Early to Bed

That’s the problem with going to bed early. You wake up early. Like 4:30 AM early. Maybe it’s just age but I’ll blame it on 25 years of screwed up shift work as a controller. I can’t seem to sleep more than 5 hours at a stretch.

Oh well. It gives me time to run through my presentation again (and again.) I’ll be giving my favorite talk today: Filing an IFR Flight Plan (Correctly). I feel like a preacher on Sunday morning. I know I won’t convert many people but it’s important, so I’ll give it my best shot.

Most people want to think of airspace as just a blank slate. You go from Point A to Point Z and there’s nothing in between. It’s actually a complicated maze full of sector borders, Special Use Airspace, Restricted areas and mountains. Navigating it can be quite complex. But with the near universal radar coverage we are blessed with in the U.S., radar monitoring and vectors have replaced careful route planning. On most short trips within Terminal areas, it’s not unusual to be on a radar vector from takeoff until joining the Final Approach Course. Oh well.

It’s supposed to be as hot here in Wisconsin as it is at home in Georgia today. Yuck. I guess it was bound to happen. Every time I’ve been here before the weather was just delightful. I’ll just have to grin and bear it. The grin part won’t be hard -- after all -- it is the EAA’s AirVenture.

Don Brown
July 26, 2007