| Aircraft and Flying |
| Except for the occasional kiteboarding session, I haven't done any of this since late 2012. I have 2 kids now and
there's a time and season for everything and maybe I'll get back around
to flying at some point, but for now, I love spending time with my
kids. That being said, I
love flying, and I love to take people flying and share the experience
with them. Flying has certainly informed my engineering, decision
making, leadership and overall outlook. I enjoy the challenge of
flying, and I love flying to new places and learning new and different
aircraft. |
I have the following ratings, endorsements and experience:
- FAA Private Pilot Certificate
- Single Engine Land Aircraft
- Instrument Rating
- Endorsement for Tail Wheel (Conventional Landing Gear) Aircraft
- Endorsement for Complex aircraft (retractable landing gear, and constant speed prop)
- 306 hrs total flight time (as of May 2012)
- 14 hrs flight time in Helicopters
- Experience being based out of a class C airport (RDU)
- Experience being based out of a grass field (8NC8) |  |
I love to take people flying
Below: My friend Ahmed and I take a Cessna 152 out for the afternoon
| Above: Approaching Burlington (BUY) Airport at Dusk, Cessna 172
Below: Flying with my father-in-law Ray, Cessna 172
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Right: My wife Emily and I out for an afternoon, Cessna 172
Below: Short final Davidson County NC (EXX), Cessna 172
Below Right: My sister Hilary and I on a trip from 8NC8 (Lakeridge, Durham, NC) - W22 (Brevard, NC) in a Piper PA28R-200
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Right: Climbing above the overcast layer
Piper PA28R-200
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I
love Hang Gliding as well, I
am a USHPA H-2 rated hang glider pilot. Hang Gliding gives you a
good sense for how much power is required to get an aircraft off the
ground. It's informative to start
running across level ground and feel how much drag and weight must be
overcome to get a hang glider flying. I love going to Jockey's Ridge State Park on the Outer
Banks, and Look Out Mountain Flight Park in Georgia.
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| Below: I'm standing still, but the perpetual breeze on Jockey's Ridge is already flying this wing. | Below: Emily just completed a tandem flight
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I enjoy designing, building and flying remote control aircraft. I have
equipped several airplanes and helicopters with video
cameras and wireless video transmitters to a base station on the ground.
This allows people to fly them as thoug they were in the
aircraft (First Person Video, FPV) |
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Above:
I've taught many people to fly RC planes. I usually have
them fly a computer simulator (bargain simulator program), once
they're comfortable with the simulator, we go out with the buddy radio and fly a
real plane.
Below: This view is a frame grab from the video feed from the airplane shown in the picture above right.
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Setting up the plane and the base station. I designed and
built a pan / tilt unit for the video camera. I interfaced
an accelerometer and magnetometer sensor to the radio so the pilots head
position can be encoded and drive the camera pan tilt servos through
the RC link.
Below: ready to go for a flight
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I enjoy flying real helicopters and RC. Above: My Century Hawk with OS 37 SZ-H Nitro Engine and 1.5m rotor diameter.
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I enjoy kiteboarding, here I am carving upwind in the Bogue Sound under a 15m² CORE XR kite. Blown Kiteboarding in Newport, NC is the best place to learn. I can't wait for summer...
Video is here
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