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  1. PW_Plack

    First solo XC DONE!

    I don't know about anyone else, but the peculiar form of joy I felt when I first caught sight of the runway at each stop on my first solo cross-country was completely unique.
  2. PW_Plack

    Breast Cancer Awareness Month

    I think Komen is the new poster child for overexposure, displacing even Miley Cyrus. It's getting to the point that it annoys me to turn on TV coverage of a football game and see a team wearing pink shoes for "awareness." My Mom was a victim of breast cancer, and made it more than five years...
  3. PW_Plack

    How will the unmanned "revolution" affect us?

    Part 101 will expand and become a more critical part of the FAR. The FAA will be forced to pay attention to violations by UAS operators near airports. GA pilots in the habit of buzzing their girlfriends' houses below 500' (already in violation) will become bigger targets for Darwin.
  4. PW_Plack

    Co-Axe fittings

    Just be careful to use 50-ohm BNC radio connectors, not 75-ohm BNC data/video/instrumentation BNC connectors. The latter are overwhelmingly more popular in surplus/salvage bins, and look almost identical.
  5. PW_Plack

    Fun things to do flying at night

    I proposed to my now-wife in 2006 in a DA20 at night over the Portland, OR area. She said yes. Multi-faceted fun. ;)
  6. PW_Plack

    Desktop Linux is dead....

    Can you explain in more detail? What is Ubuntu forcing down our throats? Something that makes it incompatible with older hardware? I have a couple of Win XP machines I'm thinking of changing over to Linux, probably Ubuntu. I'd appreciate enough background to understand your issue.
  7. PW_Plack

    Failed color test - Farnsworth Lantern Test in Oregon/Washington?

    I struggled with the color test in a DMV-style viewer, but did OK using the book of dots, even under flourescent lights. I could not pass the visual acuity test using the DMV-style viewer, but was 20/15 corrected when I asked to use an actual eye chart at actual distance. The shortcuts...
  8. PW_Plack

    Cessna 340 down N. AZ - 4 lost

    Away from airports, a tower under 200' AGL won't be on the charts, and need not carry obstruction lighting or paint. It could have been a cell site (most are 199' or less by spec for reasons above), land mobile or amateur radio antenna tower, weather station or even someone's residential TV antenna.
  9. PW_Plack

    Would training in an LSA make you a better pilot?

    I'm not sure how you reached this conclusion, but it's not the case. Response rates depend of the authority of the aerodynamic control surfaces and the moment of inertia in each axis. Typical aerobatic planes are heavier than LSAs, but can achieve much faster rates, especially in roll. The...
  10. PW_Plack

    MCAS Miramar Airshow Cancelled

    If this goes the way of previous shutdowns, they will be paid retroactively for their time spent at home when the impasse is resolved. Disruptive, to be sure, but they'll be made whole, with the exception of possible dings on credit histories for late mortgage payments by those with no savings...
  11. PW_Plack

    Tesla stock plunge continues after Model S battery fire

    Finally, you answer one of the questions. So, one fire of unknown origin constitutes a reputation? I don't think so, and your hammering the phrase "Tesla zippo" multiple times in one post is not sufficient to create a reputation, either. (At least, not for the car...) There are definitely...
  12. PW_Plack

    Negative ANN article about Cirrus

    It may be the other way around. I believe ANN exists solely for the self-aggrandizement of its creator, and what's inappropriate is to refer to it as a news medium.
  13. PW_Plack

    Helicopter school moves in, local pilots get cranky

    Print out a few copies of FAA Advisory Circular AC 90-66A for the party, too. It does a pretty good job of explaining to fixed-wing guys what to expect from rotorcraft, and should also be read once in a while by the rotorheads. In short, helicopters are to avoid the flow of fixed-wing traffic...
  14. PW_Plack

    Tesla stock plunge continues after Model S battery fire

    Really? Where are you getting your "real world" data? Have there even been as many Teslas involved in real-world crashes as have been intentionally test-crashed? If you can show us something beyond an obvious agenda, I'd love to know more.
  15. PW_Plack

    Tesla stock plunge continues after Model S battery fire

    What numbers are you penciling in for depreciation and fuel costs? If you look at cost of ownership, not just original purchase price, those two numbers are critical. The big unknown for me would be the cost of replacement batteries. I don't consider myself a greenie, but I bought a corded...
  16. PW_Plack

    Delta pilots get Microsoft Surface 2 for EFBs, not iPads

    I suspect the RT version was green-lighted with the idea that we'd all be using more "cloud" software than we have yet adopted. If your applications do not have to reside on the device and can be run through a browser, the RT probably looks better. (Except it has no way to access a network if...
  17. PW_Plack

    Drinking "for fun"

    Sara, I hope I'm not out of line here, but there's a lot to address in your post. If you don't make friends easily, is it possible that you've come to accept counterfeits? As others have said, they're not your friends if they'd abandon you for not drinking. If you pour the drink down the...
  18. PW_Plack

    Office Pranks

    About five years ago on the Rotary Wing Forum, there was a post, supposedly from a long-time gyroplane parts supplier, which was actually a prank message sent by a coworker when he left his computer unlocked. Paraphrasing: I must confess, I have always considered myself a woman trapped in a...
  19. PW_Plack

    IR X/C counts for Commercial?

    Careful! It's not one leg of 50 nm that qualifies the flight, but a landing at least 50 nm straight-line from the origin point. You could fly an A-B-C route, but either leg A or C has to be 50, or you didn't land 50 miles from home.
  20. PW_Plack

    Wish list for Jack Abramoff

    And there are loopholes which still allow lawsuits to get through if any factory parts are used in overhauls and repairs. I agree that aviation enjoys special protections, but it's also one of the few industries which requires government approval of the design to sell the product. I'd love...
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