Pilot's Blog

Today was the Almond Blossom 5-10K run in Durham. I was able to walk to the starting line from my house to participate with my oldest and best friend, Mat Amaro. We ran the 10k, about 6 miles, in about 54 minutes, just staying together and chatting the whole way. The rain held off just long enough, which was great for me because I have been sick for days. My saintly wife Sara, 5 months pregnant and pushing our other two little ones in a double running stroller, came in second place in the 5k walk. This woman amazes evryone who sees her! No flying in this weather.

I missed riding in the well publicized Tour de Ed. But I was glad to see many participants come out to support Ed McLaughlin and his recovery. Ed suffered a spinal injury riding his bike in Chico just before Christmas.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I had someone call yesterday wanting to take photos of Chico from the air. They were a little shocked at what it costs to hire me, so it didn’t pan out. It did get me thinking of what a pilot friend of mine calls his “Butte County” quick tour. It goes like this: Depart Chico Muni about 1 hour before sunset, skirt Chico on its west side at about 1000 feet, pointing out Chico State, Downtown and the old Diamond Match property. From there circle east and follow Butte Creek up into the canyon, pointing out Bidwell Park and Canyon Oaks to the left, the Skyway to the right, and the Honey Run Covered Bridge below as you climb to 2000 feet to clear terrain. This sets you up for an optional landing at Paradise Skypark before moving south to check out Lime Saddle Marina, then further south to see the Oroville Dam and Bidwell Marina. Now turn west for a quick touch and go landing at Oroville Airport. Continuing west you get a good look at the afterbay before moving into the rice country. Here its surprising to note the many manmade waterski lakes and also a few private airstrips on the way to the Sacramento River. The Llano Seco Rancho is worth seeing from the air before following the snaking river north to Hamilton City, easy to spot because of the old sugar plant. This sets you up perfectly for a post sunset approach back to Chico with a new appreciation of this amazing place in which we live.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The other day I took some folks all the way down to San Diego County from the Chico, dropped them off and came back. Piece of Cake. I really don’t think I have ever seen such picture perfect flying conditions. At 10,000 feet there was virtually no wind and the air was as smooth as glass. This was the case the entire 1000 mile trip (about 500 miles each way). Even over the notoriously rough high desert near Mojave there was nary a ripple. Not only that, but there seemed to be no traffic in the skies either. As I was coming down over the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge just before landing at Willows Airport at sunset, I noticed the water on the ponds was rippling, with calm water on the south shores, indicating a south wind kicking up. Looks like low pressure moving in, the dry spell is over.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 04:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Being a commercial pilot was once considered a glamorous occupation, but those days are long gone. I can remember as a child catching a flight to Hawaii with my family and having my dad point out the captain boarding the jet with the first officer. To a 10 year old, he commanded the respect I would have reserved for an astronaut or a pro baseball star. He looked every bit the part: pressed uniform, tall, lean, white hair cropped short. Everyone turned to see him, wondering which one of the stewardesses (oops, I mean flight attendants) he was dating.

Contrast that with a recent trip and the pilots I saw boarding the plane (I was the only passenger who looked up) they looked like that steady diet of Cinnabons and Starbucks Mocha was beginning to take its toll. Their uniforms looked like they had been slept in. But hey, they're just glorified bus drivers, right? I have heard that said, and I guess in some ways it is true, but in many ways it is not.

Anyway, that is not the kind of pilot I am, nor will I ever be one. I’ve never flown a jet, and unless I win the lottery I’m pretty sure I never will. What I do fly is a small, six seat airplane. I mostly stay in Northern California, but occasionally venture out further if asked to do so. I’ve been flying for 25 years now, and so far have always managed to land on a runway. I will strive to keep it that way.

As a resident of the Greater Chico area, and a married father of three (soon to be four!), I am hoping my blog will be of interest to someone. If it is not, well, that’s fine. I am testing out the idea that it will be “therapeutic” to keep a blog….hmm…we shall see. Future entries will cover places I’ve recently flown and interesting things that may or may not have occurred along the way, people I have met (what kind of person charters an airplane anyway?) and sometimes their pets. You can also expect me from time to time to make a comment or perhaps ask a question pertaining to local news and issues which seem to on top of everyone’s minds at the time. So welcome to my blog.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)