Should General Aviation aircraft be banned over NYC?

Everyone -- I mean EVERYONE should take a moment and read this excellent article by Phil Boyer of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA).

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"Let the party begin." - A ride in the Pitts S2B

"Let the party begin." That was the simple statement my aerobatic pilot made before advancing the throttle on the little Pitts S2B and taking me into a world I had never experienced before. And he wasn't kidding.

It was a cloudy, dreary day over the Vinton, IA airport, but that didn't necessarily stop us from enjoying a great aerobatic ride in one of the coolest airplanes every built. We climbed to altitude and did several maneuvers including aileron rolls, inverted flight, 4-point and 8-point rolls, and a couple barrel rolls. Due to the overcast, loops were left out... but they will be re-visted at some point.

Flying the Pitts is unlike anything I have ever experienced. You can literally think your next move, and the airplane diligently does it. It's an incredible feeling of power and control - the feeling that you can do whatever you want and put yourself in whatever position you choose.

An incredible airplane and an incredible experience... I will be back!

Iowa-Ohio State and other stuff...

New pictures!
Hey hey! Check out the new pictures from the Iowa-Ohio State game this year! Yes, I randomly ended up with tickets to this football which just turned out to be a major game on national television. You can see from these pictures that it was a beautiful night and a packed stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. It was crazy! What a blast.

Now, Iowa did lose, but oh well. I had fun anyway. It was a great atmosphere...

What else?
Well, it's been pretty slow lately. Winter has hit Iowa early and we have had 30+ mph winds and cold temps lately. The cold temps aren't a problem, but the 30+ mph winds across the runway aren't much fun...

Sunday I am going to fly the jump plane for the Vinton Skydivers in Vinton, IA. I did a little of this when I went to school at Des Moines ... it's not too hard and definitely something different to do! Soo.. I am reviewing some of the information and regs and getting ready to have some fun! 

No pictures, no news...

Well, it has been a fairly non-eventful couple of weeks. Just going to school and flying as usual. Things are starting to pick up again in the flying department as I may have a 2-3 new students starting soon... which will bring me up to around 8 students perhaps. That is plenty for a college kid.

I am starting on my Senior Project next term for college. This is really the final push to complete my degree in Public Administration - I have a couple of elective courses to take but those are simple. Looking forward to being finished!

I will try to update again soon with some new pictures or something more interesting at least...

- kc