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)

Still 15 days from its second birthday, Boeing 787 airframe ZA001 will fly today to Palmdale California ending a short life as a test aircraft.  The next time she flies (which could take quite a long time) will probably be back to Seattle to a permanent home at the Seattle Museum of Flight.

I took this picture at Oshkosh 2011 when 001 made a one day visit to see tens of thousands of adoring fans.  One of the huge highlights of my first trip to AirVenture.

More information from FlightBlogger.

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.

Big milestone for the much maligned F-35B as it makes its first shipboard vertical landing on the USS Wasp.

It’s going to be a long dry spell before I see things like this again. 

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)

For the last few years I’ve been running into a fellow on the airshow circuit named Manfred Radius.  He just happens to pilot an aerobatic glider.  He also happens to be a heck of a nice guy and we’ve hit it off together.

I sent him a few pictures that I’ve taken this year of him in flight, he liked them and asked what I wanted as payment.  How about a ride?  Which explains why yours truly is standing in front of an ASK21 glider at the York Soaring Association in Arthur Ontario.

After a long wait (soaring takes patience) a Piper Pawnee towed us up to 2000 feet and then the magic began.

Soaring is so different than flying a piston aircraft. The lack of engine noise is an obvious difference but the view without that powerplant in front of you is amazing.  Manfred flew from the rear seat leaving me a panoramic view of countryside.

Circling over the field, Manfred felt out the thermals like an eagle hunting.  He coaxed lift out of a day that didn’t look promising and we climbed and wheeled along with other aircraft that were all trying to get those last rides in before the weather changes and the ground cools down.

At one point three of us were circling in the same thermal rising and falling in a ballet of awesome.  The only down side is that looking through a viewfinder tends to bring on that queasy feeling reminding you that you had pizza for lunch.

Too soon it was time to land.  From a starting altitude of 2000′ AGL we stayed aloft for 47 minutes and Manfred could have extended it farther than that with no problem at all. The tall fat guy was starting to feel a little uncomfortable so it was in for a bumpy landing to put the exclamation point on a perfect day.

Thanks Manfred Radius.  Check out his website. If you see his name in an airshow lineup, do yourself a big favor and go see him.  If you get a chance to go gliding (or soaring or whatever they want to call it) jump at it!  You won’t be disappointed.

More pictures available at Flickr click for slideshow.