Hangin' at the Hangar

Patrick continues to enjoy his chosen college path. While some of the more...mundane...subjects (like English and Computer Apps) aren't particularly exciting, he is learning a ton of information about airplanes, flight, and aviation science.

In a typical week, he will fly two to three times to practice skills, develop Tower speak (learn how to talk to the Tower), learn new skills, and train for emergencies that one hopes never happens (like engine stalls).  He gets to experience life at an active military airport when the "Ninja class" planes are in motion (Ninja is the category name for fighter jets), as well as the regular airport operations of commercial jetliners.

During some of his training flights, they will go over to Plattsburgh New York to practice touch-and-go maneuvers (fly-approach-land-slow down-take off again) and fly in unmanaged airspace.  Plattsburgh is a small airport with no Air Traffic Control so pilots have to speak directly to each other to communicate their presence and intended activity.

During one morning flight, he was able to get a couple of nice airplane pictures as the sun was rising and they were preparing the plane for departure.  The other picture he captured on the tarmac.  If you look closely his little Cesna is being followed by a much larger commercial jet; they all use the same facilities and share the spaces and services of the airport.