The Roughneck Aviator

Dag-friggin nabbit! The original Gurney Halleck, one of the greatest Trek captains ever, an outstanding and talented actor. He will be sorely missed.

Hey dere, how ‘bout dem Brewers?

Well, October turned into a bit of a dumpster fire on a personal level, so I’ve not been posting. But I’m still here, and working on getting healthier, before the holidays set me back. I do hope everyone is having a good spooky season.

So we’re considering going into the pine cone business. They’re non-gmo, cage free, with sap frosted tips.

Dang! We lost a real people person, today…

Don’t drink the water! It’s what they want us to do.

Technically, the sticker is right.

An FAFO Taxiway sign update. Thank you again to everyone who ordered one. Also, please give Mike a follow, as he’s a most excellent photographer, and RC Airplane flyer. You can see his extensive photo library here: groundeffectphoto.com

Me trying to fly formation with the F-16 that just pulled up after I busted a TFR.

A great win. Welcome to the CFI family!

Thank you everyone who’s purchased an FA/FO sign. Reposting with dimensions, the one pictured here is mine, sitting atop my computer tower. 9.25” x 2.25” x 3.5”

Good morning. Those interested in the FA / FO lighted sign can find them on sale here (link below). $50 includes shipping: creativecuttingandengraving.…

This is my FA / FO taxiway sign a close friend made for me. It’s relevant, because tonight, an unknown individual chose to FA, and I’m hoping in the very near future, they’re going to FO. Like, “the feds are involved” level of FO. Oh, and if you’d like your own FA/FO sign, I may be able to take orders, I need to first see if there’s enough interest, and then get my friend to mass produce them. Lemme know in the comments.

Back in the 90’s, into the 2000’s, if you lived in Chicago for any length of time, you probably listened to a morning show known as ‘Mancow’. I remember a parody ad he used to play for Jaguar, which went something like this; *British voice* “If you own a Jaguar, and you pronounce it, ‘Jag u R’, then everyone will know what a ‘jag you are’….” Anyways, caught this really nice Jaguar SE Bonanza taxiing out this morning, which I’m sure is also beautiful on the inside while smelling of rich mahogany. Just hope the Brits didn’t tinker with the electrical. IYKYK

Eating lunch, Vanessa Carlton’s “Walk 1000 Miles” song plays and it occurs to me; with a 1000 mile walk, Vanessa isn’t hugging anyone, tonight….

Did you know air traffic control will advise you of “traffic” that’s on the ground? (Well, sort of) Years back, flying a Piper Seminole, I ferried one of our flight instructors to NE Iowa for the Ragbrai (a large, state wide bike ride). After dropping him & his bike off, I headed east returning to Chicago, and not long after taking off and reaching a cruise altitude of 3,500’, ATC advised of “traffic at your two o’clock, five miles at three thousand feet.”. My eyes strained a bit, scanning the sky for an aircraft. Instead, I found myself staring at an enormous radio tower. Until then, I had no idea there was any man-made structure in the Midwest taller than the Sears Tower, nor did I realize ATC would call out such “traffic”. For those not in aviation, referring to the included chart, the larger, bold number on top reads the obstacles height above sea level, or its height were you to climb to the top with an altimeter. The smaller number (in parentheses) is the height of the obstacle above the ground. For reference, the Sears Tower is 1,451’. And before you say “AKshUaLLy, it’S tHe WiLLis ToWEr!”, I refuse to call it by anything other than its original name.

There’s something I enjoy about walking around an airport, late at night. It’s almost completely empty, save a few cleaning crews or stranded passengers. All these years, I’d walked past the Learjet hanging in Terminal C, I’m ashamed to admit I never bothered at taking a closer look and reading the monument. It’s got quite the history, including being the first private airplane to land at DIA in 1995, and in 1996, it set a speed record for business jets, after flying around the world in 49 hours, 21 mins, 8 secs. Now, if I can just find the entrance to the secret underground space laser base….

Can’t make this stuff up…

Just boarded a commercial flight, few mins after I sit down, the cabin goes dark and the A/C turns off, much to the dismay of the crew and pax. My first thought: