Cal Aggie Flyer ✈

Good morning from Barcelona!

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:22:35 -0700

Good morning from Barcelona!

Sun, 12 May 2013 23:34:52 -0700

Good morning from Barcelona!

ILS 16R at KSEA.

Sun, 12 May 2013 13:00:49 -0700

ILS 16R at KSEA.

Holy shit. These wings are MASSIVE.

Sat, 11 May 2013 14:45:43 -0700

Holy shit. These wings are MASSIVE.

Photo

Sat, 11 May 2013 13:00:49 -0700

Here’s a prettier looking boarding pass.

Sat, 11 May 2013 12:34:38 -0700

Here’s a prettier looking boarding pass.

I’m off to Barcelona via Frankfurt! I’ll be on...

Sat, 11 May 2013 12:33:44 -0700

I’m off to Barcelona via Frankfurt!

I’ll be on Lufthansa 455, which will be my first ride on the A380.

Sunset over Lake Berryessa. Don’t worry, the video is...

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:00:38 -0700

Sunset over Lake Berryessa. Don’t worry, the video is barely two minutes long and has some great footage!

Over the Monticello Dam.

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:00:47 -0700

Over the Monticello Dam.

Hung out in Downtown Seattle today. I’m not a big fan of...

Wed, 08 May 2013 20:21:36 -0700

Hung out in Downtown Seattle today. I’m not a big fan of the rain, but damn this city is awesome when the weather is nice.

Lake Berryessa has quickly become my favorite place to explore...

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:00:47 -0700

Lake Berryessa has quickly become my favorite place to explore with the Cessna.

Photo

Tue, 07 May 2013 13:00:53 -0700

I finished finals last Friday. Today I’m off to Seattle until...

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:18:56 -0700

I finished finals last Friday. Today I’m off to Seattle until Friday night, then I’m off to Barcelona on Saturday morning.

Yesterday I needed to go flying to keep currency with my flight club. After waiting for a storm system to pass through (wtf California, it’s May), I was able to get up just before sunset.

Looking west towards Lake Berryessa with virga on the horizon.

People look at me funny when I take a wide stance on the people mover.

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:51:38 -0700

I look at them funny when they struggle to stay standing as the train speeds around corners.

Any advice for getting a line service job?

Wed, 01 May 2013 17:28:39 -0700

Davis represent! He went to Jesuit, but I’ll forgive him....

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 23:56:00 -0700

Davis represent!

He went to Jesuit, but I’ll forgive him. Quakes ‘til I die!

So here’s our problem from last night: lead fouling....

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 13:54:13 -0700

So here’s our problem from last night: lead fouling.

Aviation fuel contains lead, and when the engine isn’t warmed up enough, the lead in the fuel builds up on the spark plugs. Typically when this happens, we are able to burn off the lead by running the engine hot before we take off.

After we woke up, we walked over to Home Depot to get screw drivers, a set of wrenches, sockets, and a wire brush. Within 10 minutes of getting to the plane and taking the cowling off, a guy drove up and asked if we needed help. He said he was an A&P; we got beyond lucky.

We should be good to go, and now we’re just waiting on the weather. It’s still overcast at 2,500.

I flew into San Diego on Friday night and now I'm stuck here.

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 21:52:25 -0700

My friend, who is a pilot, two friends, and I flew from Phoenix to San Diego (Gillespie Field) on Friday afternoon. Our flight to Southern California was uneventful, but we didn’t get so lucky tonight.

The ATIS reported few clouds at 2,000 feet, but we could see the marine layer on the horizon was rapidly moving inland. After refueling, we headed to do our run up, and that’s where our situation turned south. The right mag was showing a 250 RPM drop. We the engine full throttle and leaned the mixture to try and burn off the carbon on the spark plugs, but we still showed a 250 RPM drop. After trying various throttle/mixture settings, we still couldn’t get the right mag to run smoothly.

We decided to head back to transient parking to come up with another solution. While we called every FBO on field, the marine layer had moved in and the ceiling dropped to broken at 1700. All the FBOs said their mechanics had gone home for the day.

With the sun down, a low overcast, and a fouled spark plug, and our only option was to tie down the plane and find a hotel.

So now we’re in a Best Western 2 miles north of the field trying to figure out what we’re going to do tomorrow.

SkyHarbor and Downtown Phoenix.

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:00:43 -0700

SkyHarbor and Downtown Phoenix.

“Cap’n, we’re a bit high on the...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:01:02 -0700

“Cap’n, we’re a bit high on the approach.”

Overview of the PHX north complex. Looking straight down Runway 26.