Groundschool that is.  I’m probably crazy for this but I signed up to take a pilot course for the T-33 Silver Star jet trainer put on by the Jet Aircraft Museum.  The course is compulsory for pilots wishing to fly the museum’s jets but is also available to others who plan on riding the backseat or are just interested. 

I fall into the last 2 categories which is why I’m willing to subject myself to studying all the documentation, writing 2 exams and attending 2 days of instruction next weekend.

I will never fly one of these on my own – I dropped out of my training for the Private Pilot License but they say any learning is good and this certainly qualifies as something different.

What’s a CT-133 Silver Star you ask?  They look something like this

(of course most are either silver or grey)

That’s a term used to suggest that you sit back and enjoy something instead of spending time picking holes in the content.  It’s most often heard in regards to movies or TV shows.

Case in point.  Pan Am is now showing on North American TV on Sunday nights.  I’ve watched parts of a couple of episodes and have real trouble suspending my disbelief.  Why?  Let me show you.

Here we have a publicity shot of a Pan Am 747 crew.

Seasoned crew.  Very proud, very professional.

Now let’s jump to the land of make believe.

Really?  This is the crew that flies a Boeing 707 on international routes?  Seeing that most line officers came to the airlines from the military, I think the Captain must have lied about his age when he dropped in to see the recruiter.  Or maybe the numbers were down that month.  The FO I can almost buy.  The FA’s look a little on the young side but certainly wear the uniform well.

Of course, there is some “historical” precedence for this.  I give you Leonardo DiCaprio in “Catch Me If You Can” from 2002.

Perhaps the producers of Pan Am went back into the archives but not quite far enough.

Suspend disbelief?  Sorry can’t quite do it.

Still almost 2 months to go before the new year but I’m already antsy to break out the cameras and head out to watch airplanes.

Here in the Great White North (take off eh?) the airshow season cranks up around the beginning of June.  Looks the Waterloo Airshow will be first of the mark in this area with their show on the first weekend of June.

Since that’s a long dry stretch between here and there I took the plunge and made my bookings to attend SUN n FUN in Lakeland Florida at the end of March.

Lakeland is about 1/2 way between Tampa and Orlando and is second only to Oshkosh for Fly-In participation and large crowds of aviation enthusiasts. This event has been on the bucket list for a while so it will be good to cross this one off.

Air Canada flight to Tampa booked (thank you Aeroplan).  Courtyard Marriott in Brandon booked. Rental car booked.  Tickets purchased.  Flying down Monday the 26th and coming home late on April 1.  Sunshine, warm weather and things that fly.  That’s the way to beat the winter blahs!

Many thanks to the crew of Air Canada flight 879 for getting me home yesterday.  Another Swiss trip in the flight log and hopefully the last one for the year.  Outside of turbulence over France it was an uneventful trip and, if you have to fly economy, seat 19K (exit row window) is one of the best.

Here C-FMWY,  a Boeing 767-300ER built in 1996, sits at gate E47 in Zurich just before we boarded.  That makes 14 flights for 2011 for a total of 20,385 miles flown with 49 hours in the air.

A new fixture on the central North America airshow circuit is the T-33 “Mako Shark” from the Jet Air Museum headquartered in London Ontario.  I was so happy to see one of these 60 year old trainers done up in such a striking fashion that I joined the museum to show my support.  Last night I finally made the 2 hour drive down to London to attend a meeting.

With 2 T-33’s flying, one DH-115 Vampire very close to being airborne and more aircraft in reserve, the Jet Air Museum is very worthy of your support.  Drop by their website for information on their aircraft and be sure to check out how to become a member and/or get one of their 2012 calendars that gives you a chance to win a flight in the T-33 or Vampire or cash prizes.

Thunder of Niagara air show.

All year long I’ve been running into Dan Dempsey, pilot of the Discovery Air Hawk One Sabre from Vintage Wings of Canada.  Last month up in Gatineau we talked for a few minutes and I asked if he had any Hawk One badges.  “Not with me”, he said but he promised to see what he could find.  I gave him my address but didn’t think anything of it.

Today in the mail came a plaque for the Canadian Air & Space Museum (click the link to visit their website and see how YOU can help them survive) which I’ll hang on to until things settle down and a few other goodies. On the left is the current patch and on the right is the 2009 patch celebrating the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada.  2 very rare and very cool additions to my collection.

Thanks Colonel Dempsey (that’s him above and below waving from one of the most beautiful offices in the world.)  It was a pleasure working with you at Wings & Wheels where we were all so amazed at your stamina and how much fun you were having with the kids.  And thanks for making Hawk One dance.

]]> http://www.eyeno.net/2011/10/05/nice-surprise-in-the-mail-today/feed/ 2 http://www.eyeno.net/2011/10/03/help-2/ http://www.eyeno.net/2011/10/03/help-2/#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:55:13 +0000 Ken http://www.eyeno.net/?p=3149 The Canadian Air & Space Museum is in trouble.  They’ve been served with an eviction notice and need everyone’s help to persuade the Federal government to step in and overturn this demand from one of their own Crown agencies. Click … Continue reading →]]>

The Canadian Air & Space Museum is in trouble.  They’ve been served with an eviction notice and need everyone’s help to persuade the Federal government to step in and overturn this demand from one of their own Crown agencies.

Click this link to see what you can do to help preserve this important guardian of Canadian aviation history.

Now that the season is over it’s time to start going through the thousands of pictures that I’ve taken this year. Under the top picture (handsome dude, right?) there’s a link called “AIR SHOW PHOTOS”. Hover over it and you’ll see a listing of shows. Click on any and you’ll be taken to a separate page where a Picasa slideshow starts. Click on any photo and you see it larger and you’ll be able to navigate through the shots at your own speed. Comments are very, very welcome.

As I write this ANA (All Nippon Airways) is taking delivery of the very first production 787 “Dreamliner” at a ceremony outside of Seattle Washington.

A day long awaited and a day that will change air travel, again.

(photo above of first 787 aircraft taken by the author at AirVenture 2011 in Oskosh, WI in July 2011)