John Travolta's private airport

According to some people, I am obsessed by aviation. OK, I admit it.

But some other guy is way more obsessed than me and I would like to bring him to attention, so that my obsession can be put in perspective.

Did you know that John Travolta has several planes, including a Boeing 707?






He flies all his planes himself. Here is the cockpit of his B707. Not the latest technology but a lot of buttons to play with...




And here is the interior of his B707. Why does he need such a luxurious interior if he is flying anyway?




OK. Pretty cool to own a Boeing, right?
What about owning your own airport!




The view from his living room (look at the airplane parked outside!)...






...from his patio (look at the plane behind the pool!)...




...and from his garden







The plane pictures are from Airliners.net and the home and garden pictures are from Architectural Digest.

Angel Flight

I discovered this amazing charity: Angel Flight. They allow pilots to use their flying skills and passion to help people in need.



They provide free air transportation to medical treatment for people who cannot afford public transportation, or who cannot tolerate it for health reasons.

The great thing about them is that the flights are done on general aviation aircrafts (such as Cessnas, Pipers, etc.) by private pilots. Pilots with more that 300 hours can apply on their web site to fly their missions. Pilots are responsible for all the costs incurred but some are tax deductible.

Looking at Angel Flight's missions shows how much this service is useful for people needing it.

Non-pilots can also help on the missions. You can visit their web site and also make a donation here: www.AngelFlight.org.

Antonov An-225

I am wondering if I am allowed to fly this airplane with my Private Pilot License. As I have a "Single Engine Land" rating, I think it may be OK if I only use one engine...



This is an Antonov An-225. It is a Russian airplane, mostly used in civil cargo operations.

Thanks to Mike (the Consulting Machine) for sending that picture to me.

Original picture from Airliners.net

I am perfect

I am a nobody, and nobody is perfect; therefore, I am perfect.

The Royal Burgh of Elie & Earlsferry, Fife, Scotland

I am not even dead yet and I already have a town named after me: The Royal Burgh of Elie & Earlsferry, Fife, Scotland.

How cool is that?

How much money does flying take?

All of it!

The Video of the traffic plane that landed on Highway 580

I just saw the funny news report of that plane. See it on KTVU.com.

CheckMate checklists

Previously, I was using the checklists provided by my flight school or my FBO. In France, in my aeroclub (Aeroclub des IPSA), they redid the checklists a little while ago and their were clean and handy.

However, in the planes I fly in the US, sometimes there is no checklist, sometimes it is falling apart and sometimes I even have to use pages from the POH (Pilots Operating Handbook). Not really convenient when pages start to flip or when pages drop on the floor.

I recently bought laminated checklists from CheckMate Aviation.

Front:


Back:


These are really well thought and well made. You need to buy one per plane you are flying (e.g., one for the C152, one for the C172SP, one for the Archer III, etc.) at about $15/piece. Not much compared to the price of flying. Highly recommended.

Aviation proverbs

A 'good' landing is one from which you can walk away. A 'great landing is one after which you can use the airplane again.


The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival

Pilot Mnemonic Reminders

I put these useful mnemonics check lists together for my own needs. I thought that someone else would benefit from them if I would put them on this site.

CIGAR - Runup Or Ground Check
Controls check, Instruments set, Gas (fuel on proper tank, pump on), Attitude (flaps and trim set) and Runup (magnetos check)

Lights, Camera, Action - Before Takeoff
Lights (strobe, landing light, and navigation lights). Camera is the transponder. Action is for mixture, fuel boost pump, flaps and trim.

BLITTS - Before Takeoff
Boost pump and mixture, Lights, Instruments set, Transponder, Time and Safety (seatsbelts, doors)

Charlie GUMPS - Before landing
Carb heat, Gas (fuel on the proper tank and pump), Undercarriage, Mixture, Propeller, Safety

CCCC - Go-Around
Cram it, clean it, cool it, and call it. Cram it refers to adding full power. Clean it refers to retracting flaps (in increments) and landing gear. Cool it is a reminder to open the cowl flaps / carb heat, and call it refers to announcing your action.

FACTS - After Landing
Flaps up, Auxiliary fuel pump off, Cowl flaps open and/or carburetor heat off, Transponder to standby, and Switches (pitot heat off and lights as required).

MIDGET - Securing The Aircraft
Master switch off, Ignition (magnetos) off, Doors and windows latched, Gust lock installed, ELT off, and Tiedowns secured.

Random plane picture

It is a small script that displays a random plane picture. Very neat. You can get the script for your own site on www.airliners.net.

curetti.com

I just noticed that there is no back link from my blog to my main web page curetti.com. BTW, I am going to finish its redesign very soon.

Bad news

Thanks for my lovely sister for that very funny picture!

A true quote

I invented Ctrl + Alt + Del but Bill Gates made it famous!
- David Bradley, part of the IBM PC design team...