Airplanes!

[CDNSushi]

The title says it all! Do we have any pilots in here?

Reason why I brought it up, is that I just finished booking our transportation in the Philippines for our holiday, and really one of the only decent ways to get to and from our desired destination is by charter... And I am stoked! I haven't ridden in a Cessna 172 since I was just a kid in Air Cadets! Heck, I even completed ground school back then. Wanted to be an air force pilot someday! Unfortunately medical restrictions and bad eyesight kept me out... (Hehe... Funny now, as I've had my eyes blasted with laser beams and my vision is now 20/15 in both eyes... lol).

Anyway, I still love playing with my flight simulator from time to time, and when I saw THIS site, I though to myself: WICKED!

This Slovenian company makes the first, commercially available self-launching ELECTRIC sailpane (since Feb. 2011)... It retails for just under $125,000.... You take off under electric prop power, then at altitude, you retract the prop and glide!

They also make hybrid planes... Can anyone say Air-Prius? Their Pantera looks SICK!

Anyway.... Check it out, you guys! The video gallery just makes me drool!

I'd LOVE to work for this company...

http://www.pipistrel.si


Oh yeah... In my enthusiasm I forgot to make the connection here... So I was looking on Wikipedia to check which model of C172 we'd be flying in, when I noticed some news that Cessna was working on an all-electric prototype... Wiki then linked to a page containing some info about electric aircraft in general, and from that page I noticed the link to Pipistrel.

[cessna152towser]

Brilliant. I am sure you will love the Cessna 172, the high wing allows the passenger an unobstructed view.
I trained on its scaled down little brother, the Cessna 152 two seat trainer. I have often flown the Cessna 172, its a very popular aircraft which has had an exceptionally long run of production. I first flew a Cessna 172 unofficially from the right hand pilot's seat in 1968 when I was just 17, last time I flew one was September 2009.
One of my Canadian cousins owned a Cessna 172 for many years and he would take me on sightseeing flights when I visited, but he has recently sold it. He had it mounted on floats and he flew it from lakes and bays around Vancouver Island.
Personally I preferred to fly the low wing Piper Pa-28 Cherokee which I found much easier to handle in gusty conditions.
I've been grounded from the flight deck for over a year following my deep vein thrombosis which I suffered as a result of an eleven hour overnight flight as an economy class passenger in a Boeing 747 jumbo jet but I am hopeful of passing the flight crew medical again soon and getting back into flying.

[Mike M.]

I've got my private license...but am also a flight test engineer for the U.S. Government. I've got over 30 different types in my logbook, everything from a Pitts Special to a KC-135 - including four blimp types.

[Jordan]

I went flying with the air cadets when I was one, now I'm staff I just drive the cadets to the flying.

I really enjoyed when I got the opportunity to do my gliding scholarship. We fley in the Vigilant which can take off under its own power then you turn the engine off and glide..

Thinking about it now I'm away to camp next week with the cadets, I might try and get myself a jolly on an aircraft if I can.

[2a5t2f7]

Enjoy the flight, no matter what you're flying! The C172 is a great plane and has probably made general aviation accessible to more people than any other airplane. However, I prefer my Cherokee PA28r-180. Fords vs. Chevy.

Mike, thirty types with 4 blimp ratings is absolutely incredible!!!!! If you're ever in Charleston, SC, give me a shout......

[Mike in Dayton]

I am a private pilot also but I have not flown in about three years. Divorce took care of that. I started flying after high school. We had a very good flying club in Dayton. Flew Cessna 150, 172 and Piper Archers. I preferred the Piper but when taking someone up that had never been in a small plane I would take the 172 because of the better view of the ground. Fun times.

Mike