Sally Ride Returns to Earth June 24, 2009
Posted by Juice in California, Flight.Tags: 1983, astronaut, Challenger, physics, Sally Ride, Sally Ride Science, space shuttle, UC San Diego
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Today is a famous day for women in space and it happened in 1983.
Sally Ride is a former astronaut and the first American woman to reach outer space – and also the yougest American to enter outer space. Her story is interesting, because in order to get to the starry skies, she applied along with 8,000 other people to an ad in the newspaper seeking applicants for the space program. In 1978, she was part of the first astronaut class to accept women. In 1983, she took part in her first space shuttle mission, serving as a crewmember on board the Challenger and returned June 24 from her first mission. After 343 hours in space (over several years), she became a professor of physics at UC San Diego (my alma mater!) and is in the business of promoting the sciences to children – with a particular focus on girls I might add. Sally Ride Science is a company she founded in 2001 that creates entertaining science programs and publications for elementary and middle school kids. This woman rocks!
Moving to Bend, Oregon June 18, 2009
Posted by Juice in General Ramblings.Tags: Abingdon Watches, Bend, Lancair, Oregon, Redmond, sales
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You heard it hear first folks! I am moving to Bend, Oregon in August. Excited, you ask? Yes! Nervous, you ask? Yes! But as one who takes to the skies, and has never settled, I am looking forward to this as an adventure full of new people, new terrain, and new experiences I never thought I could have.
The reason for my move is that I have taken an offer from Lancair Aviation to assist with their sales department internationally and domestically. The company is based in Redmond, Oregon – just north of Bend, and so I go. Of course, Abingdon Watches will still be going full strength (By the way, did you see the article this month in AOPA about the company? Read it here), so don’t worry about that! Expect some new products shortly.
If anyone reading this has anything to tell me about Bend that I should know, I am all ears! I would love to know about this new place I call home. I hear it’s an awesome town full of all sorts of things to do, so I want to make sure I don’t miss out on anything. Thank you in advance for any advice you have!
Sympathy for the missing Air France plane June 2, 2009
Posted by Juice in Flight.Tags: Airbus, airplane, Brazil, checklists, crash, Flight 447, safety
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My sympathies go out to the flight that was going from Brazil to France Monday. Searchers found some debris in the Atlantic today and they are sending ships to investigate. No one yet knows what happened with Flight 447, and I am sure we will find out in due time.
I know the chances of finding any survivors is small, and coming from a pilot’s perspective, it reminds me of the amount of respect one must always give to the aircraft one flies. Between the accident in the Hudson, the iced up airplane in upstate New York, and this Airbus crash in the Atlantic, there have been some terrible occurances lately which is not encouraging many to fly. This past year, I have logged over 400 hours with about a quarter of it in IFR and night and safety is always something that should be foremost in the pilot’s minds. Luckily I have never flown into tricky conditions, and I contribute that to my flight instructors keen words about checking weather and being ok with saying no. His saying was, “You can be a bold pilot or you can be an old pilot. But you can never be an old bold pilot!”
For those of you who read this and are behind the yoke in the cockpit, please remember your checklists and be ok with saying no – whether you fly for a company or for yourself. Aviation is a small family and we don’t need to lose anyone else. I know I need to refresh on my emergency procedures and it looks like this weekend may be just the weekend for that.
