Thursday, May 19, 2011

Who needs air miles? We're Pilots!

Pilots!

Nice weather, reasonably full stable of planes... I think summer is closing on us fast!

Here are some things I know about:

First, our TRACON tour is on Monday -- contact the office if you'd like to play hookey with us and go play ATC for a day. It's highly recommended. We will try to bring back some sneaky pictures from the tour :)



Next, some maintenance faces I can make:

Cessna 61Q still owes us a headliner. Any day now...

Cessna 526 is due back next week. This should alleviate schedule pressure.

Cessna 68U is cruising great.

Cessna 739 has her #2 NAVCOM out for calibration. We are expecting her back on Monday.

Cessna 94M started flying for us today. She already has a new copilot PTT switch. We are working on getting the GPS database updated for the local area. We'll be removing the wheelpants soon... not that we don't trust you guys or anything ;) Also, the transponder's mode C has been reported intermittent, and we are isolating it.

Cessna 63B has a new attitude indicator and will be receiving a new prop spinner tomorrow.

Cessna 17J is due back next week. Word from the hangar is "!@#$ Monel Rivets!!!" Heh heh.

Bonanza 11N may be getting a new attitude indicator soon.



$8 worth of pure high-strength mil-spec evil. Julie is getting $750 worth of these installed this week.

I also have an experiment to share with you.

We were reviewing our credit processing statements recently and noticed that we're losing appx $4,000 per month on Visa/MC/Amex/Discover fees. The price of doing business, sure, but after a call to our processor, it was revealled that one culprit is the "reward" card that we all use.

We brainstormed around the office and came up with this idea: What would our friends want more? Some air miles, or some good Pilot Swag?

So here is our thinking: Pay any invoice or deposit with cash, check, or debit PIN card, and you save us money -- therefore, we'd like to return the favor. We're going to have a prize giveaway.

Here's the thinking:

We'd like to split our fee savings with folks who pay with "lean" payment methods. As such, for every $500 spent using one of the 3 above-mentioned methods, we will place a ticket with your name on it in our prize drawing fishbowl.

We will seed the prize pool with an assortment of FlyC swag, such as Polo shirts, hats, some videos, etc., and a new Brightline flight bag!



And as we add tickets, we will add to the prize pool as follows:

At 50 tickets, your choice of Ray-Ban Aviator Sunglasses (for the 3 of you who don't already sport them), a selection of 4 Aviation DVDs from Aircraft Spruce, or a $100 giftcard to ACS.

At 100 tickets, we will add a training ride in a Boeing Stearman or a Tailwheel Endorsement in a Piper J-3 Cub



At 250, we will add an Apple iPad 2 with ForeFlight

At 450, we will add a Garmin Aera 500 Portable Terrain/Airspace GPS

At 750, we will add a Bose A20 Bluetooth Headset.



...beats Air Miles, right? Also at each of these tiers, we will continue to add a bunch of smaller swag to make sure everyone gets a shot at good stuff.

Here is the fine print:

We are working out final prize tiers, but the values will at least be what is described above. All prizes can be redeemed for an ACS Gift Card or FlyC Credit, of course.

We plan to have a winter BBQ and Prize Drawing, and do a little Airport Santa-ing.

We plan to add all sorts of fun and unusual Tchotchkes and nonsense to the Prize Pool as we think of them.

Whatcha think? Feel free to share any ideas with us...

==

We still have spots for our annual pilgrimage to Osh Kosh. Feel free to drop me a line if you'd like to throw your name in the ring. Additionally, if you didn't hear from me this week about it, I overlooked your interest -- give me a nudge.



More as I know it!

Blue Skies,

- Mike

Friday, May 13, 2011

Whoozzat?

Pilots!

I know a few things. :)

First, that rundown:

Cessna 61Q has completed an oil change

Cessna 526 will rejoin us next week with a new oil pump, finally.

Cessna 68U is rocking

Cessna 739 completed her 100hr today in pitstop style. Nice work, hangar!

Cessna 63B has a new battery

Cessna 17J's firewall is off. She may return next week.

Bonanza 11N has a new navcom 2.

Woof.

We have a line on a Piper Warrior and Cessna 172N who may join our flightline.

There is someone new on the schedule.



Meet Cessna 94M!

What happens when you take a midrange C172, add a fresh RAM 160hp upgrade, new paint, interior, and a WAAS-capable Garmin 430W GPS? You get a near-new Cessna Skyhawk, ready to tear into some serious VFR and IFR training!

Check her out:






Cessna 94M is being retrieved as we speak, and should join us on the flightline on Monday or Tuesday next week! And what's better, we were able to squeeze her onto the lineup for only $5/hr more than 739! Can't beat that!

==

Some other things I know about:

The Chino Airshow is this weekend! The Planes of Fame museum is an integral part of one of our best local airshows -- and since the weather is forecasted to be snotty anyway, why not go see some history?

More information is available here, and it is well worth the trip if you can make it.



There is just one week left to register for a visit to SoCal TRACON -- if you missed it the first time, I can highly recommend a visit. Meet with SoCal approach, meet the actual humans behind the scopes, and find out the inside scoop on how to navigate SoCal's airspace. Plus, you get to play on the training scopes and see what a job they have juggling airplanes around the sky -- it's quite a treat.

We are flying out Monday, May 23, at 9:00am or so, and will tour TRACON from 11-3. We will also make a lunch stop at Casa Machado before leaving Montgomery/San Diego field. Just a grand time.

Throw Beth a line in the office if you'd like to join us -- you can fly or drive to meet us there!



We have made the executive decision to limit Demo flights to 5 per day going forward. Our Groupon commitments are getting "outta hand" -- sorry for the schedule crunch, folks!

==

Maybe it will clear up tomorrow after all -- we can hope, right? By the way, if you check ASOS for weather, it has been reporting OVC001 erroneously. Check CNO weather to make the call. The FAA has been informed and they promise a fix soon.

I suppose it will be toasty here shortly and we can long for the overcast.

Til then -- Blue Skies!

- Mike

Monday, May 02, 2011

I ain't afraid of no wind...

Pilots!

Please join me in congratulating the newest Private Pilot in the world, one pilot Pat M., who shrugged off the 40kt winds Saturday afternoon and scored some wings with DPE Mark D in Cessna 739

Way to go, Pat!



I know a bunch of things:

Cessna 61Q has joined the fleet to fill in where 630 abruptly left off. We are refurbishing her interior (headliner is on its way), however, she is perfectly flyable while we do these improvements. 61Q is flying now for the same rate as 630. Nice!

Cessna 68U is partying on her new motor.

Cessna 739 isn't bothering anyone. We are going to experiment with an LED landing light, since 739 eats them like skittles.

Cessna 63B is cruising.

Cessna 17J returns to Corona this week, however, we have decided to just complete a mechanical refurbishment. This will mean new interior, some cosmetic tweaks, and maybe an engine overhaul, depending on timing. Downtime is expected at 2-4 weeks. Sorry pilots. :/

Bonanza 11N is cruising.

We are still shopping.



It's time for another SoCal TRACON tour! This time, it is hoped that we can get some non-naturalized folks into the mix.

First, the plan is now Monday, May 23, on-site near MCAS Miramar. As last time, we will conduct a fly-in to Montgomery field (KMYF) and shuttle folks from the terminal.

If you can make it and are not currently a US Citizen, please contact Bob M, our TRACON host immediately at skylord@cox.net to make any necessary arrangements.

The last trip was a 4-hour romp through SoCal, chatting with the actual controllers, and a frank exchange of ideas about how the pilot-controller interface works. It is amazingly great insight into SoCal Approach, the busiest airspace in the world, and the hundreds of controllers who make it possible.

Highly recommended!



More as I know it -- it's getting warm again, and quick! You know what that means... hangar movie nights are due to be rekindled soon. :)

Blue Skies,

- Mike