Eclectic Current

Why do Student Pilots give up? And Why I Won't.

General Eclectic — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:30:00 PDT

If the statistics are to be believed, the pilot population is both ageing and shrinking. Unfortunately, only one of these may be said about me. Student Pilot retention is also considered to be a significant concern. A large number of people are plucking...(read more)

My Misspent Months

General Eclectic — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 06:00:00 PST

To my deep frustration, I've not done much flying for these past few months. I was doing so well in the autumn and built on my solo with my first dual cross country flights. My last scheduled training flight was to be my solo cross country from Martin...(read more)

All By Myself - A Tale of Two Solos.

General Eclectic — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:30:00 PDT

It has been a while since I updated you on my flying progress and I am proud to report that I have been solo for the first time..., again. For most pilots, flying Solo is the first major milestone during their training. It is the moment when suddenly...(read more)

Autonomy, Automation.., oh and Boredom.

General Eclectic — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:48:00 PDT

I have a vision of my automotive future and it is automated. My family would lease a vehicle large enough for carrying us and whatever we need to take with us. It would take me to work and here's the unusual bit, it would take itself home for whatever...(read more)

First Time Under the Hood

General Eclectic — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 20:15:00 PDT

A bead of sweat is starting to form on my forehead. It could be the Maryland humidity and we've seen record temperatures recently, but I don't think so. My grip on the yoke is tighter than before. Gone, the sometimes forced relaxed posture in...(read more)

Taking My Family Flying

General Eclectic — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 08:00:00 PDT

Responsibility is something that sneaks up on you as you go through life. I never went looking for it and it snuck up on me while I wasn't looking. Above all else, I am responsible for the financial security of my wife and 2 1/2yr old son and in more...(read more)

The Devil (and Salvation) is in the Details

General Eclectic — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:00:00 PDT

I have heard that someone's Grandmother often said "Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves". If it was my Grandmother, then sorry Nan, I should have paid more attention. In my defense it seems that I am in good...(read more)

Turbine Time!

General Eclectic — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 11:59:00 PDT

I love flying. I used to love airline travel more than I do, but I am enjoying absolutely everything about taking lessons for my Private Pilot's certificate. Buckling up in the Piper PA28-181 Archer II, taxiing, lining up on the runway and pushing...(read more)

KMTN and the CFR on the SFRA around the DCA VOR/DME. OK?

General Eclectic — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:24:00 PDT

As I have mentioned previously, I am training for my Private Pilot's Certificate at Martin State Airport (KMTN) and there are several interesting features of this airport. Sitting on the edge of the Chesapeake Bay, the airport was founded in 1929...(read more)

A Not So Quiet Neighbour

General Eclectic — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 19:09:00 PDT

Recently I had my first post-TSA clearance flying lesson from Martin State Airport (KMTN) in a Piper Archer II (PA28-181). My pre-TSA clearance trial lesson had been in a Cessna 172S and my aircraft choice was to aide my high wing - Low wing decision...(read more)

The Beginning of a Journey

General Eclectic — Sat, 29 May 2010 12:55:00 PDT

A quick recap for those new to this Blog: I have recently moved to the USA and almost my first task was to sign up with a flight school to start training for a Private Pilot's Certificate. As with many things in life, however, all is not as simple...(read more)

Why am I here?

General Eclectic — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 08:11:00 PDT

This is a great question and I mean "great" in the sense of "huge". So let me ask a more specific question: "Why did I choose the Aerospace Industry?"

In the UK, when I was at school, you took "O" Level exams at sixteen and "A" level exams at eighteen. "O" levels were generally a spread of subjects and at my school people generally took eight, with Maths, English and French being mandatory and the other five being chosen by the pupil based on ability and interest. "A" levels were more serious and were generally taken only three or four subjects at any one time. The subject choice and grades would drive your eligibility to enter a particular course at your chosen university. At the point I had to choose "A" level subjects I knew that I wanted to do some form of Engineering and so Maths and Physics were a non-negotiable, though I did have some leeway with my third subject choice.

I needed to choose and apply to a university and course when I was seventeen and just starting my final year of "A" levels. At University I took a Bachelor of Engineering Degree with Honours in Aerospace Engineering. This is a vocational degree, with no "Major" and "Minor" subjects and no flexibility in the modules taken. The third of the four years was based in Industry and it was four years with the sole intent of producing someone at least compatible with the Aerospace Industry.

It meant that I was choosing to be an Aerospace Engineer when I was sixteen years old and confirming the choice at seventeen. But, to be honest, I had no idea what I was signing up for.

At my University the first year was shared with Mechanical Engineers, Vehicular Engineers and Aerospace Engineers. I came to the conclusion that Mechanical Engineers are the ones that like to know how stuff is made, how it works. Vehicular Engineers are the practical people. They have the cars that they can play with. Modify, design, fettle...; it is all so accessible.

As an Aerospace Engineer, I was there because I like Spitfires. Or if not Spitfires, then Concorde or the Wright Flyer, or the Vulcan at airshows, or tales of sir Frank Whittle stood stock still next to a runaway jet engine, or RAF Buccaneers coming in at wave-top level or any one of the fantastic things that make an Aero Engineer daydream. Maybe it was some of the stories my Grandfather told me about being ground crew in the Royal Flying Corp, Engineering Sergeant the Royal Air Force or Engine Inspector for Rolls-Royce when he retired.

What I wasn't prepared for was complex mathematical equations. The mention of Phugoid or Short Period Pitch oscillations still makes me shudder (I was never a big fan of control theory). Sure, there were lots of modules that were really interesting. Materials, Manufacturing, Dynamics, Design, Propulsion, Aerodynamics, Structures, Programming, projects, labs and tutorials. But I was excited by the original Whittle engine in the hallway and the Tiger Moth frame that was used in the Structures Lab for strain gauge testing. I took easily to the programming, the Finite Element Analysis and the Computer Aided Drafting and wasn't quite so taken by other subjects (did I mention Control Theory?).

But none of this was what was in my mind when I was sixteen.

The first week of our Final Year there was a truly great outing. The university had decided that the idea of an Aerospace Engineer that had never flown was bad. So off we went to Elstree Aerodrome for a flight in a single engine fixed wing aircraft, then a spell on the IFR simulator, then a flight in a Robinson R22 and finally a tour of the workshop and hanger. A great start to a really tough year and THAT is what I had imagined when I was a school. I imagined that it would be like..... I suppose I had better come clean at this point and say that should anyone from Embry-Riddle be reading this, be they faculty or student, I am jealous.

Even now in my working life I feel that if I was driven by the mechanics of what I do, the tools, the systems, the practical skills...., I would now be a Mechanical Engineer and more free to roam from industry to industry.

But somewhere in the back of my mind there is a sound and I can hear it as I type as clearly as the tapping of this keyboard. It's the sound of a Merlin Engine, with the throttle wide open, passing by in a steeply banked Spitfire. If I think a little harder I can see the serene delta of the Vulcan climbing away in front of me, I can see a bright red BAE Hawk flashing past at nearly treetop level lining up for a synro-pair pass, or the A380 gracefully touching wheels to tarmac, or the wings sweeping up on the 787 as its speed down the runway builds .... and I want to shake a sixteen year old by the hand and thank him for making the right choice.

All American Life....

General Eclectic — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 04:22:00 PDT

Welcome. It's been a while. In my last post, oh so many months ago, my family and I were preparing to move across the Atlantic, Green Cards in hand. Well, we made it and moved to Maryland on the day of the second wave of the worst snowstorm for 100...(read more)

Green Card - Life Will Change

General Eclectic — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:48:00 PST

Life changing moments happen every day. It might be something you see that stays with you directly or something you learn that unconsciously affects how you behave in the future. Either way, every day is full of insignificant happenings that alter your...(read more)

Huckleberry's Lessons in Life

General Eclectic — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:00:00 PST

Last week my wife, son and I rented a campervan for a tour of the Isle of Wight. Not being ones to do things the easy way, we stayed away from those enormous American "RV"s and the European luxury campers and instead rented Huckleberry. Huc'...(read more)