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

How Aviation Ruined Shopping

I'm not really all that frugal. I put a little money into savings from time to time, but I don't save a whole lot; yet, I somehow never seem to accrue any possessions. I think I've figured out why this is. It's because Aviation Ruined my Life.

Similar to the widespread adoption of the Euro (formerly European Currency Unit or ECU) throughout the European Union, many pilots have adopted the GACU or General Aviation Currency Unit commonly known as the Pilot (pronounced pahy-loh). Exchange rates vary widely, but generally fall between .6 Pilots per US Dollar and .3 Pilots per US Dollar; however, I have made exchanges as low as .24 Pilots per US Dollar.

Although generally accepted by the pilot community as a recognizable currency unit, most people are yet unaware of the Pilot so many aviation enthusiasts refer to the Pilot in UFT or Units of Flight Time. For example, someone who usually flies a Cessna 172 may be expected to pay $125 per hour of flight time (1 hour = 60 Pilots). When his fiancée says, "honey, I really like this purse and it's only 75 dollars," he will think to himself, "but that's 30 Pilots!" though he will tell her, "but babe, that's 30 minutes of flight time."

Another common example is when the A/C breaks on your car and costs 1,250 dollars to fix. As you sorrowfully pay the bill, you think to yourself, "there goes another 600 Pilots;" however, your fiancée is unaware of the GACU so when you get home you'll sit on your couch and pout until your fiancée asks whats wrong at which time you'll tell her, "I'd much rather have spent 10 hours in a plane."

The problem comes in when you take into account that most aviators would rather spend a Pilot than a dollar. Therefore, like many aviators, I squirrel away my money until I can afford to exchange it for a useful chunk of Pilots and I forgo many of life's little luxuries like that xbox 360 I wanted to buy for 120 Pilots or the final season of wings for 15 Pilots.

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

Solo Aerobatics in the Super Decathalon

As you may know, I recently made my first solo in the Super Decathlon. Since then, I've had a few opportunities to go up and do some solo aerobatics. It's very neat to be able to take a tailwheel aerobatic airplane out all by my lonesome and try my hand at loops, rolls, and other basic techniques.

On my second trip, I found a cool way to mount my camera to the support rods in the cockpit. Well, I didn't find it. My instructor told me about the Pedco UltraClamp so I ran out and bought one. I took a few videos and here they are:







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