From the Left Seat

It’s been exciting to see the daylight getting longer and longer every morning and evening. And it’s been an unusually warm and snowless winter. Many are taking advantage of these conditions to commit aviation. But it’s not always easy to get out of the blue hole. The joke is we can always get airborne in the blue hole, but all you can do is fly around in circles. I had a trip planned for the southern Oregon coast recently, and the weather there was beautiful for days – but the fog moved into the Peninsula keeping me grounded. But Spring is coming, and it’s time to start planning some aviation adventures.

I hope you’re planning to attend the Northwest Trade Show in Puyallup. Even if you’re a veteran of this event, it’s always fun to see and talk with old acquaintances and see what’s new in aviation at our local level. Watch for announcements to form up a car pool. Join others for the trip. There are always great seminars provided. I’m planing to do the oxygen deprivation hypoxia chamber this year. I heard it’s a nice room, but has no atmosphere.

And the following weekend, I am joining Past President Ken Brown for a two-day course to obtain our LSA Repairman Inspection Airplane authorization the first weekend of March. That will give us authority to conduct and certify annual Condition Inspections on our own E/AB airplanes. Even with this authority, I still plan to ask for help from the wealth of mechanic experience we have in our chapter.

On May 18th we will be having our sixth Flying Start presentation at Pt Angeles. This is an opportunity to introduce people who always wanted to fly, but because of funds or time haven’t yet. The program discusses all types of aviation and aircraft and what it takes to get a pilot license. So if you run into someone who finds out you’re a pilot and say that they always wanted to do that, ask them to join you at this event.

Usually, we don’t have a Gathering in February due to the NW Trade Show, but the calendar gave us the last day of the month for our Gathering. So get ready for another delicious breakfast at Port Angeles and a great presentation remembering Bob Nagy. I hope to see you there.