You've probably heard that in some old movies. That's not the way it works: first, you say who you're calling on a aviation radio, then you say who you are (the aircraft info).
There was a time, years ago, when I thought I'd never be without an airplane. We were quite immersed in the aviation lifestyle, moving up in aircraft performance as my experience and training increased. One flight situation that will be forever in my mind: the twin engine Beachcraft Baron we had was struck by lightning while flying over the Rockies... it took out all our navigation and communication equipment. A hand-held aviation radio that I carried in my flight bag helped us get through that situation - I was able to contact Air Traffic Control and get vectors away from that storm and to work our way to a lower elevation away from the mountains.
I got that hand-held radio to listen to ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service) when I was prepping the plane prior to departure. It was also interesting to listen to aircraft communications with ground facilities when we weren't flying.
I gave that radio to my brother-in-law John when we downsized for the move from South Dakota to Texas.
"Yeah, yeah, Jim - what does that walk down Memory Lane have to do with anything currently?" you ask. Thanks for asking. I enjoy sitting in the hot tub at night, watching aircraft fly over as they get into the line up for landing at Sky Harbor Airport. A few weeks ago, I found a website that you could listen in on the communications between aircraft and Approach/Departure Control and the Control Tower. Interesting to listen to, but certainly not while I'm in the hot tub or even out on the patio.
Joan ordered me another hand-held radio. This one is much smaller and is a "listen only" for the aircraft frequencies (you should not be talking to them if you aren't in an aircraft) - perfect for my use, and it has other frequency bands.
It came complete with 2 batteries (rechargeable), 2 antennas (for distance), a charger, and other stuff. It is surprisingly small compared to what I had before...
That mug in the background is a Crazy Cats mug that reminds me of Molly (same shape and color). But, this shot was to show the general small size of the unit.
In case I forget how much kitten Murphy still has in him, this shot is of him "investigating" the longer antenna...
It also shows the small size of the radio next to the small(ish) size of Murphy. Five seconds later, he had batted that antenna off the counter... it was just too much for him to resist.
4 comments:
You remind me that I need to get rid of my David Clark headset and two ICOM A23 handhelds. They all saw a lot of use in Alaska, not the least of which was direction finding for errant ELT's on the ground. I got really good at tracking those beacons back when they were on 121.5 MHz. It has been a dozen years since I was last in my airplane, flying it once with the new owner in WA about six months after he bought it, to "show him how it's done". If you had only said something, we also have a small receive-only handheld. It is still probably programmed to Anchorage frequencies, used maybe once since moving here in late 2007. I have a CFI buddy in NorCal that should get this stuff. He can pass it along to students and maybe use it in his Long EZ that he built. Or maybe the prez of the Cardinal (177) type club, a good buddy.
I took this past weekend off while caring for kitties (we all survived). I spent 60-90 minutes playing on the back porch swing on FRI-SAT-SUN since it was so warm here this weekend. I even de-winterized the lawn tractor and mowed yesterday afternoon, first time this season. But work came roaring back and kept me at my desk for 11 hours today, except for lunch and the trip to the airport. C'mon retirement... My main goal these days is to screw up bad enough to make clients not come back anymore, but not so much that I get sued.
Alice got home at 1:30 pm after a long red-eye trip from DC to MSP to BOI. Everyone is happy here again.
OR... you could do such a good job for those clients that they will tell the next guy, "You're no Earl." ;-)
This little hand-held has a bunch of feature... easy tuning of a frequency is NOT one of those features. You have to know the right sequence of button pushes beyond putting in the frequency - one of the "advantages" (??) of the small size.
I miss the satisfaction I got from flying, but not all the maintenance and recurrent training... and dealing with a "home" FBO (where you are a captive audience). I sure do enjoy sitting in the hot tub, watching them get lined up as they approach Sky Harbor.
Sorry to hear about mowing the lawn - but, a lawn tractor is better than one of those self-propelled walk behind mowers (my last when we were in SD)... the owners association took care of the mowing in Texas, and here in AZ, pavers, turf, and gravel don't need to be mowed. :-)
I already hear that. Clients that have tried someone else always come back -- my competitors are my marketing department. Some clients have worked with me for 35 years or more. There are a couple of clients that I have worked with for years that I have never even met in person. It started with phone conversations, and I did a good job for them. No need to find anyone else. I'm sure you had a similar situation with your photography business. But I cannot go on forever. I am feeling that a LOT lately.
I actually like mowing the lawn, at least when everything works. I cannot get down on the ground and wrench on things anymore, also a part of why the bike went away. Some of the lawn is pretty bumpy and it can beat up my lower back, but otherwise it is a pleasant chore. OK, maybe not so much fun when it is 105° out. But our own private park sure looks great when freshly mowed.
I like the look and smell of a freshly mowed lawn... especially when I don't have to be the one mowing it. ;-)
Years ago, when we first went to visit the island in Texas where we eventually moved, we were in our motorhome and had been dealing with crappy weather from Las Vegas to Arizona, across New Mexico, and into Texas. It didn't start getting nice until we got south of San Antonio. When we got to the Tropical Tip and rolled onto the island, I opened the door of the coach and was delighted with the aroma of freshly mowed grass and sea air... "I think we have found our new home!"
Enjoy your "private park"!
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