I haven't posted in 3 years.  Time to change that.  I'm going to start with the following I posted on Facebook in February.  It's self explanatory:

Trey O'Neale added 3 new photos to the album: My Friend - Steve Hecht — with Steven Hecht.

February 7 at 6:02am · 

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This one is a bit long so please bear with me. Late last night my co-pilot and closest friend Steve Hecht passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. Steve was the best friend anyone could ever have – or deserve for that matter. We met near the end of my flight training in 2004. He had just gotten his pilot’s license and was looking for someone to fly with. From 2004 through last year, we flew together every Sunday morning we could – trusting each other with our lives. When the cancer took him out of the cockpit, we changed to hangar flying over coffee every Sunday morning. We were natural friends – sharing similar passions – flying, photography, friends and family. He was intensely proud of his boys – Matt and Mitch and doted on his sweet granddaughters. But of course, his first love was Robi – they traveled the world together but Steve was just as happy to spend the day running errands with her which always included going to what he called the “food store.” Steve would do anything for a friend in need or family member. Oddly enough, we shared the same birthday – June 22. Until we met I’d never known anyone who shared my birthday.

Over the years we flew all over the southeast to just about every airport in North Carolina, many in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, and West Virginia. We encountered numerous hazards along the way but were secure in the knowledge that having two cautious flyers in the cockpit together ensured sound decision making so we always made it home safe to our families. My most memorable flight with Steve was a trip we made to the mecca of pilots – Kitty Hawk, NC. We landed on a small runway just yards from where Orville and Wilbur first flew their Wright Flyer (the airport is aptly named KFFA – First Flight Airport). After touring the memorial and museum, we flew home as dusk gave way to a starry night – just a beautiful day/night in the air and on the ground.

While in the air together we remarked often how amazing it was to us that “they” allowed us to get in the cockpit and pilot a plane. The fools! Don’t they know we have no business being given the keys to an airplane? Every flight was incredible to us, regardless of length. Every lap in the pattern or mile of a cross-country – our time in the air together was pure joy. I will not experience that joy the same way again as my friend has “shuffled off this mortal coil.” Steve will be with me though with every landing I attempt, photo I take, coffee I share, friend I make. Cancer took him away and cruelly did so without us having a proper goodbye. I miss you already my dear, dear friend – Godspeed.

Allow me to close by sharing Gary Claude Stoker’s poem in Steve’s honor –

Impressions of a Pilot

Flight is freedom in its purest form,
To dance with the clouds which follow a storm;

To roll and glide, to wheel and spin,
To feel the joy that swells within;

To leave the earth with its troubles and fly,
And know the warmth of a clear spring sky;

Then back to earth at the end of a day,
Released from the tensions which melted away.

Should my end come while I am in flight,
Whether brightest day or darkest night;

Spare me your pity and shrug off the pain,
Secure in the knowledge that I'd do it again;

For each of us is created to die,
And within me I know,

I was born to fly.

Below are a few pictures we took of our adventures together. Because of our affiliation with a local photography education group, we were offered the chance to be official photographers for the US Women’s Amateur Golf Tournament a few years ago. It was a great experience for us both. I took a couple of pictures of Steve in action during the tourney – he loved photography and approached it like everything else he did – all in, and working for perfection.

Rest in peace my friend.  I miss you dearly.

First Flight Since May 18

This has been the wettest summer in memory in the Charlotte area.  Steve and I have been weathered out every Sunday since May 18.  Today, the sky cleared enough to fly.  Given how rusty we were, we decided just to get in the pattern at JQF and make a few laps.

Here's a video from one of Steve's touch-and-goes.

We each got in 4 landings.  It felt good to get back in the air, even if only for an hour.  

Time to Get Back in the Saddle

My blog posts ended abruptly in the summer of 2010.  There's a reason for that.  Up to that summer, my blog had been little more than a public pilot's log.  I posted mostly about flying in my Piper Arrow - N2825A ("Aggie").  The blog was a good way for me to blow off steam and share (for whoever was reading - probably nobody) my flight experiences.  The tragic events of July 14, 2010 changed all of that.

At approximately 9:05 p.m. Aggie went down in North Myrtle Beach, SC with a renter at the controls, and his wife and granddaughter in the plane.  All three were killed.  And as luck would have it, Aggie went down in a trailer park.  The plane came to rest under a trailer - the post-crash fire consumed Aggie and took two trailers with her.  At least one person on the ground sustained substantial injury.

Over the next few weeks I will write about the events of that night and the days that followed.  For now let's just say that the events of that evening deeply affected my family for the subsequent three years.  The NTSB determined that pilot error was solely to blame for the accident.  That didn't keep me from getting sued.  In fact, I was sued by 10 different plaintiffs.  All of the litigation has settled - and my insurer took care of my defense.  Since we are now beyond three years since the accident and the statute of limitations has run, I can now speak about my experiences.

I am still flying though I don't currently own a plane.  I hope to change that situation this year.  I will pick up writing about my flights this weekend.  I will also probably add some writing about my recent journey to health and fitness, including my experiences joining a Masters swim team.

I think it may also be time for me to break my silence about politics.  We'll see.

Haven't posted in a few years - and there's a reason why

Just checked to see if the Blog was still there.  I decided to shut down blogging nearly three years ago for reasons I will explain in July.  Until then, I will hold off, but hope to take up blogging again in a couple of months.

It's been a while - time for some updates

I talked with an old friend today and sent a link to the blog. I realized I hadn't posted since last September. Not that anyone is reading, but it's a nice release.

A lot has happened in my life in the last 3 months, including a fire across the street which destroyed 3 houses and forever changed many lives. A few weeks prior, Todd, the owner of the flight school I rented from whenever Aggie was out of commission, abruptly ceased operations without notice to anyone - leaving a lot of people in a lurch and owing many people thousands of dollars.

With adversity comes opportunity. One of the instructors from the school and one of the airplane owners who had placed his plane on leaseback with the school formed a new operation in the next building over. They contacted me and asked if I was interested in leasing Aggie to them - they needed a complex aircraft in order to offer Commercial Pilot training. I had to face facts. Aggie hasn't gotten nearly enough flight time since I've owned her and I could really use a tax break. So, I agreed. As of last week, Aggie is now available for others to fly. I have very mixed feelings about that, but it makes business sense. We'll try this for a year and go from there.

So, now for the flying. Since September, Steve and I have made a number of flights, the most memorable of which were are annual trip to Asheville for the fall colors, and a flight in January to High Point to pick up Stacey's dress for her sister's wedding in Playa del Carmen. That trip, made on a windy Sunday afternoon, included Spencer and Steve. It was a miserable, bumpy flight but necessary. We've also made a breakfast club run and a trip to Hickory the day after a snow/ice storm- a beautiful flight until we landed and taxied to the FBO - which was iced in!

Which brings us to this past 3 weeks. February brought about the time for Aggie's annual inspection. This one hurt. Two stabilator bearings, $278 each (probably cost $10 to make), new brakes, including rotors, and a bunch of little stuff. Then, in order be ready for rent, a pitot/static system check. OK, a new Vertical Speed Indicator and line repairs. Geesh.

After all of that investment, this past weekend (March 7) it was time to fly. At 8, Steve and I met to pre-flight. We planned for Lumberton, an airport about 15 miles SE of Maxton and about 80 miles from home.

Aggie started right up, like she really wanted to fly. We taxied to Rwy 20 and after our run-up, were cleared for takeoff. The conditions couldn't have been better. Mid 30s, NO wind and ample sun. Aggie was airborne in 1,500 feet and we were 500 feet AGL before we ran out of runway. A left turn and we were climbing over the speedway. Though busy, Charlotte departure was accommodating and allowed us to our 5,500 ft cruising altitude almost directly. As we climbed, we looked around and could see for about 50 miles. Amazing day! At 5,500, we leveled off and settled in for a leisurely flight. I checked our true airspeed - 140kts. Ground speed (according to the GPS) - 140kts. No wind at 5,500 ft. And not a ripple.

Enroute, we flew over some familiar landmarks: Blewett Falls Lake, Rockingham Raceway (the "Rock") and Maxton airport - home of a small salvage operation we have visited many times. As we passed over maxton, we saw the familiar remains of 3 747s, a couple of DC-10s, 727s, and DC-9s. And, for a change, a new addition. We couldn't tell from our altitude, but it was clearly NOT a NW Airlines craft. It may have been an MD-80. We'll have to make a point to visit soon.

At about 30 miles, we announced to Fayetteville Approach that we had Lumberton in sight. We set up for a left base for runway 5 and began descending. Turn to final, gear down, flaps 20, 85 kts approach speed. We flared over the runway and as we touched down gently, I heard the soothing "chirp chirp" of the mains kissing the runway. Not bad for not having flown regularly in the last couple of months.

We pulled into the FBO only to find it closed, so we wandered the ramp to see what there was to see. An old school flight instructor/aircraft mechanic wandered out of a well worn hangar to say hello as he sat into an Adirondack chair. We spoke a bit about flying as his student, a newly minted solo student (in his 50s) arrived during our conversation. He had just soloed the day before but had cut his experience short because the cross-winds had hurt his confidence. We encouraged him to get back in the saddle as the day couldn't have been better for a student. As he and his old salt instructor started to discuss the planned flight in the Cessna 152 (way too small for my blood), Steve and I explored the tired array of ramp aircraft on display. The usual group of old, tired, unflown 172s and Cherokees. There was a nicely maintained RV-8 and a Cessna pusher/puller. Otherwise, it was a ragtag group with no real redeeming qualities. It's always sad to see aircraft that are unlikely to leave the ground again.

Oh well, time to head home. Steve in the left seat, me in the right manning the radios. We taxied behind the student, watched him take off and then runway 5 was ours. Full throttle, airspeed alive, 80 kts and off we were. Left turn, and a climb to 4,500. We were cruising home before we knew it. At 55 miles, we could see uptown Charlotte! After what felt like a shorter flight than it really was, we were on our way down on a left base for 20 at Concord. Steve turned us to final, and planted us on the runway (a bit firm, but nothing horrible). Taxi to the ramp and we are done for the week. 1.8 hours of bliss in the air!

Flying in an Electronic Cockpit

September 27, 2009

I began drafting this post before Todd shut down the flight school. I'll withhold comment.

Steve was out of town this Sunday morning and I couldn't find anyone who wanted to fly so I was on my own. Or so I thought. At my regular time on Sunday morning, I made the trip to the airport. As I was walking through the FBO, I could see Aggie waiting for me. I had called ahead and asked the line crew to give her some juice and bring her to the front of the line. There she was, just waiting to take me to the mountains for some fall leaves photos. Just as I was about to step through the doors onto the tarmac, I spotted Todd - the owner of the flight school where I learned to fly and later rented planes. Todd was speaking to the manager of the control tower when he noticed me walking through. He asked me where I was headed. I told him and asked if he wanted to join me - we've flown to Kentucky and Pinehurst together. He responded by asking if I wouldn't mind flying right seat in a nearly new Saratoga. Now there's an offer I can't refuse!

The Piper Saratoga is a beautiful aircraft. It seats 6, sports an electronic cockpit and just about every bell and whistle you can imagine, including a full autopilot. Aggie would have to wait for another day. I asked the line crew to tie her back down and Todd and I headed to the North end of the ramp.

After a quick pre-flight of this beautiful Piper, we climbed aboard. Compared to what I normally fly, this thing felt like a space ship. First, the interior was leather and smelled great. Second, the layout was extremely well laid out. Clearly Piper spent a great deal of time thinking about the cockpit on this bird. Even with all the bells and whistles, at its heart, it's still an airplane which is based on the airframe of mine. In fact, it has significant weight limitations. With 4 passengers, it has less range than mine and with full fuel can only carry one adult. Nevertheless, it's a technological wonder.

She started right up and we were cleared to taxi to Runway 20. Todd wanted to check a high cylinder head temperature the owner of the aircraft had been reporting. We rolled down the runway and the first thing I noticed was how much less noise there was in this aircraft. It didn't sound like it was working all that hard and before I knew it, we were climbing off of the departure end. Todd turned us East and we headed toward the practice area while the engine got to operating temperature. Todd decided to show me some of the features of the Garmin 1000 electronic cockpit. There were more map options than I could fathom, but the thing I loved the most was the full autopilot which handled changes in altitude as well as roll and pitch. As we got the engine to temperature, we saw that one of the CHT readings kept cycling into the warning range. But, the way it was reading, it became clear that it was likely a bad temperature probe and NOT a cooling problem.

Todd decided to head to Rowan (KRUQ) for a landing before we headed back to Concord. So he set the autopilot to fly the ILS approach and we set up North of the field. The avionics took over and flew us down to about 100 feet where Todd took over. It was really cool to watch the plane at work this way. As we landed, a pair of birds stubbornly stayed on the runway - one a bit too long. As he took off, we caught him with the 3 blade prop. No more bird.

We taxied back to Rwy 20 for takeoff to go home. Todd offered to let me take off. I declined. I simply wasn't familiar enough with the plane and wasn't willing to deal with the 500k price tag if I screwed up! Anyway, we flew back to concord and Todd flew a hand ILS approach and did a fine job. A smooth touch down and a taxi back to the ramp. No time in my log book, but a great flight nevertheless.

Getting ready for the changing of the leaves

Summer decided to remind us that it still has some fight left in it this weekend. The cool, crisp weather from the previous week was forgotten as temperatures hit near 90 and Saturday and were forecast again on Sunday. Oh well. Good news though - morning temps were still in the low 60s. So, at our normal 0800 meeting time, Steve and I arrived at JQF with Aggie pulled out front waiting for us to give her some exercise.

This was Steve's trip to plan. When he arrived, he announced that Robbi didn't want him gone all morning, so we were going to take a short hop today. Fine with me - I had plenty to do today, including 3 hours with Spencer at Lacrosse practice and a trip to the office late. Steve suggested Morganton (KMRN), a place west of Hickory and at the base of the NC Appalachians. We hadn't been there in a while. The last few times we'd landed there, it wasn't planned. We've diverted there when we found the weather in the mountains inhospitable, including one very memorable attempt to fly to Bristol Tennessee. Morganton also has a fond place in our hearts b/c it was a significant destination for both of us during our training. Steve's first solo cross-country was to KMRN. My first dual cross-country was there.

Anyway, we pre-flighted Aggie, gave her some oil and hopped aboard. As has been the case lately, she started right up for us. Before we knew it, we were holding short of Runway 2 going through our run up. Steve planned this trip, so he was in the left seat for the outward leg. We were cleared for departure and started our takeoff roll. Aggie was ready to get going, so we were airborne 1,200 feet down the runway. Positive climb rate, gear up, flaps retracted, manifold pressure to 25, RPMs to 2,500 and a left turn en route and we were headed to KMRN.

Concord handed us off before we even made the left turn. We contacted Charlotte and settled in for our en route climb. As we passed through 3,400, Steve asked if we'd been cleared into the Charlotte Class B ('Bravo') airspace.

The national airspace is divided into various classes, Class B being the most restrictive we play in. Class B surrounds the nations busiest airports. The airspace is shaped like an upside down wedding cake, so we could actually fly under the airspace in Concord. However, at 3,600 feet, you are in Charlotte's Bravo. You must be cleared into the Bravo by ATC or you can have some issues. Most of the time Charlotte is pretty good about giving you the clearance if you are on a course that will take you into the airspace, but the last 2 or 3 flights, the controllers have been a bit off and have failed to give the clearance.

Sure enough, this morning the controller missed the fact that we were headed directly into his controlled airspace. At 3,500 feet I asked for Bravo clearance. The controller was a bit befuddled by the request - apparently he thought he'd issued the clearance. Anyway, clearance granted (you always repeat back the Bravo clearance to make sure the FAA tapes record you telling the controller that you believe you've received the clearance.

Anyway, the climb out was gorgeous. We decided to only go to 4,500 feet given the short trip. We trimmed for cruise and were on our way. Charlotte was in a hurry to hand us off and gave us to Atlanta Center before we were past Lake Norman. The skies were beautiful. A small amount of haze, but 30 miles of visibility. We called Morganton in sight 20 miles out and prepared for landing on Runway 21. We were on a 10 mile left base when Atlanta terminated flight following.

We checked in on the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF) and heard nothing but crickets. Hard to believe there was nobody in the air on this beautiful day! Steve put down his best landing of the last 6 months. MRN is small - how small? Well, it doesn't have taxiways that run the length of the runway so we had to turn around and back-taxi on the runway to get back to the turn-off for the FBO. As we approached the FBO, to our surprise a lineman appeared to park us and he came equipped with a red carpet! Once the propeller stopped turning, we told him we weren't looking for anything but a cup of coffee. His response, "let me put a fresh pot on to brew." Wow! (Note: My first attempt at uploading an image to Blogger - not where I wanted the image. The picture is us on final to Rwy 21).

We've experienced this FBO before. A couple of years ago we few out and spoke with the then-new owner. He had invested in remodeling the FBO and was hoping to tap into the training market and maybe attract a jet or two during the fall leaf season. I don't know how he's doing, but the FBO still looks like the remodel was done yesterday. The new floors still shine and the counter area is filled with pilot supplies and interesting trinkets.

Steve and I chatted the lineman up while we sipped his fresh coffee, then we sent walking the ramp to see what interesting planes were based there. This is often an effort in futility, but today there were a few interesting planes, including a similar vintage Arrow to Aggie, but with much upgraded avionics (if only I could afford 1/2 of the equipment this bird had!). The two most interesting planes were a C172XP amphibious plane. Sitting there on wheels beneath the floats, the 172's door was at least 5 feet off of the ground. The most interesting thing to me about the plane was all of the rigging and cables needed to operate the water rudders and landing gear. The spaghetti-like cables and pulleys rather surprised me given the harsh conditions an amphibious plane may be subjected to. The other interesting plane was a Navion.

The Navion, originally manufactured by Ryan Aviation is an strange bird. It was substantially over-engineered as it was designed for the expected explosion of the general aviation market after WWII. Unfortunately, the explosion was more a burp and never materialized. Ryan designed the plane with a rudder/aileron interconnect system which coordinates your turns for you. Typically, when you apply aileron, you have to apply coordinated rudder to eliminate adverse yaw. Ryan tried to take some of the stick and rudder skill requirements out of flying. What really struck me about the aircraft was how high it sat and how big the landing gear were. The tires were just huge! Steve took a look inside and noted that the interior was larger than most 4 seaters. In fact, it was actually a 5 seater. Unfortunately, it looked like this one had been flown in a number of months, but it did still appear airworthy.

It was time to go. We boarded Aggie with me in the left seat and after a couple of tries to get her to start (my fault), we were back taxiing for a departure on Runway 3. Because the winds were calm and a Runway 21 departure would require navigating the mountains, we took off in the direction opposite of our arrival. A smooth take-off roll and we were on our way home. We got to 5,500 feet about the time passed over KHKY. As we leveled off, we trimmed for cruise at 153 kts ground speed. Once over Hickory, we could see lake Norman 35 miles away. Charlotte let us stay at our altitude all the way to the lake when we were asked to start our descent. We were handed off to Concord and set up for a left base to Runway 2. The approach was uneventful and I set Aggie down smoothly on the Runway (not quite a smoothly as Steve though) and a taxi to the ramp. 1.7 hours of incredibly enjoyable flying and we were done for the week.