I came across this neat shot of Craig's Piper Malibu Jetprop this morning. It immediately won the pilot a few style points in my book despite his comment about looking a little "light in the loafers" in that floral print shirt.This sparked my curiosity concerning the "best of" and "worst of" Craig's flights so I grabbed the Head Hauncho/Grand Master Pilot himself for the quick inside scoop.
Best Moments?
-Definitely the most memorable and rewarding flights so far have been the many trips for Angel Flight, an incredible organization that arranges free transportation for sick folks (mostly children) to and from various healthcare institutions.
Other highs:
-Flying Russ, Lance and a couple guys from local outdoor company Shockles to Salt Lake in August 2006. Beautiful day. Great photos. Down in the morning and back the same night.
- Picking up Amy's daughter in Nanaimo, BC in August 2006.
-Solo trip to APDF conference in Memphis, TN in September 2007. There was a lighting storm a safe distance away over western Kansas. Lightning was coming so rapidly it was like Machine Gun fire. Never seen anything like it!
-Solo trip to see Swiss Army Brands in Shelton, CT in summer 2003 (in the Piston Malibu that I had prior to this airplane). It was my first cross country trip.
Worst Moments?
Oh, boy!
-Last year in spring Amy and I were flying into Burbank for a meeting. There was mixed weather so we were flying an instrument approach with the Autopilot on. I was flying an ILS approach that uses ground-based equipment to present steady descending approach to the runway. As we intercepted the glide slope and the autopilot locked on, the plane began to climb rather rapidly instead of descend. It was a wiring issue after some new equipment had been installed. I disconnected the autopilot and hand flew the approach without incident. No big deal really.
- Perhaps it was the time that Amy, Eddie, Lucas and I were visiting Lucas Entertainment for the first time. We were vectored for the approach into Oakland at an altitude that was way too high (in the clouds again). We tried to dive down to the ILS glide slope but couldn't quite get there. Had to "go missed" as they say in the business when the approach isn't going well and you don't see the ground. We came around for another lap without incident...again, no big deal of course."
-Kate
