Marc's Public Blog - Flying


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This is a collection of my blog entries and experiences with flying, and learning to fly. Something I had been wanting to do for quite a while.
You can find all the pictures I've taken here, and read below for my experience.
Specifically, I have a page for my Trips to Oshkosh, the mecca for pilots

Table of Content for flying:

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2010/08/25 Fly Out Group trip to Seattle and the San Juan Islands
π 2010-08-25 01:01 in Flying, Nflying, Ntrips, Trips
Dan Dyer organized another fly out group trip, this time ot the San Juan Islands. It was a nice trip.

Palo Alto to Boeing Field

Jennifer wasn't able to join due to work commitments, but I found a copilot to go with and share the flying. I did the first leg to KBFI (Boeing Field International) which was an easy 5H leg with nice weather.


good old thunderhill, I'll be back soon :)
good old thunderhill, I'll be back soon :)






argh, all this for junkmail I never asked for :(
argh, all this for junkmail I never asked for :(

viewing platform for Mt St Helens
viewing platform for Mt St Helens


Mt St Helens
Mt St Helens


KBFI/Boeing Field
KBFI/Boeing Field

Museum of Aviation visible on the left of the runway
Museum of Aviation visible on the left of the runway




Boeing Museum of Flight

Since we were there already, we went to visit the Boeing Museum of Flight at KBFI. It's actually one of the best flight museums I've seen so far: a full visit takes over 4H and even a quick one takes over 2H :)




I had no idea the concorde had an anti tailstrike tailwheel
I had no idea the concorde had an anti tailstrike tailwheel

Their warbird collection was quite good and well layed out
Their warbird collection was quite good and well layed out



old vs new is fun to see :)
old vs new is fun to see :)

old french plane
old french plane


a rare A12/M21 with D21 drone
a rare A12/M21 with D21 drone

the drone was supposed to launch with nukes in unfriendly territory
the drone was supposed to launch with nukes in unfriendly territory





Seattle

I spent the rest of the afternoon visiting Seattle



the smith tower is a nice view open later than the BOA tower and better view than the space needle
the smith tower is a nice view open later than the BOA tower and better view than the space needle




BofA tower
BofA tower

underground bus system
underground bus system

monorail to space needle
monorail to space needle

lots of work to 'drive' it :)
lots of work to 'drive' it :)





Smith tower on the right
Smith tower on the right

a seaplane was doing patterns with passengers on the nearby lake
a seaplane was doing patterns with passengers on the nearby lake

Mt Rainier in the back
Mt Rainier in the back


Dinner with FOG folks
Dinner with FOG folks





Boeing Factory

The next morning, weather was bad, so we just drove to KPAE to visit the Boeing Museum. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures of the factory floor. This is too bad since it was pretty cool to see 787s and 747s being built from scratch on huge floors.
We were able to take pictures of the static displays and planes seen from the outside though:







Flying Heritage Museum

On the way out, I had a look at Paul Allen's private Flying Heritate Museum. It's actually a pretty nice little collection with knowledgeable guides.









Flight to Friday Harbour

Weather still wasn't great, but it was VFR in Boeing field and Friday Harbour, so we figured we'd be able to link the two somehow. It wasn't a very straight line, but we ended up doing a safe, albeit a bit silly considering, VFR on top flight where we climbed over 10,000ft to clear the clouds and leave the cloud area around Seattle. An other flight was able to get there between layers but I didn't find such a path and just didn't wan tot be scud runnings with no so flat land around.







cool shadow of our plane in the clouds with a rainbow around it. Neat!
cool shadow of our plane in the clouds with a rainbow around it. Neat!

little island just next to Lopez Island, pretty cool.
little island just next to Lopez Island, pretty cool.

Orcas Island
Orcas Island

Friday Harbour
Friday Harbour



Visit of San Juan Island

I used the rest of the day to start visiting San Juan.

whale museum
whale museum


recent whale sightings
recent whale sightings


another FOG dinner
another FOG dinner




Kayaking off San Juan

The second day, I went kayaking in case we could be lucky and see orca whales.









Looking for Orca Whales

Since kayaking didn't work, I went on a boat ride, which makes things easier since there are boats keeping track of orca whale sightings. We indeed found some Orcas just by the Canadian border.



they have a catalog of local orcas
they have a catalog of local orcas

we saw a few orcas after a long boat trip
we saw a few orcas after a long boat trip


Before leaving friday harbour, we biked around the island a bit:







Quick Flight to Orcas Island

After biking around the Island, we flew to Orcas Island for lunch:










Flight Back to Palo Alto

And after a late lunch at Orcas Island, we flew back to Palo Alto.


looks like a fun track
looks like a fun track



Portland
Portland


more Portland
more Portland


making sure my blood O2 saturation was still good at altitude
making sure my blood O2 saturation was still good at altitude

As predicted by my skypad with XM weather, weather got a worse as we were about to enter California and got closer to Mt Shasta. We had to make a sharp westbound turn and fly around it to stay VFR on top (I had no interest in getting under the cloud layer and being sandwiched between it, and the rising terrain, or ending up in a box canyon).


while in our way, the cloud made a nice wave, like surfing inside a crashing wave (this was just as we turned west)
while in our way, the cloud made a nice wave, like surfing inside a crashing wave (this was just as we turned west)

we then got some nice VFR on top all the way back
we then got some nice VFR on top all the way back

and by Oakland, we got under the forming overcast that was starting to cover the bay (incidently, not Palo Alto yet)
and by Oakland, we got under the forming overcast that was starting to cover the bay (incidently, not Palo Alto yet)


More pages: November 2023 October 2023 April 2023 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 May 2021 November 2020 August 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 June 2019 March 2019 January 2019 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 April 2017 January 2017 December 2016 August 2016 July 2016 May 2016 February 2016 January 2016 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 September 2014 August 2014 June 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 July 2013 June 2013 April 2013 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 January 2012 November 2011 August 2011 July 2011 April 2011 March 2011 November 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 May 2010 March 2010 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 March 2009 November 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 December 2007 October 2007 September 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 December 2004 September 2004 August 2004 May 2004 March 1999

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