To my knowledge, there are 3 levels of aviation enlightenment, that is to say, understanding how planes fly. The 3 levels are best represented by the following diagrams:

This is the 1st Level of Aviation Enlightenment:

Level 1 - children, non pilots, etc.

Some people never go past the first level of aviation enlightenment. Others however, enthralled by the magic that is flight, head to the local flight school and start taking lessons. This is when the second level of aviation enlightenment takes place, and a flight instructor explains the 4 forces of flight.

Level 2 - Student Pilots, anyone who reads a wiki article on what makes planes fly

Level 2 of aviation enlightenment is not exclusive of Level 1, in fact it is inclusive. Level 1 and Level 2 “magically” merge like the mixture knob controls your stoichiometric ratio for that perfect mix of oxygen and fuel. The scientific aspects of flight are understood, but the magic is *not* lost. This is where some people begin to make the transition to the 3rd level of Aviation Enlightenment.

Level 3 of Aviation Enlightenment - pilots, airplane (aircraft) owners

As with the first two levels of enlightenment, the 3rd level also merges with the first two, introducing practicality. In many ways, the 3rd Level is the most meaningful because it introduces the propelling force, money. When magic, science, and practically all come together, you’ve reached the pinnacle of aviation enlightenment.

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Let’s explore the propelling force in more detail - Money. This is where Aviation Units come into play.

A local Reno pilot realized the amount of money associated with learning to fly, owning, and maintaining an airplane was somewhat, (my words here because I can’t remember what he actually said) daunting, even overwhelming; and so he came up with “Aviation Units”. An Aviation Until is equivalent to $1,000 US Dollars; but because the numbers are smaller they’re psychologically easier to cope with. Here’s how looks:

Aviation Units Table

What do you think about aviation enlightenment, and Aviation Units?

This is apparently the season of getting things done!

• Congrats to Dee, who finally got her medical!

• Congrats to Karalyn who bought her 3rd balloon! (expect a blog post on that soon!)

• Congrats to Leah, who welcomed baby #2 into this world! (I’ll see about getting a photo)

• Last but not least - Check out Laura’s latest article in Kit Planes magazine! If you recall, we saw her kit plane at the BBQ with is gorgeous paint job!

What have you accomplished this flying season??

We’re going to have to schedule another movie night, because on November 23, another EPIC aviation movie is being released. What movie is that you ask?? Devotion. Before I tell you about the movie, let me first tell you about the book.

Have you ever pocket dialed someone? Well, I’m a special kind of person; instead of pocket dialing someone I pocket purchased this book on Audible. BEST MISTAKE EVER. Since I already had the book and it was aviation related I figured meh, why not listen to it? Let me tell you ladies and gentlemen, it was WELL worth my time, and it’s well worth YOUR time.

This book is the amazing story of Jesse Brown, an incredible man who with grace and dignity overcame enormous obstacles to achieve his dream of flying. Jesse Brown was also the first African American aviator to complete the Navy’s Basic Flight Instruction school. Though racism (and overcoming it) is prevalent in this story, there’s so much more to this book. It’s also the horrific story of war, how aviation changes the battlefield, and the bonds built between warriors. It’s a story about earning respect, and an amazing friendship forged in trying times. This book will take you through series of emotional loops, spins, and rolls from joy to anger, pride, love and sorrow. Simply put, Devotion is, “An epic story of heroism, brotherhood, and sacrifice” and I highly recommend you read this book. This incredible story has now been made into a movie!!!

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Fellow aviatrices and aviators, tighten your seatbelts because you’re in for a ride. If you liked Top Gun and Maverick this story is going to blow you away, because it’s not fiction. Devotion is the real life version of Top Gun and Maverick only with more drama, because it’s real.

Here’s a link to the Devotion Trailer….

On a personal note - I just LOVE the Corsair….

Hi everyone, Dani here.

If you didn’t immediately think about a small single engine aircraft, well, that makes two of us! There I was driving down William Street in Carson City when I looked over at Mills Park and I saw something out of the ordinary, dare I say out of place (?) : a Cessna 182P. (Yes, I looked it up.)

Naturally I had to divert to take a photo. ;)

Some immediate thoughts I had on this were:

1. LOOK!! THERE’S AN AIRPLANE IN A CITY PARK!!!

2. Why is there a plane in a city park? (National Night Out)

3. From ballooning - how did they get permission from the land owner? (Well, it was a sponsored event, and they also landed to helicopters later in the evening. )

4. That’s a short field landing, in grass, with pants on! (Clearly not a skirt because each “leg” is separately encased.)

   a. That means it’s also going to be a short field take off, in grass.

5. I’ve never landed or taken off in grass…..

6. Look at those powerlines and trees!

Recently I was listening to this little gem (“An Officer, Not a Gentelman” by Mandy Hickson) and heard the most interesting visual reference for altitude. But before I tell you about it, let me tell you about the book:

Mandy Hickson was one of the first female Tornado pilots in Her Majesty's Royal Air Force.

Tornado

Mandy was commissioned in 1994 and this book is her coming of aviation story. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book, especially since it was narrated by the author! This book went by so fast, and I admire how the author described her challenges and how she overcame them. Also, since the author is from across the pond, her pronunciation of English sounds a little different to my American ears. I had to rewind when I heard her reference the all-tee-meter, because I couldn’t parse what she was saying. It finally clicked and I finally recognized the word altimeter. Anyway, on to one of my favorite parts of the book. Before being allowed in a Tornado , Mandy was put in a trainer, a Tucarno:

Tucarno - trainer plane for the RAF

One of the things Mandy had to learn was low level flight: 250 feet agl, at 300 knots!!! Here’s a quote from the book:

“Trusting the altimeter for low level is not always the best policy, because it’s not sensitive enough for such fine margins. It gives you the height above mean sea level, not the ground. So initially you had to do it with a visual picture. The rule of thumb was pretty simple. At 500 feet, you could see the legs of cows, but you couldn’t see the legs of sheep. When you get down to 250 feet, you could see the legs of sheep. It was very technical.'“

That’s right, a very technical visual reference. I can just imagine someone exclaiming, “Would you look at the legs on that sheep!” and then someone else saying, “PULL UP !! PULL UP !! That’s a LAMB !!!”

Visual reference when you can’t trust your altimeter: at almost 300 knots and 500 AGL, you can see the legs of cows, but not sheep. At 250 AGL, you can see the legs of sheep.

I will never again fly over the farms in Washoe Valley and look at cows the same. I highly recommend you buy and read or listen to "An officer, Not a Gentleman". If the book is too much of a commitment, you might enjoy this 15 minute Interview of Mandy Hickson by UNILAd where Mandy talks about some of her experiences (which are also mentioned in her book). She’s now retired from the RAF and is a motivational and business speaker. https://www.mandyhickson.com/

Stacie G. was flying that day with an instructor, working to get her proficiency back. Way to go Stacie! Keep at it!

I hope you all understood my music reference there, but even if you didn’t, CONGRATS to RHS member and new Treasurer Stacie G.! After a Loooooong hiatus away from flying, she’s jumped back into cockpit and is taking back to the skies. Here’s what she had to say on July 9:

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Today was a good day! Getting back to flying with an amazing instructor to help peel away the rust! I’m so excited to get back to doing what I love!

RHS Member Staci G.

The plane Staci G. is currently flying, based out of the Carson City Airport.

Dani here again -

4 years ago I was working hard to earn my private pilot certificate, flying all the time. My flight training was almost equally split between a Cessna 172 flying out of Reno, followed by a Cherokee PA-28-140 flying out of Minden. I loved that little Cherokee, which is what I ultimately passed my check ride in.

My husband flew our plane Pokey down to Minden today to chat with our A&P. Since I work in Carson, I was able to pop down to meet him for lunch at the Tail Dragger. The food was better than I remembered, and I had a delicious wrap. As always, the views of the airport are superb.

It was nostalgic being at KMEV, watching the gliders get tows. After lunch we decided to walk around and check out the planes. My heart gave a little jump and I fondly smiled when I saw the plane I passed my check ride in. It was like running into an old beloved friend I hadn’t seen in years.

Not only did I see my beloved 66Romeo, I also ran into my old flight instructor Andrew! We had a nice chat before it was time to head back to work.

What plane do you have fond memories of?

First and foremost- hopefully this photo is foreshadowing for Miss Lainey, our former Chairman Leah’s daughter. Fingers crossed this will be the “before” picture…

Secondly - Laura brought a delicious dessert called a Strawberry Pretzel Salad. Many of us wanted the recipe. I found a recipe that also has a video: Strawberry Pretzel Salad . Thank you Laura (I think?) for introducing us to this mouthwateringly tasty dessert that I want to make, but not share with anyone else.

This past holiday weekend, Dani Rhoda and her husband flew in their 182 from KRNO - KCCR. Here’s her account of the trip:

The first thing that made the trip exciting was of course the weather. Reno was nice, but KCCR (Concord, California) was marginal VFR and breezy. We knew the weather was supposed to improve, and there were airports along the way we could land at to wait if the weather hadn’t improved sufficiently. So, with our alternate airports identified, we made the decision to go.

Looking south to Lake Tahoe, just west of Truckee

On our way down, the weather improved though we ended up slightly altering course to avoid some clouds. The trip down overall was nice with Renoesque winds in Concord (16 gusting 23).

The channel of no clouds we ended up following into KCCR.

I love technology - our flight track from Flight Aware. Notice the jog close to KCCR where we followed the "channel” into the airport.

We landed, picked up our friend O. who used to be an A&P, and headed north towards KCIC, Chico for lunch.

Northern California farmland between Concord and Chico

This is when the trip started getting exciting - our alternator stopped working. In the past, it’s come back after a few minutes (yes we’ve talked to our A&P ). So we waited a few minutes, but it didn’t come back on. We decided to return to KCCR (rather than potentially be stranded KCIC) and notified ATC of our change in plans. We always use flight following. ATC is good, they responded to our notification that we were returning to Concord with, “So…..did you change your mind or is something going on?” We explained and they asked if we wanted to declare an emergency, which we declined. After a few pass off’s, we had the airport in sight when we lost our Garmin 430. I had my stratux up, so we could still had some info, but it was odd not seeing the 430 on. We were able to contact the airport and get clearance to land and notified them that we were on battery power, we’d lost our 430, and that if they stopped hearing back from us, it was probably because we lost coms. Tower also wanted to know if we were declaring an emergency, which we again declined. The plane was working fine, other than the loss of our alternator and our battery draining…. neither of which is necessary to fly the plane. Just after we landed and were handed off from the tower to ground, we lost our coms. But…. dun dun duuuun! We had a handheld radio. I contacted ground via our handheld to get our taxi instructions. Side note - using a handheld radio in an airplane without a headset is loud and difficult. If we were to buy another handheld, it will have a headset jack.

No GPS Navigation anymore…but we had the airport in sight and my stratux.

We parked and the guys (did I mention our friend O used to be an A&P?), popped the cowling off, and found the alternator belt was not where it was supposed to be.

Unfortunately it was 4th of July weekend and nobody was at the shop, but the office gal called the owner and voila, we had a mechanic. As in, the owner came out to take care of us. TWO thumbs up for Sterling Aviation at KCCR! They took excellent care of us and had Pokey (our 182) buttoned up and ready to go Sunday morning.

The folks at Sterling Aviation at KCCR were great! The owner working on our alternator belt.

With our plane grounded, we went to lunch and called some other friends who live 5 minutes from the airport and stayed the night with them. Sunday morning weather was again a factor, but by 2pm we could see plenty of blue skies and headed home. The flight home was 100% uneventful.

While we didn’t have an emergency, the flight was certainly a departure (ba bum bum) from a normal flight with our battery giving us every last bit of energy it had left. It was really comforting knowing that we had a handheld radio and stratux for backup. We have the stratux because for a while I was flying planes that didn’t have receivers. Then we found that our GTX345 has a limited number of bluetooth connections. Why is this a problem? Because when you’re flying with multiple pilots in the plane, every last one of them wants to be connected! Pilots, a group of semi control freaks. Who knew??

Overall, a great trip where we got to fly, visit friends, eat, drink, and be merry.

The best part was being at lunch with co-workers today and telling this story and the two gentlemen at the next table leaned over and said, “Hey, we usually have to have lunch at the airport to hear airplane stories!!”

June 3, 2022 - Social gathering of dinner and a movie!

From Great Basin Aviation:

Have you ever flown a plane wearing a pair of 5-inch heels? Well, Kaitlyn Lera has and as of today, she is officially a Private Pilot!

•Not only did she solo less than a month ago, this incredible aviatrix has been flying and doing ground lessons upwards of 4 days a week. Today, her hard work paid off! This local realtor drives from Minden to complete her lessons, and is always dressed to impress, and many times, is seen preflighting as the best dressed person on the ramp. But, not afraid of some oil or avgas. Avgas and jet exhaust, her new signature scent. Kaitlyn is super dedicated, enthusiastic, and passionate about aviation, and it shows! As she moves on to the next leg of her journey, continuing her flight training in Florida, we wish her the best and can’t wait to see how her career takes off

Congratulations to Kaitlyn, and her CFI Ethan Chinowsky!

A fun evening discussing aviation and learning about each other!!

She is now a licensed pilot

Laura Starkey: “Just completed our 40 hour Phase 1 yesterday and our experimental plane is now free from restrictions!”

Picture taken April 2, 2022 at Minden after celebratory breakfast!!

Congratulations CAPTAIN Moe Makowski!  (Moe is a Captain with Superior Air Charter flying the Phenom 100 jet)

Heather McCoy and Stacie Goodwin went flying!

“I picked her up in Minden and we spent an hour or so flying around and getting to know each other better. This truly is the best part of being a member of the 99s - fellowship with other women pilots!’ Heather

Our Secretary has been busy flying and recently completed her first solo cross country from her home airport, Truckee, to Fallon Muni Airport. Where have you been flying? What are your accomplishments?

Syd after her first solo cross country!

Why is wintertime the best balloon time? Because Sunrise (aka launch time) isn’t until 7:24 am…. you get to sleep in!

As RHS Secretary Karalyn puts it - ballooning is the BEST REASON EVER to set an alarm clock in the morning, and she just might be right!

This past Sunday, Karalyn was flying her balloon, “Don’t Tell Mom” (so much cooler than using her N number) and took RHS member Dani up for a glorious 40 ish minute flight over Carson City.

One of the most fun things about ballooning is that you often fly low over neighborhoods and people will come out to say hello! Dogs bark, kids squeal, and everyone is excited, because oh my gosh there’s a balloon over my house! Also, you never know where you’ll land! Sunday we landed in clearing smack in the middle of an apartment complex. People started coming out to see the balloon and the kiddos were especially excited! Karalyn tied off her balloon and gave probably 15 kids their first taste of aviation, with tethered balloon rides. Sorry, no photos of that - we were too busy managing the balloon and the kiddos for me to snap any.

Crew- ballooning in particular is heavily dependent on crew. We had 3 people on the tether lines to help keep everything safe, and that doesn’t even touch on setup, chasing, deflation, and putting the balloon away. If you ever want to see a balloon up close and personal, we know a pilot…. ;)

Preparing the Aircraft

Karalyn preparing her aircraft for flight!

Fire! (aka, where it’s warm when the temperature is in the high 20’s….)

RHS Member and Balloon Pilot - Karalyn, RHS Member Dani, and crew member Ms. D.

View of Carson City facing south, north and west of the Capital. Can you identify the Governor’s Office?