Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Mickey Holton's CITABRIA at Torrance Airport (May 2008)

... with a bit of fancy green and a shamrock too.
(The photo is from my archives from when our son first 
started flight lessons with Mickey.)

787 Comes to Long Beach



Photo by B. Moran

 The 787 is a tour of Boeing sites. Today, the awesome new airplane arrived at Long Beach for a 2-day stay. Addendum: Photo of the C-17 ("my airplane") and  Boeing 787 together in Long Beach.

Photo by K. Wan

Classic Beauty at USAF Museum at Wright Patterson AFB (Weekend Reflections)

Douglas VC-54C “Sacred Cow”: Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential airplane

Resting in the Presidential Gallery of the Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, "the first purpose-built aircraft to fly the president of the United States, the Sacred Cow is the only VC-54C ever constructed. As a modified C-54, but the Sacred Cow is unique, especially for its extensive interior modifications. One special feature is an elevator behind the passenger cabin to lift the president in his wheelchair in and out of the plane. The passenger compartment includes a conference room with a large desk and a bulletproof picture window. President Roosevelt used the Sacred Cow only once before his death in April 1945; however, the Sacred Cow remained in presidential service during the first 27 months of the Truman Administration. On July 26, 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 while on board the Sacred Cow. This act established the Air Force as an independent service, making the Sacred Cow the "birthplace" of the USAF."

See the reflected world at Weekend Reflections.

Touchdown (almost)

Our 16-year-old son, Ian, as Pilot-in-Command, landing "home" at Torrance airport after a practice flight around the South Bay with his superb instructor Mickey Holton.
Take a close look at the skyline, to see a faint outline of the San Gabriel Mountains.

High Wire Act over Zamperini Field

My apologies for the bad focus (the wires are not the main subject)...but I did manage to get the high flying WWII vintage war birds into the photo.

I recently finished reading the excellent Unbroken: A WWII Story of Survival, Resiliance, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand, a biography of World War II hero and Olympic runner Louis Zamperini, who is from the City of Torrance (PV adjacent.)

Going solo...

Our son after his first solo in a powered airplane, at Torrance Airport, Sunday, December 12.

The tall buildings of Los Angeles, some 20 miles away, and the San Gabriel Mountains are in the background. He had excellent weather for his solo - a very clear and warm day.

'U' is for Underside of USAF C-17

On Monday, after my son's last checkout flight, we had another treat with the C-17 Globemaster III - the USAF cargo aircraft - fly directly over Crystalaire airport. I assume it was heading back to its home base -March Air Reserve Base (as designated by the tail flash), in Riverside, CA.

Formation Overhead!

I heard them coming and rushed out the back door to snap this photo of vintage WWII airplanes, flying over our neighborhood in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Night Landing

"Look Ma, no lights"

Ian landing at Torrance airport on Sunday evening. They had to come down in altitude that evening because the air was over 100 degrees and needed to keep the engine from overheating.

Biplane Cowboy

Two weekends ago at Brackett Airport (La Verne, CA), this handsome young man was filmed running into the biplane (over and over) after the day's rides were done. Maybe the filming was for a Spanish language "telenovela".

"FLY with The BARNSTORMER" (The Travel Air bi-plane with tricycle landing gear) on every 3rd Sunday of the month at Brackett.

'X' is for eXit (abc Wednesday)

Today is my boss' last day at work upon his retirement after 42 years with the company. He leaves a legacy on the C-17 program, of an exemplary structural engineer and an outstanding technical leader and director.

Looking aft through the cargo door "exit" of the C-17 aircraft, Air Show at March Air Reserve Base Air, Riverside, CA (May 2008)

C-17 fly-by, Air Show at March ARB, Riverside, CA (March 2008)

Join abc Wednesday - Round 6.

'J' is for Jet (abc Wednesday)

Airplanes are dear to my heart, having spent nearly 30 years working in the aircraft industry. This photo is from my archives, from a trip taken in February 2009, flying out of the convenient and un-hectic Long Beach Airport. Gotta jet, now.

Join the fun with 'J' at ABC Wednesday.

Stearman PT-17

A very cool sight at Torrance Municipal Airport.

Super Scoopers snuffed out a small brushfire on Palos Verdes Peninsula

As I headed out of our garage on Thursday afternoon at around 5:20, two very low flying Super Scooper airplanes went by directly overhead. It seems that a car accident set off a small brush fire (at Crenshaw near Silver Spur) that was put out very quickly by helicopters and these airplanes which made two water drops.

I took the photo from an empty lot at corner of across from PV Art Center on Crenshaw Blvd, where a group of people gathered and cheered on the firefighters.

Mall Defense

The Northrop F-5E fighter aircraft was on static display at the mall during the PV Peninsula fair held in early June. The airplane belongs to the Western Museum of Flight, located at the Torrance Airport.

"T" is for Twenty-Niner Left at Torrance Airport

Coming in for a landing after the flight around the peninsula, on last Mother's day, with my student pilot son and his instructor.

From City of Torrance web page:
"Runways:
29R-11L 5,000 feet by 150 feet asphalt paving
29L-11R 3,000 feet by 75 feet asphalt paving
33 Degrees-48 Minutes-12.09 Seconds-North Latitude
118 Degrees-20 Minutes-19.31 Seconds-West Longitude
These two runways are capable of handling a maximum aircraft weight of 20,000 lbs. per wheel. The combination of length and weight capacity makes the runways near ideal for general aviation, but are not recommended for air carrier type aircraft.
The airport is 101 feet above sea level, and is served by an FAA Control Tower. Modem navigational safety aids are in use to assure safe takeoff and landing operations. "

Join Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday Round 4!

'J' is for Jumbo Jets Juxtapositioned (abc Wednesday)

I recently had an appointment in El Segundo on the South side of LAX which is 15 miles away from Palos Verdes. I drove around for a bit, taking in the sights and found a perfect "high" spot overlooking the airport on E. Imperial Ave.

This meeting of jumbo-jets from Down Under is for my cyber-friends Sally, Julie, Kris, and Gordon. G'day, all.

Join Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday Round 4!

"Mr. President, we have landed in Long Beach"

President Obama arrived in Long Beach yesterday at 3:03 pm and stayed long enough (Press Telegram - Obama's 9 minutes in Long Beach) to transferred from Air Force One to Marine One, heading for a town hall meeting in Costa Mesa.
Lots of excited people (including yours truly) lined the section of the runway by Globemaster Way just to witness this special event. Here is Air Force One on approach with the Pyramid at Cal State Long Beach.
Marine One was accompanied by 4 other helicopters, taking off at precise intervals and flying in a distinct formation, heading South.
I played around with saturation to get the lettering on the airplane to show.

A Bit o' Green and a Shamrock too

A distinctive Citabria belonging to my son's flight instructor at Torrance airport.
Happy St. Patrick's Day.

First Solo Flight

My 14-year-old son's take-off for his first solo flight in a glider (or sailplane). He did a short patern fight around Crystalaire Airport at Llano, CA and made a perfect landing! His dad and I, as well as his instructor Martin Martorana, are so very proud of him.