Life Through Your Camera

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Oy. We're a little more laid back here.

When we have an arrival, it's more like "Hiya, how ya doing?"
"Fine. Can I get some fuel?"
"Sure. Need the crew car?"
"Naw, I got a ride comin'"

Oh, yeah... if he gets fuel, there'll be a receipt.

[madpilot44]

Hey guys! time for an update. Right before finishing the semester and starting the summer period (around the end of May) I passed my checkride and became a certified Soaring Instructor Pilot at the US Air Force Academy. This means that I am now teaching people enrolled in the basic soaring program on how to fly the Let L-23 gliders at USAFA. Since it's summer vacations right now, I get to go fly every weekday for three weeks. My day is comprised of waking up at around 4, showing up at the airfield around 5:30, and flying until 1. I get around 6 flights every day trying to teach students how to fly and hopefully get them to solo. Since our operation aims at teaching a student without any prior experience to solo in 14 flights or less, we don't leave the area around the academy and our max time per flight is about 25 minutes, but involves everything from teaching a student to fly straight and level to doing stalls and spiral dives and spin prevention. Here's some pics:

The L-23 Super Blanik and Piper Super Cub aerotow aircraft


The hangar, with an L-23 and some of the L-13AC with which some IPs do aerobatics


The view from the back seat on aerotow


The academy from 2,000 feet AGL


Me in the back seat

[Oddball]

Right thats me back from Flying Legends down at IWM Duxford and while i was there I saw this I wonder if they where expecting chuck to turn up?

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Hoy! I got some "Me flying" videos! One of our renters, a highly experienced commercial pilot, was operating in the same area where I was banging around. He had his camera with him, and managed to get a few shots. The first one he took as soon as he saw me over the lake, and the other was a photo op that presented itself while we were headed back to the airport.
I helped a bit, as he was in our slower 172, I held 90kts with one notch of flaps so he could get a good shot...  I mean, to enhance separation for pattern entry! Yeah, that's what I meant!


..

[Franz]

Hi Madpilot, I just got back from the 14th International Military Gliding Competition at Holzdorf Airbase in Germany where I met four guys from the USAFA.

Anyway, pictures:
Unfortunately, I didn't take any myself, so here's a link to the official website:
Pictures

[madpilot44]

Hi Franz!

cool, did you participate in the competition? yeah, I know all of the guys who went there. Pity I'm not in the cross country team, they went to Utah about a month before going to Germany.They get lots of competition time as well as training time in their gliders, while I get to play instructor and try and recover from every stupid mistake the students do to try and kill me. I am becoming a believer in that every student's whole plan is to see who can kill their IP...

anyway, now I'm in a different program. I'm in Tyndall AFB, Fl., trying to learn how a USAF base works. basically, every day I go to a different part of the base and check it out. This base in particular has 3 fighter squadrons, and that means I got to sit in these:




Unfortunately, I couldn't take pics or see anything on the screen because it's classified, and I don't have a classified qualification because I'm an international. the other guys in my group all got F-15 rides but I didn't qualify for the same reason... damn. still, it's cool to go outside and hear F-15s and F-22s taking off every 3 minutes, and since they're doing NVG flights now, I can do the same at night, with a beer in hand.

anyway, some other pics. I won the M-16 shooting competition among my cadet group (39 out of 50 on a standard USAF target) and got to shoot this

[Mike]

nice pics Madpilot!
Shooting machine guns is FUN!!!!

that reminds me, is our buddy Nick still in the Greek Army?

[AirScorp]

nice pics Madpilot!
Shooting machine guns is FUN!!!!

that reminds me, is our buddy Nick still in the Greek Army?

Technically yes, but not really Mike.. I took my remaining leave days so I'm now enjoying home. August 10, I'm going back in to finish the paperwork and on the 11th I'm getting back my civilian ID.

Kinda makes me freak out really, cause it means I have to get a job and I probably need it as much as a good vacation 

[Mike]

here is a shot from the movie set of the last "James Bond" movie:
one of my former students was the aerial coordinator on it...

[FlyboyGil]

Is that a model DC-3 or a real one in that picture?

[Mike]

Is that a model DC-3 or a real one in that picture?

it's real

did you see the movie?

[FlyboyGil]

Is that a model DC-3 or a real one in that picture?

it's real

did you see the movie?

I've seen the movie. I figured they must've used both real and models. Awsome that you know someone in the movie industry. You should try to get your foot in the door.

[gibbo_335]

Here's a couple for our recent trip to the USA!!!!

From Planes of Fame in Chino    WOW it was awesome!!!  We have nothing this big with so many in flying condition.

[Jean Loup]

My beer mug, oh! my gosh..:

  I remember those days in Madison, that brick university  good beer in Wisconsin! In those late '50s, I showed how to use salt & lemon, on warm summer days. You put a dash of salt on top of the open can, add a squish of lemon...  Salúd! 

On the mug  do as Tequila: the dab of salt on one hand, the mug on the other. Drink the beer, lick the salt on your hand and bite a slice of lemon! 

[4X-NTY]

Not stills nor aviation,but I just had so much fun that I had to share it with the world,see my apologizes in the info.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr_v2xO9xwY