Cushion Rider
New Member
Hello all. I have recently retired from corporate America and decided to participate from time to time now that I have some time on my hands. By way of introduction and a brief CV:
I found this site in the early 2000's (ca. 2002) when working for a failing start-up and considering a mid-life career change. I've been lurking ever since.
I am not a commercial pilot, but I did get my PPL and almost my IR, but I was training during my senior year of college and ran out of money and time as I was also looking for a job during that time. (BTW, what is interesting to me are the technical advances like head sets
). Back then (flying a 172) fortunately I'm left-handed so knee board on left thigh, pen/pencil in left hand, Cessna pencil mic in right hand, listening to the overhead speaker while flying under the hood. Good times. Everything came to me fairly easy except trying to figure out what entry I would do for the hold....I never did feel I had that mastered.
During college, I was accepted to the Navy AVROC program (I don't think it exists any longer} but essentially two summers in Pensacola with the Marine DI's then commission. For ///AMG and other Navy, I decided to DOR, but believe it or not, I actually wanted to fly P-3's. During the recruiting process, I had two hops in a T-34B, and one on a P-3B out of NAS Alameda (it was a squadron out of Hawaii...why they didn't use Moffett, I don't know). In any case, the PPC sat in the right seat, and let each of us sit in the left seat as we flew circles off the California coast. Number 1 was feathered too (their loiter config), and he allowed me to make a brief descent which included pulling the power back and then leveling off.
After graduating, I went to work for a federal agency that loves acronyms, in fact people know their name by their acronym. I worked with some great folks and experienced some great things and work on some cool projects. I had the opportunity to "ride" in the back of a F-104 and as a flying engineer on a Jetstar (not too exciting). In the 104, went supersonic, did a 30k ft loop, tower fly-by's to calibrate the air data system, and low L/D approach and landing (somewhat simulating the shuttle)...downwind at 10k feet, power to idle, boards out, gear down, fly the arc. While there, I also flew privately of course, with an emphasis on aerobatics. While it's a nice simple plane, I have a special place in my heart for the Super Decathlon. As a side story, I'm always fascinated by the "this plane is better than that plane" discussions that go on. I was the same way, but during my stint, I was the treasurer for the base flying club. One of the most frequent renters of our clapped out 172 was a AF TPS instructor. He truly loved flying, and I later came to the same conclusion...as long as it is well maintained, I'll enjoy flying anything, regardless. In any case, in my youthful restlessness, I decided I could do more interesting things (and make more money), so I left and got my MBA with a concentration in finance.
I joined the corporate world, moved around the country 5 times, wife and kids in tow, but still always had the love of aviation and airplanes. So, hence my user name...Cushion Rider. I've been "in the back" for 40 years now, (sometimes in the middle and sometimes with a free Buffalo Trace or two), and while I think I understand a lot about what's going on, I have questions from time to time that I'd like to ask. Now, I know (and I understand why) that many are reluctant to respond to a new member. I am not a lawyer or reporter, so perhaps SteveC or another mod can DM me and vet me so that y'all (I currently live just north of Houston in a suburban bubble and have adopted some of their lexicon) can trust an honest question. Now, I do respect that this is Derg's living room, so you won't find me engaging in any political or other arguments like whether a Lear has swept wings, or lift is explained by Bernoulli's principle or F=MA. If I want to argue, I can just phone a family member.
As I say, there is such a wealth of knowledge and diverse experiences here that I just kept coming back to lurk because, even though I'm not in the industry, I've learned a lot.
Thanks,
CR
p.s. Sorry for the long intro.
I found this site in the early 2000's (ca. 2002) when working for a failing start-up and considering a mid-life career change. I've been lurking ever since.
I am not a commercial pilot, but I did get my PPL and almost my IR, but I was training during my senior year of college and ran out of money and time as I was also looking for a job during that time. (BTW, what is interesting to me are the technical advances like head sets
). Back then (flying a 172) fortunately I'm left-handed so knee board on left thigh, pen/pencil in left hand, Cessna pencil mic in right hand, listening to the overhead speaker while flying under the hood. Good times. Everything came to me fairly easy except trying to figure out what entry I would do for the hold....I never did feel I had that mastered.During college, I was accepted to the Navy AVROC program (I don't think it exists any longer} but essentially two summers in Pensacola with the Marine DI's then commission. For ///AMG and other Navy, I decided to DOR, but believe it or not, I actually wanted to fly P-3's. During the recruiting process, I had two hops in a T-34B, and one on a P-3B out of NAS Alameda (it was a squadron out of Hawaii...why they didn't use Moffett, I don't know). In any case, the PPC sat in the right seat, and let each of us sit in the left seat as we flew circles off the California coast. Number 1 was feathered too (their loiter config), and he allowed me to make a brief descent which included pulling the power back and then leveling off.
After graduating, I went to work for a federal agency that loves acronyms, in fact people know their name by their acronym. I worked with some great folks and experienced some great things and work on some cool projects. I had the opportunity to "ride" in the back of a F-104 and as a flying engineer on a Jetstar (not too exciting). In the 104, went supersonic, did a 30k ft loop, tower fly-by's to calibrate the air data system, and low L/D approach and landing (somewhat simulating the shuttle)...downwind at 10k feet, power to idle, boards out, gear down, fly the arc. While there, I also flew privately of course, with an emphasis on aerobatics. While it's a nice simple plane, I have a special place in my heart for the Super Decathlon. As a side story, I'm always fascinated by the "this plane is better than that plane" discussions that go on. I was the same way, but during my stint, I was the treasurer for the base flying club. One of the most frequent renters of our clapped out 172 was a AF TPS instructor. He truly loved flying, and I later came to the same conclusion...as long as it is well maintained, I'll enjoy flying anything, regardless. In any case, in my youthful restlessness, I decided I could do more interesting things (and make more money), so I left and got my MBA with a concentration in finance.
I joined the corporate world, moved around the country 5 times, wife and kids in tow, but still always had the love of aviation and airplanes. So, hence my user name...Cushion Rider. I've been "in the back" for 40 years now, (sometimes in the middle and sometimes with a free Buffalo Trace or two), and while I think I understand a lot about what's going on, I have questions from time to time that I'd like to ask. Now, I know (and I understand why) that many are reluctant to respond to a new member. I am not a lawyer or reporter, so perhaps SteveC or another mod can DM me and vet me so that y'all (I currently live just north of Houston in a suburban bubble and have adopted some of their lexicon) can trust an honest question. Now, I do respect that this is Derg's living room, so you won't find me engaging in any political or other arguments like whether a Lear has swept wings, or lift is explained by Bernoulli's principle or F=MA. If I want to argue, I can just phone a family member.
As I say, there is such a wealth of knowledge and diverse experiences here that I just kept coming back to lurk because, even though I'm not in the industry, I've learned a lot.
Thanks,
CR
p.s. Sorry for the long intro.
