Tag: pilot

Episode #25a – Cradle of Aviation Hall of Fame Day

Welcome to a special feature of the Stuck Mic AvCast. My name is Carl Valeri and I will be your host today as I share with you some interviews and lectures from Long Island Air and Space Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. This is a special event hosted by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation and the Cradle of Aviation Museum.

The Cradle Of Aviation Museum is Long Island’s “Air And Space Museum”. The museum has something for all ages including outstanding exhibits, activities for children, a collection of historic airplanes,  a lunar excursion module, and a giant screen dome theatre. All those  interested in aviation or space will surely enjoy this significant museum.

The Cradle of Aviation Museum is host of the annual Long Island Air and Space Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony. I was fortunate to attend this wonderful event and am happy to share some of the interesting interviews and highlights from the ceremony.

The 2012 Inductees to the Long Island Air And Space Hall Of Fame Include:

  • Harriet Quimby – the first licensed female pilot and first woman to fly across the English Channel.
  • William Shepherd – Space Shuttle mission specialist, first commander of the international Space Station, and recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
  • Jimmy Doolittle – A flight instructor and test pilot whose most significant contribution to aviation was the world’s first flight by reference to instruments at Mitchel Field in 1929. His most famous feat was when he lead the attack on Tokyo in 1942 for which he won the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The following audio includes :

Interview with Jim Hughes – an enthusiastic docent shares his knowledge of the museum and Harriet Quimby.

Interview with Giacinta Bradley Koontz – Author The Harriet Quimby Scrapbook.  Giacinta accepted the Hall of Fame Award on Harriet Quimby’s behalf.

Lecture highlights from “Jimmy Doolittle… American Hero, Aviation Pioneer” presented by Jimmy Doolittle’s granddaughter Jonna Doolittle Hoppes. Jonna accepted the The Hall of Fame Award on behalf of her grandfather. You can listen to the entire lecture at ExpertAviator.com.

Enjoy the show!

Listen to Episode 25a Below

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Bonanza Demo Flight & Gusty Go Arounds

So the story goes something like this… I was on a commercial flight from Boston to Los Angeles and happened to strike up a conversation with my seat mate. Turns out this particular seat mate, Jeff, is an aircraft owner and flies a Beechcraft Bonanza for pleasure. This is when I learned he was planning a journey from New England over the North Atlantic over to Greenland, yes, the country.

He got to asking me if I knew of ways to record video so that he could capture these incredible flying moments for remembrance sake. Enter the GoPro Hero 2 that I was carrying in my backpack! You’ve all heard me talk about the GoPro Hero 2 (affiliate link), the mountable and wearable sports action video camera. So I showed Jeff how the camera worked and even told him about the special propeller case I had created to eliminate propeller artifacting. Then, the coolest thing happened! Jeff says to me, “Next time your in New England, look me up and we’ll go flying.”

Naturally, I did just that. Jeff picked me up in Nashua, NH at Boire Field KASH in his F33A Bonanza for a little scenic flight, some camera testing, and then the obligatory (and delicious) $100 lobster omelets in Sanford, ME KSFM. What you’re seeing is the video we recording from Nashua, NH KASH as we flew north towards Laconia, NH KLCI, then turning easterly over Lake Winnipesaukee for Sanford, ME KSFM.

The video starts out on the ground at KASH from the ramp as we taxi out for runup and departure. Since Jeff and I have never flown together before, nor have I piloted a Bonanza ever in my life, I brief Jeff on our roles as Pilot In Command and Passenger. We depart on our flight plan as stated above. You’ll get to see our departure from KASH, parts of our flight over KLCI and Lake Winnipesaukee, and our approach to landing at KSFM including my gusty wind go-around. The video contains plenty of Air Traffic Control audio and other aircraft radio transmissions.

Being my first time in any Bonanza, combined with the strong gusty winds, I certainly felt a bit out of place and almost disoriented in the aircraft, mostly with the layout and positing of the flight controls. You can hear me talk more about that in Episode #25 of the Stuck Mic AvCast, our aviation podcast about Learning to Fly, Living to Fly, and Loving To Fly.

So enough talking and back to the video!