List of planes flown

I thought it would be fun to list all the aircraft and simulators I've flown. Here is the complete list. The Aeronca Chief was by far the most fun, followed by the Great Lakes. There are memories and stories attached to each, but that can be for a later post.

Aeronca (2)

7AC (Champ), 11AC (Chief).

Aerospatiale (1)

Rallye.

Beech (7)

BE-77, (Skipper), C-23 (Sundowner), C-26 (Sierra), A-36 (turbo straight-tail Bonanza) ,

V-35A-TC (turbo-V tail), BeD76 (Duchess), B-55 (Baron).

Bellanca (3)

8KCAB (Decathalon), 7ECA (Citabria), B17-30A (Super Viking).

Blanik (1)

L-13.

Cessna (12)

C-150, C-152, C-172, C-172R, C-172S, C-172RG, C-182, C-182S, C-182RG, C-206, C-177, C-T210, C-320.

Diamond (2)

DA20, DV20 (Katana).

Great Lakes (1)

2T1A.

Grumman (5)

AA-1A, AA-1B, AA-1C (Tr2Õs), AA-5A (Traveler), AA-5B (Tiger).

Kachina (1)

Varga.

Maule (1)

M-5.

Piper (14)

PA-22-125 (Pacer), PA-28-141 (Cherokee), PA-28-151 & 161 (Warrior), PA-28R-180 (Arrow),

PA-28-181 (Archer), PA-28-181-R, PA-28R-200 (Arrow III), PA-28RT-201 (T-tail Arrow IV),

PA-24-250 (Commanche), PA-32-300 (Cherokee-6), PA-38-301T (Turbo Saratoga),

PA-30-B (Twin Commanche), PA-44-180 (Seminole), PA-31-350 (Navajo).

Robinson (1)

R-22.

Rockwell (2)

RC-112A, RC-114(Commander).

Schwieser (3)

SGS-2-33, SGS-1-26, SGS-2-8 (TG2).

Simulators (11)

ATC-510, ATC-610, ATC-710, ATC-810, Pacer Mk II, F-14-D (NASMiramar full motion and dome),

PCprograms, Macintosh programs, Frasca 141, AST-300, E-2 (NASMiramar full motion), F-14 (visual only).

Stinson (2)

108-1, 108-3 (Voyager).

Onwards & Upwards

Rob Bremmer

Flying - The Quick Escape from Los Angeles

A friend just got a job in Los Angeles. A dream job - creative, fulfilling - his work will appear in the movies, he knows it, he already knows the title of the film he is working on.

But he lives in LA, and not in Oregon. As a few of you may know, LA can get hot, smoggy and just downright annoyingly brown-skied too often.

The solution? Use a small plane, and fly to Catalina or Big Bear. In less than an hour you can be at either location!

Think it's too pricey? Nope! Here are some options:

Go out to an airport a small one, not one of those annoying time-sucking big ones, with a few hundred dollars. Get a flight instructor to take you and two friends to either destination. Have a fun day, and the flight instructor will have fun too, he or she gets to fly!

Another option: Learn to fly. Easier than you think. about $4,500 if you do it right (more on that subject - if you ask), and then it costs about $150 per flight hour, and you take three friends. Planes charge by the flight hour, so that is an hour there, an hour back, and no charge for the plane while on the ground, unless it has a rental minimum of three hours or so.

Another option: Buy a plane. Spend $20,000 to $50,000, get a decent basic four seater, used but in good condition. Now it costs you about $50.00 for either destination, assuming you have your license. If you do this right, the plane can be a tax right-off, and you can sell it for more than you paid for it when you are done. Aviation can be that way.

So next time you are in LA and the traffic is bad and the air is brown, remember, clear air, fun and excitement and relaxation of small resort towns, diving, sailing, other sports - all can be yours, and it is as close as a mile away - straight up.

So that's how you do it. Now, what are you going to do about it?

Onwards & Upwards!

Rob Bremmer