Goals

I've probably already lost any readers who check this blog but I'm going to post anyway.

Ok, so I've taken 3 flight lessons in four days adding up to almost 4 hours in the plane. I'm just about ready for my checkride! Today I went through literally everything I've ever learned in a plane. My instructor said if it had been my actual checkride I would have passed. Woo hoo!

It feels so good to be near a big goal in your life.

This makes me think about other goals I have for myself. I plan for even more life-affirming goals as this next year comes in. If it's one thing I've learned about myself it is that I like challenges and I'm not afraid to fail at something. At the end of my third year of professional life I have gone through 3 very different jobs and moved across the country twice. I have become certified as a flight controller which is something very new to me. I honestly thought it was just not going to be in my personality but it turns out it was. I remember even asking somebody for their advice and they said I should probably get more experience in analysis, that I was just too young. Well, that sealed the deal... I had to try. And I am glad I did, this life experience is so unique I could not pass it up.

All that said I still wrestle with my job, wondering if it is truly the right one for me. That's ok though, I'm still young :)

So I'll leave with a quote from one of my favorite authors.

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . . "

— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Hallow what?

Yesterday was Halloween and it was pretty much the longest day ever with almost no Halloweeny things to do.

10am-2pm: work

5:30-7:00pm: took a test on the intricacies of MOSFET's, 3 to 8 bit encoders/decoders/multiplexers and mutltilevel NAND circuitry for my Digital Circuits class. (Tests are hard when you can't make it to class)

What a crazy class, I'm taking it for my own amusement. The whole class is basically a series of logic puzzles. It keeps me sharp, sort of . I know this sounds cliche but nothing really compares to the joy of learning something new. The a-ha! moment, that sudden illumination is something I live for. Hopefully I can keep myself in an environment where this is the norm and dare I say encouraged.

7:30-9:00pm: night take off and landing practice with my instructor. It was mind blowing as usual, night flying is so peaceful. Except for the landing part when your heart tries to leap out of your throat.

10:30-5am: Graveyard shift on console-put together a monte carlo simulation for a quick sep analysis between 2am-3am.

I don't think I've ever done so many varied things in one day.

Checkride Training

Yesterday was the PERFECT day to go flying. Well, it was a bit bumpy but who cares? That just makes it more fun. I went out with my instructor to officially start training for the checkride. It was a whirlwind. He had me doing everything from turns around a point and S turns to slow flight and stalls. It's amazing how quickly those skills rust over. Plus, with the crazy bumps staying within a 200 foot altitude band was harder than I expected.

Oh well, it was great training and the view was incredible. I flew over Alvin towards I-45 and I could see the little sailboats in the bay and Galveston off to the South. I love ground reference maneuvers because it's all out the window. I just can't get over how small cows look at 1000 feet.

Ok so that was all the easy part. We got back into the pattern and about halfway down the downwind leg he says, "Lets make this a soft field landing".

Alright, no problem. I'll need full flaps on final, but I'll pad my approach speed with 5 knots for the gusts. A little left crosswind but nothing to fret over. Then as I glide over touchdown I fail to bring the nose high enough. He took the controls and showed me as we glided over the runway.
"Like this" and he pulled the nose up to what seemed the empty blue sky. I was so used to normal landing i forgot how high the nose seemed on the ground as you tried to keep all the weight on the rear wheels. (The reason for this is to get the max braking effect on the rear and to protect the nose wheel).

Then while still coasting along on the runway he says "Alright, soft field take off".

Ack! Ok, 10 degrees of flaps and full power. I take weight off the nose again and try to fly her off the ground in ground effect. I get her up but i DONT hear the stall horn. It's counter intuitive but this is a situation where you do want to hear the stall horn and have it flying in the lowest speed possible. The ground effect is what helps you to cheat aerodynamics and get you flying.

So I fly her a few feet off he runway until she accelerates to climb speed and we are off again. At about 200 feet I go clean (or no flaps).

Then we do the whole thing again and I'm a little better but not much. I do have some things to work on but I'm there. This weekend I purchased some books to help with training. They include a guide to the oral exam and the standards for the checkride.

Yes there is an oral exam IN ADDITION to the written exam. The examiner can quiz you for as many as 3 hours on basically anything. He can say something like "Show me this airplane is legal to fly" or " what do you do if a passenger is hyperventilating". It's a final check to make sure that all those hours of studying will actually be useful in real world situations.

It's "studying" but I like it. I'm training for my checkride!

On a clear day, you can see for miles

I did it!
I flew my long cross country. That's 217 nautical miles around Houston and it was awesome!
The trip was incredible and it couldn't have been on a better day. I could see for miles and miles in every direction. I was going to write a huge entry about the things that happend along the way. For one thing a country radio station interferes with the Clover field frequency. I've never felt more Texas than when I was flying over farmland with country music piping in over my headset.
Anyway this flight did alot of things for me. For one thing, my confidence was bult much more by being in that plane for so long. By the end she fit like a glove. It's a special bond a boy and his plane.
Mostly though any doubts I may have had about my new hobby were completely obliterated that day. I'm hooked. The view up there is just too beautiful. As I flew out to that first airport everything just felt right. I looked out over the horizon and I was not afraid or nervous. The horizon was now a place, it was somewhere to go and it called irresistably.
I'm thinking people become pilots for different reasons. Some do it for the personal challenge. Others are more adrenaline drunkies, the big kids looking for that next big rush.
I am in it for the view. I am simply awed by flight.

This instense fascination/appreciation for all of this has led me to reconsider some life choices.


The view of Clover field as I left on my first big trip. Notice the blimp in the grass field.

The patchwork farms

Today I flew my first cross country solo. I flew her from my field in Pearland down to Wharton and back… 101 miles through the skies of southeast texas.
This is what I have been training for. I have been striving to get to this point ever since I sat down in that left seat and puzzled over all the dials and controls. In fact, I remember awkwardly taxiing on the ground thinking, how am I ever going to fly this thing? Today it all came together.
So I was nervous in the morning. I had done some pattern work the day before so I was feeling pretty good about stick and rudder stuff. Today was different though. I was going to point the plane somewhere and go. I was going to navigate, use the radios and command my own mission over to Wharton and back. I would be all alone but I felt ready.
I went over my flight plan with my instructor and filed it with a weather briefer over the phone. My tanks were full with 4 hours of fuel, more than enough for my 1 and a half hour journey. (We are expected to take at least an extra half hour of fuel). I preflighted the plan and taxiied down to the runway. I taxiied like a pro.
I did my engine runup and set up the Loran ( a kind of terrestial GPS) for my direct route to Wharton. I took a deep breath and looked around for planes. This is it.
I turned down the runway and gave it full power… the white dashed lines whizzed under me faster and faster then a little pull back and WOOSH. I was in the air. I felt immediately calmer. The trees passed under me and I was on my way.
As I flew over the farms west of the airport I had a little jump. For a split second I didn’t know where I was! It was all patchwork under me, like a giant green quilt. Get it together I told myself, how far off could I be off? I mean I just took off!!

I scanned around me and nothing. It was the same in every direction. What the heck is going on? And then off to my right, just below the right wing a prominent road went off into the distance. Was that highway 6? If that’s it then 288 must cross it and… there it was!! Ok that means for whatever reason I flew southwest initially, no problem. I just turned right and headed for the intersection. I minor flub but it was enough to keep me in check the rest of the flight. The Loran was back on course and everything was fine. Now I know to choose checkpoints close to the airport so I can get an initial bearing. Take off and climbout are dynamic and it’s easy to let the compass drift off a little.

I leveled off at 1800 and looked out the window to make sure I knew where I was.
The big lake was off to my right and the two little lakes I was headed for reflected the sun beautifully. I knew if I headed for the lakes I’d be fine. And that was it. I just kept her trimmed and point for the lakes. Or rather you don’t neceassarilly point the nose at the lake. I mean, initially you do but if the wind blows you off course you will be fighting it the whole time. Instead, point the nose at the lake and if you get blown so the lake is off to the left, point the nose to the left of the lake. This will correct for the wind by putting some of your thrust into the direction of the wind. It’s known as the wind correction angle and can be computed before flight if you know the winds. Now, that angle just an initial guess! All that goes out the window during flight, you just do whatever you have to do to stay on course.

I tried to contact Montgomery Country Radio but nothing. I tried both frequencies. Oh well, I’ll just keep trying. I’m not going anywhere. I just looked out and scanned for traffic, and admired the view. Visibility wasn’t that great. It was called as 7 miles but it seemed a little worse. It’s a little unnerving to see white mist in every direction. 7 miles sounds like a lot but from 2500 feet, you always wish there was more.

I looked for other marker on the ground to confirm my position. There was Needville off to my right. Then there was New Gulf off to the left. I’ve seen cities from the air but this time it was different. I was flying over them. I wasn’t play a video game or watching passively from the passenger seat. This was real.

I located the airport from maybe 10 miles out. It was easy enough to spot because it is in the middle of nowhere. The characteristic white hangers lining the runway might as well have been neon orange. I make my call over the radio and one biplane remarked “she’s all yours” as I saw him take off and turn off into the west. The view of that biplane taking off from a lonely east texas airport at 1000 feet should be a postcard.

I got in the pattern, and turned on final. I was high! Very high. The papi’s were all white. Further telling me what I already knew. I let the power out and my approach steepened. Not enough.
I went to idle. Ok this will work but my deck angle is a little lower than usual. Well my airspeed is perfect and my projected landing spot looks good. I get to within 20 feet and flare and hold it off. Touchdown!!

I taxiied off and onto the ramp to get my head together. This was momentous for me. I had did it! But it wasn’t over. I went back to the start of the runway and did another engine runup. It all looked good. I realigned my gyro and I was taking off again.

The trip back was WAYY easier. I guess because I had already flown it. I even remembered terrain on the way back. Oh, there is that thick patch of trees over there past the twin lakes. Oh there is the golden patch with no trees over there. I had half an hour to calmly fly and drink in the view.
When I got back to the airport vicinity I had a bit of a problem finding the airport. Well I just didn’t find it immediatley. When you are in a plane and monitoring altitude and heading and wings level not knowing where you are going for even a split second is annoying. I just told myself to calm down, just look for it. I picked out off to my right and headed for it.

I landed with no problem. I had flown 101 miles and it was a great feeling. I taxied back and debriefed with my instructor. It couldn’t have gone better.

I remember getting in my car and driving away onto the ramp. My car had never felt so close to the ground. I felt like I was chewing grass. I felt like a bug… doomed to crawl along the surface it’s whole life while the heavens wheeled above him.

How I got my groove back

I have not flown solo in a plane since June! That’s crazy. I met my instructor at the airport to do a few touch and go’s to get back into good form. We jumped in the plane and I found myself landing a little squirrelly again. I’d balloon up from the runway in the last 20 feet and then “save it” be nosing down and getting back into ground effect before my airspeed died off. Not very graceful at all.
Anyway I did the same thing twice and we taxied off the runway to get gas.

“How was it? Oh, I know they weren’t great”
“You are a little rusty but just take it up a few times and get back into it. I noticed you nose down a little during the final 40 feet or so. You pick up airspeed and then zoom up for the flare… try not to do that”

That was it!! The clouds parted and I saw the light. I had been doing that unconsciously and him saying that just made me aware of it. I think I would pick a spot to flare and would nose down to it when I came close. There is no sense in that. If anything just keep your airspeed good and flare wherever you have to.

So I went back up and that first landing was dare I saw PERFECT. I had found it. My groove was back. I didn’t even taxi off the runway, I gave it full power with flaps up and was back up in the air. I came back and another good landing!

Can this be working? Another touch and go and I was back for my third landing.
It was great. That was 3 good landings in a row. I was back and now more ready than ever for my 1st cross country solo.

Cloud Rapture

Last Sunday I flew a dual cross country to Beaumont. I was excited, this flight would involve jumping across Galveston Bay and talking to Beaumont tower. I got there at the crack of dawn, I almost slipped on dew as I hurried to do my preflight.
We set a course to fly down around Ellington airspace and then came across League City and Clear Lake. I could see my apartment! The air was a little unstable that morning so we could see large clouds building in the distance, especially out over the gulf. The view was amazing. As my head peered over the side I exclaimed over the mic, “this is why I’m learning to fly!”
And that was only the beginning. We got up to the bay and flew over the Kemah bridge at 1800 feet, just under Houston Hobby’s Class B airspace. The water and all the little toy boats slowly passed under us and the sun hit the bay making it glimmer and sparkle. The class B airspace above us higher at that point so we climbed up to 3500 feet. It took us around 13 minutes to cross the bay and it was over all too soon.
When we reached the opposite shore I could see lake anahuac off to my left so I knew were on course. There were a few scattered clouds below our altitude and my instructor pointed them out. It would be easy enough to avoid them and maintain VFR (visual flight rules) flight but they would continue to build. “in half an hour it’ll be worse?” I said. And he just told me to remember what it looks like right now.
At 20 miles out we called up Beautmont Approach and they told us to “squak” radio code 3457. This code is quickly dialed into our transponder so the controllers can identify our plane. We simply read back the number and that was it.
That is the trick when talking to tower, just say back what you the tower tells you. If they say maintain course and altitude of 2500 feet, parrot that back and go to that alititude. If anything it’s less workload because now they are taking care of you and vectoring you in to land. They also will point out other traffic to you as their workload permits. Awesome.
So we were cleared in for a right hand base turn into runway 12. The airport was pretty quiet and I landed no problem. One thing is there is a lot of “frequency” jumping. You talk to approach on the way in and then they hand you off to tower and once you are on the ground and off the runway you talk to ground control. This whole process is then reversed as you leave. Ground control hands you off to tower who then hands you off to departure.
As we left and climbed to 2500 feet I first noticed the clouds, they were everywhere! A layer was forming fast. I had to maneuver back and forth to get around them. I would fly over a few and under some, getting a sense of speed as they zipped by. It was what I always pictured flying to be. I looked back to the coast and what I saw is still burned in my mind. No wonder heaven is cloudy. There were clouds everywhere and building up to huge cloud cliffs out in the distance. They looked so crsip and clear with every bump and ripple reflecting the light and casting deep shadows. The sun was just above them pouring through the ethereal scene like a river of light. What really made it so breathe taking was the 3 dimensional quality the view had. It wasn’t the typical sky with clouds picture you see from the window. These clouds had dimension and depth. I was looking though dozens of miles in a giant cloud canyon.
And the canyon was floating. Below the streaky layers of the canyon floor was the patchwork farms of Texas. A water tower here and a few buildings there. Did those people realize how pretty it was up here?
In our everday lives the world gets abstracted away. The real world is not shopping centers and gas stations. It’s not even fake parks and golf courses. It was this, beautiful and sprawled out below me.

The Written

I've been studying for the FAA Written exam off and on for the past few weeks. The test is 60 questions multiple choice with a 2 and a half hour time limit. The questions cover a broad range of topics from flight rules and regulations to aerodyamic theory to flight planning. I know this is going to sound nerdy but I actually LIKE studying for it. Each time I look through some of the outlines I learn something new. I've taken the test 3 times and can now finish it well under at hour with a score in the high 80s. Of course, that's not good enough... I'm shooting for a perfect score :)
This just confirms what I've been feeling lately. I'm only really happy when I am learning. In fact, after earning two degrees I'm still taking classes in the local community college.
So for anyone who might stumble across this blog, teach yourself something new!

Day/Night Cross Country

Last Friday I had yet another chance to fly to Eagle Lake and then on to Brenham. I showed up at the airport at 6 pm ready to embark on my adventure. Is adventure too strong a word? Nope.. at least it certainly felt like one. My instructor and I were going to fly a small plane all over east Texas with most of the flying at night. It's more than your weekend movie that's for sure.

I did the pre flight and give him my flight plans. It was further evidence that pre-flights are vital to safety. Actually it was the first pre-flight where I found something significant, the pitot tube was clogged with dirt. The pitot tube is the small tube like thing sticking out into the oncoming wind. All planes have them, they can be seen near the nose of even the big commercial airliners. They measure the pressure of the oncoming wind to determine airspeed. Thus, the dirt in my pitot tube would have caused my airspeed to read wrong... very bad. The airspeed is one of the core instruments needed to fly a plane. In case you're curious the others are the altimeter, magnetic compass, fuel gauges, oil temp and pressure and engine tachometer. Pretty spartan huh? (thankfully even my Cessna 150 has more than that!)

So there are a number of things to do when you are leaving the vicinity of your airport. I made sure my flight plans were accurate with proper checkpoints, mileages, time of flight and fuel consumption. My instructor pointed out some of my checkpoints for the night legs would be hard to see at night. Duh! I don't know why I put rivers as checkpoints at night. I'll have to stick to major roads and cities off in the distance. I called the weather briefer to get the weather situation and he said it looked great for the night. Incidentally that is an awesome public surface, you call up this service and an actual person looks through radar plots and gives you a complete summary of expected weather in route. How convenient! Then you file a flight plan with the same guy. A flight plan is a quick summary of your flight with estimated time in route and fuel onboard. After you get airborne you call them and tell them to "activate it". They start a timer and if you don't close the plan upon arrival people start to get worried. Another great service, I am so glad this country has all of this aviation infastructure.

We didn't leave until 7:30 and headed towards Eagle Lake. Visibility was 8 miles and it was surprisingly hazy. 8 miles isn't much from 2500 feet. It was kind of spooky actually with the sun setting through the haze, it cast this orange glow all around us. We called the nearest Flight service station on the right frequency to open our flight plan and we were on our way. Wierd thing was they never answered us. We could hear the mic get keyed but no voice. We turned to other frequencies and could hear them. It must have been them with the problem. I hope Montgomery County radio fixes this soon.

The flight to Eagle Lake went pretty nominally. At 3 miles to the airport I began my decent and started looking for the airport. Based on my direction I would be coming on to it perpendicular.
I didn't see if for a while.... and was squinting and straining. Finally the instructor says, " look over your wing".
I was right on top of it. I was overflying it! I great big "ugh" comes over the radio. "Ok I'll bring it around in front and re-enter on the downwind leg"

A little while later I'm turning on final but i am WAY high. He says to add FULL flaps and bring the power to idle. I was high, if he wasn't there I'd have done a go around but there I was practically nose diving for the runway. It felt like it anyway. I pull up the flare and land. This is one small runway, the width is maybe half that of Pearlands. Maybe the width made me think I was farther spaced than I was on downwind leg thus resulting in my high approach.
Anyway there are no taxiways so we turn around and taxi back to the beginning of the runway and take off.
Taking off by the way is my absolute FAVORITE part of flying. It is such an incredible feeling to bring that plane off the ground and see the trees pass under you. It makes me happy just thinking about it again.

So now its practially dark and we are headed to Brenham, about 26 miles away. We get up to altitude and I look around to try and get my bearings. I notice crossing I-10, that is impossible to miss. Then a little while later I see the town of Brenham with the airport behind it. The strip has a pair of strong strobes at the end of it. At 14 miles out I can't miss it. This is a welcome relief because if I can't spot an airport in the day, I'm hopeless at night.

I enter the pattern for Brenham with traffic off to my right. We talked on the radio and he is going in after me. I turn on final and I'm high again. Not too high but high... Brenham actually has PAPI's. I forgot what it stands for but they are two lights that tell you where you are in the glideslope. Two while lights mean you are high. A red and white is right on slope and two reds mean you are low. I had two while lights for the entire approach.
I land a little long and we taxi off the runway. Two legs down!

The diner we were supposed to eat at was closed so we just talked about the trip, filed a new flight plan and we are off. The Brenham airport (code 11R) has sloped runway so our take off was slightly downhill. This resulted in the coolest take off ever. We we up to speed in no time ans we zoomed down.

The flight back to Pearland was an hour at night. Night flying is so peaceful. I didn't even have my hand on the yoke for most of it, steering with the rudders. It was an hour flight time so we just chatted and tried to identify landmarks. The air is calm and the view is beautiful. The bright orange glow of Houston was off to our left and the little cities were sprinkled down below us. We passed over Richmond at 2500 feet and it was gorgeous... then we turned and headed straight for Pearland. It was hard for me to figure out where I was through dead reckoning. We had a device called a Loran which is like ground GPS and so I knew where we were through that. My instructor was amazing at identifying every road and city in the distance. I don't feel so bad since he as flown here his whole life.

At 4 miles to pearland I keyed my mic 7 times and the runway lit up like a christmas tree. It was such a comforting site because I was getting worried about were it was. I circled in like a falling leaf and got lined up for approach. It was also high but not as high as the other two and I landed in the black void lined by lights. Well it wasn't that dramatic, our landing light is pretty powerful and lights up a good portion of the runway during landing. We were back.

Grand total was 2.9 hours of flying time with a good portion of that at night. I have one more dual cross country to a towered airport and then I'm on my own. I can't wait!

Fenway Franks

So I had a big fat post about my last flying experience doing short take off and landings...
It's on another computer though so I wanted to throw up a single picture from my latest trip to Boston. (which is the best city ever by the way)

This was taken while spending a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Fenway. Talk about a baseball experience!
One lady was taken away on a stretcher, the people behind us were the rowdiest bunch ever..
And the sound of the stadium singing "Sweet Caroline" was amazing.
Oh and then a vendor ran up the stairs and dumped his whole tub of franks right next to me.

I had to snap a picture, it makes me laugh every time I see it. Shortly after that he put the franks on one side of his little hotbox and kept selling them. I wish I had a picture of his face because he did not look happy. I've never such a clear likeliness to this:(

Tonight I'm studying for my FAA written exam. The days to getting my license are numbered!!

Why I fly

I forgot my Houston Sectional map at the airport and went to pick it up today. I stood there for maybe 15 minutes watching the planes come and go.
I swear, when I'm at the airport I feel like a lottery winner on acid.

My instructor said one question the FAA asks when you take your checkride is "why are you learning to fly?" Some people's reasons are for freedom to come and go without lines or hassle, others do it for the adventure and some just for the unique personal challenge. Sadly I even know many people who earned thier licsence and then never flew again.

As for me it is something I've wanted to do since I was maybe 4. Literally around the dawn of my own personality was when I started looking up and saying hey, those machines in the air aren't normal. They are little miracles. It's something more than a whirring clockwork of pistons and pushrods. It's a symbol.. a living and breathing symbol.

It was love at first sight but sadly I could never afford to learn. My only ticket to a halfway decent income was college and naturally I majored in aerospace engineering. The degree was easy.. it turns out when you are genuinely interested in something, it doesn't feel like work.
Even then I scraped by while in college and could only take a few introductory flights.

And now finally it is real. Being in the cockpit is real... landing in a crosswind with your heart in your throat is real... turning away with that storm in my face is real.

It reminds me of the Langston Hughes poem Dreams Deffered

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

-L. Hughes

Cross Country Hazards

Today was my first cross country flight and it definitley made an impression. I had planned a flight between my home airport and a place called Eagle Lake. It's a little airport smack in the middle of nowhere. I wonder if it was made solely as a destination for student pilots making their first cross country trips. My instructor tells me it was base for cropdusters at one time.
The airport is 50 miles or so away due west. I made up a flight plan counting up the mileage to various checkpoints along the away... It had distances to ground cues like road crossings and lakes or rivers in the area. I carefully planned everything taking into account winds that day, and resulting course corrections, resulting ground speeds and fuel burn. I say all this because I've done the whole flight planning exercise 3 times now. For reason or another I've had to cancel it resulting with replan. I can fly that route with my eyes closed now.

I showed up this morning and was called off due to weather. Dark clouds at 1400 feet and darker areas out to the west.

I came back later today (with a whole new set of calculations for the flight plan) and we called the weather briefer. He said there were storms to the south east of Eagle lake but they were moving slowly to the east and that we should be ok. We decided to go knowing that we might have to turn around due to that storm. I felt a little uneasy but I knew we had an out. There were substantial buildups of cumulus clouds out to the north of east and the ceiling was only at 4500 feet. It would be a fateful decision.

I got into the plane for the first time in a little less than a month and it felt good. It fits like a glove and I started it up ran through all the procedures like it was second nature. We got up into the air and I turned and set the course I had planned for. We called to activate our flight plan and started the egg timer. Our little adventure was about to begin.

As we flew along, the view was amazing. The visibility was only 7 miles and there was a haze making the horizon hard to make out so that made the whole thing a little unusual. The cloud buildups seemed to be all around us but they were well out of way. Except of course for the dark clouds out off to our left.

We proceeded to Eagle Lake and the checkpoints came into almost like clockwork according to my calculations... 7 minutes and there are those towers off to the right, 4 minutes and there is the lake off to the right. I was surprised at how well those predictions held out.

As all this happened that dark lines of clouds loomed ever closer. The clouds seemed to be at an altitude lower than ours and it looked VERY dark under them. I drank in the view. It was amazing to be up there around all that weather. Haze, towering clouds, and dark cloud fronts... beautiful but dangerous.

At 15 miles or so to Eagle Lake we decide to turn back. The storm is moving in our direction and although we probably could have made it in, the way back would have hairy. Ok, no big deal, I just initiate a 180 degree turn to the north and transition to the return flight plan. I felt pretty good about turning back. As we looked over our shoulder we could see lightning in the storm and we quickly decided we had made the right decision. As we came back our ground speed zoomed up to 102 knots. It was as if the storm was pushing us away.. I wasn't complaining.

We come back and we zip over my checkpoints like clockwork. I love it! My return plan had taken into acount a tailwind as well and so everything was fine despite the decision to return early. As we travel back to the airport the storms are chasing us. We find that at our home airport the weather advisory is reporting lightning distant in ALL quandrants! We hit a bit of rain and the cloud buildups were huge and EVERYWHERE. I circle into the pattern and set up for landing... and bit nervous about it. It has a good 10 cross wind and 45 degrees and this is the first landing I've done in a while. I turn a little early on final while still a little low but manage to save it by shallowing out my turn and bringing in some power. I land while kicking the rudder in a bit and though it was a little fast and my flare was a little late it worked pretty well.
We taxied quickly back to the hanger to talk about the whole thing.

First of all the storm had changed direction and speed within maybe 45 minutes. Not only that but a whole NEW set of much worse storms had popped up over our home airport. As we debriefed we heard the regular rumble of thunder to the west... the direction we came from. I could have spent the rest of my day at Eagle Lake if we hadn't have turned back. I then drove home in the heaviest storm I've been in down here. There was lighting bolts everywhere and I could barely see the car in front of me! A shiver went down my spine realizing how close we had cut it. With the information we had at take off we were go and IN ROUTE that all changed. In fact when we checked in told them our flight plan was closed due to turning back they said "wheew, thanks for checking back in, we were starting to get worried."

You were worried!!

Well this was all great learning experience and I'm glad I got to do it with an instructor and not just out there by myself. Besides, the view was tremendous. That is why I put myself through all this anway.

Here is a picture of the weather radar when I got home. We left from the area with all the red and were destined for that area with all the yellow. CRAZY.

Air Traffic

Last night was my first solo outing since April 19th. It was excited to say the least. I got to the airport at around 7.pm. and I could here engines buzzing all around me. I looked up and even saw a little helicopter flying low in the pattern. Everybody had the same idea I did and decided to go out the airport as the summer sun was beginning to set. I was nervous because I didn’t like the idea of flying around in the pattern with so many planes. As I preflighted the plane I could hear plane after plane take-off from the runway. I decided to go up at least once to see if I can handle it.
I taxied up and in the pattern to find one plane in a left hand pattern and a helicopter in the right hand pattern. Ok, no biggie I can work with this. I waited for the plane to touch and go in front of me and radioed for the helicopter position. He was holding for me ( I forget helicopters can just hold) and I was off. Right after I took off an idiot in a Grumman that I hope I never meet again pulled onto the runway. He could barely speak English and was making all kinds of weird calls that night. Furthermore I don’t think he knew where I was in the pattern the whole time. I knew that Grumman was faster than me and apparently he didn’t. Anyway I take off and make my first left hand turn. I hear him radio he was “leaving the runway” which I thought was some kind of abort to the taxiway but no, he meant he was taking off. Ok no biggie… he doesn’t even really know english.
Now it gets hairy.
He makes his call that he is turning base while I was about to turn base. I radio, “did you say base?!”
No Answer. I turn and look around… Fuck, where is he?
Now I’m at final and call final. A little while later I hear him say, “did you say you were on final? Where are you?”
OK, that is not something you want to hear when you are controlling the plane at low speed, low to the ground about to land. I radio back quickly. “yeah I’m about to cross the threshold”
No answer back.
My landing flare then proceeds to suck and I know I can’t spend too long trying to save this landing much less pull off the runway with this RETARD right on my ass.
I initiate a go-around and start a climbout.
As I’m climbing out he radios “ Cessna do you see me?”
This is too much, I don’t know how this guy flies a plane legally. I radio “Cessna 59 Julia is leaving the pattern to the southwest”.
Right after that I hear, “Grumman Alpha turning crosswind”
CROSSWIND!!!! He must have been right behind me, retard.
I climbout out and away from that madman. I go out 5 miles to clear my head.
I fly around and try to relax a bit. My heart was pounding but I looked outside I started to relax. The view was beautiful as always. This is the reason I put up with the headache of pattern traffic.
Then I hear a plane say he is departing and going to be orbiting the runway at 1400 feet. Oh well, he’ll be over my head when I get there.
He will be long gone out of the pattern airspace by the time I get there though.
Then I hear the Grumman retard say he has landed. Alright, I’m going back for some pattern work. I do a 180 and come back in to land. As I am positioning myself to enter on the downwind leg I hear he is taking off again.
SHIT, why does this guy haunt me so?
Ok, I’ll just get behind him. I do a turn for spacing and I hear another call.
“Be advised I’ll be using the grass below you cessna 59”.
I radio back “Copy at what altitude?”
“oh about 800 feet”
Ok, I see the guy above the horizon orbiting doing tricks at 1400 feet. I see the cub tacking off under me and I hear the retard making his base call. I’m at 1000 feet and radio I’m entering the downwind leg.
I hear the retard’s final call and I am comfortably midfield in the downwind leg.
The retard exits the runway as I am on turn from base and I land.
I came down like a ton of shit.
I pulled up way to hard and ballooned up. I gave it a little power which was the wrong thing to do. I cut power and come down again.
Wheels touch but I have too much speed and hop up again.
I’m flying a little and a second touchdown. This one is better and I’m down. I taxi off the runway.
No more touch and go’s. I’m burnt out for the day.
Grand total, 1 go around and 1 landing.
I worked hard for them though.

Trust the Dials

So the plane has been back up. I haven't updated because there was a crack in one of the nose struts that grounded the planed for a few weeks. I've had two awesome lessons since then.

The first lesson was crosswind landing practice. I definately could have done better but it wasn't so bad. Landing the plane safely is a good landing to me. I did progressively better until I just totally hosed one of them. It was to the point where Jeff crumpled his face and said "ooo, that's not good for the plane". Thank God for prevailing winds.

The next lesson was instrument flying... a whole hour of it! It was a beautiful Saturday morning and once I had lifted off and set a course for due South, Jeff handed me a pair of blinders. It's a set of opaque glass with lenses cut out of the bottom half so you can only see the panel. I was tasked to do a series of maneuvers only by watching the dials and gauges! It is challenging at first but rapidly becomes maneagable.The only thing is you can't get lazy, you have to continually scan everything from the airspeed to the altimeter to the attitude indicator and heading indicator. It's not so bad at all when you are leveled off because you can trim the aircraft to that speed. In fact you can let the yoke go for a while and you will maintain alititude and heading reasonably well. These GA planes are designed beautifully stable. In fact most of the pilots inputs are OVER-controlling the plane. It practically flies itself... more of a reason for anyone reading this to take lessons!
A pilot's licence requires 3 hours of instrument training. Why? you might say, can't only instrument rated pilots fly up through clouds? The answer is yes, federal flight rules maintain that non-instrument rated pilots must be clear of clouds by 500 feet vertically and 2000 feet horizontally. The idea behind the training is that if one were to inadvertantly fly into a cloud, one that could intiate a turn of 180 degrees and fly out of it. No arguments here.
So the maneuvers are trickier. We did constant turn rate turns while mainting altitude. A constant turn rate is designed to get the turned in a full 360 degree circle in 2 minutes. It feels very slow in the cockpit and has very shallow bank angle, only maybe 10 degrees. It is amazing how little you feel while turning. In fact the only indication I had I was turning was by seeing the heading indicator turning. Our ears can only sense angular accelerations. We can only feel the intial thrust of getting into a turn but once we are happily turning our inner ear decides we must have stopped by now. I wish we had evolved a turn RATE indicator, that would have been nice.
So then came the constant speed climbs and decents. These are fun and more challenging. To climb give the engine full power and pitch up to about 10 degees, wings level. Once the higher pitch angle is in there, the alitmeter will begin to spin up.. the climb has started. Meanwhile using the pitch input you can control the speed of the climb. Pull back and you can do a steeper slow climb, even at around 60 knots. Push forward on the stick and you will do a faster shallower climb at around 70 knots are so. During all of this heading must be maintained and alititude scanned so as not to overshoot the target altitude. Once that altitude is reached nose the plane over and reduce engine power. You've climbed in a cloud for all you know. Decents are kind of the opposite, reduce engine power and slightly nose over.
The final exercise was to do a climbing turn and decent. This requires almost everything to be monitored and controlled simultaneously. Once the climb is started the wing is dropped a little to get into a turn and then presto. The heading indicator is turning and the altimeter is spinning up. After airspeed looks good just wait until each dial gets where you want it too. The creepy thing is that I FELT like I was flying straight and level with not climb. In truth I was climbing AND turning! I know everyone has read this effect but the point wasn't really driven home until that lesson. Trust the Dials.

First Steps

I've flown alone twice this week. I was a little hesitant Monday because the ceiling was 1500 feet and it was hazy. They were calling it as 6 mi visibility and since 3 mi is the legal limit, I went up. Well, once I was airborn I knew it was a mistake. The ceiling may have been 1500 but there was thick haze gradually fading down towards the ground. I couldn't make out the true horizon and at 600 feet on the climbout I knew I was not venturing far. I simply turned back torward the downwind leg and headed back. As I did my decending turns toward the runway but I felt like they were all off because of the lack of a true horizon. I landed and that was the end of that lesson.
Today however was my first TRULY solo lesson. For the first time, Jeff didn't even show up to the airport. I showed up, unlocked the hanger and pulled back the doors to reveal that beautiful flying machine. Today was different, today Jeff had entrusted her to me and my mission was to fly her out to the practice area and bring her back safely. This would be the first time I left the pattern alone.
I pulled her out and did the longest most thorough pre-flight I've ever done. I took my time checking every bolt, even stopping to hear the small creakings as the frame seemed to settle on the wheels. Had I ever heard that before? I must have, it stopped after a few minutes.
I got in and took two deep breathes... Only one month ago, TO THE DAY I had soloed. Now I was pulling it out and flying out to the practice area on my own!
I started up the engine and configured the cabin. The wind was almost direct crosswind at 6 knots. It should veer around to down the runway when I get back and crosswind takeoffs are easy, I decide it is acceptable. I took off with nobody in the pattern... the airport was quiet except for me. Then instead of turning into the downwind leg, I depart. I set a course for heading 21 and keep climbing. I look out the window and the view from 1500 feet has never been sweeter.
As I flew away from the airport. I started to hear people on the radio. There was somebody in the pattern and someone 11 miles out in the southwest. Hey I'm going to the southwest, where is he? It's tricky because people are never where you think they are and sometimes not even where they called out to be. A little while later I saw a small white plane about 4 miles away off my left wing zoom by. How did I see that? Thankfully I've been pretty good at spotting planes. I hear more traffic at the airport so I decide to just fly around. can you believe it? I had the plane all to myself and just flew around, it was an amazing feeling of freedom. I pulled a sharp turn and soaked in the view. For all the grief I give southeast texas, it is gorgeous from above.
I flew around for a while and when it quieted down at the airport I turned back. I had a little moment of panic when I didn't immediately see the airport. Eventually though at about 6 miles I picked it out. I called my position and headed in. I joined the downwind leg pretty close to the runway though. As I was correcting I noticed I had lost 200 feet as well. I was coming to the landing steps and was not at my prescribed hieght... what to do. I proceed to base leg and when I turn to final I find I have overshot by alot and am closer than I thought. With the crosswind I decide not to try and save it, I radio I am going around and give full power and push in carb heat. Flaps go up and I am climbing above the runway. I rejoin the pattern and its all nominal from there.
As I pull off the runway after landing I still think I have it in me to get in one more landing. I take off again and run through the pattern. Everything was right on down to about 20 feet. Then wheels hit and a bounce.. a big bounce. SHIT! I was high again but she was coming down. Then a gust from the left and I'm yawed now, with my nose off to the left. I remeber applying controls but they were sloppy, they always are when I'm slow like this. Especially the rudder and ailerons.
I manage to save it with the rudder and pull back again for the second big landing hop. I land a little sideways and use up so much runway I have to taxi to the far end. UGH, it was bad. I wish I had a video of it, it was my worst landing in a while. I was bummed but still on a huge high from all this. It's a good day when you tell yourself, I can't believe I did that!

Ode to the Airplane

Blogging about flying doesn't do flying any justice. All I can really do is share my enthusiasm for it. I can't think of anything else that brings together so many of my interests. It feeds the engineer in me, the adventurer... the poet. It polarizes and motivates me in a way few things ever have.
This weekend I can say nearly all of my activities somehow related to flying. I even built an AM radio receiver to pick up aircraft communications in the area. It was a labor of love... I don't think I've soldered that much since college. I had my windows open the entire weekend to get the smell out of my apartment. Anyway, I'm amazed it worked the first time I applied power! I played with it at the airport today.
I also taught myself how to use the circular slide rule flight calculator... that thing is such an amazingly clever device. It is so fiendishly clever! With just the turn of a dial almost any quantity related to flight and flight planning can be "dialed" up. I love it.
Today was beautiful. I flew with Jeff to the practice area and did some ground reference maneuvers at 1000 feet. I can't decide what I like best, the view from high altitude or low. Oh who cares they are equally awesome. Ground ref maneuvers are fun because I'm always peering out the window flying to cues located on the ground. I never realized how many cows there are laying around this place. I even did one of my turns around a cow.
Then we brought it back and I did 4 touch and gos with him in the plane. I nailed them all. I was on today. My hour lesson however was up and we went to the gas tank to fill up. After that Jeff asked if I had a wanted to do a few solo runs. I couldn't resist. I was off and got in two solo landings.
He even told me what I have been waiting to hear. The time has come for me to make my first solo ventures to the practice area and back. I can't stray too far, 25 nautical miles is the legal limit. Still though, this is a great time.

indie for the red states

I heard that Sup-Pop and Matador Records are going to put out a compilation of various highly popular indie bands. (For all that don't know indie is short for independent- usually meaning a small self financed record company). Think of every cool song you've heard on a commercial, it will probably be there. Indie heavy hitters like Bloc Party, the Shins, Bright Eyes, Air, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, M. Ward, Ted Leo, Cat Power, Silversun Pickups, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Sonic Youth.
The goal is to put the record on the shelves in the Wal-Marts of the midwest and throughout the land. Is this a good thing? I think its a stupid move to put it in Wal Marts. Will Joe-Big Gulp like The Shins?
I think if they put the record in the Targets it would sell though. Getting good music out there is a good thing.
I'm an admitted music snob but indie can't be so underground that nobody can hear it. I think its a good thing if the bands themselves don't sell out. That is to say, doing what EVERY band who becomes popular does. They stagnate creatively sticking with only what sells. Remember Metallica? They were musical geniuses up to and including And Justice for All... after that it was bubblegum crap.
The most forgettable music is stuff that was written to fly off the shelves.

Urchin - self titled or Ode to XM and Itunes my musical messiahs

I have an xm radio subscription and I don't see how I could live without it. I mean I don't even live in Houston, I live in a bland suburban cultural desert. I have to drive an hour to hear a symphony play, to see a museum or even see a baseball game. The only thing to do here is go to a restaurant really, or go flying. My only link to the creative output of my fellow humans is through my space radio and itunes. How sad is that. I'm thinking my life act III is going to be set in New York.
Boo hoo, I brought this on myself. My point is I would never have heard of band like urchin without my space radio. It is electronic ambient music, full of bassy beats and highly polished electrono-sonic wizardry.. Yet, despite its repetitive nature, it never gets old! It's pretty much the opposite of the Beatles... trying more to establish a mood through gradually changing grooves. It is great driving music and will probably be playing in a Starbucks soon. The music is very atmospheric and almost creepy. The whole thing plays out like watching a memory.

Leaving the Cradle

This lesson really caught me off guard. I have been flying around in the pattern for the past 9 lessons. 9 Lessons!! That is to say 76 take off and landings all in a row. TOL has been my life and life has been good. (As of now I've done 86 landings but who's counting?)
Today however we left the pattern. He explained I was to do 4 maneuvers and bring her back for a handful of crosswind landings. Ok I told myself, I have just found myself in my most challenging lesson ever... stalls and crosswind landings. I haven't even thought about stalls in months and crosswinds have just been off the radar lately. Now, it was go time.
I performed the crosswind takeoff and climbed out to the southwest up to 2500 feet. First thing was a steep turn to the left. I bank it over to 45 degrees and in watching that attitude indicator with an intense focus I made the cardinal sin for steep turns. I let the nose drop. This starts a decent and I found myself in a really in a steep decending turn. Jeff points it out as I shallow out a bit and pull up feeling some Gs push me down into the seat. I keep in the turn and do a full 360 about face. Ok, that was a rookie mistake, I have to save face. I start another turn to the right and this one is right on, less than 100 feet of altitude loss. Bring it on.
Next is slow flight. I love slowflight. It is a technique to significantly slow the airspeed of the plane. In fact if there is a stiff headwind you can get the thing to practically hover! Slow flight is possible with a suitably high angle of attack and power setting. A high AOA is needed to create the required lift due to the reduced airflow, the high power setting is to overcome the drag induced by the larger cross sectional area presented to the airflow. I slowed her down perfectly... and captured a mere 45 knots with almost no altitude loss. Textbook! I was feeling good.
Now it was stall time. I am not ashamed to say stalls have made me uncomfortable since I met them. This is probably because the second time I performed one I got it into something called an incipient spin. Look it up, its bad. Good thing Jeff was in the plane because I freaked.
So a power off stall is just what it sounds like. It is a maneuver to pitch up the plane high enough to make the airflow separate from the wing, thereby causing a loss of lift. To recover all that is needed is to pitch the plane over to pick up airspeed and get the plane flying. Easy enough right? Just pitch the plane over as it falls from the sky. Piece of cake.
I reduced power, and threw in 30 degrees of flaps. I watch as the airspeed needle quickly sank and then against all instinct pulled the power. The plane quieted to hum and I began pitching up. The sky is all in the windshield and the stall horn began to cry out its horribly high pitch squeal. The frequency went even higher and silence... I was falling and the plane was pitching over. Ok, give it full power and presto! I'm flying agin.
The power off stall went perfectly... he even made me do a turning power off stall. It was awesome, I felt in control the entire time. I wonder though if I'd ever do one alone in the plane.
The power on stalls were less awesome. I had trouble getting them to "break". I'd just kind of hang in stall territory where the deck angle is high, the p factor is high and my speed is slow. It's not a good place to be. We called it off and headed back to the airport.
The entire time he was getting me to be more aware of my location relative to the airport. Pretty soon I'll be able to take the plane away to the practice area by myself and it'd be nice to know how to bring it back. It's amazing how tiny that airport looks from 5 miles and 1500 feet in the air.
I entered the pattern and got ready to land her in a gusty 9 knot crosswind. My first approach was good until the final 20 feet. I didn't apply enough rudder to align the body of the plane with the runway. I ended up placing on the ground slightly sideways. I correct once on the ground but that isn't great for the plane. I gave it full power and lifted up off with the yoke turned into the wind. I was off again.
For that entire set of landings I just was not compensating for the wind the way I should have been. I was being blown off course during the climbout and landing hard. Maybe my brain was full but it was a good experience. I got in 5 landings that night. It was a big lesson and I plan to do better this Sunday for my next. If all goes well he plans on giving me the combination to the hangar this weekend. I will be free to take the plane out, preflight it and fly it to the practice area and back. I am almost as anxious as I was for my solo!

2nd Solo

Even when flying is bad, it's good. Today I was able to pilot that little Cessna 150 1000 feet into the air and bring her down safely 3 times. It was solid, but far from perfect. I just wasn't hitting on all cylinders and generally felt "behind" the plane the entire time. This is no more evident that in my second landing. But to explain Ill have to give a little background.
So there are 4 things to keep in mind during the decent and final approach of a small airplane. The first is something called carburetor heat. Its basically a work around to fix a quirk about carbs, their inlets ice up! They may even ice up on a perfectly nice sunny day since what matters most is humidity. To protect for this a knob in the cabin is pulled to duct warm air from the engine into the carburetor. Simple enough. It works except it robs the engine of power. The warm air is less dense and produces a leaner fuel/air mixture. I learned this first hand today.
The next thing is flaps. Flaps are awesome. They are slowly lowered throughout the decent to lower the airspeed and the stall speed. Like everything it has its drawbacks though. They can be summarized in this cheesy sentence. Flaps make the wing more lifty at the price of being more draggy.
Then there is engine power. It must be adjusted to account for the vertical speed or decent rate. This keeps the so called glideslope in check. If you are to high come off on the power to come down... to low then bring it in to climb back up.
The final thing is AIRSPEED. Airspeed is the key to everything and must be monitored very carefully. Unless you were born on a plane, it comes as a shock that airspeed is controlled primarily through attitude. If you nose the plane over you speed up, pull up and the speed quickly bleeds off.
Ok so the carburetor heat knob is pulled when the decent is initiated. On my first time up by myself that day I pulled the POWER all the way out instead. The plane went abruptly quiet and the plane nosed over. SHIT I said out loud and over my headset. This is an amateur mistake. I knew exactly what I had done and quickly pulled heat out as well. On hindsight this wasn't so great since that robbed the engine of even more power and sure enough I had nosed a little further down... causing airspeed to build further. I pushed the power back in to the approach setting of 1700 RPM and threw in 10 degrees of flaps. I look back over my shoulder and the runway hasn't drifted too far back. I'm still on schedule.
I make my two turns and now I'm on final. I have 30 degrees flaps by now. There is a little right crosswind and I turn my nose into it to counter it. I'm now tracking the runway in a "crab" sort of manner, flying more out of the side of the plane. The runway is in the same position in the window but getting bigger. That's a good sign, my approach angle is right on. The speed is perfect too... 60 knots.
I get down to about 20 feet off the runway and I notice I still have power in. I normally would have chopped it a little before. No biggie, I chop it then. And then a gust from the right. No problem, i stomp on the rudder to align myself and start to pitch up for the landing flare. I pitch up to high and the plane balloons. This is a term for being to aggressive during the final pitch up maneuver causing the plane to zoom upward. Remember, I don't have power so any zoom will cause my airspeed to drop. It rose a little higher than expected and now I'm 40 feet above the runway and airspeed is bleeding off. In that split second I decide to abort the landing. I have to mentally transition to takeoff and impliment it.... and fast.
I give the plane full power and she responds by pitching up further. This is ok and expected but my speed is not building at all. No wonder, I'm still in landing configuration. I have my flaps hanging out in the flow and I hit the flaps up switch. I lose all 30 degrees in 20 seconds. It is unfortunate that this is a 3 position switch which brings them up all at once because now I'm losing lift. It is not comfortable to see the runway gently coming closer when fully expecting to climb out.
In this time frame I'm still not seeing the climb performance I expected. The flaps are almost to the top though. Why the HELL isn't my airspeed building faster.
That damned carb heat knob is still pulled out. I let out an audible UGH, and shove it in with a hard smack. I immediately feel a burst of power from the engine. It was kind of like somebody hit the turbo button on a racing game. Finally speed is building and I am climbing comfortably out.
The moral is that a go around is much more intense when it is NOT planned. I know now to give it carb heat along with power, maybe even holding both knobs and advancing simultaneously. Also, those flaps should be added incrementally. Throwing them all up is a drastic wing shape change and all the precious liftiness can't afford to be given up when that low and slow.
If anything I feel that I handled the situation well, adapting quickly to my own mistakes. Did I mention I love flying?

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

I was waiting for this album. I waited all this year and the night it came out I downloaded it. I couldn't even wait to go to Best Buy to buy one of the thousand cheap copies they were sure to have.
I listened to it straight through that night. My experience with this record is similar to my romance with Taco Bell. I crave those grilled stuffed burritos for like a month and when I finally get them, it's shark week on discovery. I devour them in frenzy. I end up paying for it the rest of the night and am generally embarrassed about the whole thing the next day.
This album has just lost its charm over the last few weeks.
That said, the single Intervention is amazing. It is worth a quick dollar download from itunes or wherever. The only other tracks I still like are Ocean of Noise, and My Body is a Cage.
Thier first album, The Funeral is perfect.

The Good, The Bad And The Queen - self titled

Am I the only one who got that Gorrilaz album Space Monkeyz vs. Gorillaz - Laika Come Home? I bought it in Havard Square one cold winter only because the cover had a picture of a monkey with a space helmet. It is a remix of the Gorillaz debue album with trippy dubbed bass lines. It reminded me of monkeys and tropical islands, brilliant.
Anyway, lead singer Damon Albarn has created the skinny hipster equivalent of this album in the The Good, The Bad and The Queen. And it works. It is brimming over with BASS LINES! Bass lines that have been so shunned lately. Basslines to piss off the people who live under you. F U Jack White.
So I give this album a 7 out of 10. It's good but I don't remember individual songs. It all kind of blends together as a slowed down reggaeish mess with Damon kind of whining over it. It's a genuine performance at least. (though a far cry from his Blur work) I recommend it for lazy drives and background music while at work.

Suborbital Skydiving with a soundtrack- amazing

Gnarls Barkely- St. Elsewhere

Hip hop is not dead. If it is then Gnarls Barkley is the undead zombification of the rotting corpse that is hip hop. And guess what, zombies are cool!
First of all I know what you are thinking. I set up this blog to review indie records and maybe in the process help introduce people to the incredible wealth of music out there on indie labels. I'm pretty sure you can get Gnarls at the local grocery store if not for 10 bucks at Best Buy.
This is for good reason though. It is for a lack of a thesaurus really really good. It is exactly what mainstream music needed, something bold but not too bold. It is something new but really not that new. Think of reimagined music that your weird old uncle would have had in his Pontiac. Soul has never been this hip.
This album is chock full of soul, weird funky beats, a Halloween vibe (did somebody say zombies?), and a runaway hit single that just will not go away. The video for Who Cares? is funny and weird at the same time. How can you not like a lonely Dracula walking the streets of present day New York?
My favorites include Go-Go Gadget Gospel, Who Cares?, Just a Thought and Storm Coming.
The beats are are all chopped up and the whole thing just feels very new. It's definitely not your daddy's soul music. I found out that Danger Mouse actually produced it and I'm not surprised. Everything that guy touches turns to gold.
Get it. It will be next to whatever those hacks the Killers have put out.

Peter Bjorn and John- Writer's Block

I bought this album with a quick and determined click upon hearing the 30 second sampling offered by itunes. It is not the best album ever but then again how many are? I'd have to give it a 6.5/10.0. It stands on it's own two feet but I find myself already "forgetting" about it.
The standout in my mind is definately the 2nd track Objects of my Affection. It is heartfelt and genuine...though bittersweet. It is the jewel of the album followed only by quirky hook infested jingles that so often populate indie records.
They are nice enough though. The song "Start to Melt" is fun with a wierd distorted 60's background. Unfortunately the song doesn't really go anywhere. Know what I mean? It's kind of the same feeling I get when listening to a jam band. I think to myslef, they are really good and I like the feel of thier stuff... but Geez why am I so BORED?
Ok enough Swedish bashing, the glass is slightly more full than empty.
I guess the novelty of their goofy swedish accents faded a little faster than I thought it would. I probably haven't learned my lesson though. Curse you Itunes.

Beirut- Gulag Orkestar

This is my vote for the best album of 2006. Why? First of all, it is one of the few CD's to remain in the upper layer of the stack i keep tucked away under the dash. I have to admit the shmaltzy horn solos just never get old and I find myself humming them months after first hearing this soon be indie classic.
It is -gasp- DIFFERENT. This a good trait for an indie record. The album is an attempt to meld east european gypsy music with folk-pop and topped off with a slight but noticeable electronic sheen. There is everything from horns, accordians, synthesizers to cow bells... all coming together to create one of the most genuine performances I've heard in a long time. It even brings to mind references to the mother of all indie albums- In the Aeroplane over the Sea.
This shouldn't be surprising because half of Zach Condon's band is actually from Neutral Milk Hotel! There is definitely a resemblance. In fact I loved the album so much I bought the follow up EP- Lon Gisland. It's funny how a misplaced spacing can make a phrase sound so foreign. It is kind of metaphor for what he has done with his brand of gypsy pop.
Now for the short and sweet of it. The album starts out strongly with loud spanish horns set to the broken beat of some eastern bloc funeral. The ethnic tone is set and like most great albums the mood is predominately introspective with some notes of somber remembrance(The Canals of Our City) and some of unbridled joy (Scenic World). The album then ends with a beautiful electronic sequence set to the sound of applause. Perfect.
There are four highpoints in the Gulag and Lon Gisland combined work- Postcards from Italy, the two versions of Scenic World, and Elephant Gun. If anything the singles Postcards and Elephant Gun can be downloaded from the indiepop podcast.