I just saw the following story: Micron CEO Appleton dies in plane crash. According to the article, if they got their story straight, his plane was on fire when, based on ATC recordings, he stated his intentions to turn back just before crashing. Unfortunately, it didn’t end at all well. I feel terrible for this gentleman’s family and I’m sorry that he lost his life. It made me think about what I might do in the same situation, and I don’t want to seem cold or uncaring, but when it hits the fan, don’t turn back.

I’m not sure how accurate reports are, but according to a local news story, he was in a Lancair flying “about 100 to 200 feet above ground when it stalled, then nosedived.”  This is certainly not the best place to be and I don’t wish to suggest that I might perform ideally under such circumstances, but I think it is important to consider such eventualities and make and effort to learn from these kinds of accidents so that if we do find ourselves behind the controls with fire between our legs,  we’ve at least thought about what to do. Again, I’m not sure of all the details, like whether his engine was still running or how bad the fire was (any fire is bad enough), so I’m operating on scant information. It looks to me, if I was in the same position, that the best course of action is to land straight out. Even outside the airport boundaries, it seems like either end of the airport is pretty clear. It would probably tear the plane up pretty badly, and there are some possibly substantial obstacles, but I don’t think landing out would be life-threatening. That said, it was a Lancair, which are pretty quick planes, so I don’t know how far out he was, how fast he was flying, or if he actually did turn back. If it was very early after takeoff, he may not have had a chance to do anything. In either case this is a terrible thing and I never want to experience a similar situation, but you better believe that I’m going to be thinking about it the next time I go flying.

In an only semi-related note, please help me out by filling out the Leaving Terra Firma readers survey. It shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes, but it will help me immensely.

I can see I’m running out of day, so I want to ask you to do me a quick favor. Will you fill out a brief questionnaire regarding this site? It will really help me develop some new content. I’ll embed it here, or you can complete it over on SurveyMonkey.

When I was a kid, my grandmother used to take me to the airport to watch planes and to airshows. A consequence of this was that I got pretty good at identifying aircraft. This was before September 11th, 2001, so airports were much more accessible than they are today. It’s funny, I spent a lot of time in airports, but I never actually rode in a plane of any kind until I’d graduated high school. Anyway, of all the planes that I’d seen, the one that I dreamed of was Concorde.

Unfortunately, it seems seeing the Concorde at the Udvar-Hazy Center is the closest I will come to experiencing the grace and beauty of supersonic travel. The other day, I stumbled upon a these clips from the BBC show Holiday Air which aired in 1989. The show was shot in the cockpit of Concorde and shows the incredible teamwork during a take off from Heathrow and a landing in Washington DC. One thing that hadn’t ever occurred to me is how difficult it is to taxi an aircraft when you are sitting 35 feet in front of the nose wheel. One thing that did occur to me is, sad as this is, that an airline pilot actually hand flying an approach like that is probably very rare today.

Something else that I imagine is also pretty rare–rolling Concorde. For more information, see the video of Brian Walpole discussing the flying characteristics of Concorde below.

Last week, while attempting to write, I was wasting time perusing Youtube when I came across the video above. It made me wonder, “how flexible is my definition of a warbird?”

The aircraft in question is a Titan T-51 Mustang. It is a 3/4th scale replica of a P-51. Like any kit plane, it comes to you in boxes and you put it together. The kit runs just below $55,000 and the manufacturer indicates an average completion cost of under $90,000. I’ll go out on a limb and say, it’s not a warbird; it’s a plane for warbird enthusiasts. I offer the following reasons why I think a warbird enthusiast would enjoy this plane: looks, affordability, and performance.

The plane, while visibly smaller than the beast that is a P-51, looks very much like a P-51D. Like any great warbird, except maybe the T-28/34 or the jets, the engine still severely impedes the view out the front on the ground. In addition to great lines, the gear retract, it has a scoop and sports a bubble canopy just like the real thing. In short, it has the looks, but in a smaller package.

When compared to many other aircraft, including P-51s, purchase and completion prices are very affordable. In fact, since most P-51s sell for millions, this is a steal. Thanks to the available engine options, it’s pretty cheap to fly, too. The engine the manufacturer recommends is the Rotax 912s and, while it is a great engine for light planes, its singing voice pales in comparison to a Merlin; on the other hand, it wins on economical fuel burn by a long shot. In case you don’t like the Rotax engines, it will also take a selection of other engines, such as the 183 hp generating Suzuki H27A 2.7L V6, which increase performance over the 100 hp Rotaxes.

That brings us to performance, the T-51 is rated for +6/-4 Gs. There are a lot of aerobatics that can be done, with the appropriate training, well inside of that envelope. With a big engine, this plane can easily hit its Vne of 197 MPH. I call that performance. On the other end of the spectrum, a low stall speed makes landing rolls and take off runs short, about 300 feet. This plane could easily be operated from a small farm and probably every airport in the country. Even better, it can be built to comply with LSA regulations, which means all you Sport Pilot guys can fly it. You will lose the retractable gear, but gain some flexibility. In my book, that’s a pretty good deal.

So, is it a warbird? In my book, no. Is it a great plane that any warbird enthusiast would love? Yes, by a long shot. So what’s your take on these replicas? Do you see them as warbirds or are they something for enthusiasts of lesser means? Maybe it’s an everyday plane for a Mustang driver? Hit up the comments and let me know.

Did you ever have a model train set? I had a couple, but my brother and I always enjoyed trying to get the trains to fly off the tracks more than we enjoyed building. Still, I can appreciate the work that goes in to creating detailed dioramas. Sometimes people put in a little too much effort. Take for example the ridiculously detailed miniature airport that is the subject of today’s post.

Knuffingen Airport, labeled simply as the world’s smallest airport, is the result of six years of work and nearly $5 million dollars. It was built by the same Germans who built the world’s largest model railway, which has over 6 miles of track and houses 200,000 tiny little people.

What does $5,000,000 dollars buy? Other than a Cessna CJ3? Apparently, a ton of little people and vehicles and a really nice looking miniature airport. Although, it’s not all little people and cars, there are also a bunch of planes. Planes that, much like their real-life counterparts, taxi and takeoff. The only difference is these planes just kind of disappear behind a curtain. Oh, sometimes there are cute little disasters, too.

The video above shows the airport in the final stages of construction. The video below shows the final product. Watch either, neither, or both and then ask yourself whether you think it was worth the $5,000,000. Honestly, I’m just waiting for the world’s smallest runway incursion.

It’s that time of year, where I take a look back and decide what worked and what didn’t and I usually set some goals. This year isn’t going to be any different, but I’ve decided some changes are in order.

On the whole, 2011 was an off-year. I basically accomplished 0% of every goal I set except that I made it to Oshkosh. I wrote very little and by extension I flew very little. I didn’t buy a plane either. So that’s pretty much how 2011 went. The question now is, how will 2012 go? For 2012 I’m going to set many of the same goals, but I hope to see more action this year.

1. Get my Tail-Wheel Endorsement

This still ranks way up there. In 2011 I narrowed my prospects for places to get the endorsement, although I’m game if any CFIs read this and want to provide their time and an aircraft. On a similar note, I suppose there is always hope that I win the Cub from EAA this year.

If you’re wondering why I want to get a tail-wheel endorsement, I have to tell you that most of my favorite aircraft, like the Cessna 170 and Globe Swift, are taildraggers. At Oshkosh I always seem to spend a disproportionate amount of time over in the vintage area walking row after row. In total, I’d say I spend the better part of two full days looking at vintage planes. I usually spend the most time eyeing Cessna 170s and 140s as well as Globe Swifts, but Luscombes and tail dragging Pipers rank pretty highly, too.

2. Make some progress toward my Instrument Rating

I’d like to at least get the instrument written out of the way this year. My wife made the mistake of telling me that once I had my instrument rating we could discuss buying a plane, so I will take her at her word. I’ve got a copy of the Sporty’s course and a Gleim book, so I suppose it’s just a matter of devoting the time to it.

While I enjoy glass panels, this is probably where I'll get my instrument rating.

3. Be a better blogger

Last year I said I wanted to stick to a stricter schedule. I didn’t do as well as I imagined I would. It turns out, I didn’t plan enough. This year, I plan to be a better blogger. What does that mean? Two things: I’m going to stick to a daily posting regimen and I’m going to produce better content. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will not feature ridiculously large posts, in fact the plan is to retain Movie Mondays, but with less text. Those days are my days to share other stuff. Yeah, by some miracle I might score a ride in a Mustang or T-6, in which case I’ll most certainly write a ridiculously long-winded post, but for the most part I’m using those days to interact with the community by sharing. Tuesday, Thursday, and the occasional Friday will host new and improved writing. Look for the meat on those days.

4. Complete a BFR

As of 1st January, my second anniversary as a pilot, I’m due for a BFR.  I didn’t intend to have to do one yet; my intent was to add a rating and avoid the BFR, but now it’s on the table, so I’ll deal with it. It will give me something to write about anyway. In fact, maybe I will combine my efforts with the first stages of another goal.

5. Land at every airport within 125 NM of KTYS

This is still a goal. In 2011, as you may have surmised, I didn’t finish (or really even start). I have started compiling a list of airports that fall within that distance, but you’d be surprised how difficult this can be with no decently automated tool with which to find this. Honestly, if I wasn’t a terrible programmer and terrified of violating someone’s vague patent (on the off-chance that FlightPrep has one), I’d make one. It could at least be beneficial for planning all those training flights for certificates.

6. Attend Airventure Oshkosh 2012

Perhaps this is where I'll be camping this year.

I’m going again. I know last year was a disaster, which sadly I have yet to detail here, but I’m not going to let that scare me away. I have too much fun and I’ve got to get some decent video footage. My photos were better this year, but my severely limited video kit just didn’t deliver. I got some decent but jumpy footage out of my helicopter ride. I was mostly focused on not dropping anything out the door (or lack there of). I will say this, if you’ve got $40, I can think of much worse ways to spend it than a ride in a Bell 47 over AirVenture. I’d still also like to fly my own plane to Oshkosh, but I’m still looking for that anonymous benefactor. It still seems unlikely this year, but I’ve got 6 months to work it out.

7. Buy a plane

This is unlikely to happen this year, but I’ve seen way too many Cherokees, Cessna 140s, and Luscombes priced right. If I can get some savings in order, it might not be so far off. I do need to make sure that I’m not rubbish at tail-wheel first. In case anyone wants to give me a plane, I want something that is easy-ish to own and operate, inexpensive (as a plane can be). I really want something with vintage flair, you know straight-tail Cessna 172s and 150s or one of the taildraggin’ Cessnas. While I’m not opposed to beautiful restorations, I’m looking at planes that need some cosmetic work, but are in flying condition. Basically, a solid machine that needs a little love.

I know it’s been a while since I last posted since I took a bit of a winter break for the holidays. I did a lot of strategic thinking, which I will discuss in another post. For now, I want to share the first Movie Monday post of the new year.

This video, which is an absolutely stunning example of air-to-air work, was put together by Clay Lacy Aviation. The subject? ZA002, ANA’s 787 Dreamliner. It runs about 5 minutes.

The video provides a great view of the 787′s spectacular wings in action from several different perspectives. I’m still amazed at the amount the 787′s wings deflect in flight.

If you live in the US, I hope you had a nice holiday last week, if not, I hope you had a nice week. We hosted the family for Thanksgiving, so I spent the week preparing for that. It was a nice get together, but I opted not to write last week in order to prepare.

Anyway, today I’ve got a nice video shot on Nflightcams featuring Brian Correll and his S2S. It’s got some interesting angles, but most importantly, it features some great flying. My favorite is the pair of Pitts biplanes skimming along the water. My guess is this is intended to be a promo for ICAS, but I could be wrong. Either way, this makes a pretty convincing case for getting a camera manufacturer to sponsor you.

That’s all for today, so, enjoy the video and fly safe.

So I was perusing the usual collection of techy blogs and websites when I came across an interesting video promoting a couple of iPad cases. If the question, “Ooh, and iPad case, why do I care?” sprang to mind, let me answer you directly–the ad features airplanes, skydivers, and free-falling iPads. Now I admit, the “test” doesn’t stand up to the rigors of scientific study, mainly because they didn’t also chuck an unclothed iPad at the ground. Anyway, I don’t really want to drag this out much further, so I will just say that you open cockpit fliers with iPads may want to consider adding one of these G-Form cases to your arsenal.

On an unrelated note, I’ve only recently noticed that one of the featured video feature of my blog template doesn’t show the embedded videos in the RSS feed, so for the time being you RSS subscribers may need to click through to view the video.

Today’s movie is from a more mainstream source, so I ask that you ignore the over-simplification of the process.

The video offers a little tour of the production process at the Maule factory down in Moultrie, GA. Maule’s are tube and fabric, so you Cub flyers and Kitfox builders take note of the fabric covering. I was very interested in this aspect of the video, because, while I’m interested in building a plane and I like a lot of tube and fabric planes, the idea of having to recover an aircraft seemed terrifying. I still think it is a terrific amount of work, but it seems more manageable now. I was also pretty interested in how simple the structure behind such rugged airplanes is.

Anyway, that’s it for today. Enjoy and fly safe!