http://ratula.net/eblo/ . . . anything and everything, most likely resulting in nothing. en-us eblo@ratula.net 2010-03-12T14:48:23-06:00 daily 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000467.html Yet again, it's been far too long since I've posted here. Oh well. Blame Twitter and/or Facebook if you must. Quick hit-and-run run-down: A) Em's great. I love that little girl. Words and photos fall miles short of describing her... 467@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Ramble 2009-07-30T19:33:15-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000449.html FYI, I plan on attending the AOPA Town Meeting with President Phil Boyer in Arlington Heights, IL on Tuesday, April 22, 2008. If any of youse guys are going to be there, send me an e-mail or let me know... 449@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2008-04-21T14:18:12-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000437.html The other night, I went for my first night flight in a while. The flight was uneventful in the good way, but while Monday Morning Quarterbacking it since then, I've come up with a few decisions that might not have... 437@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2007-10-04T21:25:35-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000429.html Want to be humbled by how one person can touch many lives for the better? Google "Berk Snow." For good measure, add "Burningman." Really too bad about that box canyon :(... 429@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2007-08-14T14:16:34-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000427.html I recently posted about a photo I took in '05 of airshow performer Jim Leroy and his plane "Bulldog." According to Aero News Jim died en route to the hospital after a crash during the Dayton Airshow. The report that... 427@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2007-07-28T20:10:43-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000413.html .flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: center; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } IMG_1408_edit, originally uploaded by oblivion9999. I was just flipping through some of my photos on... 413@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2007-05-24T11:40:04-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000404.html It's coming into Chicago today, the world's largest passenger jet. Although I can't really skip work to go watch it land in about an hour, I'm sitting here with my radio scanner tuned into ORD Approach in hopes of hearing... 404@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2007-03-20T11:48:14-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000403.html 047_takeoffs_and_landings - 33.6MB - 35:52 I went flying. I recorded it. Nothing too exciting, just trying to get back into the flow of podcasting. I left the silences in the recording so it is real-time as far as when I... 403@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2007-03-12T01:22:36-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000395.html 045_ive_got_wings - 14MB - 19:40 At the title implies, I am no longer grounded from flying! My 3rd Class Medical has been renewed! In just under 2 months, I lost between 10 and 15 pounds, got my blood pressure, and... 395@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2006-12-07T22:54:03-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000394.html 044_grounded - 18.1MB - 25:46 At the title implies, I am currently grounded from flying. My 3rd Class Medical expired at the end of October, and I can't currently renew it. Listen for the details. I did manage to squeeze... 394@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2006-11-14T23:40:14-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000386.html UPDATE: Here is a Magnalox log of my fligt. If you haven't checked Magnalox out and you're into GPS/mapping geekery, you should really check it out. The logs can be viewed standalone, in Google Maps, or, most wickedly, in Google... 386@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2006-08-02T21:13:59-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000383.html 039_shes_alive.mp3 - 20MB - 28:37 I got the motorcycle running like a champ. BFR (two-year flight review) and Cessna 172SP checkout is today if weather holds - don't expect audio from that. 7 weeks to baby! Thanks for staying tuned.... 383@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2006-06-28T07:45:27-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000375.html 036_flying_with_myself.mp3 - 7.5MB - 21:27 I squeezed in one flight in March. The weather was marginal, so I just did some basic training. This is a shorter show than my usual becuase the battery went dead on the iRiver. Enjoy.... 375@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2006-03-31T21:09:51-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000369.html Flying_with_Drew.m4v - 8.8MB - 3:51 - video This is going to be the last video for a while, I promise. It's old footage Drew took when we went flying back in May, 2005. The audio is a mix from the... 369@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2006-03-02T20:54:10-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000368.html 1stPassengers.m4v - 101MB - 16:52 - video This is a video of my first passenger-carrying flight from June 13, 2004. My dad and wife were onboard - very fitting, as they were my two biggest supporters in getting my license.... 368@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2006-02-20T01:11:44-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000366.html 032_birthday_surprises.mp3 - 17.5MB - 48:30 I went for a solo flight in a C-152 on my birthday. The following Saturday, Rose and I went out to a meat-fest dinner at Fogo de Chão with a bunch of friends. She then... 366@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2006-02-12T21:51:42-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000364.html 031_bliv_and_rose_mish_mash.mp3 - 14.4MB - 42:00 This was delayed by a server crash. Please forgive. It's a ramble-fest. We went flying (Junior's first flight), but coudln't take you with due to a dead battery in the spare intercom. Here's an attempt... 364@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2006-01-29T13:45:54-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000359.html I don't think I ever linked to this page of videos Drew Domkus took of me and Art dropping in to his R/C club's annual cornroast: Cornroast = Buttroast. Also, here is a video I took of Drew flying... 359@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2006-01-25T23:16:15-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000348.html A little something silly: You are a DEHAVILLAND BEAVER. You loveadventure. You are a person of the outdoors,very in-tune with nature and your surroundings.You enjoy communication between people, andalso your alone time. You are not afraid totake risks. You aren't... 348@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2006-01-02T12:17:11-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000341.html 024_pissed_off_and_inspired.mp3 - 8MB - 23:11 A beautiful sight. An unanswered message. A fledgeling pilot. I'm going to jump! Riffraff. Some URLs: JVonD Radio Comment_on_DSC-269.mp3 - My message to Adam Curry Thread on PodcastPickle.com about my comment My Finding a Flight... 341@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2005-11-10T00:40:14-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000340.html 023_flying_rose.mp3 - 13MB - 35:15 "Rose" and I headed out to the airport and the weather turned to crap. I had hoped to capture getting my preflight weather briefings on this one, but didn't have a rig to record the... 340@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2005-11-06T11:52:02-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000337.html 022_flight_school_advice.mp3 - 12MB - 34:11 A neighbor (losely applied) found my website and e-mailed me, asking if I could answer some questions for him about the airports I did my flight training at. I put together this podcast outlining some... 337@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2005-11-02T23:55:13-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000328.html flying_with_art_part_1_of_2.mp3 - 21.5MB - 62:55 More notes to come - this post has been too long coming to hold up for notes. I took my friend Art for his first general aviation airplane ride. Art is one of my longest-running... 328@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2005-09-12T23:03:59-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000319.html eaa_airventure_oshkosh_2005.mp3 - 20MB - 57:42 Rose and I drove up to Oshkosh, Wisconsin last weekend for EAA AirVenture, a large, week-long fly-in/airshow/pilot convention. A main theme of AirVenture this year was the new "Sport Pilot" pilot certificate the FAA approved... 319@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2005-08-05T07:36:02-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000316.html My wife and I are going to the EAA Airventure, Oshkosh this weekend. Oshkosh is a HUGE flyin/airshow - I think the biggest in the world. There will be plenty of photo ops and I'm sure more than a few... 316@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2005-07-25T20:46:14-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000311.html Last Thursday, I went flying again for the first time in several weeks. This was an evening flight from Westosha Flying Club at Westosha Airport (5K6) to Hahn Sky Ranch (2T5) to try to meet up with Drew Domkus and... 311@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2005-07-19T00:05:42-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000310.html Last Thursday, I went flying again for the first time in several weeks. This was an evening flight from Westosha Flying Club at Westosha Airport (5K6) to Hahn Sky Ranch (2T5) to try to meet up with Drew Domkus and... 310@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2005-07-18T22:13:44-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000308.html My latest audio post is a collection of recordings I made on the Alaska Airlines trip to Anchorage a few weeks ago. The recordings were made on the iRiver iFP-899 which was plugged into the aux out on a Sigtronics... 308@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2005-07-11T22:12:03-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000306.html Last night, we got to a good spot to watch our local fireworks display just in time as they were starting. The whole show lasted about 25 minutes, and for a small city, I must say we represented. This grand... 306@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2005-07-05T11:17:12-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000304.html I know I'm blowing my wad here with a third audio post in four days, but I've been stashing up this stuff for a while, so now I want to get it out. Today's bit of audio is actually... 304@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Podcasting 2005-06-30T11:47:10-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000298.html I suck. Way behind on posting. A few things: Going to Alaska soon. Woot! I need more Compact Flash memory. I met Drew of the Dawn and Drew Show podcast and took him for an airplane ride. We recorded the... 298@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Status 2005-06-10T08:20:31-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000294.html While dodging raindrops today, we took Martini for her first airplane ride!!! Even though we have a harness for her, Amy sat in back with her and she did GREAT! More pictures here. She was having fun looking out the... 294@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2005-05-01T19:52:40-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000291.html I went flying on Sunday and yesterday. First time in a few months. I went up with an instructor so I could get checked out to fly the club's 152s, which are just 2-seaters (as opposed to the 4-seater... 291@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2005-04-19T21:09:53-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000280.html It was a busy but fun weekend. It started on Friday when I headed out to Campbell Airport to meet up with a friend from ground school and go for a ride in her and her husband's new used airplane,... 280@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2005-02-06T21:19:43-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000228.html I finally got some air-time last night. Went up just before sundown, launching right around 6:15p.m. Did 3 trips around the patch, then got gutsy enough to leave the pattern. I say gutsy because it was starting to get dark... 228@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-10-05T11:36:39-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000218.html It's been far too long since I've written anything here. Time and attention never seem to coincide. Here are a few things in no particular order: If trying to upgrade the firmware on a Linksys WAP11 v2.6, the firware upgrade... 218@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Ramble 2004-08-07T05:34:44-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000203.html The plan was to take my wife, Amy, up as my first passenger on Saturday morning. I had reserved one of the Warriors for 10:30 a.m. Then my sister had her baby early, and the weather went to pot, and... 203@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-06-14T23:43:39-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000199.html I guess the third time's the charm. If you've been following along, you know that I've been frustrated lately by the weather keeping me from taking my practical exam for my pilot's license. Well on Saturday, June 5, 2004, all... 199@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-06-05T22:40:07-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000198.html While looking over my logbook yesterday and contemplating my checkride being rescheduled to Saturday the 5th, I realized I might have a problem with one of the recency of training requirements, namely 61.109(a)(4) which requires: 3 hours of flight... 198@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-06-03T19:03:20-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000194.html When I got up this morning to try to throw together the last stuff I needed for my checkride, it was clear and beautiful outside. We were scheduled to meet at 09:00 CDT and I was supposed to call the... 194@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-05-27T12:23:34-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000189.html I'm way behind on updates, and just keep getting further behind, but I have to post this one. My checkride is scheduled for May 27, and today my CFI signed me off! That means he thinks I'm set to go... 189@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-05-11T19:49:19-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000175.html A while ago, I started looking for a way to keep track of and post my flying experiences online. All pilots keep logbooks of their flights - it's a requirement for various things, mostly relating to training and maintaining currency... 175@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-05-02T10:25:14-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000178.html Flight #37 was my first solo cross-country, C81->RYV->C81. 1.6 hours on the Hobbs. 116 nm round trip. If I have one bit of advice for future first-timers: when planning, PLAN ENOUGH NON-FLIGHT TIME! I was hoping to squeeze the... 178@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-04-05T20:43:12-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000174.html Click for a larger image. Today, I had my most frustrating lesson to date. I took advantage of a double-block of lesson time to try to knock out a lot of the required 'hood time.' As I mentioned in... 174@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-03-23T20:51:15-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000173.html Click for a larger image. I knocked out 8 takeoffs and landings tonight. It was very cool, but as I said to my CFI: "That was fun. I'm just glad I know where the airport is." I could see... 173@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-03-16T21:50:50-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000166.html Click for a larger image. The morning of 3/9/04 started out with threatening snow clouds blowing through the area. By the time I was supposed to have my lesson, things had cleared up a bit, but were still pretty... 166@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-03-09T23:08:35-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000163.html Click for a larger image. On 3/8/04 I soloed up to Kenosha (ENW), which is in Class D airspace. This basically means that it's busy enough to have a control tower. In order to fly into the airspace and... 163@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-03-08T22:35:18-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000161.html Click for a larger image. I don't know if it's because I left Amy or the camera at home (just kidding honey *ducks*), but today, the weather finally cooperated and I was able to complete my first dual cross-country... 161@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-02-29T15:49:46-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000157.html Click for a larger image. Sunday, February 22, Amy and I were again scheduled to fly up to The Dells with Brice for my cross country training. And again, the weather had other plans. When I woke up, it... 157@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-02-24T17:15:21-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000150.html Click for a larger image. Today was my first solo out away from the airport. It was a VERY cold day (around 0F/-18C), so I couldn't do takeoffs and landings as it would have been too hard on the... 150@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-01-30T19:09:27-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000149.html Click for a larger image. Today started out as a beautiful day to fly. Due to illness and weather, Sunday was my first time in a plane since 2003. So I was glad today was so sunny, clear, and... 149@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-01-28T21:34:57-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000148.html Click for a larger image. I was supposed to do my first dual cross-country today. "Dual" means the instructor goes along with you. And since my CFI would be there, it meant The Wifely Wonder could go along for... 148@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-01-25T21:33:02-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000144.html I feel a bit like a schlub because I really, honestly thought I did better than a 93%. But then I feel like more of a schlub for complaining about a 93%. So I'll not complain. If anyone cares, the... 144@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2004-01-17T15:10:35-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000128.html Click for a larger image. On 12/30/03, I headed to Kenosha again. This time Brice planned to keep quiet and if all went well, he'd sign me off to go up there solo. I did my initial callup, got... 128@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-12-30T17:07:25-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000127.html Click for a larger image. On 12/29/03, I flew into Class D Airspace for the first time. Class D Airspace encircles an airport which has an active control tower (and isn't busy enough to have Class C (Milwaukee) or... 127@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-12-29T16:07:15-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000126.html Click for a larger image. On 12/23/03, the ceilings were 1,500' AGL, so we didn't do hood work again. Since we had to stay around 1,800' MSL to maintain the legal limit under the clouds, Brice had me work... 126@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-12-23T16:04:13-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000125.html Click for a larger image. On 12/22/03, I did hood work with my instructor. As I think I mentioned before, the hood is like a huge-brimmed hat that keeps you from looking outside the airplane. The point is to... 125@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-12-22T15:43:44-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000119.html The GPS Plots are up to date as of today. The filenames are stupid, but since I have links to them, it'll be a PITA to fix them. I could create a dulpicate folder, use good names in the new... 119@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-12-14T16:09:44-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000118.html Click for a larger image. Listening to the morning news on Monday told me it wasn't going to be a good week for flying. Monday itself was decent, but I was feeling a bit crummy, so I didn't fly.... 118@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-12-14T12:53:55-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000113.html Click for a larger image. Last Wednesday, I got to do VOR work again - wow, three flying days in a row! There were two noteworthy bits about this flight. First of all, after tracking in to the Burlington... 113@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-12-09T19:58:42-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000090.html Click for a larger image. Today when I got out to the airport, the sky was clear and there's was only the slightest whisper of a breeze. I was finally going to get to solo again, provided the plane... 90@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-12-02T21:57:03-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000089.html Updated 6/15/04. Important updates should be obvious. Unimportant ones shouldn't be. I get asked a lot about how I plotted my ground tracks from my flight lessons. I figured I'd copy the response here in case I'm asked again. Hopefully... 89@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Geek 2003-12-02T00:30:05-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000087.html Finally, after a mechanical problem my last time out, then a week off for turkey day, I got back in the air today. It was a clear, sunny day, but boy was it windy! Running some errands about an hour... 87@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-12-01T22:59:31-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000048.html So I got to the airport today under clear blues skies and a SLIGHTLY gusty wind right down 27. I though it might have been a little windy for my 3rd supervised solo, but my CFI had mentioned getting started... 48@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-11-19T20:12:34-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000049.html Ok, I was originally going to title this update, "X-winds AGAIN!?!" But since I had so much fun, I opted for a more positive title. A brief recap - I had my first two solos the last week in October,... 49@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-11-18T20:16:24-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000047.html Well, the weather cooperated somewhat by clearing up, but the winds started kicking up pretty good. My CFI hadn't called me by 11:45, though, so I headed out to the field. As I stepped into the FBO he nodded a... 47@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-11-12T20:00:00-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000050.html I still can't log that third supervised solo, but I did get to work on x-winds again today. Thanks to a thread over at studentpilot.com, they went a LOT better today. Well some of them did, 2 called for go-arounds.... 50@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-11-10T20:19:09-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000051.html I'm still smiling about that solo. Second supervised solo was yesterday. 2 out of 4 of the landings were good, 2 were a little hard, mostly due to some squirrely winds right above the threshold, but not 'bad'. Today was... 51@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-10-30T20:24:39-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000046.html I know I'm way overdue on updates. I'm sure no one (of the two or three that were before) is reading this anymore. But I soloed today!!!! I flew the plane all by myself. No instructor. No Autopilot. No... 46@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-10-27T17:19:27-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000043.html I was grounded today due to weather. The visibility and cloud cover were iffy, and we might have pushed it to go up, but instead we did some ground schooling. It saved me $90 on plane rental, anyway, so that's... 43@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-09-22T20:01:32-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000038.html Today's lesson was very much the same as yesterday's with one exception - the wind. I mentioned it being pretty strong yesterday. Well, today it was stronger and pretty much straight out of the south. This means the takeoff... 38@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-09-17T20:58:42-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000037.html Today was a beautiful day to fly. It was a little bumpy around 2,000', but nothing that couldn't be managed. Today my CFI had me do the preflight check of the aircraft on my own. He was actually a... 37@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-09-16T18:03:11-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000035.html Been delayed. Busy weekend. Last Wednesday was Flight Lesson #3. We did stalls. Take-off stalls and landing stalls. They weren't as stomach churning nor nerve fraying as I expected. They were actually kind of fun - though that's probably... 35@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-09-15T21:31:40-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000033.html Second lesson was today. It was a little easier and a little harder. For some reason I was a little nervous before we started - well, and during, my shoulders are fairly tense. But I think that's because I knew... 33@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-09-09T21:16:33-06:00 http://ratula.net/eblo/archives/000032.html I had my first lesson. I'm flying out of Campbell Airport near Grayslake. Cardinal Aircraft Services rents out Piper Warrior II's for students. It's a low-wing plane. One pilot I know suggested I might be more comfortable in a Cessna... 32@http://ratula.net/eblo/ Flying 2003-09-04T20:04:15-06:00