Two wee chihuahuas, Blaze and Katie, were found wandering around Texas, where they were captured and remained unclaimed. Euthanasia was imminent, but thanks to the efforts of Chris May of Annie’s Little Angels Small Breed Rescue, transportation to a foster home was coordinated through the Pilots N Paws network.

Walt and Joann Aronow flew our little Texans on their first leg from Denton, Texas to Rolla, Missouri.  Lance Corlis and I met them there in our Cirrus, and immediately fell in love (with the pups AND Walt’s awesome home-built). During the two-hour flight back to Chicago, Katie insisted on riding on my lap and really wouldn’t take no for an answer, while Blaze sulked in the back. These two were personality PLUS!

Back in Chicago, Chris May met us at Atlantic Aviation to collect the pups. It was so hard to say goodbye to these little cuties.

BLAZE AND KATIE ARE AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION. Please contact Chris May at 630-291-7299 for details.

Walt and Joanne unload the pups at Rolla National (VIH).

Pretty sure Walt wanted to keep Katie.

Potty break!

Me and Lance with the pups.

What he lacks in looks, he makes up for in personality.

Ready to fly!

Katie sits up front with me while Lance flies the plane.

Poor Blaze, alone in the back.

Tethered in and ready for landing.

Chris May of Annie's Little Angels.

Categories: cross country, pets and aviation

These two cuties were my “cargo” on a recent Pilots N Paws mission.  I flew them from a short way from Chicago to Peoria… just one of many legs in their journey from North Carolina to Colorado.

Picking up our passengers at Atlantic Aviation (PWK).

My husband, Steve, tries to get everyone situated in the back.

Looking a little nervous.

And we're off!

Awww, so photogenic.

Back on the ground - Peoria (3MY)

Handing the pups to the next pilot, Bob Blumenshine.

Categories: uncategorized

Question:   What does it take to fly a helicopter?
Answer:    Lots of money!

These words of truth and wisdom were from my helicopter instructor, Rich Locklin of Bachman Aero, where I just had my first lesson at Schaumberg airport. It was a blast, but I have to say: helicopters are really hard to fly. Dare I say this… it made flying an airplane seem easy in comparison.

First, there are more controls to worry about. There’s the collective, which changes the pitch angle of the rotor blades to increase or decrease the lift. There also the cyclic, which is like a super-touchy joystick. (Touch it, and the helicopter shoots off in some undesired direction. Leave it alone, same result. Vexing.) The anti-torque pedals are similar to those in an airplane, as is the throttle.

Rich got us up to altitude and then handed over the controls.  I was able to follow the highway, make turns, and maintain altitude relatively well. My familiarity with airplane steam gauges helped with this.

Just as I was feeling a little cocky,  like I might be able to do this, like maybe I was a natural… well, then it was time to hoover. It all went to hell at that point, as nothing I did would compel that helicopter to stay still in the air. Rich would get us into a hoover, hand over the controls, and then the craft did promptly what it wanted to do, which was fly forward and to the right. Or fly down and to the left. Or shoot backwards. I had about six tries, none successful at all, and Rich said I did no worse (or better) than most people. It typically takes about 10 hours to learn this rather important helicopter skill. So: humbling.

So, would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat. Will I go on to get my rating? Not likely. Helicopters are fun, but really not practical for the type of long distance flying I do. But it’s a real treat, and I would recommend it to anyone with a couple hundred extra dollars in his pocket.

Rich shows me the controls in the Schweizer helicopter.

The panel, pedals, and cyclic.

Checklisting everything before flight.

This is fun!

Logging rotorcraft time.

Categories: uncategorized

I planned to blog about yesterday’s Pilots N Paws rescue flight of the dog Ranger, who traveled from Emporia, KS to his new home in St. Charles, IL. But why work like that when I can just link to the Chicago Tribune article, and instead just post the photos of his journey?

And here you have it, Ranger’s rescue:

Ranger at the shelter, waiting for a home.

Pilot #1, Sarah Owens had to drive the first leg due to weather.

Back in Chicago, readying the plane for our flight to EOK.

Slobber-proofing the back seat!

Turning final at EOK.

Here comes Pilot #2, Sam Taylor with the canine cargo!

Ranger and Pilot Sam.

Am I home yet?

Sam and Ranger. Look how Ranger poses.

Me, Sam, Ranger, and my SR22.

Ranger "attacks" me with kisses! Anne Marie accompanied me to help out.

Kisses for Anne Marie. All buckled in to the back seat.

Going home! Shedding all over Anne marie in the back seat.

Nap time lasted approximately 3 seconds.

Home at last! With new Mom Kelli Cameron.

Aw, how nice. Kelli brought flowers for the pilot!

Categories: cross country, pets and aviation

Looks like the news venues have realized that people are plain sick of bad news. Or maybe it’s because pups (and pilots :^) are particularly photogenic. Whatever the cause, Pilots N Paws continues to garner positive press from the network news stations to local newspapers. It couldn’t have happened to a better organization.

News highlights:

• Pilots N Paws helps reunite a soldier with the pup he adopted from Afghanistan. (ABC News)

• “Making a Difference” (NBC Nightly News)

• A Paw and a Prayer: Pilots Save Shelter Animals.  (MSNBC)

• Unwanted Pets Get Second Chance (Good Morning America)

• Volunteers Pilot Dogs to New Homes (WRAL)

• Wally the Flying Dog (Kentucky Living)

• Dogs Prayers Answered by People with Wings (Newsobserver.com)

Categories: pets and aviation, pilots R awesome

Our new SR22.

It’s heeeeere!

Nearly three long months after signing the deal, my partners and I have finally picked up our shiny new(-ish) Cirrus SR22 in Duluth. Yippee! Taking delivery of an airplane was a new experience for me, and VERY exciting.

The first look at our airplane in its pristine hangar at Cirrus was almost shocking — it looked SO good, with its gleaming new paint and fresh graphics! In fact, I may have actually jumped up and down and clapped my hands. (OK, I admit it, that’s exactly what I did.)

In the end, we spent a bit more time in Duluth than we had planned, as there was a checklist of items we requested be changed or fixed. We were willing to wait for the fixes… in fact, none of us was actually willing to leave Duluth without the airplane. After a night on the town and the next day spent waiting in the customer lounge… our plane was finally ready to go home to Chicago.

Did I mention… Yippee!

Categories: cool events

We have been wanting to add an aerial tour of Las Vegas to our lineup, and earlier this week I finally got a chance to do some hand’s on research. Flying with Jason Duncan of Elite Aviation (located at VGT — North Las Vegas airport), we mapped out a scenic route that includes Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam and a close encounter with the Strip. We took off right at sundown, when the light was pink and orange and so, so pretty. And the red rocks in the distance were certainly a departure from our Chicago lakefront tour.

It will take a bit of time to finalize the details of the tour on our website, but in the meantime, here are my snapshots…

Departing North Las Vegas Airport (VGT).

Sunset over Lake Mead, Vegas in the distance.

Hoover Dam, up close and personal.

Approaching Vegas from the east.

The Strip is looking blurry. (Probably a common experience.)

Categories: aerial tours

A few months ago I happily blogged about my purchase of a 2006 Cirrus SR22 with two partners. Those were happy times.

But 3+ months after signing that purchase order, we still don’t have the airplane. At times I feel the purchase was a dream, just a figment of my imagination. Did I really buy an airplane?

Granted, the airplane needed considerable work when we bought it… it looked every minute of its 2000+ logged hours. We signed up for new paint, new graphics, detailed interior, new Avidyne screens, a full annual, a new prop, and oh, a new engine, too (then after installation, our new engine was determined to be a “lemon,” so now we wait for a replacement.) We also decided to splurge on a WAAS upgrade which apparently involves moving the antennas and some time-consuming wiring shenanigans. It’s a lot of work , and unfortunately Cirrus did a bad job of estimating how long all this would take.

(As I write this blog, I kid you not, I  just received an email saying the replacement engine didn’t actually ship in mid-November as we believed. The new delivery date for the engine is December 7.)

I believe it will be a true Christmas miracle if we get our plane by year’s end, but I will be patient. I have heard that good things come to those who wait.

Awaiting a new engine and some graphics.

Categories: uncategorized

Gary already had blueprints for a standout marriage proposal when he came to us; he simply needed a finale.  After surprising his dearest at work and popping the question in a horse-drawn carriage on the Mag Mile, he opted for a dazzling finish — a twilight aerial tour of the Chicago lakefront.

He and Laura departed from the swank executive terminal at Midway, then took in the sunset and city views from 2,500 feet.  After the flight they headed to Little Italy where they capped the evening with an incredible dinner at Francesca’s on Taylor.   Troppo delizioso!

Gary is one of several who’ve come to us recently for help in making the big proposal über special.  We’re delighted to be a high point in such life milestones!

The happy couple post ring, pre flight.

Categories: aerial tours, romance

The weather in Tampa last week was beautiful, not that I had much time to experience it. I was busy manning my booth at the AOPA Aviation Summit. Here are the show highlights from my perspective:

AOPA Live: I was interviewed by Rod Rakic, founder of MyTransponder.com, on the subject of social media in business, which was streamed live over the internet. I was nervous (after all, there could have been tens of people watching!), but I think I managed to conduct myself somewhat respectably. Special thanks to Rob Mark for watching my booth while I was on the couch.

Our booth at the AOPA Aviation Summit.

Traffic: Other exhibitors reported that traffic was down from past years. It was my first year so I had nothing to compare it with, but I thought the traffic was great on Days 1 and 2 — I collected many names for my newsletter. Day 3 was quiet and very slow… you could have taxied a Cessna down our aisle and not hit a soul.

The happy couple (photo from AOPA.org).

Marriage: I didn’t see the nuptials myself, but Twitterland was all abuzz when Glenn Plymate and Irene Bolam decided to get hitched at Airport fest.

Herb Sloane of the Flying Octogenarians.

The Flying Octogenarians: Are you 95 and still flying, like Herb Sloane, above? Well then God bless ya!

Categories: cool events, romance