Maybe it was too much cabin pressure, but after a passenger attempted to retrieve overhead luggage and whacked Slater in the head, Slater had enough. He gave the passengers a piece of his mind over the airliner’s PA system, grabbed two beers, popped the emergency slide, and waved goodbye as he slid away to personal freedom.

At least once in life, everyone needs two beers and an escape chute.

Having completed the first milestone in their pilot training, the cadets are now preparing for their written academic test, which they will complete by this coming Sunday.

Kudos go to both the cadet student pilots and their instructors. Both the students and instructors deserve credit for their volunteer efforts to prepare a new cadre of pilots. I wish them all well.

Details
CAP Student Pilots Prepare to Solo in Hagerstown

The Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is hosting a 10-day solo school for highly-motivated cadets at the Hagerstown Regional Airport-Richard A Henson Field. My friend, Dan, is one of the flight instructors at the school; he invited me to come out to meet the cadets and have lunch, today.

I picked up my favorite CAP aircraft at Tipton Airport at Fort Meade, Maryland, and flew out to Hagerstown. The weather, today, is absolutely perfect for visual flying: 10 mile visibility, low winds, and about 65 degrees (up at 5,500 feet). The cool air is a welcome relief, after a week of record-breaking temperatures.

When I arrived, Dan was preparing to take off wth a student to practice steep turns and emergency procedures. I was invited to fly along in the back seat, but I opted to wait in the pilot’s lounge. Aviation maneuvers are tough enough when I’m the pilot; I don’t want to sit through them in a cramped back seat. Other cadets were hard at work preparing for their ground school test. They have just over week to prepare for and complete a written test and a practical test that will culminate in their flying solo in the traffic pattern, a major milestone for all pilots. The first solo flight is often more emotionally rewarding than completing the requirements for a pilot’s certificate, as it is the first time that a student pilot is able to demonstrate autonomy in the cockpit, through three take-offs and landings.

Although we had planned on eating lunch at a restaurant, the cadets and CAP senior members talked Dan and me into eating with them, and I’m glad that we did. There’s not much that complements a good meal as much as camaraderie.

I think that I may return to Hagerstown on Wednesday, so I can watch the students solo. They deserve my cheers.

I have written about Orville’s Restaurant before, and I think it is worth writing about, again. The restaurant is small, quiet, and family-friendly. I pulled up in the Civil Air Patrol plane that I was flying for the day, and parked right next to the restaurant’s entrance.

The dining area was pleasantly full, with many diverse and and friendly conversations in progress. I ordered a half turkey sandwich and bowl of soup. My food arrived in only a few minutes, and my waitress recognized from my uniform (and vehicle) that I was probably in no mood to hang around. She had my check ready, and I was back in the air soon after finishing my meal.

If you are in the York Pennsylvania area, I suggest that you stop by Orville’s for lunch, regardless of whether your vehicle has three wheels or four.

The weather was sunny and clear, with a 10 knot wind blowing steadily from 280 degrees. We launched each of the six sorties on runway 30, using a Maule MT-7-235 as our tow plane.

We released the glider from the tow plane at 3000′ AGL, which gave us about 30 minutes of soaring time. All of the cadets and I found our orientation flight both exciting and educational. We learned the fundamentals of turns, slow flight, steep turns, stalls, and wing overs. As a pilot of powered aircraft I found it the sensations of the glider not unlike those that I experience in powered aircraft, but it was a bit unnerving to enter the traffic pattern and setup for landing knowing that there really is only one opportunity to get it right. It reminded me of my simulated engine-out landings, but this really was a one-change, no-power landing.

The silent soaring environment helped me feel as if I were flying. The bubble canopy afforded a unobstructed view on both sides of the aircraft as well above. When I started following the hawks and picked up a thermal, I felt as if I were flying, not just piloting an aircraft.

Our CAP hosts were gracious teachers. Both the senior members and cadets taught my squadron’s members the safety and operational procedures of flightline ground operations. We had to move quickly on the ground because we had only a couple of minutes to push the glider onto the runway, connect the tow line, and get the aircraft underway…we didn’t want to hold up other powered aircraft that were about to enter the traffic pattern.

The mother of one of our host cadets spent the day being our "tow mom", and she patiently waited for each sortie to land so that she could help us by towing the aircraft on grass, back to its lauch point at the end of the runway. If it weren’t for her willingness to stay with us, we would have had to push the aircraft through the grass, a task that I would not wished on anyone!

I was impressed by the high standards that all of the senior and cadet members displayed, especially in regard to safety. We stopped operations half way through to hold a second safety briefing, a valuable procedure that prevents overconfidence and carelessness.

As one of my squadron’s Aerospace Education Officers, I helped the cadets, all of whom are middle or high school students, to understand the airborne operations that take place around a busy municipal airport. The cadets practiced keeping track of aircraft in the traffic pattern and listening to the radio for incoming jet traffic on a runway that was perpendicular to our active runway.

I encourage all young people (and those who are young at heart) to consider learning more about the Civil Air Patrol and its mission as the United States Air Force Auxiliary. You may find more details at cap.gov.

I was out for a bit of early fall proficiency flying in a Civil Air Patrol Cessna 172 that is based at Tipton Airport. My goal was to practice a few crosswind landings at Carroll County Regional Airport/Jack B Poage Field and York Airport, but my stomach started growling. I pulled up in front of the FBO at York and asked if the restaurant was still open.

Luckily for me not only was the restaurant open, but another pilot, also named Dave, was just sitting down for lunch. We shared a table and a couple of bowls of the best crab soup that I’ve had in a long time.

The soup was full of large chunks of crab meat, fresh vegetables, and a well-spiced broth. It’s definititely worth plotting a course to York and stopping by Orville’s Restaurant…just remember, the restaurant is closed on Mondays.

I hope to see you at Orville’s soon!

The 2-2-2 breakfast includes two eggs, two pancakes, and two sausages. Even though the price is raised on weekends and holidays to $3,75, it’s a breakfast worth flying for. The pancakes filled the plate, and the well-browned sausages were fat and juicy.

We both ordered the 2-2-2, although with diffent egg preparations: scrambled and fried. I have yet to have a bad meal at Jimmy’s Restaurant…I might even drive up to Georgetown, this summer, while we’re vacatationing at the Delaware beach.

We practiced landing under the control of the tower folk at Salisbury, and then flew north to Sussex County, a small uncontrolled airport, very near to my family’s summer vacation spot.

Airport restaurants are typically good places for lunch, and Jimmy’s Restaurant at the Sussex County Airport was true to form. The service was friendly and the food came out quickly and well prepared, it was one of the best $100 hamburgers I’ve ever eaten. The next time I’m flying or driving near Georgetown, Delaware, I’ll definitely eat at Jimmy’s. I suggest that you do, too.