Photo Gallery
Cirrus (& other aircraft) Flying & Teaching: 2016 – 2020
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More of the planes, the people, and the places associated with flying & teaching in Cirrus and other aircraft. During this segment of time, I continued flying the Airbus A-320 series in my airline job (having upgraded to Capt. during this time). My teaching activities still focused mainly on Cirrus and Swift aircraft, plus some other general aviation aircraft as opportunities arose. My teaching activities spiked up again as the Covid-19 pandemic hit and I was presented with a downturn in my airline job.
Click on any image below to see a larger version, including a descriptive caption.
The Snow Belt
The start of a winter ferry flight from northwest WI to Fargo, ND in Feb. 2016 in an SR-22TN (Gen. 3). Who goes even further north of WI in February?
In Mr. Hughes’ Seat
In Mar. 2016, I had the unique opportunity to literally sit in the seat of one of my aviation heroes. While visiting the Evergreen Aviation museum in McMinville, OR, I was invited to tour the flightdeck of the Hughes H-4 Hercules (aka: The Spruce Goose). Donning one of Howard Hughes' famous fedoras, I sat in awe of the sheer massiveness of the H-4. It held the record for the largest aircraft ever flown (by wingspan) for almost 72 years and is still #2 on that list!
Mustang Avionics Teaching
Prior to departing NorCal in a Cessna CE-510 Mustang in Mar. 2016. An airplane type that I've given advanced avionics training to a few owner/pilots in over the years.
BonusJet Type Rated
In Mar. 2016, I completed a Type Rating in the Comp-Test TsT-14J BonusJet. A motor-glider with a retractable turbojet engine. Shaking hands with my instructor (right) and my flight examiner (left) in Moriarty, NM after successfully completing the checkride.
Going SubSonex!
One of many press photos taken for several magazine articles I wrote for my year-long Sonex Aircraft project in Mar. 2016. I had passed my checkride for the SUBSONX Type Rating earlier that day, in New Mexico. See Published Works, Pilot Reports for the articles. The SubSonex is truly a micro-jet, with a max gross weight of only 1,000 lbs. (950 for aerobatic flight). Its engine produces 247 lbs. of thrust and spins at up to 60,000 RPM!!!
Another New Swift Pilot
In April 2016, Roger completed his Swift transition training with me. He'd borrowed this 210hp Super Swift, as he was still completing his own 180hp Super Swift restoration at the time.
Always Representing GA
My Aircraft Owners & Pilots Assoc. hat on the flightdeck of the Airbus A320 I was flying in July, 2016. Brining a little general aviation into the airline world with me.
AOA Testing
During a routine Cirrus training session in May, 2016. My client had installed dual Aspen E1000 units in his early SR-22 and, just prior to this flight had them upgraded to include Angle of Attack (AOA) data. Here, we were conducting slow flight at minimum controllable airspeed in order to test the accuracy of the system. On the upper right, the upper arrow indicates the critical (stalling) AOA with flaps up. The lower arrow (for flaps down) indicates were are just barley below the critical AOA. Impressively accurate for being 100% software derived data (there is no actual AOA probe on the aircraft).
Caught in the Act
One of the very few photos I have of myself piloting an aircraft (of any type), taken from outside. A plane-spotter photographer took this photo of me just beginning my takeoff roll in Aurora, ILL (ARR). He later tracked me down via the internet and emailed this photo. June 18, 2016.
Grass Strips & Piper Cubs
Throughout the summer of 2016, I returned to my early days as a CFI and did a fair bit of tailwheel teaching in a J-3 Cub. I'd forgotten how cramped the instructor seat is in a J-3! Lots of fun, nonetheless.
Oshkosh 2016
A bit of skywriting lingering in the skies of Oshkosh AirVenture, July 2016. A friendly message of Peace, Love, and Happiness.
5,000 Horsepower
After Oshkosh AirVenture closed in Aug. 2017, I was invited to fly the ultra-rare Howard 500 from OSH back to its home near Minneapolis, MN. Only 17 HW-500s were built and only 2 remained airworthy at this point. I was surprised at how light and fluid this beast handled. With 36 cylinders and 5,000 HP on tap, I'm sure it could get away from any pilot pretty quickly. For the full article this lead up to, see Published Works, Pilot Reports.
Failure Modes
Teaching avionics failure modes in a SR-22T in Sept. 2016. Better for the first time a pilot sees this to be during training, than during real world operations.
Teaching in North Dakota again
Teaching a long time Cirrus client in his SR-22 over the Red River Valley of North Dakota. Always incredible to experience the vast, flat, expanses of that area.
Transition Training in a Swift
Taken in Manitowoc, WI at the completion of a client transition training in a 145hp 1948 GC-1B Swift. Fun flying a "non Super" Swift, for a change.
LOW Density Altitude
The start of a Jan. 2017 ferry flight from northern WI to FL. At a very brisk -15F outside, the density altitude was about 5,000' BELOW the airport elevation. By the time I'd landed in south FL, the outside air temperature had risen over 100 degrees.
Popping Out
An Oct. 2016 teaching session in a Cirrus SR-22, just popping out of the clouds while flying the Localizer Back-Course 18 approach into Oshkosh, WI (OSH).
Flying the Turkey
In May, 2017 I was honored to get to fly a WWII combat veteran TBM Avenger torpedo bomber (nicknamed "The Turkey" by many of the crews that flew them in the war for their ungainly appearance and flight characteristics). What a beast. I'm in the aft pilot seat, with the rear ball turret gunner position visible behind me.
Ten Tons of Turkey
The Grumman TBF Avenger: This aircraft is a TBM-3 model, meaning it was actually manufactured under contract by General Motors. It sports 1,900HP to pull around its almost ten tons of bulk. I was privileged to fly it in May, 2017. See Published Works, Pilot Reports for two articles on that experience and the annual TBM Gathering in IL.
Training the Next Generation
My son on the flightdeck of Rockwell B-1B Lancer at Oshkosk AirVenture in July 2017. He was 10 years old at the time and while he's not an aviation nut like his dad, he always enjoyed attending Oshkosh with me.
Major Airline Captain (at last)
In Nov. 2017, I passed my Captain upgrade checkride in the Airbus A-320 with examiner Todd McGreggor. He and I were new-hires together at Virgin America and both merged into Alaska Airlines soon after this picture was taken. He's a GA lover too and flies a Beech Debonair in his free time.
Generation 6 Cirrus
The day after wrapping up my Airbus Captain Upgrade simulator training, I completed a familiarization flight in the then-brand-new Generation 6 Cirrus SR-22T to allow me to begin teaching in them (along with all the previous Cirrus generations I'd been teaching in for years). Nov. 2017
The Man Behind the Mask
Just a funny pic, taken by my First Officer while conducting a post-maintenance test flight on an Airbus A-320 out of San Francisco (SFO) in Jan. 2018. We were required to don our oxygen masks for some of the systems testing to be done on the flight.
Off Airport
Out playing with off-airport landings. This flight with my friend Alex in his Kitfox V was for a magazine article (see Published Works, Pilot Reports). May 2018.
Blackhawk KingAir 350-XP67A Demo
In June 2018, I had the opportunity to fly this stunning KingAir 350, which had just been upgraded with the Blackhawk XP67A performance package (bigger engines, 5-bladed composite props, etc). See Published Works, Pilot Reports for the article associated with this flight.
The Big Red Super Swift
In Aug. 2018, I conducted an owner check out in this vibrant Super Swift, with most of the available speed mods, including a 210hp engine and constant-speed prop.
My Worlds Collide
In Sept. 2018, I borrowed a friend's Super Swift to attend a Cirrus instructor's conference. I was the only non-Cirrus on the ramp, but everyone was more interested in the 72-year-old Swift than in the brand new million dollar Cirrus' surrounding it!
Avidyne IFD Teaching
In March 2019, teaching yet another new generation of avionics packages in a Cirrus. This time it was the recently introduced Avidyne IFD 540/440 combo to a long-time client in the SanFran Bay area.
Right Place, Right Time
In May 2019, I popped into Janesville, WI (JVL) for lunch and was surprised to learn the Collegiate National Flying Championships were happening. My old employer, Univ. of N.D., was participating so I posed with a couple of their planes. My alma mater, Indiana State Univ., was not participating that year...but I was representing them with my sweatshirt!
First Flight “Excitement”
On June 29, 2019, I was the experimental test pilot for the first flight of DeltaHawk's Turbo-Diesel aircraft engine in a Cirrus SR-20. The flight was a little too exciting as an immediate return to the field was required due to a rapid overheat of the engine's coolant. This was due to airflow problems with the cowling that were soon corrected. A month later, I flew the plane to Oshkosh AirVenture for them to display. Photo taken just as the nosewheel was raised on that first takeoff. Definately one of those once-in-a-career moments, taking a new engine type into the air for the first time ever (on a single-engine aircraft).
Pandemic!
A photo taken while doing a pre-flight inspection of an Airbus A-321NEO in San Diego, CA (SAN). It was April 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic was reaching its full rage. The airports and airplanes were empty and I was seriously worried that Airline Furlough #3 was just around the corner for me. Fortunately, that didn't happen, but it was a surreal and sometimes scary year, nonetheless.
The Future is Now
By the Spring of 2020, the cooling problems on the Turbo-Diesel SR-20 I'd experienced the previous summer had been corrected with this custom cowling. DeltaHawk has since certified their engine and are working to develop and certify additional derivatives of it for multiple aircraft types.
Voluntary Leave
A main concorse within San Francisco Int'l Airport (SFO) during May, 2020. About two months into the Covid-19 pandemic. With not a single other human in sight, I was still flying airliners, but they were almost always with just a handful of passengers aboard. In the months immediately after this photo was taken, I would take voluntary leave from my airline job and focus on instructing and general aviation activates. I hoped taking the leaves would help prevent furloughs of junior pilots (which that and significant government bail-out packages did).
Instructing Instructors
Teaching a Cirrus Transition Course to Andy Stroh in N.D. Andy is a crop duster pilot and flight instructor that I knew via mutual acquaintances. When he needed this training and I was on Covid-19 leave anyway, it worked out perfectly. We flew all day for several days, socially distanced from anyone except each other. June, 2020.
Turf Times
Teaching a Cirrus transition course in a Gen.3 SR-22T in MN in June, 2020. Operating out of a private grass strip in Battle Lake (00MN). Many still think that Cirrus' are not suitable for unpaved runways. Not at all true if proper precautions are taken. Although it can be a buggy affair in summer. For more on this topic see my Turf Wars articles in Published Works, Instructional/Technical Articles.
Old Loves
While teaching a Cirrus transition course in MN in June 2020, my client and I made a fuel stop in Alexandria (AXN). As we approached the pumps, I commented on the beautiful paint on the Cirrus already parked there. I noted the N-number also had a familiar ring to it. Then it clicked. I'd picked up N203RF from the factory in March 2003. It was the 3rd full glass cockpit (Avidyne Entegra) Cirrus off the production line. I had a long relationship with it, having conducted the pre-purchase inspection, broken in its original engine, delivered it to Rapid City, SD, and provided weeks worth of transition and recurrent training to its group of owners over the years. We'd flown all over the Dakotas and the mountain west in it, over the course of 15+ years of working together. But, that chance encounter in AXN was my first time seeing it with its then-new paintjob (like all G1 Cirrus', it was delivered with all-white paint). It was also my first time meeting the newest member of the ownership group (who'd flown it in). Being the first glass-cockpit SR-22 I flew and having developed deep friendships with several of its owners, this bird will always be special to me.
Fuel Crisis
Katie did her SR-22T transition course with me, out of Casselton, ND in June 2020. At one point she told me she'd never refueled an airplane herself (saying that FBOs, her dad, or her CFI had always done it for her). I told her we would incorporate "refueling training" into the day's lesson. She needed her tip-toes to get it done, but she got cleared to solo into her next fuel stop!
Photographic Evidence
The next day (see previous pic), Katie completed her Cirrus transition course. Her only request was for a post-training photo. She said, "I know, I'm such a girl, but if I don't have a picture, it didn't happen!" We laughed, took the photo, and laughed some more. Thereafter, she was probably the coolest soccer mom in town, often flying her 4 kids to their various distant sporting events.
Crossing the 200 MPH Barrier
It's not often that I surpass 200 mph groundspeed in an antique taildragger. Returning home to WI after a week of Cirrus teaching with multiple clients in June 2020. A nice tailwind and a Speedster Swift combined to generate a 204 mph groundspeed.
Circumnavigation
While I live next to Lake Michigan, I don't cross big water in single-engine aircraft outside of glide distance from land (and without life vests and raft). So, circumnavigating around the south end of Lake Michigan has become routine for me, for flight taking me to/from the east. Here, I'm flying an Avidyne R9 equipped Gen. 2 SR-22 along the southwest shore of Lake Michigan below the Chicago Class B airspace. Good coordination with ATC always makes this an enjoyable route.
Circle To Land
Teaching a Cirrus IFR recurrent training course in a Gen. 5 SR-22T. We'd just flown the RNAV GPS-B approach to Bloomsburg, PA from the west and are in the final stage of the Circle to Land, Runway 27 (over the Susquehanna River). Late June, 2022. See Published Works, Instructional/Technical Articles for a 3-part series on circle to land operations (Circle of Confusion).
Williamsport
About to depart one of my favorite NE US airports, Williamsport, PA (IPT). I provided a large group of Cirrus pilots in the IPT area with transition and recurrent training for many years, usually organized by my long time friend and client there, Michael Bush. This is his Gen. 3 SR-22 before our training mission, late June 2020.
Weather Avoidance
After a week of providing recurrent training to the Williamsport Cirrus pilots in June 2020, I departed to ferry a Cirrus to Plymouth, MA for avionics upgradees. The weather proved a little challenging along that route, that day. Thankfully, the on-board weather information was plentiful, helping to make this a totally uneventful flight.
Mono Lake, CA
While teaching a Cirrus Transition course out of Fresno, CA, the client and I flew to Lee Vining Airport near Mono Lake, CA. The lake has an almost eerie green glow due to its high acidity, high salinity, dense algae blooms, and high mineral concentration.
“Bob” the Bob-Tailed Beast
I've been handed the keys to many an odd airport courtesy car or client-provided car in my day. But this one in Fresno, CA took the cake. My Cirrus client had this old Army 6x6 semi cab (meant to pull tanks on flatbed trailers) cut down and turned into a pickup truck! Tallest thing I've ever driven on anything but a runway or taxiway. Obnoxiously loud, hot, and bumpy too! Fun for the first few minutes though.
First Vision Jet Flight
During my pandemic airline leave in July 2020, I had my first opportunity to fly the Cirrus SF-50 Vision Jet. Carl Larson Sr. had already been a Cirrus client of mine for many years at this point (having owned 6 Cirrus' prior to his SF-50). 82 years old at the time, he was Type Rated in his jet and flying it both frequently and very well.
Leaving Yellowstone
In late July 2020, my family and I did a socially-distanced Covid-leave trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. This photo was taken after departing West Yellowstone, MT airport just after dawn and crossing the Park on our way back east.
The Big Apple
Back in the airliner cockpit after my Covid leave, I was soon flying back into some of the most densely populated parts of the world. Here I'm descending for landing at JFK Int'l in NYC. That's Manhattan below, with the Hudson River (bottom) and the East River (center). The dark spot in the middle of the island is Central Park. Nov. 2020.
Signs of a Bygone Era
In late 2020, my airline was using the gates of Terminal 8 at JFK Int'l, which in the past had been the domain of all British Airways flights. This included Gate 1, which is where the Concorde had always parked. There were still markings on the ramp indicating the taxi lines meant exclusively for the "SSC" (Supersonic Concorde).
Sad Goodbyes
As 2020 came to a close, I was back at my airline from my voluntary Covid leaves. My time away had been filled with general aviation instructing. One of the sad realities of the pandemic airline downturn was my airline accelerating the "retirement" of the Airbus fleet (especially those aircraft with unattractive leases). This was after one of my shortest jet flights ever (from SanFran to Oakland, CA...a straight-line distance of 9.6 NM) to delivery this A-320 back to the lessor. It was barley 3 years old at the time. As an aside, I'm not getting shorter (yet), my First Officers are getting taller (he's 6' 7")!