The Next Flight
My friend asked me when I was flying next. I said I was planning a flight to Basin Harbor to have lunch with Chef Dave. My friend looked at me quizzically – driving from South Burlington (where I live) to Montpelier (where I rent the aircraft) and then flying to Basin Harbor hardly made any sense to him. Why drive 35 miles in essentially the opposite direction and then fly back across? At the time I couldn’t do much but agree with my friend. After all, it wasn’t very logical. But then I had time to think about it.
When we moved to Burlington from Montpelier I kept flying out of Knapp State in Montpelier. While Burlington International is now about five minutes driving time from my house, its franchised FBOs, Class C, Army and Air Force Guard, and commercial traffic are discomforting. Knapp is where I returned to flying after a too-long hiatus. With one FBO, a ramshackle office/pilot lounge attached to a hanger, it’s the kind of style I appreciate with my flying. I know the folks and they know me. It’s less formal, more welcoming, and sometimes there are even homemade pie and coffee.
While both airports grew from grass, finally it’s about style. The fundamentals are the same - the FBO as pimp or pusher (sorry John). It’s certainly about passion, getting high, and spending your hard-earned money. Sometimes I see it that way. More often I see the FBO as a source of respected advice, wisdom, and concern. I have confidence – keeping those battle-worn 152s and 172 dependably flying. And it’s about hanger-talk with opinions flying about nearly everything – the Federal Government, State Government, alternative energy, construction at the airport – it flows over me like a spring breeze, all cool and warm at once. Wayne, the in-house instructor, makes flying fun as well as a renewal and learning experience during those biennials. Crewing C-130s in Nam, driving taxis in Burlington, flying for small regional airlines, Wayne brings a wealth of experience, love of flying, and intensity right from Central Casting. As a counter-balance, John, the FBO, is rock-sure, staid, and no nonsense. The Flying Service has been in his family for years. Is it the cast from The Rocketeer? Of course not, but one can imagine.
Am I stuck back in the Golden Age of Aviation? Maybe. Or maybe I seek those particular qualities which made it a Golden Age – adventure, exploration, romance. After all, a 24 minute flight from Montpelier to Basin Harbor could be just that – from point A to point B. Or it could be about checking the weather/advisory, plotting your course, stopping in Richmond and getting coffee and a piece of orange-cranberry cake, doing the pre-flight, flying across the Greens and onto the grass strip along Lake Champlain across from the Maritime Museum, visiting with an old friend over lunch, and flying back to shut down and chat with those passing through. I began this current tour in the ’40s and I understand my priorities have changed over the years. Yet the essential values of flying remain -- you lift off and the perspective changes, you’re on and in the wind, climbing, cruising, gliding, planning, figuring, communicating, and landing. Each step has a way to do it which feels right, and you learn each time from the inevitable small mistakes.
As an homage to Tim O’Brien let’s take a look at what I carry. I am a creature of habit particularly when it comes to flying. I’ll always look in catalogs and stores for flight bags and other flying paraphernalia. It’s probably the closest I might come to my wife’s interest in shopping for innumerable and diverse items. Taking my current 11 x 10½ x 6” black canvas hand/over-the-shoulder flight bag and pulling items out one by one we have:
personalized checklists for the 152 and 172 (shorter version and longer version)
a simple metal kneeboard with personalized flight planning sheets
my flight logbooks
current New York and Montreal sectionals
a Vermont State map
a plotter
an E6B Dalton Dead Reckoning Computer
the Vermont Airport Directory
a personalized reference notebook with 28 entrees, including such things as engine failure checklist, instrument failure checklist, electrical fire/smoke checklist, weight and balance notes, light signals chart, radio out SOP, special VFR notes, phone numbers/addresses, air space chart, flight plan forms, temperature conversion chart, two VOR approaches, morse code, frequencies, 152/172 specs, crosswind components, density altitude computation, weather notes, airport markings chart, DF and enroute advisory notes
my pilot’s license, plastic and paper
my current medical
an Airport/Facility Directory
excerpts from Information Manuals for the 1985 Cessna 152 and 1979 172N
3 oz. emergency blanket
small emergency medical kit
medical emergencies first-aid pocket guide
three barf bags
ear plugs
magnifying glass
signaling mirror
matches
can opener
a Leatherman
a compass
a thermometer
two pens and two pencils
in a separate bag, my Echelon Telex headset
Have I used three-quarters of these items? Probably not, but they add comfort, and doing occasional inventories does have me reviewing some of the information contained within.
Do I fly enough? I’ve set a personal goal of flying at least once every month. Since I fly primarily in the 152 I try to fly in the 172 at least once every couple of months. Sometimes I go with passenger(s) and sometimes solo. I try to get more hours but these are my minimums. This provides me with a level of comfort and security. Given these hours I remain VFR-day and try never to exceed my capabilities. With some 1800 hours in fixed and rotary wing I plan each flight to include some landing practice, some air work, and some navigation. As simple as a 24 minute flight might be you can always mix it up with slips, stalls, spins, timing legs, VOR approaches, landing to a point, and so on. I’m always getting ideas from flying-related magazines.
Would I recommend flying? Absolutely. In fact I can’t imagine why everyone doesn’t give it a try. Of course, being realistic, I understand some folks have concerns about heights and moving in three dimensions. It’s probably something like my hesitation around enclosed spaces. My preference would be not to explore caves. Several years ago I did help my son, a film maker, shoot a short film in a cave over in New York State. I told myself to push ahead and deal with it. I did but I still have a memory of the experience which brings out the perspiration. A chef-friend of mine, Chris, who enjoys doing some mind-expanding thing for himself every year during the off-season, took up flying lessons with Wayne recently and went on to get his private certificate and this at a later point in his life. A tip of the chef’s toque to him. I would strongly encourage people to take the opportunity to at least solo. That’s a major benchmark in anyone’s life. Also, try to find a Wayne.
So when I see my friend Larry next I’ll try to tell him how the flight made sense, but I probably won’t be successful.
Howard Fisher
Knapp State Airport Association member