Welcome back, SPC listeners. I’m glad to be back with you for another experience on my road to becoming a private pilot. Today you’ll be coming along as I complete my 3rd stage check out of four. As you know from my previous few episodes, I’d been preparing for this. As I also have mentioned before, I had spent the previous 4 days training for this stage check, including a makeup solo the morning of this check which you can hear all about in episode 37. So finally here we are, ready to get passed off to one of the chief pilots to make sure I’m ready to enter the fourth and final stage of my training.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:36 — 27.9MB)
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As you know, I love aviation. One of the gems that we have in the Phoenix Valley is the Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force. This amazing group spends huge amounts of money and time making sure that the legacies of our fighting men and women of the past whose battlefield was in the sky are preserved. They don’t just take airplane carcasses and put them in a museum; they get them flying again.
It’s one thing to look at static displays of airplanes, and it doesn’t suck to do this. But there is no way to really feel the soul of an airplane, especially a beast from so long ago, unless you can feel the vibration of two or for giant piston engines vibrating in your chest, see it lumber down the runway, and take off. Even better, be in it. The work that the CAF does in keeping this living history going is to be applauded.
As for this video, the Arizona Wing had this done to highlight their two prized birds; Sentimental Journey, a beautifully restored B-17 that has been the anchor of the wing for some time, and Maid in the Shade, a recently completed restoration of a B-25N “Mitchell”, the newest stable mate of the B-17. It is beautifully done and shows off not only the airplanes but also the amazing Arizona desert terrain east of Phoenix. The takeoff is from our local airport, Falcon Field (KFFZ), where the Arizona Wing has their home and their museum here in Mesa. Also, if you’re interested, I did an interview with the chief pilot and the chief mechanic of Maid in the Shade recently for the Pilotcast, and we talk a bit about this near the end of episode 84, and even included some of that interview at the very end. For the uninitiated, you can easily tell the difference between the two airplanes in this video because the B-17 has four engines, the B-25 has only two. The only thing wrong with this video that I can see is that it isn’t long enough.
There’s not much else to say before you watch. Except, perhaps, that if this doesn’t invoke some sort of emotion as you watch, then, I’m sorry, we just can’t be friends. Enjoy.
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This is episode 37 of the Student Pilot Cast. Join me as I take a solo makup flight in some windy conditions the morning of my Stage III Check. In this flight I stay in the pattern and practice performance landings and takeoffs. As the flight went on, the wind kept getting worse and worse to the point that I ended up landing in a crosswind that was close to the max demonstrated crosswind component of the aircraft. Fun stuff.
Don’t forget to check out Air Freddy’s Learning to Fly Guide. Air Freddy is a very experienced CFI who has writtend a great guide to getting started in the flight training game. I’ve read the book and wished that I would have known about it before I started…so I’m passing it along to you if you’re interested. By using the link I’m providing here the Student Pilot Cast will get the referral credit, so please do use this link. 
Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoy this episode.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:12 — 32.4MB)
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It’s that time again…now that we’re home from Oshkosh, it’s time to share this year’s edition of Podapalooza. This was recorded live on EAA Radio on Friday, July 30th, 2010. Enjoy.
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Jul 10
25
Sloshkosh Start
Some of my friends and I arrived in Oshkosh last night…unfortunately the grounds at the airport are soggy from 10 inches of rain last week, so we’ve been relegated to a hard parking lot a few miles north of the airfield…along with a bunch of other people. I’m being told there are about 5 more of these lots that EAA is setting up until the grounds dry out…along with a couple hundred parked on the road near the entrance to the camping area at the airport. Good times.
Here are a couple of pictures…the last one is our rig for the week, along with a map of where we’re at (hopefully temporarily).
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Welcome to episode 35, finally, of the Student Pilot Cast, “Stage III Check Prep, Hijacked”. I’m Bill Williams, and I’m learning to fly in front of the world. Come join me as I prepare for my Stage III Check with a different instructor. This has been updated to point to the proper media file.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:34 — 27.9MB)
Hello again SPC listeners. Today’s episode takes us on a solo training flight on a very busy day to practice performance landings and takeoffs (shorts and softs). We have everything from FOD to go-arounds in this episode, so enjoy.
I was nearing the end of stage III in my training, so I was almost in the home stretch. I also explain in this episode the cramming of flights I had to do over just a few days to finish stage III. This flight was the first of them.
As mentioned, If you are thinking about learning to fly, check out Air Freddy’s Learning to Fly Guide, an e-book that will answer many of your questions beforehand, and do it in an entertaining way.
Lastly, don’t forget to go check out the newly released (out of beta) myTransponder. This aviation oriented social networking site is great. To commemorate the recent full release and the fact that it is now open to anyone to join, I’ve created a group on myTransponder called, “Fans of the Student Pilot Cast.” Please head over to the site and sign up if you haven’t already, and by all means, join my new group!
Thanks again for listening, and enjoy the episode. Then, get out and fly!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:44 — 22.5MB)
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Oct 09
2
SPC #033-Into the Night, Part II
This is part II of my night dual cross country flight. This part takes us from Marana Airport in the far northern part of Tucson back to Chandler.
[KAVQ-KCHD]
I mentioned the Remos GX LSA flight from Oshkosh in this episode. Here is the link to the Airspeed episode that covered this. My flight video from this will be coming in the future.
Also, feel free to follow me on Twitter for the latest news from Student Pilot Cast land at http://twitter.com/billwil.
If you are thinking about learning to fly, check out Air Freddy’s Learning to Fly Guide, an e-book that will answer many of your questions beforehand, and do it in an entertaining way.
I hope you all enjoy the episode. Please send comments and feedback.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:58 — 20.6MB)
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Sep 09
14
SPC #032-Podapalooza 2009, Part II
This is part II of Podapalooza 2009, the part of the show that was not broadcast live on EAA Radio. This took place at Oshkosh, July 31st, 2009.
If you are thinking about learning to fly, check out Air Freddy’s Learning to Fly Guide, an e-book that will answer many of your questions beforehand, and do it in an entertaining way.
Enjoy the episode.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:58 — 33.9MB)
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Student Pilot Cast by Bill Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.