understand just what it means to be at a threat level as high as orange.

I mean, if you knew what orange really means, you wouldn't care if your terrified and screaming 3 year old girl gets a pat-down by a TSA agent, because it's for the good of the employment of thousands of undereducated TSA agents who otherwise would be relegated to not pretending to have authority over upstanding and law abiding citizens?

Frankly, if we're being honest, I never can remember where orange fits either (and I've even written a blog post about it which makes me something of an expert on the subject). I think that red is the highest, but I never can remember what's between orange and the highest or where orange goes between the middle and the high. I just don't know. Even if I did, I never can figure out why "significant risk" is lower than "high risk." I mean, it seems to me that a high risk may not necessarily even be significant.

In any case, I set out to devise a better threat level system for the Department of Homeland Security, to make them immediately recognizable, even by the colorblind. We could name our threat levels after animals! Here's the new and improved Terrorist Threat Level System I recommend for the DHS:

Threat Level: Otter Awwww, I can't be scared of you!

Threat Level: Puppy Terrorists have threatened to chew your shoes and pee on your carpet but will also love and adore you for many years to come (unless you are Michael Vick)

Threat Level: Wolf Terrorists have threatened to come here and consume our small prey!

Threat Level: Tyson Terrorists have threatened to eat our children.

Threat Level: Tiger Recent communications intercepted by American intelligence indicates that the terrorists are planning on attacking Vegas magicians!

Threat Level: Bear So, we're pretty much screwed. Based on information we don't have from an organization we can't trust, it turns out our best bet is to turn over any last rights we have and put our destiny in the hands of the federal government. Let's all just lie down and play dead.

Threat Level: The Transportation Safety Administration All your privacy and human dignity are belong to the TSA! We are pretty much effing effed. The only real option we have now is to stop flying altogether, but if we did that, the TSA would stop tricking the DHS into thinking bad things are happening on airplanes and will start calling in threats on trains, busses, and cars. Next thing you know, we'll have to get probed by TSA before we back out of our driveways. These terrorists are already living among us.

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.

I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC

Flight Simulator Rudder Pedals by CH Products Pro

There's very little recourse for a pilot who just can't get into a plane. Sometimes it's too expensive, sometimes the weather's too bad, or sometimes you just wanna see what you (or the plane) can handle. When I can't fly, I'll fire up my projector and play a little Microsoft Flight Simulator X.

Some people don't care much for flight simulators, but to be honest, it helps me keep fresh on instrument approaches, aerobatics, and the exciting planes I'll get to fly someday :). Problem was, all I had was a joystick . . . it was a nice (but cheap) Saitek Cyborg Evo Joystick. You can rotate the joystick for yaw, but climbing requires right rudder (even in flight sim) and I was getting tired of killing my wrist trying to crab for landing.

I picked up the CH Products Pro Flight Pedals and started having a lot more fun. They move like you'd expect rudder pedals to move: when the right goes back the left comes forward. If you're into driving games, the pedals can be fixed so that they behave like car pedals . . . but what would I know about that? I just like the sensitivity, control, comfort, and toe brakes.

These pedals are definitely worth it and Flight Simulator X is a lot of fun including free flight to a number of great missions. You can even play as an air traffic controller in online multi-player gaming. It's a great reprieve for the frustrated pilot. Check it out.

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.

I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC

Stick and Rudder

I've been lucky in my life that I have a healthy curiosity for learning and figuring out how things work. I've spent a lot of time around a lot of pilots since I learned to fly and I've observed that there are two ways people learn (and indeed, learn to fly).

When people learn some new skill, most people learn just a series of actions; this kind of learning is easy to do and produces repeatable results under similar circumstances. Other people learn why things work the way they do and they can apply this knowledge to understanding why you take each step to achieve a result; this kind of learning is difficult and time consuming but when you learn on a conceptual level, you're better prepared to apply your knowledge and understanding to novel situations.

For me and my piloting, Stick and Rudder by Wolfgang Langewiesche is the first step to having a true understanding of the art of flying! As I understand, in the 1940's Wolfgang published a series of articles on the physics of flight and pilot behavior. These articles were compiled into Stick and Rudder.

This book explains the physics of flight in very simple terms. It's fun to read and easy to understand. More importantly, the concepts you learn in Stick and Rudder will teach you to understand the aerodynamics of the control inputs you make. You won't be just a pilot anymore; you'll be an artist and a craftsman.

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.

I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC

Pedco UltraClamp

A few months ago, I posted a few videos I took doing aerobatics in the Super Decathlon. Before I successfully took these videos, I tried several unsuccessful attempts to mount the camera inside the plane. That's when my flight instructor told me about the Pedco UltraClamp.

I am extremely impressed with this device. It took me 30 seconds to attach the Pedco UltraClamp to the camera and to clamp the camera to the internal frame of the cockpit. This kept the camera up and out of the way which allowed me to safely concentrate on flying the airplane while the UltraClamp took care of the camera.

At first, I was a little concerned about the safety and stability of the Pedco UltraClamp, so I picked up a little airspeed and pulled about 4.5 Gs. The camera didn't even budge. I went through a set of basic aerobatic maneuvers and everything held on great. Then, I threw everything I could at it and still . . . the Pedco UltraClamp held fast.

Next, I wanna clamp it to my Motorcycle and see how the ride to work looks from 6 inches off the freeway :).

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.

I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC

Aerial Photography

My fiancée and I are a little into photography (our picasa album). I'm a lot into flying and she is a little as well, so I figured we could try our hand at some aerial photography sometime.

We decided to go out and buy ourselves a nice digital SLR so I started researching to find the best bang for our buck. We ended up getting the Canon Rebel XSi and we couldn't be happier.

Now, rest assured, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "but Pat . . . how could I possibly justify spending hard earned flyin' money on a camera when I have a point n' shoot that takes fine pictures."

That's a good question dear reader who was kind enough to be thinking what I said you were thinking. The SLR allows you to buy lenses that suit each need you have. For example, the IS line of Canon lenses supports gyroscopic image stabilization. The gyroscope in the lens uses rigidity in space (just like your directional gyro) to optically dampen the vibration and bounces you get in a small airplane.

So, pop that IS zoom lens onto your SLR body and you've got yourself some great air-to-ground and air-to-air shooting. The best part though, is that when you get to where you're going (say, an airshow or a flight museum), you can put your general purpose lens back on and get all of the great shots you're looking for.

The Canon Rebel XSi will also give you more control over your photo. You can set exposure times, you can change the size of your aperture, you can take rabid fire pictures (as many as 3.5 / second if I remember correctly). The XSi has been a great camera for both my fiancée (the artistic one) and me (the geeky one).

Oh, ancillary benefit! Put an external flash on it and maybe even a battery grip and people will start thinking you work for a newspaper or magazine or something. You'll be surprised how many ropes you can cross when you say, "I'm an event photographer."

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.

I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC

Best Flying Movies

As a pilot, of course I love all things aviation. Assuming you do too, I decided to compile a complete list of the best aviation movies I've found. Originally, it was going to be "Top 10 Flying Movies," but there are just too many.

So, once I compiled my list of best aviation movies, I set out trying to rank them. This proved to be an utterly impossible task so, here is my unordered list of movies about flying. To learn more about each movie, read reviews, or even buy the movies, just click the image. It'll take you to Amazon where you can learn all about each of them.



Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.

I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC

SkyLinked Airport Data Service

A few months ago, I had the very good fortune to hear from some of the guys over at Flight Schedule Pro about a new product they were introducing. They asked me if I'd be interested in working on the mobile portion of the project (you know, being a pilot and a .net developer). I jumped at the opportunity and the application has since gone live.

The service is an online logbook called SkyLinked. To be sure, I'll be writing about the logbook and its many wonderful features, but for now I'd like to write about the Airport Data service. Earlier this month, a friend of mine and I jumped into the Super Decathlon and cruised up to the lake to do some aerobatics. Just north of the lake, Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (KGVL) was hosting the Cracker Flyin, so we decided to take a quick visit.

The only problem was, we didn't have our charts on us and we needed frequencies and runway data to get in safely. We descended to cellphone range and he pulled SkyLinked Mobile up on his iPhone. Sure enough, using the airport data service, we were able to get all of the airport data we needed including communication frequencies and runway information.

To get to the airport data section, go to the SkyLinked Mobile Homepage and click Airport Search. That'll bring up a page that looks like this one:

Put the ICAO airport code in the search box and hit the Search button. If you search for KPDK, you'll get this screen:

From this menu, you can get to just about any airport data you need. There's an information page for communications and there's an information page for each runway or helipad on the field. Here are a few screenshots of these pages:

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.

I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC