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Old News 2010

	Today's "Weather Why" Notice the low pressure off the Atlantic coast. This has been a common pattern this winter with a coastal low pumping moisture back from the east into our area. This is a nor'easter and often brings significant snow in a winter storm or a wet MVFR day in the spring (also the pattern in the "Bahamas escape" below) Whenever you detect a strong east wind like Friday evening you suspect this setup. The question is often how long a system like this will persist and the upper level winds is the place to look for that. The 18K (500mb) is the "steering level" for larger weather patterns.

What We Do For Winter Entertainment!

We should be in good shape for flying if it ever stops snowing! The largest problem was getting the hangar doors clear of snow with the huge drift. Thanks to Taughannock Aviation for lending their plow truck for our parking lot (George Parks was down from recent surgery) Great little snow blower we have! The gray truck is George and Jeremy from the county brought his "snow toy" Winter WX Course

From Mark Farver (former member now in Georgia) "Have Fun Shoveling!"

Fighter jet in cornfield...1970, while assigned to the 71st FIS at Malmstrom AFB , Montana , its pilot ejected during an in-flight emergency. The pilot somehow got himself into a flat spin -- considered generally unrecoverable in an F-106 ?and he did what the flight handbook said to do -- get out of it, i.e., eject. After the pilot did just that, 58-0787 recovered itself from this "unrecoverable" situation. In a vain attempt to break the spin, the pilot had lowered half flaps, rolled in takeoff trim, and throttled the engine back to an approach power setting. After the ejection, the aircraft recovered from the spin on its own, and established a wings level low rate descent under reduced power to the ground. Ground effect broke its rate of descent, and it settled into a near-perfect gentle belly landing in a farmer's snow-covered cornfield.< More pictures>

When the local sheriff came upon the scene, the engine was still running. The aircraft was situated on a slight incline, and was creeping forward slowly under the thrust of its still-running engine, as the snow compressed to ice under it. Concerned about where it might be headed, the sheriff didn't think he could wait for the recovery team to get there from Malstrom which was about 50 miles away; so he got himself connected to the aircraft's squadron for engine shut down instructions before he entered the cockpit to secure the engine. This photo shows pretty much what the sheriff beheld on that fateful day. A depot team from McClellan AFB recovered the aircraft and it was eventually returned to service. When the 71st FIS was disbanded in 1971, 58-0787, now famously known as the "Cornfield Bomber", was transferred to the 49th FIS, where it finished out its operational service life.

Pilots of the 49th FIS would occasionally run into ex-71st FIS guys at William Tell and rag them unmercifully about the "emergency" so dire that the plane landed itself. 58-0787 is now on permanent display in its 49th FIS markings at the USAF Museum at Wright Patterson AFB , where its story is told in the exhibit. While the 49th FIS Eagle jocks are reportedly glad to see their squadron immortalized in this way for millions to see, they would prefer to see it made more clear that it was the 71st, and not one of theirs, who jumped out of this perfectly good aircraft.

This Is Further indication that the Air Force has a perfect record....They Have Never Left One Up There.

	Winter Fun: Classic Nor'Easter We seem to have a persistant snow pattern for the weekend. Those of you that need groundwork, get it done now as we wait out this last delay before spring flying. The simulator is still a viable option for those learning to hold or keeping current in ice season. The annual check-out period ends this weekend so get in soon and complete your training. Daylight savings starts the weekend of the 15th. BTW,  here is the definition of a Nor'Easter.

Amazing Story of a "Wounded Warrior" Returning to Flight!

If you need some inspiration in your flight training or just getting on with life, read this story for a very positive experience. Tammy Duckworth was born in Bangkok, and escaped the Khmer Rouge as a child in Cambodia before coming to the US. She grew up in Hawaii and joined and trained with the Illinois National Guard as a helicopter pilot. Though she had three years duty and could have stayed stateside, she insisted on deploying to Iraq when her unit was assigned there. While in a combat zone she took a direct hit from an RPG that destroyed her legs and severed her right arm (subsequently re-attached). Despite her devastating injuries she managed to successfully land the UH-60 and complete the shut-down list saving her crew. Through an amazing series of medical miracles she survived and after extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation she has again insisted upon getting into the air. Read the full story here and watch this video. So what was that reason for having a hard time in flight training?

Happy Cirrus Pilot, Flying the SR-22 Solo

They don't let you go out in your Cirrus by yourself the first time even if you have all the ratings. Brent finally got to take his new SR-22 around the pattern solo for the first time Tuesday. With 310HP on a cold day this plane climbs at 2000fpm! This feels like taking your muscle car for a spin in your driveway. He had a great time and returned all smiles. Thanks to Brent also for all his metal work to restore the Mooney door to health!

New RNAV Approaches Available at Ithaca!

They did not honor my request for the "STICK" intersection but we finally did get a new bunch of RNAV approaches at Ithaca. Eseby moved in closer and is an official intersection now and we have an LPV to 14 with lower minimums but higher viz??

PBS Frontline Show on Regional Airline's Safety

Pilot training has deteriorated over the last 15 years to a point that pilots are trained to only perform the minimum required duties. Unfortunately, airline hiring often focuses on who can do the job for the least money, not who is best qualified and prepared. "Pilot Mills" churn out these bottom feeders that are up front "flying" when you believe Sullengerger is at the controls. This show is scary but worth watching. Miles O'Brien covers the same topic in "Sullenberger--to Sullied"

Fun Flight To Alton Bay Iceport

What an amazing experience flying to the Alton Bay Iceport. This was challenging in every way, most notably the lousy weather enroute both ways. We departed in low ceilings with snow and picked up some ice during the climb on top (9K). IFR with Boston right to the lake! Landing on a frozen lake and taxiing was unique and exciting.These people love a winter party! The freezing rain on the way home caused us to make a 180 turn and abandon the plane in Albany. Great day, next year more sun and less nasty weather enroute! (click each for larger image)

This Trip is Going! We Need to Know if You Are? (call!)

Since this is a 236 mile trip (and potentially a crowd at a small field) an early start is essential. We want to be at the club by 7 and in the air by 8. We have two (potentially three) Skyhawks interested...are you in? Please call David's cell 351-3637. So far Eric Esty, David and John Hrubos are potential pilots, John Guttridge rider...anyone else?

Sounds like fun! This is what happens when winter lasts too long, people invent new and crazy ways to have fun. This has been an on again off again tradition but is actually on the chart as a seaplane base: B18. We hope to fly up for the day and (safely) experience winter flying. We have again reserved some planes and CFIs might be persuaded to fly along for some annual training credit. We might even fly a little recon trip to check out this for the event if someone is game. AOPA article < here> A.F. Ice <here>Norway ice runways <here> Live Alton Bay Webcam <here>

"Flying Cheap" Frontline: February 9, at 9:00pm

"From Sully to Sullied" by Miles O'Brien

Congratulations Dale Anderson: First Solo!

Dale said the flying was easy and he likes the extra room in the Cessna 152! Ithaca Tower even gave him an "ata boy" for a job well done. Dale is retired from teaching recreational sports at Cortland State College...really! So he now comes to East Hill to recreate. Dale is also building a Sonnex kit aircraft (not the jet powered version).

Projects from Finger Lakes Flying Service!

David's 7AC Champ: skis for winter!	Jorgen Overgaard's Ercoupe is flying!

The Unfortunate Result of Perfunctory Pilot Training

	Colgan 3407; Better Pilot Training Needed! We all are aware of the tragedy last year with Colgan Air Flight 3407. The news has already extensively analyzed this accident, most notably a series in the Buffalo Newspaper. This excellent series, though somewhat sensationalized, points out the trend toward deteriorating pilot training and the diminishing skills of modern flight crews. Following closely on the "Miracle in the Hudson" the Colgan crash highlighted this foolishness. Ultimately, this is a matter of money. Everyone likes a cheap ticket but the consequences are definitely not worth the risk! The NTSB released its final recommendations as well as a "call to action" that are good reading for all pilots and plea for increased pilot training and vigilance in flight safety.

We can teach you to fly at East Hill!   Please view: Get started or EHFC FAQs   Call us today (607)257-1313   Let's Go Flying!
Flying is fun and it's never to late to begin! Listen to this interview with Anne Osmer who started flying at 79 and soloed at 83 years young! "Scubs" star Zach Braff describes the challenges of learning to fly; he now owns his own Cirrus SR-22	The military can be a desirable career and was once a viable option for flight training. Flying for the military today is a whole new experience! The AIr Force trained more drone pilots than "real" pilots in 2009; a trend that is increasing exponentially.	Industry analysts predict a pilot shortage but only for well-trained pilots. Airlines like Cape Air will will only hire graduates of FAA-Approved141 schools (like us!) Previous experience hiring part 61 pilots revealed a lack of skill and discipline and resulted in huge attrition rates.

East Hill RSS Feed Now Available (this is easy!)

E-mail is increasingly unsuccessful for communication of our latest news. We cannot mail now to AOL, HotMail, MSN, Microsoft, and Live...you will not get our news! The MyFbo domain is now blocked by many services as a "spammer" since I have been forwarding our "group mail." Please subscribe to our RSS feed and we will add the new information as an updated item. Keep in touch through RSS. This is not difficult. Look for the "RSS chicklet" on your address bar and click on it. Follow the instructions and it will automatically "feed" the news to you every time it updates! There is specific information below.

For those who do not use a reader (yet), this service is kind of like a personal web crawler that seeks updates regularly from your chosen sites and presents them on one aggregate page (reader). You do not have to surf, your selected sites arrive automatically every day. You should see the RSS "chicklet" on the right of your address bar (Firefox) or on your navigation bar (Microsoft) clicking this will allow you to subscribe. More info in this article. Firefox specific info here, Internet Explorer here. There is a very comprehensive YouTube explanation here. If you want to enter our feed directly it is: http://www.lightlink.com/ithnet/Orgs/EHFC/EastHill.rss

	Click the "Chicklet" We can keep you updated better with RSS. You can read this directly by clicking on the icon or use a feed reader like iGoogle that will import automatically. It is unfortunate but with the amount of useless spam on e-mail lots of domains restrict any mass mailing no matter how carefully we manage it. Please try this new service and report back either positive or negative about the results.

Full House for Our Icing Seminar!

Thanks to club member David Parkins for a very informative seminar on the dangers of flight into icing clouds. The fact that he is an active IFR pilot was obvious with the "real world" application of his extensive knowledge. David has volunteered his slides for our web site and they should be posted soon on our training and safety page.

Welcome to Bruce Drost, a private pilot, who joined before this seminar. Bruce did his flight test up here and has followed our web site for several months. He joined for the professional learning environment and the social aspects of our club. Bruce is starting his instrument training with us. New member Daniel Fuka was also in attendance. Thanks so much to all who helped with set-up and teardown and special thanks to Adam Phillips-Burdge, Sandy Snyder and other annonymous bakers for the great goodies!

 

General Aviation Critical to Disaster Relief in Haiti <slideshow>

Four Planes and 13 Pilots; We had a Wonderful Lunch at Orange County (KMGJ)!

We had a great day to fly to Orange County Airport. The morning fog burned off on schedule and we launched four very different aircraft for a lunch at Rick's Runway Cafe. What a classy arrival with an Aerostar, SR-22, Skyhawk and Flight Design CT-LSA! Thanks to everyone that came along. This is an excellent fly-out food destination, we posted a few menus up at the club. In the time we were there probably 20 aircraft flew in; several Barons, SR-22s, and Cherokee sixes. Personal favorite: a beautiful Cessna 337 "Skymaster."

A Great Flight To Quakertown (an easy flight, one Cessna hour south)

Mario, Tim & Doug on another flying adventure to KUKT	The Historic McCoole's Red Lion Inn, Quakertown, PA	Crazy tourists in Quakertown, PA

 

Seminar Thursday, 01/28: "The Perils of Flight In Icing Conditions"

Same time NEW location: TC Airport Administration Building (the one with the airport beacon on the roof; use pilotage!)

 

David Parkins has been a club member for 22 years and is an active instrument-rated pilot flying his own Cherokee Six all around the US. He is also an FAA Designated Engineering Representative who is currently working on the icing certification for several jets (he knows his stuff!) Come see this informative show and learn why icey clouds are an undesirable environment for sensible pilots!

This show already filled up once and we moved it to the bigger room over at the county administration building. Register here for FAA Advanced Wings credit.

What are "known icing conditions?"

	Here is the current FAA interpretation of "known icing conditions" As we get into winter icing is a distinct possibility and a hazard that every pilot should acknowledge and understand. Here is a good course to prepare you for the ice seminar. AOPA Icing Safety Advisor What is the "Appleman Line?"

 

Sorry to Report: Meadowgreens Burned Down Last Night! Flight Plan to Orange County Airport: KMGJ (Rick's Runway Cafe) Well don't tell anyone about our new location obviously! As of Friday p.m., we have four planes going. We will have bagels and coffee at the club by 9am if you want to come and kabitz. Planned departures: CT and Cessna people arrive at 9, Cirrus people at 10, Aerostar at 11 (Taughannock Aviation) We have seats in the Aerostar still and a passenger seat in the CT-LSA.

Highly Acclaimed Airport Eatery at KMDJ Check out AirNav Reviews <here>

Congratulations to Mark Finkelstein, Our New Sport Pilot!

Mark proved himself "aerodynamically worthy" and is enjoying the privileges of his new sport pilot certificate! He is also the first sport pilot that we have completed entirely at East Hill, having begun training late last spring in our new CT-LSA. This is exciting for Mark of course but also represents a major milestone for East Hill Flying Club. This training and privilege utilizes the Flight Design CT-LSA that we acquired last fall and is now one of our busiest planes. The Sport Pilot certificate represents a whole new segment of aviation allowed by the FAA which is also the fastest growing segment of the flight training business. Mark also proved the training paradigm of being a "first step" when he immediately enrolled to train for his Private Pilot certificate. Great job Mark!

Great Cabin Fever Party; East Hill "Island Time!"

	Thanks to everyone who made this a great party! We had lots of fun and experienced three different versions of flying to the Bahamas. You can see there was lots of island garb and even the return of Stick's poisonous "Bahama Breeze" (IFR) punch! I think this will be an annual event going forward. (For a couple hours it did not even seem too cold in Ithaca.) Thanks to Larry Baum and Mike Meador for putting together their presentations. Please visit the Bahamas Website and see the AOPA article "Bound For The Bahamas" for more information on our fly-out trip in March. So far we have two planes flying down and four seats are available . Click this mp3 player to get in the mood (this probably will not play on IE):
Tiki Gods chase away the cold! (Thanks Tim!)		Thanks to Joel and Joanne at the "bar"
"Pirates" take over East Hill	Lots of "Island Garb"	Allison lights out: "OK guys, enough fun now!"

Winter Weather Considerations

Winter is a great time to fly with the denser air but operations on the ramp can be a bit challenging. In terms of our facilities, it takes a few hours to get the white stuff moved out of the way after an overnight snowfall but we are usually ready to go by 10am. We are the last on the list for county snow removal so the ramp is often the biggest problem. Please call if you have questions, but if it is clear, assume we are flying! Dress warmly for the preflight part and be careful on the ramp.

Vitamin D Available...One Mile Up!

If you get tired of the constant winter gray and snow, you can always ride along on an instrument flight and get up in the sun! This is good for your spirits and Vitamin D absorption! The only bad part is coming back down into the gray again. The purpose of IFR is not to fly in the clouds but to escape the gray and snow to fly south to the sun. Anyone up for a Bahamas trip in February? (click for larger images) Bahamas Escape See below!!