By STAN KASPRZYK

FlightLog Archive

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Aircraft Flown

Comanches and AeroDogs - Jan 2025

My friend Kevin recently had his annual completed on his Comanche 250 in Tulare, CA, at Johnston Aircraft Service, a Comanche service and repair center for the west coast. Kevin's schedule and Northwest weather had delayed his Comanche pickup, leaving his bird away from home for 45 days.

Since I’ve made numerous California to Washington cross country flights, and also gave Kevin his initial checkout in the Comanche, Kevin asked if I’d join him to help return the Comanche to Puyallup from California. I was already going to say yes, but Kevin sweetened the offer with a ticket on Alaska Air from Seattle to Fresno, overnight accommodations to allow for an early start to our return, and all ground transportation needed.

We met in the late afternoon at SeaTac and enjoyed the new spacious facilities at the AMEX lounge, with a great dinner menu and a smoothie and ice cream bar included. After an uneventful flight in First Class down on an Alaska ERJ-175, we got an extra ‘tenth’ in the air when the Alaska flight crew added power at 200 feet on final and went around. We saw that another incoming Alaska flight was slow to leave the runway, so we enjoyed an extra Fresno night aerial tour.

The next morning, after breakfast and a ride from Lionel, the Chief Mechanic at Johnston, we arrived at the Tulare airport (KTLR) under clear but cold (30º) skies. The Comanche had been parked outside overnight, so our planned early departure had its first delay, as Johnston Aircraft Service’s new owner, Mike Schoenau, taxied the Comanche to a nearby hangar for de-icing.

Kevin and I checked out Johnston’s main hangar, and I crawled around a dusty but good-looking Stearman at one end of the hangar. The front section of the upper wing had some noticeable damage, and the local crew noted that it needed some serious repair work. I noticed some great nose art on the Stearman, with a giant decal for ‘AeroDogs - Home of the Famous Flying Wiener’. When Mike returned, he told us the ‘AeroDogs’ patch was from his former restaurant that was built in a former USAF T-29, a military version of the Convair 240. I had flown in a number of T-29s during navigation training courses at the Air Force Academy, but not the one that became ‘AeroDogs’, tail number 50-0193. AeroDogs has changed hands, and the T-29 in Tulare was known as 'Richard's Lunchbox' until 2016, and is now 'The Flying Taco'.

Kevin and I had planned on one local flight, just to give a final condition check after the annual and extended time on the ground. We took off after a thorough pre-flight, with a brisk climb in the cool conditions, but both immediately noted a strong left rolling tendency. We immediately headed back to the pattern for an uneventful landing, and found that the rudder trim had been set far to one side, and no obvious aileron issues. We took off for a second local flight, but even with the corrected rudder trim, the left rolling tendency was still there. Mike and the other mechanics then measured the aileron alignment, tweaked the aileron connections and made a few more minor adjustments. I asked Mike, Johnston’s owner and mechanic, to take the next flight with Kevin, after which they quickly returned with thumbs up for normal flight control feel and no rolling tendency.

Finally, we blasted north just after 11:00AM, much later than our planned ‘early departure’. The weather for all of California was severe clear, with 100 mile+ visibility, but our concern was Oregon and Washington weather, with both mired in low clouds and fog that had been slow to break up over the past few days. At our cruise altitude of 10,500 feet, we were only burning 10 GPH, so we decided to overfly our planned mid-flight lunch stop in Medford, OR and continue to press as far north as possible, keeping track of the scheduled clearing of the fog and low clouds. We enjoyed testing out Kevin's new Starlink antenna in-flight, and were rewarded with impressive data rates once the link was established, allowing Kevin to conduct a few business on-line meetings. I tested out the Starlink by FaceTiming with Ma and Theresa, showing them views of Mt. Shasta as we cruised by. Nice capability! Kevin just placed the antenna on the Comanche's glareshield, and we're looking at further mounting options. Boom Supersonic's T-38 chase designed an interesting bracket solution.

Most of Oregon's central valley stubbornly hung on to low clouds from Grants Pass all the way north to Salem, with a VFR break finally appearing over Portland. Washington had similar IFR conditions as the Oregon valleys, with only Kelso opening up to VFR as the afternoon progressed. We decided to overfly Portland and land at Kelso, refueling to keep our options open, allowing Kevin to join another work meeting, and get a detailed update on the Puget Sound area forecast. Although our goal was Puyallup (KPLU), their weather stayed stubbornly Low IFR all afternoon, with only nearby Tacoma Narrows (KTIW) having their ceiling rise to just above approach minimums. With sunset approaching we quickly launched from Kelso, picked up our IFR clearance, and proceeded to Olympia, then on to the RNAV 17 IAF at JUYCU. Kevin hand flew a smooth RNAV approach, descending into the clouds at 1800 feet, breaking out just above minimums at 750 feet to a smooth landing on the already dark runway 17.

Dinner at the HUB topped off a great day of flying! Thanks, Kevin, for a chance to stretch my winter wings and cruise in your Comanche again!

Ballooning Again - Sep-Oct 2024

I had my first hot air balloon flight over 50 years ago, on 18 August 1974, and flew balloons many times in the 70s, 80s and 90s while obtaining my Private and Commercial hot air balloon ratings. My last hot air balloon flight, however, was on 16 Aug 1997. Over the past few years, the Seattle Ballooning team has been conducting extensive balloon flying in the south Puget Sound area, and in August 2021 I helped crew for some local Seattle balloonists near Lake Tapps. After flying by a number of hot air balloons while returning from late afternoon summer flights in our Warrior, I felt it was time to get back into hot air ballooning again.

Over the past 35 years, the city of Prosser, WA has hosted the Great Prosser Balloon Rally, and a number of the local Seattle balloonists planned to be there for the 2024 rally. Ma and I decided to combine wine tasting and balloon viewing in Prosser, plus make ourselves available to crew for any balloonists who needed support. Saturday morning’s weather was perfect, with clear skies and light winds. We checked with a balloon crew listed from our local area, and found out the pilot and crew of ‘Fruit Flies’ lived just a few miles from us, and could use crew support. A total of 35 balloons launched from the Prosser airport or nearby launch fields, all cruising at low level along the nearby Yakima River. We had fun recovering ‘Fruit Flies’ and another local balloon, helped with packing, then attended an afternoon balloon pilot and crew event at Vic and Mandy Johnson’s nearby balloon repair shop, renewing acquaintances from ballooning in Auburn, WA in the ‘90s.

Our return to ballooning was re-energized by an invitation to stay with our friend Suzi Flynt Manus during the upcoming Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in October. I flew balloons numerous times with Suzi and her late husband Bill Flynt in the late ‘70s and mid-‘80s in Albuquerque, Roswell, NM and Phoenix, AZ. We decided it was a great opportunity to re-engage our son, David back into ballooning and also introduce our grandson Nathaniel to the aviation sport. We stayed at Suzi and her new husband Bill Manus' home in Los Lunas, NM as our home base, and also got introduced to the world of RC ballooning, which uses miniature baskets but 30-foot tall balloons that were much easier to inflate, fly and repack.

Suzi arranged for us to crew for Frankie Martinez, the owner and pilot of the ‘RAKS’ balloon, also from Los Lunas.The boys got introduced to the hardest part of ballooning - the early wake-up at ‘O-Dark Hundred’, meaning really early. We woke up at 3:35AM for our first day of crewing for the RAKS balloon, and also the first day of experiencing the amazing spectacle of 550+ hot air balloons launching into the early morning skies. We arrived at Balloon Fiesta Park at 4:45, rode in with the RAKS crew, and enjoyed a well-organized breakfast for the pilots and crews, even sampling local green chili soup to start the day! Nine ‘Dawn Patrol’ balloons inflated and launched 30 minutes before sunrise, with special FAA-approved procedures and lighting, providing an amazing spectacle in the still-dark skies.

We then focused our attention with the RAKS balloon crew on laying out, cold inflating, checking the balloon condition, vents and sensors, then helping on the throat and crown for a smooth hot inflation with the powerful propane burners. Frankie loaded his passengers and got clearance to launch (with 100+ balloons already in the air) as we quickly loaded up the crew vehicles and headed out chasing.

The goal of a good chase crew is to follow the balloon and actually get ahead of them, scouting for clear landing sites and watching for powerlines or obstructions, and to be there to support the balloon’s touchdown and recovery when the pilot descends for landing. On our first chase, low altitude winds out of the north were quite strong, and it took us a bit of time to get through the massive spectator crowd to chase. The RAKS balloon smoked past downtown Albuquerque, so we jumped on Interstate 25 and raced south to get ahead of them.

We positioned ourselves in front of the descending RAKS balloon, and helped select a landing site along a road between power lines. David raced out of the crew pickup and made it to the balloon basket just as they touched down. We pulled the balloon to the road and gently deflated and loaded up the system. We rode back in the warming sun to Balloon Fiesta Park for an enjoyable post-flight celebration, champagne toasts, and more great local southwest food.

Our second day of crewing was just as much fun, with Nathaniel providing excellent support with his Dad on the crown of the balloon, while we all were submerged within a sea of spectators. Our winds on the second day provided 'box' conditions, with very low altitude winds coming from the north, then a climb to 400-500 foot altitude providing winds from south. The RAKS balloon stayed low on a southerly heading, and was safely down on the ground and deflated in a school parking lot by the time we, in the chase crew, could meet them. Packing was easy, and we joined the crew for another champagne toast at the Balloon Fiesta Park, then toured all the ballooning booths and activities on the field.

The Special Shapes night glow was another highlight, with over 100 Special Shapes balloons glowing for over an hour after sunset, not launching, but providing a stunning spectacle for the huge crowds. Thanks, Suzi and Bill, for your hospitality, story-telling and reminiscing, while introducing another new generation into hot air ballooning!

Nathaniel’s reaction to the amazing Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and balloon crewing: “Overall the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta was wonderful, but there were a few parts that stood out most to me. The first day of crewing was especially fun because the flight was long, so we kept having to pull over at possible landing places then quickly run back to the truck to stay ahead. The special shapes glow was also really fun because up until this trip I didn’t know shaped balloons existed, so seeing a whole field of them all glowing was astounding. By the way- the water kind of tastes different in Albuquerque!”

Next up, getting back to FLYING balloons!

Bremerton 2024 Formation Clinic - Aug 2024

The Bremerton Formation Clinic for 2024 was plagued by abnormally cool and wet August conditions, which provided lots of opportunities for quality ground training, but less than normal formation flying opportunities. Weather precluded three Navions from joining the clinic from California, and kept a T-28 from eastern Washington away. Even so, a number of good formation flights did occur that provided excellent practice and proficiency flying, including some first-time formation training in the mix.

Four Canadian Nanchangs arrived early on Thursday, allowing me to join them for a late afternoon lead practice flight in Tom 'Chox' Spreen's Nanchang C-FXMI before the weather turned. Once the weather cleared mid-day on Saturday, I instructed with Eric Johnson in his Navion from California, providing lead for another new visitor to the formation clinic, Trent Hendricks in his Varga Kacina. On Sunday morning, I led a flight in my Warrior with Kirstan Norris in my left seat and Trent Hendricks getting more wingman flight training in his Kachina. The Canadian Nanchangs had an eventful four-ship on Saturday, and were led by Roger Collins in his Navion for a 5-ship departure flyby on Sunday back to Victoria.

One ground highlight of the formation clinic was our Callsign Naming event, bestowing new (or changed) callsigns on those who displayed amazing skill and bravery (or was it buffoonery?) during the weekend's flying events. It was a rare all-Canadian event, awarding callsigns for Brodie Winkler - Chokin', Chris Walker - GITFO, Dave Gagliardi - POMO, and Brian Youmans - GUMP. You'll have to get specifics for the callsigns (or changed callsigns) from each of the honorees themselves, or over a round with the other attendees!

Thanks again to Roger Collins for the use of his hangar and facilities at Bremerton, and to Dave 'Prancer' Desmon and John 'Smokey' Johnson for clinic setup and coordination, Bob 'Baddest' Stoney and Dean 'Frito' Friedt for excellent ground instruction, and Colleen Hale for outstanding meal presentations.

BEFA RV-12 Formation Training - Aug 2024

Troy 'T-Lar' Larson contacted me in August 2021 about a plan to start a formation training course at the Boeing Employees Flying Association (BEFA) at Renton, WA. T-Lar knew of my past formation training experience, and I gladly agreed to help with training materials, ground and in-flight formation instruction. BEFA ordered two factory-built RV-12is aircraft from Van's Aircraft in Oregon, for 2023 delivery.

Troy and I flew the first RV-12 formation flight in June 2023 for a BEFA promotional video shot by aviation photographer John Parker from his Bonanza equipped with a turret ball underneath the aircraft. Progess on the actual RV-12 formation training program slowed as the BEFA board had to give their approval after reviewing the training course, the RV-12s were repositioned to Paine Field for other training, and TSA procedures at Paine Field necessitated everyone getting Paine Field access badges.

Finally, it all came together. On 17 Aug 2024, both RV-12s were re-positioned to Renton, and I helped T-Lar kickoff the formation training with a two-hour ground school with six students. I took off with Rohan Sharma with me in N954B as #2, with T-Lar and Zach Price as lead from runway 34, and climbed northeast of Lake Sammamish. We had a full formation training session with fingertip, route, echelon, cross unders, close and extended trail, pitchouts and rejoins as #2, then swapped leads, letting Rohan lead Zach through all the same maneuvers. We returned via Tiger Mountain and Lake Youngs for initial to runway 34. We debriefed the first flight, briefed our second flight to land at Paine Field. I took off with Tom Sanderson with me again in N954B as #2, with T-Lar and Greg Gohsman as lead from runway 34, flew all the same formation maneuvers as the first flight, except no extended trail, and coached Tom to fly to initial to runway 34R at Paine for two great flights.

All four of the initial students had a great time learning and experiencing the joys of formation flying. Here's an extract from student Greg Gohsman writeup, describing the day for the BEFA newsletter:

"Five of us attended the first Formation Clinic on August 17th taught by Troy Larson (Call Sign T-Lar) and Stan Kasprzyk (Sundance), both graduates of the Air Force Academy with vast experience. I was impressed at the professionalism and methods of Troy and Stan. There was much laughter in the instruction which made the two hours of ground school go by quickly. They both have lots of enthusiasm for the class. Safety was always at the forefront of every topic, and concepts were presented clearly using Powerpoint and model airplanes to show the maneuvers. Everything about Formation Flying is choreographed and that starts with the briefing. In addition to what we normally do, the flight is assigned a Call Sign and the mission is discussed in minute detail."

"I have never seen such detail as I witnessed with T-Lar and Sundance. The high-level Briefing guide includes: Administrative, Weather, Mission Plan, Fuel/Time Planning, Comm Plan in Sequence, Resource Management, Emergency procedures, and Risk Management. For example, after engine start, both aircraft get ATIS, and then switch to the Mission Frequency. Lead will call #2 to check in, and #2 simply replies “2.” Lead will command #2 to go to ground, and Lead makes all the ATC calls from here on out. “RV954B with Whiskey at BEFA, Flight of Two, East Channel Departure.”

"As part of the briefing, how to taxi, at what speed, staggered taxi option, who will be where in the run-up box, and the heading in the run-up box is planned. In the interest of safety Troy would always ask “any questions?” For Take-off, the planes will line up on the runway with the lead on the downwind side so their prop wash does not affect #2. “Renton Tower RV954B Flight of Two ready for take-off 34.” We did an interval Take-off which Lead rotates first, and then #2 will start their Take-off roll. Lead will fly slower (90 Knots) so #2 can catch up. If Lead has an engine failure, everyone stays on their side of the runway."

"The Join-up: Is it a straight-ahead join up or a turning join up? For a straight-ahead rejoin, #2 joins on the right side unless briefed otherwise. What speed will Lead fly so #2 can catch up? What is the initial turn? There are standards as part of the FAST Formation Guide."

"Next is Maneuvers Plan. Lead flies at 90 knots. Be predictable. Straight and climbing and then 10 and 20 degree turns out to the practice area. The goal of the spacing was 5 feet staggered, but I found that hard to maintain even flying with my fingertips and my fore arm resting on my leg. Just relax and do not grip the stick. Fly with your wrist and fingers, mostly fingers."

"Inbound, the lead calls the tower and requests “Initial.” The call: "RV954B with Whiskey, Flight of Two request Initial.” The Lead flies to arrive over the extended centerline a few miles out at pattern altitude, adjusting the distance out for local airspace traffic issues. The tower will confirm the pitchout point, normally over the numbers, but adjusting the pitchout point for other traffic. Once cleared, all aircraft in the flight are cleared to land."

"The first question at the debrief is “Did we do anything that was unsafe” and each aspect of the mission is dissected. I have never heard that asked by any of my previous flight instructors in 1600 hours of SEL, Glider, and Rotor wing. “Did we do anything that was unsafe?” I have never seen such joy and enthusiasm from students after a flight. The only difference between a man and a boy are the price of the toys, and the people you get to play with. Formation flying will up your skills and you will have enormous fun with a group of special pilots."

I think our students are ready for some more formation training!

Skyvan Photo Session - Aug 2024

One enjoyable side benefit of formation flying is the opportunity to obtain impressive air-to-air photographs while in close formation. A good pilot flying in a stable close formation provides a photographer with almost no relative motion and the chance to compose crystal clear images. If the airborne photography platform provides for open windows or open bays, fantastic shots can be achieved.

The Aviation PhotoCrew was formed in 2009 by Eric Coeckelberghs in Belgium to provide an airborne platform for photographers, using the unique Shorts Skyvan aircraft for impressive open ramp photo opportunities. The Aviation PhotoCrew has expanded beyond Europe to provide an airborne photography platform in venues throughout the world, focusing on air shows that provide multiple opportunities for formation join-ups.

Eric contacted the Cascade Warbirds in the summer of 2024, offering join up opportunities while the Skyvan was based at the Chilliwack airfield in British Columbia, Canada, supporting photo sessions at the nearby annual Abbotsford International Airshow. The Skyvan would plan to cross the US-Canada border and orbit between Bellingham and Mt. Baker for US photo missions.

I coordinated with Justin Drafts to provide the close formation portion of the photo mission in his Nanchang CJ-6A, since Justin is still practicing the close in maneuvering portion of formation flying. Dave Desmon in his Navion was the only other Cascade Warbirds pilot to accept the offer of royalty-free hi-resolution photos, so we planned a two-ship flight during an available slot in the Skyvan's schedule.

Our planned mid-morning join-up was delayed due to low clouds and IFR weather at Paine Field, but a break in the weather allowed us to launch and rejoin with the Skyvan at 4:00 near the Acme Field airport (WA12) by the Mt. Baker foothills. We had pre-briefed a rejoin orbit point, altitude and airspeed, but ADS-B made our rejoin effortless, and we were soon in trail and taking detailed direction from Eric over the radio to give the photographers the best angles and positioning for photos. It was fun coming up into close trail and seeing the small army of photographers inside the open aft ramp on the Skyvan, all pointing their large lenses at us. We swapped leads in trail, and proceeding alongside for formation photos with Mt. Baker behind us.

We enjoyed a good 20 minutes of formation time with the Skyvan, then peeled off for our return to Paine Field and the Skyvan's return across the border to Chilliwack. Our photo results were linked to us after a couple of weeks, and we feasted on the great results of our photo session. We're looking forward to 2025 with more aircraft planning to join the Aviation PhotoCrew in the air!