Pilot's Blog

I flew out to Moab, Utah for some mountain bicycling several years ago. I was flying an airplane which I had only flown for the last month prior, and I was still learning some of the ins and outs of the bird. It was an older Piper Cherokee with a tired engine and unreliable fuel gauges. It had four separate fuel tanks, two on each wing.

As we climbed out of the cool, cloudy and green Sacramento Valley, I leveled off at 11,500 feet to cross the still snow capped Sierra Nevada. Once clearing the range, the landscape went to barren mountains and white, salt crusted valleys. Without warning, high above the nothingness, the engine went quiet. I pitched the airplane down to avoid a stall, then went to work checking the systems. I turned on the auxiliary fuel pump and switched fuel tanks...the engine roared back to life. Phew. The left tip tank guage still registered a quarter tank, but clearly it was empty.

My lovely wife had turned a ghostly shade of white, but upon hearing the engine return to normal, her color returned. I took the blame for not being aware of the fuel situation. Since this incident I always am aware of how much time I have been on a tank, how much time is left, and cross check that number with the fuel guage.

We made it across the desert unscathed, and enjoyed the rest of the flight. I got to ride the famous Slick Rock Trail and the Porcupine Rim Trail. This summer I plan to return, this time in my new airplane, for more adventures.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday I flew from the mountains to the sea and back again. I was up over Lake Almanor when I heard a fellow pilot over the radio. She was describing the location of a fire in the forest east of Lake Oroville to the air traffic controller. He said he would send the information down the line. As I crossed the area a few minutes later, I could see the smoke plume rising from the green forest. This morning, there it was, on the front page of the ER. Pilots of small planes are often the first to see and report fires.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 02:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Chico ER has had several articles of late about bicycle commuting. The combination of "Bike Week" and the unprecedented price of auto fuel has created the "perfect storm" for the bicycling advocates to get their point across. As a devoted bicycle enthusiast, I have read with interest the various tips and motivations for getting out there to ride. I haven't yet read anything that really gets at the objections most people have to bicycle commuting. So I thought I might file a series of blog entries with tips to someone thinking about using a bike to replace their car. I think the news articles have missed a lot of important information which could be helpful.

Tip 1: Don't ride a shiny, new expensive bike. You know, like the person on the cover of the ER today. Even if it doesn't get stolen the first week, you will stress out over it every time you ride. Next time you are downtown, take a look at some of the bikes you see in the racks. The best commuter bikes are converted old road and touring bikes with slick tires and ugly, scratched up paint jobs. I'm not talking about junk here. The key is to have an ugly, older bike that rides really well. This can be achieved by scouring the newspaper or ebay. Find an old road bike (say, 90's vintage) in good shape THAT FITS YOU. Then take it to your local bike shop and say you want to convert it to a "townie". They'll know what you mean. Mid-size slick tires, upright handlebars, comfortable seat, rack and pannier. If you shop wisely it won't cost much money, and it can be fun picking out the pieces. Put stickers all over it or give it a nasty spray paint job to repel thieves....I'm telling you it really works. You will still have to lock it to discourage "joy riders", but the drug addicts won't see your bike as a quick score, so a cheap lock is all you need.

I'll continue this discussion at a later date.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 08:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I picked up some folks in Susanville the other day. Between the size of the passengers, their baggage, and the full fuel tanks, I was very near the "gross weight" of 3600 lbs on takeoff. Gross weight is the maximum total weight an airplane is rated by the manufacturer. The 6X's 300 horses do not usually have a problem with heavy loads, but Susanville is in the mountains at an altitude of more than 4000 feet, and it was a fairly warm day. This creates what pilots call a "high density altitude", which results in reduced engine performance and decreased lift. The bottom line is you need more runway to get off the ground, and once airborne, you climb slower than you would at sea level.

As we slowly climbed out to the west, I was wondering if the passengers noticed how slow we were climbing. About that time, one of the men said, "This plane sure climbs well! Most airplanes I've been in need to circle to climb out of the valley!"

Posted by Tom Knowles at 04:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My best friend's father passed away this week. He was 81 years old. I called him Ti George, Ti (pronounced tee) meaning "uncle" in portuguese. I wasn't able to attend his funeral on Monday because I was flying all over the place. Ti George's life was extremely well lived. If a man can be measured by the sheer number of people paying tribute to him, then Ti George was a well loved and great man indeed. If the love and happiness shared by his five adult children and slew of grandchildren are any indication, then Ti George and his tireless wife Delores have made this world a much better place during their 50+ year marriage.

Ti George and his family have been in the same country house near my home airport for my entire life. When I was learning to fly 25 years ago, and as recently as yesterday, I would often make a low pass over the house just to say HI and see what they all were up to. Many times I would see Ti George standing outside his shop, waving (or was he shaking his fist?) at me as I rocked the wings.

Ti George was a "cool" dad who would stop and hang out with a bunch of teenage boys on his way into the house. His positive attitude and great story telling ability has been handed down to not only his kids, but also his grandkids. The last thing I ever said to Ti George was that I loved him, and through his pain he smiled and said he loved me too. Man, am I glad I got that opportunity.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 08:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)