polypoke

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 78.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 57.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 79.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 80.

For someone (me) who has been experiencing upper 90s with heat indices of over 100F, this wx forecast is absolutely wonderful!

Many flight simmers in the world use their time with the sim to wind down from a long day or to escape from the realities of day-to-day life. Have you ever considered how this could be done in a hospital setting to help patients "get away" from their pain? A young man named Kevin Query has done just that and pioneered a program at Munson Infusion Clinic in Traverse City, Michigan called Sky High Hope. The program began in November of 2007 by Kevin with the help of the AERO’s flight school at Northwest Michigan College. Using a laptop, a joystick, and Microsoft Flight Simulator, AERO team members have the Clinic visitors flying planes and helicopters in and out of airports throughout the U.S. and the world! How cool is that.

Brian J. Terwilliger, the man behind the critically acclaimed "One Six Right," has achieved a dream - flying with the Blue Angels. Follow Brian in a 10-minute documentary entitled "Flying Full Circle" where he talks about his first experiences as a child watching the Blues perform and then realizing that dream. After enjoying that, be sure to check out his next full-length aviation film teaser, "Aviation Epic."

Those of you who are going to be lucky enough to visit EAA AirVenture this year will be in for a shock. For as many years as I can recall going to AirVenture, the Microsoft FS booth has always been at the entrance to Hangar B. In fact, one year they even sponsored the whole hangar. This year that has changed. The Microsoft FS booth now calls the entrance to Hangar D home. I inquired with Hal what "the skinny" was on this dramatic change in venue (well, not too terribly dramatic ... Hangar D is a few paces away from Hangar B), but he hasn't given me the spill. I'll have to dig it out of him in two weeks. Anyway, if you're expecting to find the FS booth in Hangar B ... don't panic when it is not there. Hangar D is where the action will be this year! Boy won't the folks at JoePilot, AvShop, and CH Products be in for a surprise (they used to get tons of business due to the FS booth)! See you there!

The modern day guppy is making a short visit to EAA AirVenture this year! The heavily modified Boeing 747-400 known as the DreamLifter will arrive late Monday July 28th and then depart on Tuesday July 29th. The aircraft is being utilized to carry key components of the new 787 Dreamliner from points all over the globe to the assembly location in Everett, WA. I'm looking forward to getting a closer look at it myself! 

Check out this video footage from AVWeb showing yesterday's first flight of the Cirrus Design The-Jet. In my opinion, this airframe is much more appealing in design than the Piper Jet. Does this mean we may see this plane fly at Oshkosh?? Who knows, but it sure seems to me that they've accelerated their testing. Just the other day they were performing the first high-speed taxi tests. I've got my fingers crossed!

One of the most exciting events to take place at this year's AirVenture has to be record attempting flights that Jon Sharp is going to perform in the Nemesis® NXT®. His attempts will take place during the showcase flights that are a part of each afternoon's airshow. Sharp says the record attempt is a fun event for spectators. "They don't get to see this type of event very often, and it's not like a normal air show act. They are actually seeing history being made before them."

The Nemesis® NXT® is the next generation aircraft evolved from the original Nemesis which now resides in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport. For more information about this special event, take a look at this article on the AirVenture website.

Oh, and look for a major announcement to come soon after AirVenture that involves "yours truly" and the Nemesis® NXT® team.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of AirVenture for me is the extreme amount of ATC chatter that is to be heard. Anyone who has read the AirVenture NOTAM knows that the VFR Arrival into Fisk is an essential part of the adventure of arriving to KOSH. Want a sample of that chatter? Check out this 30 minute recording from 2006 to see how hectic things becomes and why minimal talk from the aircraft inbound is highly encouraged!

There are a few new things this year compared to years past. For example, new dots are being use on Runway 18/36 and the "pink shirts" will be utilizing the brand-new tower currently being constructed at the field. AVWeb's latest IFR Refresher podcast talks to one of the ATC Supervisors for this year's AirVenture,  Jerry Hough, where he describes some tips and tricks for making a safe IFR arrival into KOSH. GANews also published this article on making a safe arrival into KOSH during AirVenture that provides some really great advice as well.

I read that there will be the first annual bloggerfest at AirVenture this year in the Forums area. It is scheduled for 4pm on July 28th in the GAMA building (#2). Who knows, I may show up and see what its all about!

Check out this incredible demonstration of the wave and coral effects in the fourthcoming Real Environment Xtreme!

 
REX Wave & Coral Simulation from Tim Fuchs on Vimeo

While browsing the EAA website, I ran across this great piece on the Boeing 40, the oldest flying Boeing aircraft in the world. The aircraft is scheduled to be on display at AirVenture ... I can't wait to check it out!

...Yeah, I think so! This year marks my 3rd year in a row for attending the greatest aviation event in the world ... EAA AirVenture! It appears that things are really shaping up to be a stellar event this year. Some of the things in particular that I am excited about seeing are ... the Red Bull Helicopter, the Nemesis record attempts, and the Comanche mass arrival. See you in Oshkosh!

In the spirit of Train Simulator 2, my family and I decided upon the vacation destination of Chattanooga, Tennessee as our big summer trip. We stayed at the historic Choo Choo hotel (in an actual rail car, no less) and had a great time seeing the sights around town. Check out some photos from the trip...

Christy Lake and I standing in front of our railcar room!

A part of the package we got from the Choo Choo hotel was a trip on the Missionary Ridge Local - we've got our tickets and we're ready to go!

While waiting for the train to arrive, I walked the yard at the museum and found this cool CN 4-6-2.

In the middle of the trip, they allowed us to watch the engine being reversed on this huge turntable for the return leg back to the terminal. They also toured us through the maintenance shop where they restore all sorts of vintage steamers and diesels, some taking many years to complete.

Also included in the package was a trip up the incline to Lookout Mountain - the steepest rail grade in the world!

The hotel hosts one of the largest scale railroad dioramas in the world, all within the old train terminal. According to the brochure, if the whole room was to be reconstructed, it would take over $1 million usd and two years solid of labor...incredible!

One night at the hotel, we ate pizza in a railcar that doubled as a diner. The coolness factor was way up there!

After 3 years of enjoyment, Roy has decided to sell N204WT. He asked me to post details in case an interested party ran across it on my site, so here are the particulars!

Aircraft Feature List

• AOPA Win-A-Twin 2004 sweepstakes aircraft, taken delivery February 2005.
• IO-320 B1A Lycoming engines 160 HP, with Superior Millennium Cylinders, GAMI fuel inj. LOP 14 GPH @165-170 KTS. Engine under warranty for one more year all new parts and built by Penn Yan Air.
• Special Q tip props by Hartzell with chrome spinners. L. Eng. 445 hrs. and RT. Eng. 442 as of today 06-11-08.
• All new tires, new Gill battery, new bungy cords and annual not due until Sept. 08. 91-411 & 413 current until Sept. 2008.
• Tip tanks, aux. and main holding 120 gals. 1100 naut. miles or seven hrs. of fuel.
• Instrumentation: Garmin 480 GPS (WAAS capable) NAV. & COM.; VOR Garmin Apollo MFD 20;  Apollo Model SL30 NAV.-COM; Garmin GTX 330 Transponder Mode S and C; PMA 8000 Series Audio Panel & Marker Beacon; 4300 Electric Attitude Indicator by Mid Contentintal; S-TEC 55X;  EDM 760 Twin by J.P. Instruments;  Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicator KI 825 by Honeywell.

If you are interested, contact Roy here: 864-227-3686 or 864-941-7662