|
|
|
Activities for Children in Costa del Sol
There is no excuse for bored children on holiday in the Costa
del Sol, as there is enough to cater for all age groups, even on
the rare occasion when the sun doesn't shine!
For younger children who still need to sit in a pushchair, the
Zoo...
Mombasa & the Kenyan Coast- Where the Sun is Ever Faithful
Kenya's 480 km coast is one of the principal attractions for visitors to the country. Every year, hundreds of thousands of sun lovers find their way here. Many are returning pilgrims who truly know that the sun here is ever faithful. Unlike other...
Royals Highlight Forgotten Island
For a Mediterranean island with good year round weather, a
friendly local English speaking population and facilities to
rival that of any of her competitors, Malta is a suprisingly
often forgotten island for many people planning a holiday in...
South African Sardine Run: Big Animals in Congregation
The sardine run along the east coast of South Africa is a spectacular and well-known phenomenon, but the seeds of our understanding are only now beginning to emerge. We now know that this is one of the largest marine events on the planet,...
Vacation Insurance... Saves Your Money, Time And Frustrations!
Don't forget your vacation insurance before you take off for any travel.
I am very serious when it comes to insurance, I do not want to take any chances, I grew up in a family with my mother as a sole bread winner, my Dad passed away when I...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top Gun Meets Thunder Road at Fleet Week San Diego
Top Gun Meets Thunder Road
Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com
Read this entire feature FREE with photos at
http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/fests/fleet/fleet.html
So what kind of ride do you guys want?" Howie inquired over his shoulder over the rush of air. "We can do a roller-coaster type ride or we can just cruise around. It's completely up to you. We cater to whatever type of flight you want."
Howie's question interrupted me from my daydreaming out the canopy window, where my thousand-mile gaze had yet to fall on anything. I shrugged at my buddy next to me. "Hey, show me what you can do. This is your show." When we had reached the appropriate altitude, Howie informed me to release the tow cable. I pulled the lever and with a ka-chunk, we were free from our propeller escort. Howie abruptly plunged into a nose dive, banked hard to the right, buzzed the nearby mountain top, pulled up, then leveled off, allowing my internal organs to re-establish themselves in their original positions. Me and my big mouth.
If you've never experienced the thrill of soaring, get up there. I was fortunate to experience it through an invitation from Bret Willat, sky sailor extraordinaire, at his family-owned and operated soaring center, Sky Sailing (www.skysailing.com).
Known as one of the top soaring centers in the United States, Sky Sailing is located at the Warner Springs Airport, in Warner Springs, California. It has been owned and operated by Bret and his family (including wife Karen, Shane, Garret and Boyd) since 1979. For the past 22 years, Bret has showcased his passion for soaring, and his reputation as one of the top sailplane performers in the country has landed him in a number of television appearances, including Evening Magazine, 3-2-1 Contact and Hour Magazine. Bret was even featured in an ad for VISA which has been run in a number of national publications. His enthusiasm for flight is matched only by his enthusiasm to promote the thrill of soaring. He has flown in over 175 events with one purpose in mind: "To show the pure grace and beauty of the sailplane." On my day in Warner Springs, I discovered what it is all about.
Also known as sky sailing, soaring is more than 100 years old. Wilbur and Orville Wright, the pioneers of powered flight, designed, built and flew gliders to gain flight experience that would eventually be used in the historic Kittyhawk sorties. After WWI, Germany made huge advances in glider technology, as it was restricted to non-powered aircraft. Today, all test pilots in the Armed Forces are required to be competent in sailplanes. One of the most famous gliders, in fact, is owned by NASA and frequently launched into space. What is it? The Space Shuttle.
Soaring is not reserved for aces and pioneers, however. There are more than 30,000 licensed pilots in the United States and more than 150,000 worldwide. Some fly competitively, but most are drawn to the freedom and relaxation and soaring offers. There are no engine vibrations, no infants crying in the seat next to you, no packaged peanuts. You strap into your seat and slingshot into Zen tranquility on a smooth cushion of air. It comes as no surprise that everyone I met at Sky Sailing had a relaxed, almost detached air to them, as if their Earth-bound duties were merely an intermission from their real calling.
"So you guys wanna do zero G's?" Howie asked from up front. I looked at my co-passenger hesitantly, he at me. "Let's do it," I said, part sincerity, part bravado. With that Howie plunged the 1,200-pound sailplane into a nosedive, sending our stomachs into our throats and our thoughts into regret. He certainly likes the whole
nose-dive thing. We looked straight down at the ground, 2,000 feet below. Howie then pulled up and we were crushed into our tiny seats under the G-force of the climb, and as he leveled off at the top of his arc, like a smooth roller coaster in the sky, I suddenly felt myself lifting out of my seat, my camera on the verge of floating out of my hand. Stewardess, where's that airsickness bag?
Air and gravity. As long as both exist (which we can be thankful for), a sailplane can glide. The term "sailplane" refers to aircraft without an engine, with a glide ratio of greater than 20:1; that is, for every vertical foot the plane descends, it travels 20 horizontal feet (gliders, on the other hand, have a glide ratio of less than 20:1). The high performance model we rode in had a glide ratio of 35:1, which allows for more maneuverability. And although many people assume sailplanes are flimsy, lightweight vehicles, modern sailplanes are built to withstand higher G-forces than those experienced by commercial airlines (as Howie demonstrated to us with stomach-scrambling effectiveness).
Sailplanes have climbed to altitudes greater than 45,000 feet, flown distances farther than 1,400 miles and can fly at maximum speeds of more than 200 mph. Because of the aerodynamic efficiency of modern sailplanes, pilots can remain in flight for 6 or 7 hours at a time if conditions are favorable. "In a sail plane, we're basically continuously descending. What really limits us, however, is our bladder," Howie informed us matter-of-factly, "We can stay up for 5, 6, 7 hours at a time if we want, but at a certain point, you need a break."
The sail plane is launched either slingshot style via ¾" bungy cord or, more commonly, under tow from a propeller plane. On our ascent behind our propeller plane, I was struck by how smooth and graceful the flight is. The only sound is the air rushing through vents in the canopy to provide ventilation. We could feel the air growing cooler as we rose higher (maybe it was just the tranquility of the flight). At around 2,000 to 3,000 feet, I released the tow cable and our sailplane was at the mercy of gravity, aerodynamics and Howie. We soared above the rolling foothills of the Palomar Mountains, brown with the summer heat. Highway 79 below us was a ribbon of gray, with matchbox cars inching along. I felt bad for those stuck on terra firma, missing out on what we were experiencing above them. Neener neener neener. In the distance I could see tge sea - the Salton Sea Desert lapping up on the foothills. A truly hypnotic moment. I could easily see how one could get hooked on this. I imagined myself after a long week in the grind heading straight to the airport, strapping myself into my sailplane, launching into the sky and soaring above my worries until I forgot what they were.
When our 30 minutes of soaring the smooth skies was over, after dives and banks and buzzed mountaintops and all possible Top Gun references, Howie began our descent to land. Landing is done in a fashion similar to that of powered aircraft: descent (during which our airspeed topped out at 200mph), an approach to the runway, and touch down. "Sailplanes can land in a surprisingly short distance if need be," Howie informed as reassuringly. Right. Crashing. But the touchdown was perfect- a perfectly smooth landing for a perfectly smooth ride.
Read this entire feature FREE with photos at
http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/fests/fleet/fleet.html
By Josh Edelson - Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent at www.jetsettersmagazine.com
About the Author
Josh Edelson - Jetsetters Magazine. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com
|
|
|
|
|
| Federal Aviation Administration - Home |
| The FAA is primarily responsible for the advancement, safety and regulation of civil aviation, as well as overseeing the development of the air traffic ... |
| www.faa.gov |
|
| LANDINGS Welcomes All Pilots & Aviation Enthusiasts to Aviation's ... |
| LANDINGS - aviation meeting place featuring: aviation news, up to date aviation databases (FAA Regulations, AIM, SDRs, NTSB Briefs, N Numbers and more), ... |
| www.landings.com |
|
| LANDINGS Welcomes All Pilots & Aviation Enthusiasts to Aviation's ... |
| LANDINGS - aviation meeting place featuring: aviation news, up to date aviation ... Welcome To The Busiest Aviation Hub in Cyberspace: Please Check-in... ... |
| www.landings.com |
|
| AWC - Aviation Weather Center |
| Aviation Weather Center Homepage provides comprehensive user-friendly aviation weather Text products and graphics. |
| aviationweather.gov |
|
| AIRLINERS.NET - A Breath Of Fresh Jet Blast |
| Discussions going on in the most active aviation forum online ... MyAviation.net - Just like Airliners.net but accepting all aviation photos! ... |
| www.airliners.net |
|
| Avhome.com - Your Link to the World of Aviation Featuring Aviation ... |
| The aviation search engine and directory. Featuring thousands of categorized links related to aviation and aircraft. |
| www.avhome.com |
|
| The Aviation History Online Museum |
| Browse through a selection of airplane photographs from the beginning of aviation history to the present day. Take a virtual tour of the Garber restoration ... |
| www.aviation-history.com |
|
| Aviation Week's AviationNow.com |
| Aviation news and information, with aircraft for sale, aerospace engineering, jobs and images. |
| www.aviationnow.com |
|
| Aviation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Aviation refers to flying using aircraft, machines designed by humans for ... Civil aviation includes all non-military flying, both general aviation and ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| U.S. Army Aviation Warfighting Center and Fort Rucker |
| The US Army Aviation Center trains military, civilian, and international personnel in aviation and leadership skills. |
| www-rucker.army.mil |
|
| weather.com - Aviation Welcome |
| Aviation Maps View cloud ceilings, turbulence potential and other aviation maps. ... Share questions and answers with pilots and aviation enthusiasts. ... |
| www.weather.com |
|
| Aviation Safety Network |
| Resource centre for airliner accidents and civil aviation safety issues. |
| aviation-safety.net |
|
| Aviation Jobs, Aerospace Jobs, Jobs in Aviation, Cabin Crew Jobs |
| A recruitment agency for jobs within the aviation industry. |
| www.aviationjobsearch.com |
|
| NTSB - Aviation |
| US Government authority responsible for maintaining the standards of the US aviation industry. |
| www.ntsb.gov |
|
| Aviation.org |
| Org--the interactive website operated by Aviation Safety Connection, Inc.--addresses fundamental safety issues related to pilot performance. ... |
| www.aviation.org |
|
| Aviation |
| The aviation site at DTLR. Sections on environmental and noise issues, the future of air transport, the Heathrow Terminal 5 enquiry, air safety and other ... |
| www.dft.gov.uk |
|
| Canadian Aviation - Real Pilot Info for Canadian Pilots - Home |
| Your Canadian Airline, Aerospace and Pilot Portal. News, Webmail, Links, Metar Reports, Classifieds, Wallpaper, and Galleries that affect you in Canada. |
| www.aviation.ca |
|
| AVweb the internet's aviation magazine & news service |
| Aviation magazine and news service featuring aviation news, articles, searchable aviation databases, and on-line shopping. |
| www.avweb.com |
|
| EAA - The Leader in Recreational Aviation - Oshkosh, Wisconsin |
| Official Home of EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association), The Leader in Recreational Aviation, an international 170000-member organization encouraging and ... |
| www.eaa.org |
|
| Unusual Aviation Pictures |
| Aviation Pictures you don't see in the Paper Everyday. |
| www.aviationpics.de |
|
|