[Steve91T]

Hey I figure if you guys can talk guns and corvettes, I can talk about airplanes.

Long story short, I've been flying gliders since I was 13 and the. tow plane for a glider school in SC since I was 18. I did that for a few years and built my time until I left for college. After I finished I got a job at a commuter airline and now I've been flying the Airbus 320 for American Airlines for about 4 years now. Sailplanes still have a special place in my heart. It's the most pure form of flying. Very bird like. And the tow plane, an old crop duster, is a 225 hp 1000 lb fabric covered plane that is meant to fly slow, and carry a lot of weight. It makes a perfect tow plane.

Anyway, last weekend I had an opportunity to fly the tow plane in an air show. To top it off, it was at my brothers Air National Guard base where he flies F16's. Truely an amazing opportunity.

I just thought I'd share a quick video I made. If anyone has ever had an interest in aviation, I can't recommend finding your nearest glider school and at least taking a ride. I promise you'll be hooked.


https://youtu.be/8odWPfFU16w

[CrashTestDummy]

We live in the flight pattern of a Pearland Regional, which is home to a lot of interesting birds. It's the southeastern base for Hermann Hospital's Life Flight helicopters, and base for several of the T-6's and 'Zeros' for the Commemorative Air Force. There's a trio of Yak/Ilyushin aircraft, and somewhere there is a hangar with a P-39, among others.

We have an air advertising company that works out of there, and two of the birds they fly are those crop dusters. Yes they can haul a LOT of stuff, and fly slow. It's amazing to see them dragging a big banner into a stiff wind. They look like a hoot to fly.

I have a little time behind the stick, flying with my Dad when he worked as a pilot for an oil company. I have minutes flying everything from a STOL-equipped 172 (one of the company owners would be flown to their beach home on the Gulf, and they'd put the plane down right on the beach) to a Falcon 20 and G-II.

One of my favs in their fleet was a twin Bonanza. It just flew nice.