Oshkosh Mygosh:-) --Part 2

We departed RFD (Rockford, IL) to OSH (Oshkosh, WI) on Saturday, July 22, 2006 . Pilots assigned as Flight Leaders have to identify themselves with a red 8 x 11’ card in the windshield and were parked with the nose wheel on a red spot. Wingmen were directed to parking either side of a Flight Leader.

Anticipated start time was 11:45 a.m. local time for a noon departure and 11:45am it was. Everyone was asked to have transponders on standby or off. Here are some detailed instruction I copied from briefing:

Run-up: We strongly recommend you do your mag check at cruise power prior to landing or on the ground before getting to the UPS ramp - you will then be ready to go without a run-up with the next engine start. If you feel you must do a run-up on the ground after engine start: do it on the ramp where you have more spacing than you will have anywhere else, do it at the lowest possible RPM and cycle your prop only once. Once we start to taxi there is no time or place appropriate for run-up. Certainly do not do a run-up on the runway when tail to nose and only two feet from the Bonanza behind you.

Runway protocol: DO NOT EVEN THINK OF SHUTTING DOWN YOUR ENGINE WHILE WAITING FOR DEPARTURE. If your airplane is prone to overheating at idle for 15-20 minutes do everyone a favor and drop out of the formation. One airplane running down a battery while attempting a hot start will ruin the flight for everyone. There will be no way to get around you. You probably will not be able to run fast enough to get away from the angry mob. Again, do not do your run up on the runway. We are lined up nose to tail only a few feet apart.

Takeoff: All planes will be lined up three abreast on the runway prior to take-off if landing Runway 36 L&R (that is what we did!!). Planes will line up two abreast for all other runway arrivals. Each element will begin take-off roll when element lead sees the prior element lifting off and light under the wheels (15 sec apart this year! It was 30 sec apart last year)

Formation: Climb is at 100 kts. IAS, cruise at 125, descent at 125, approach at 100. At take-off there will be significant spacing between the element in front and yours. This will increase as the element in front levels and you are still climbing. Closure will be at 140 knots maximum.

Route: Except for Bonanza Lead, no one really needs to know it. All Flight Lead need do is follow the element in front. All wingmen need do is fly with their Flight Leader. No one should be looking at instruments or GPS. This is a VFR flight. In deference to copilots who want something to do, the routes are published. Formation Flight Lead may vary the route depending on weather. In 2001 we were on the planned route only 40% of the time. Nothing is cast in stone. Being a pilot is being flexible, but formation flying means discipline - follow lead. It is the formation lead's job to be flexible. They did publish route at the briefing:-)

Route Comments: We will not know the route until the 10.00 a.m. briefing. Our preferred arrival runway at OSH is RW 36 unless winds dictate otherwise. The RW 36 arrival is our standard three aircraft formation (again that was what we did). All other runway arrivals will be two aircraft elements from departure to touchdown. The first three waypoints, RFD VOR, OSH 1 and OSH A were designed in coordination with RFD for an orderly departure from their airspace and are common to all routes. Arrival routings were coordinated with FAA , OSH Tower Chief and EAA. The RW 36 arrival brings us west of the Class D Fond du Lac airspace, then to the POBER (OS) outer marker and a five mile final. Waypoint C is a mandatory flyover point. Fly wide and you will encroach on the Ripon arrival only a few miles to your left. Cut the corner and you will encroach on the Class D Fond du Lac airspace. Right wing will sidestep on final to land on 36R.

Radios: Frequencies will be given at the briefing. Radio silence is mandatory. As they say in the T-34 manual, ‘Wingman, the only thing I ever want to hear you say is 'Lead, you are on fire!'‘

Well, overall the flight went well. Our plane was #14 (element 5) of total 82 planes. There were a period of time that element 4 flight leader seemed lost. But he caught up and we all landed safely. He was the talk of the after party though...

Some Great News for Airline Industry

8 US Airlines Profitable in 2nd Quarter

AirTran, US Airways and Midwest Airlines announced second quarter profits July 27th. Alaska Air Group, American, Continental, JetBlue and Southwest. Regional carrier Mesa have previously reported profits for the period ending June 30.

Morning Fog, Again:-)

Before I write more about Oshkosh Airventure 2006, I want to write a little bit about morning fog, I mean this morning's fog:

I woke up a little anxious. My pilot was supposed to be back to town last night. But I did not hear from him at all. I was wondering what happened, mostly just wanting to be sure he is safe. Maybe I should not even worry about that, but you know how women are:-), very sensitive. LOL. I myself travel a lot and know that airplanes always get delayed or broken or whatever just do not work... I guess I wished that my pilot would have called me, even just to let me know that he landed safely. But I understand that he must be very very tired after 14 hours flight and no much sleep. And he is not mindreader either:-).

So I took a little walk to the Ferry Building this morning and sat down right next the Ferry terminal with a latte and newspaper. It was foggy or I shall say cloudy, but I felt much less anxious somehow. The fog and view of the Bay make me calm which I am grateful. I thought about my pilot then and wondered where he is now, but I was much less anxious...

Life is funny. In the past 2 months or so, when I was in town, my pilot was gone. When he was in town, I was gone. Now we are both back (barely as I just got back the night before, him last night), yet he might have to leave again tomorrow to fly. Well, there is not much we can do, we both have a job and life before we met, and we have them both now. Although it would nice to make the schedule work better, we will have to give that to luck for now...

I am going to make the best of it whenever possible and whatever future holds. I know my pilot's passion and aspiration, I also know that he is trying to figure out a lot of things right now. The best I can do is to support him whichever way he likes... Over the long run and when looking back, this is just a short period of time of one's life, one never knows what will happen next, yet to support someone as he/she wishes to be supported is the best "gift" I can give to a friend, as a true friend... The important things for me right now are: be happy and at peace with oneself, have a good health, enjoy friends and family, enjoy life, live life with passion, be caring, trusting, patient and self confident, be grateful, and of course, smile and be cheerful... It is a beautiful world after all!

As for my pilot, I know he will "discover" himself. And he may need solitude and silence right now, just as he wrote in his book:

Emperio’s silence was his passion. He has come to the patient understanding that fate is not found unless the individual is willing to walk towards something unknown. Even the restlessness of a young man will never change some of its occurrences. The nomadic peoples understood Emperio Sabestyen’s solitude. They left him alone. Guzyalle understood him.

And just as it was described at the end of "The Steppe", I trust that my pilot will "find" himself. And I truly believe in him :

It is like a piece of music, how it becomes so passionate, strong, exciting: suddenly quiets, playing the simple beautiful tune with which the piece started and finally giving a feel of comprehensiveness by concluding with tones settling in your heart forever: a mortal man has discovered himself.

En Route to Oshkosh Airventure 2006

I went to Oshkosh Airventure show for the 1st time and I (well, not really me as I am not PIC) flew there in a Bonanza. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the experience.

We left on July 19th in the afternoon from Reidhill View Airport in San Jose, CA, flew 3 hours and 45 min and arrived in Ogden, UT with 4 planes formation en route and landing. All 4 planes took off at different airports in California and when we started, ours was 50 miles behind. It took us 3 hours and 2 states to catch up with others. The flight from Reidhill View to Ogden was interesting to say the least. We had lighting on our right wing for 2 hours and one time, I even asked a stupid question that if we were hit by lighting, would we be OK? LOL. The route we took from RHV to Ogden were to fly 1st direct to SWR (Squaw Valley VOR), then KLOL (Lovelock Derby airport), then KENV (Wendover airport), then Ogden. We were supposed to bend the flight path a little bit to skirt MOAs and Restricted areas in NV, but in order to catch up with other planes in front of us, we asked the controller to let us pass some MOAs which we were partly given access. Hear this, we landed at Ogden airport with 28 knots and 37 gust!! We used full flaps on landing mostly for fun, and it felt that we were landing a helicopter... After landing, we went for dinner and had a good night sleep at a nice hotel in downtown. The only thing worth mention is that it took 45 min for 2 taxis to arrive to airport to pick us up!!

The next morning (July 20th), we were supposed to arrive at the Ogden airport at 7:30am to get started earlier to cross the Rockies. Well, most of the people were late other than 2 of us who spent more than a hour just wondaring around the airport doing nothing but watching 3 helicopters starting off and taking off. It was nice though as we can see mountains surronding the airport with the sun just rising and most importantly it was not too hot yet. Anyway, we took off around 9:30am, and flew to Ainsworth, Nebraska and landed after about another 3 hours and 30 min. It was relatively uneventful from Ogden to Ainsworth other than the final leg which was very bumpy. We had 7 planes together, so we did some formation with 4 and 3. Oh, I forgot to mention this, when we took off at Ogden, we saw at least 5-6 F16s flying around like mad and tower repeatly remind us to stay away:-).

We had some minor problems at Ainsworth. The car we got from airport quit us and we had to wait for another car to come to get us from the lunch place. Talking about lunch place, it was the only place to eat in a town with population 53. The girl who was taking our orders got confused with her own handwriting and we had to help her out. It was very funny. I had a Philly steak sandwish and it was one of the best lunch I ever had! What a great experience. I even met someone (she is the wife of Ainsworth airport manager) from the town that works with the comany I work for now. Interesting, you never know who you will meet even it was in middle nowhere.

After stopping at Ainsworth for almost 3 hours, we took off again and headed to Rockford, IL for another 3 hours. One plane had engine problem after 2 hours, so he and the other 2 planes who have tools landed at another airport in IL. On route to Rockford, we had one of the most closest formation I have seen while I was in a plane myself. It was beautiful. We landed in Rockford past 9:15pm as single ship due to darkness.

I will write more about next day's formation practice in the rain with 14 ships (8 pilots from Texas and 6 from California who call themselves "Beech Boys" and 100 Bonanzas to Oshkosh on Sat July 22 in my next post, as well as show case formation flying on Monday July 24, "encounter" with "Beach Boys" band that evening. But here are some pictures http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/janezhang/album?.dir=/d0f0scd of formation flight en route from RHV, CA to Ogden, UT to Ainsworth, NE to Rockford, IL as well as the practice in the rain I am going to write about next.

This trip made me understand more that "Flying is more than a sport and more than a job; flying is pure passion and desire, which fill a lifetime."-General Adolf Galland, Luftwaffe, 'The First and the Last,' 1954.

What to Do When You Really Miss Someone?

I donot know why I miss my pilot so much. Maybe it is the fog outside:-) Maybe it is the wave inside me. Well, I guess women are like waves, a lot of ups and downs sometimes. And sometimes our waves crash... I wish there is a wall to keep a woman's wave "contained" during times like these. Having said that, I think I am generally a centered person, yet when my wave comes, I have so much emotions. I need to put my energy somewhere else more. For example, I am going to explore more about not for profit kind of work and try to get involved in something I enjoy in my spare time. I mentored Stanford students on their social entrepenuership business plan competition and had great time. I shall do more this kind of thing, donate my time and expertise to help other people/ventures in social issues. So I just send my application/bio to a not for profit organization called 'Social Fusion" to do pro-bono work in the area of strategy and business plan development, and international sales/marketing.

What do you when you miss someone so much? I have to figure this out:-) Try to be less missing that person, try to distract yourself with something else, try to take a nap? Oh, going to gym, going for a walk... Missing someone actually is a good thing, at least for me. I feel connected even with thousands miles away. I re-read "The Steppe" a little bit, and I remembered/recored here what my pilot wrote:

Guzyalle knew Emperio was a man who needed freedom to explore life. Emperio knew Guzyalle could not be possessed. Humans cannot possess just as love cannot possess. They knew not their creation but only fulfilled the desire to live with loving each other. It is often hard to free a desire to let it roam free and wonder if it will choose to stay. Emperio Sabestyen and Guzyalle both understood this. For she knew his intimate love would stay, forever, with her but he would live passionately with the world. He shared what the world had given to him. Guzyalle knew Emperio gave people hope. They would give each other passion. Emperio needed the world but he needed the strength to conquer it. Courage comes from sacrifices. The individual does not choose this path the path has chosen them. Emperio searched for freedom because he could not have boundaries if he wanted to discover fate. Guzyalle gave Emperio the power to be free. From the moment he saw her he knew she gave him boundless breaths of discovery. Guzyalle did not understand it in a moment but moreover she discovered it through the process. Emperio understood it through silence.

This is as if it was written for me... I wish I am with you now...

Ayurveda, Career/Life Balance, Airline Pilot, and Education

It is very foggy now. I can only see downtown partially from my windows. Actually I like fog and always think it is romantic:-). I esp. love fog over Golden Gate Bridge...

Today, I went to a facial. It was very relaxing and we did some test on my Dosha types based on "Ayurveda" per Spa's request. Well, I am a combination of Vata and Pitta. It was said that "fire and water together creates Pitta" and "Space and air combined forms Vata". I guess I am lack of "water and earth combination which makes Kapha"

After facial, I had lunch with a girl friend who is comtemplating career change. It is funny that both she and I are almost at the same stage that we have achieved a bit in our careers and we are looking for quality of life more now. She has been travelling to Chicago every week from Sunday to Thursday/Friday, so quality of life is not very good. It is normal things change as time goes and it is an individual thing... I truly understand how important career is, esp. to a man. It is more than a job if you love what you do and there are a lot of people wanting to do the same job! In the past several weeks, I have been reading a lot about airline pilots and their job/life. It is very competitive and I am so proud of my pilot:-). I wish and hope that he will get what he wanted every step along the way. And I am confident that he will! I know there might be some ups and downs, but I am sure that he will prevail -- I know it from his eyes that he can be whoever/whatever he wants to be. Maybe that is one of the reasons that I feel a lot with him as I have always believed in myself... And never never give up of your dreams/your own promises to yourself...

This evening, I had drinks with some friends. We talked about life and career again. All 3 of us would like to do something not for profit, yet we are still searching for the right opportunities. They both have PhD degrees which leads me to some reflection:

When I grew up, I always thought it was very important to have higher education. My parents are scientists and I grew up in an environment where almost everyone is a scientist. I thought I would have a PhD someday and become a scientist myself. Yet as I grew up, esp. in the past several years, I realise that despite it is important to be educated, there are different ways to get educated. Some of the most impressive people I met and know of do not have a formal education. Life has so much to learn and to teach and it is the best school and I believe in that more after reading the books written by my pilot... Of course, the ideal combination would be to have both "book smarts" and "street smarts":-)

Well, so much about education, etc. I am thinking that my pilot is asleep now:-)

Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann

Sometimes we have such a busy life or we are too "obsessed" with ourselves, we forget the rest of the world. I love "Desiderata" written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s -- it always gives me inspiration

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Pilots are Mind Readers (from a Captain's blog)

I read this story somewhere (copied here below) and loved it. It reminds me that pilots, just like other humans, have kind hearts. More and more, I believe kindness and being true to oneself are the true gift one can give to him or herself.

Pilots are mind readers

One day some time ago I found myself deadheading back to my base. That is when I catch a ride home and sit in the cabin with all the passengers. As I was waiting to board I was standing next to a mother and her son. The young boy was about 8 years old and was going to travel by himself. The mother was very upset and crying. The agent took the boy down to the jet and as they stepped into the jet way the boy turned around and waved to his mother. She started crying harder. I was in my uniform and approached the mother asking her about her son. This was to be their first time away from each other. He was going to visit his father. I asked the mother if she wanted me to sit next to her son. She was grateful and thanked me. I then asked her many questions about her son. Where did he go to school, what was his teachers name, best friends name, favorite food, best movie ever, sports stuff, what did his room look like, etc, etc.I then proceeded onto the jet and found him sitting in a row all by himself. I asked if I could sit in the row with him and he politely said yes. He was reading a book but he kept stealing glances at me. Finally I told him I was a pilot and going home, that if he had any questions about flying he could ask me as I knew EVERYTHING. I told him that we pilots have brains that go beyond the capabilities of the human mind, so focused are we on flying that we can actually see things just before they happen. In addition to that we can also read minds which we must do constantly while flying so we don’t fly into each other. If I know what the other pilots out there are thinking and they know what I am thinking then it is very simple to avoid each other. He was very, very skeptical.To prove my point I asked him to think of something I could not possibly know about him as he agreed we had never met before. I said, “How about if you concentrate on what your favorite soup is?” I stared at him, right into his eyes, for about 10 seconds and said, “My guts are telling me its tomato and rice.” He just stared at me. Then I said, “Do you like those little goldfish crackers with your soup?” He nodded his head. I then asked him to think of where he goes to school and what he does in an average day, who he talks to and what subjects he likes. I rubbed the sides of my head as if in intense concentration, my eyes closed, mumbling to myself. I said to him, “Is your teachers name Mrs. Candish?” “Yes” he said. “I think you like math and that girl that sits behind you”, I said. His face turned red. I told him about Sandy Schick, the girl I liked but never talked to in the 4th grade and what a big mistake that was. My mind is telling me that you like baseball.” I said. He said, “How do you know all this?” I pointed to my wings and told him it just goes along with the job. I then told him he needed to clean his room more as his mother would appreciate it, that his best friend Robert was not as smart as he was, and that he should do a better job of hiding his diary that was currently under his mattress. He stared at me and said, “OK”. At this point I was not remembering all the other information his mother had given me so I told him that I was exhausted after using my brain so intently. I closed my eyes and woke up during descent. Just before we landed I asked him if he had any questions for me. He asked me if I knew what he was going to be when he grew up. I said that I did not know as my abilities could only handle the present and the immediate future. “If I knew the future, I never would have asked my ex-wife out on a date”, I said. I looked at him and told him that based on what I was seeing in him now; he could be anything he wanted to be as long as he worked hard and never gave up on his dreams. That seemed to satisfy him as he sat back in his chair and smiled. After we landed I had to get going so I shook his hand, wished him the best and told him to call his mother to let her know he was OK because I could see she missed him and loved him . I grabbed my bags and left. He should now be in high school, I think of him often and wonder if he ever thinks of that genius pilot he met.

Trip to Italy

Well, I have been off in Italy in the past 2 weeks. For the 1st 4-5 days, I was in Rome and then Fuiggi for work. Fuiggi was such a nice small town over the mountains with clear sky and fresh air. The work projects went well and we had good food, wine as well.

So by the night I finished work related stuff, I was still not sure where to go next. I knew that I like to spend several days in Venice, but what about 5-6 days before that? I thought about Naples. Yet all my Italian male colleagues said that I should not go to Naples by myself. Really? I used to travel to Sao Paulo, Brazil by myself for business... Well, at the end, I agreed with them that I shall try somewhere else. And I chose Siena.

Siena turns out to be a great place and a great time. I booked a small hotel out of Internet midnight before I took the train to Siena. When I arrived at train stations after changing trains twice and 4 hours later, I was told by the taxi driver that the roads to my hotel were closed due to Palio event? I said what event? Well, Palio is the famous twice a year horseback race events in Siena since past several hundreds years! It turns out to be such a fun time for me with 60,000 people:-) I also went to a day trip to Chianti and wine tasting. On my train ride from Rome to Siena, I remembered that almost 3 years ago, I was on a train from Florence to Rome and I was so impressed by the Chianti/Tuscany region that I told myself that one day I will be back. So I went back and I am grateful that I was able to do that and had a great time. I did wish that my pilot was with me esp. since he was just in Italy about a month ago...

After a few days in Siena, I went to Bologna - the food capital of Italy. Well, it turns on that a lot of shops are on sale and I like cloth sytle there. I bought quite a few outfits and I can not wait to show them to my pilot:-) I also watched Italy vs. Germany in the city center and experience the after match celebration with tens of thousands of people!

Then I moved on to Venezia. It was such an experience and I love Venezia. It was told every vistor to Venezia has his/her thoughts and they are very individual. I was amazed by the city and how everything about it. I had someone offer free Gondola ride to me, and I had ferry reparked for me, and I got a lot of mosquito bites. I wanted to stay until after Italy vs. France final game, yet was not able to get a seat back to SFO.

At Venezia airport on my way back to SFO via Munich, I chatted with 2 pilots who flew for a German airline. It sounds like that European airlines are doing better than their counterparts in US. One pilot just visited San Francisco last month and drove through Golden Gate Bridge with a camper!

Now I am back to SF and catch up with some work. I am thinking of my pilot now, and wondering where he is now:-) And here are some pictures from the trip and more at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/janezhang/album?.dir=3fcescd&.src