THE VIEW FROM HANGAR 408 for September 2009



My friend Gary watched the recent Space Shuttle launch recently and
reminded me that there are not very many left to see.  If you have not gone
to watch this spectacular event in person, check the schedule and make
the time to do it.  The schedule which shows the next is Space Shuttle
Atlantis on November 12th.  http://www.nasa.
gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html



Those of us with airplanes have a great advantage and therefore no
excuse for not going.  We used our planes to watch two particularly
amazing launches.  The first time, Dorothy, Gary and I flew in Gary’s
Mooney from North Perry to Titusville for “dinner and a show.”  After
parking the plane, we placed our dinner orders at the Outer Marker Café
and went back outside to watch the launch.  The sun was setting behind
us and the full moon ahead of us provided a fitting backdrop as the shuttle
rose into the darkening sky.  The pictures below show the shuttle after
liftoff and the smoke trail changing colors as the sun set.  The shadow of
the smoke trail pointing to the moon is a unique additional feature.  The
detail is not clear enough to see in these low resolution pictures, but in one
of the original pictures it is possible to see the booster rockets right after
separation.  I doubt that this combination of shuttle launch into a perfectly
clear sky at sunset with a full moon to the east will ever be seen again.



The second shuttle launch using an airplane was at night and watching it
while airborne.  Gary and I were in my Cardinal heading north as we
checked with Miami Center to find out if the launch time was still on
schedule.  Up ahead we saw a bright light as the shuttle main engines
came to life.  Then we were startled as the horizon flashed intense white.  
Apparently there was a bit of fog or very low clouds so that when the
boosters kicked on it really lit up the sky.  Slowly at first the light moved up
and very quickly the sky went black except for the long tail of flame from
the rockets.  As the shuttle rose at an ever quickening pace it began
arching over and I turned the plane to follow the view as the rockets
became smaller and smaller until there was just a pinpoint of light heading
east and into orbit.



My flights in South Carolina and Georgia have not resulted in anything as
exciting as those launches, but the scenery around here is nice and the
ability to fly over to the mountains in a short time is a nice benefit.



Since I moved to Twin Lakes I have not had the opportunity to do any
instructing until recently when I did a flight review with Ben Bashinski in
his pressurized Cessna 210.  This was my first experience in a P210 and it
is always a delight to fly in a new type, especially one exceptionally well
equipped and with a pilot who knows how to use it so well.  It was very
smooth and the stronger airframe with thicker windows to contain
pressurization sure make for a quiet ride.  On top of all that, it had air
conditioning, something we who live in the South certainly appreciate!  It is
easy to understand why Richard Collins wrote so often in Flying magazine
about the joy of flying a P210.



Fly safely; practice emergency procedures so when the time comes, you
know what to do!



Jerry Crawford, CFII
305-724-7556
N329DJ@aol.com
410 Cessna Drive
Trenton, SC 29847