Wow, yesterday was quite a day. In the morning, I spent several hours with the owners and crew that manage the only Zeppelin in the U.S. If you enter your email in the upper left corner, you’ll be notified when I post a story and photos from that visit.
Over the noon hour, I was on a business call related to my Glass Cockpit Publishing business. During the call, our CFO slipped me a note telling me of the US Air 1549 crash into the Hudson. Fortunately everyone was fine. Minutes later, KNTV, the S.F. area NBC affiliate called and asked...
me to be in the studio for their 6 PM news. Watch the YouTube video if you'd like to see what I had to say about flight crew training, water landings and bird strikes. While preparing for that, I learned that:
1) the provision in the House bill that would have required companies receiving government bailout money to divest themselves of all private aircraft was deleted. Subsequently, I saw that blogger friend Dan Pimentel has posted a good story on this, so I won’t repeat it.
2) the proposed stimulus package will include $3 billion for airport improvements. That’s good news, provided the money goes into runway improvement and not more fences.
In all of the events of the day, I forgot to call back AOPA’s Air Safety Foundation, which had asked me for feedback on their new “GPS from the Ground Up” seminar, which I attended the night before. Sorry about that…we’ll talk today. The seminar is definitely worthwhile, and is cleverly coded so that pilots can see which topics discussed are relevant to VFR flight versus IFR flight. Given the wide range of experience in the pilot population, it’s hard to create a one-size fits all seminar. This one is great for pilot who have low to medium exposure to using GPS. High time GPS users will probably pick up a few new facts from the section which talks GPS usage as relates to different phases of flight (e.g. preflight, taxi, departure, etc).
The seminar just started this week on the west coast and continues across the country for the next few months. Check the schedule for a location near you. Best of all, Glass Cockpit Publishing has donated door prizes for the seminar series, so you will have a chance to win a free copy of our Max Trescott’s WAAS and GPS CD Course at most locations.
Max, you are a real pro!
That interview was one of the best I have ever seen a pilot "on the spot" provide to the news media!
Posted by: Pat Shaub | January 31, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Very well spoken, Max! I remember you teaching me all those very same things :)
Posted by: Bryan O | February 27, 2009 at 10:44 PM
Bryan, Long time no hear! I hope you're exercising those pilot privleges I helped you attain so long ago. My recollection is we never actually got to the part about landing on water. But I sure shut down the engine on you a few times didn't I? :-)
Posted by: Max Trescott | February 27, 2009 at 11:24 PM