Hey Folks, I’m proud to announce that prestigious Flight Safety, International (FSI) has licensed two of my aerial photos for exclusive global advertising!
Like all my Fine Art Metal Prints, “Dusk Arrival” and “Approach to Telluride Aiport”ready-to-hang pricing starts at just $135, with super-affordable shipping throughout the Continental US all the way up to the largest sizes.
Ride along with renowned aviator, writer, and photographer Greg Brown in his light airplane, the Flying Carpet, as he searches behind clouds for the real America, experiencing countless aerial adventures along the way.
Listen to “Time Travel,” Greg’s Flying Carpet Podcast Flight #31
One thing I love about flying is that there are so many dimensions to it. It might be as simple as going from point a to point B… For a meeting… Or a “hundred-dollar hamburger.”
But sometimes piloting takes you mystically and magically to faraway places—spiritually or across time. And that’s what this story is about.
So climb into my Flying Carpet, buckle up your seatbelts and prepare to takeoff on today’s adventure, “Time Travel.”
Greg
Podcast music by Hannis Brown, and The Yahara River Valley Boys.
Ride along with renowned aviator, writer, and photographer Greg Brown in his light airplane, the Flying Carpet, as he searches behind clouds for the real America, experiencing countless aerial adventures along the way.
Listen to “Eclipse!” Greg’s Flying Carpet Podcast Flight #30
As I record this, we’re just days away from the 2024 total solar eclipse that will traverse Mexico and much of the Midwest and eastern United States.
I suspect that many of you plan on flying to see this eclipse, but if you’re not, you probably should be.
Plenty of people have experienced a partial solar eclipse, and a few have experienced an annular solar eclipse.
But if you’ve never experienced a total solar eclipse, it’s so much more exciting and so much more memorable, that it’s something you don’t want to miss.
In this episode, I’ll share the stories two previous solar eclipses I’ve experienced, which I believe you’ll find interesting and inspiring whether you’re preparing to attend the 2024 Total Eclipse, or have already experienced one.
So climb into my Flying Carpet, buckle up your seatbelts and prepare to takeoff on today’s adventure, “Eclipse!”
There’s no doubt that having good pilot credentials is important when job hunting. But from our earliest days as pilots, each of us has learned to revere flight hours. Somewhere back in ground school was buried the subliminal message, “the pilot with the most hours is the best… the pilot with the most hours is the best.” Strictly from an experience standpoint, maybe there’s some truth to this. But the question we’re considering is a little different. “Does the pilot with the most hours always get the job?”
Let’s face it; almost every pilot out there yearns for some additional “shoo-in” credential for the next job up the career ladder. Single-engine pilots crave multi-engine time. Multi pilots want turbine hours. Turboprop pilots want jet time. New flight instructors wish they had their Instrument Instructor ratings. Copilots yearn for pilot-in-command time. Let’s face it, few pilots ever feel they’ve got ideal credentials. Yet pilots do get jobs, and not always with the best qualifications. Why?
Let’s consider the credentials of the following two pilots. One has recently completed all of the basic ratings; the other is a bit more experienced. For purposes of job hunting, which of these two individuals would you rather be?
I suspect if we polled everyone reading this, 99% would rather be Pilot B. (The remaining 1% would choose Pilot A because they think this is a trick question!) Pilot B is certainly more experienced and, of course, it’s always desirable to have the best qualifications possible. Besides, there are some flying positions that only Pilot B could hold, due to federal regulations and insurance requirements. Unfortunately, there aren’t many secrets as to how to transform yourself from Pilot A into Pilot B. It’s time-consuming, difficult, expensive, and often traumatic to pick up those extra few thousand hours, and it takes years. So, is Pilot A’s situation hopeless? Maybe not. Let’s look again at Pilots A and B, but with one new distinction added.
Now, who would you rather be? Almost every pilot will agree that Pilot A is in the better spot. We’ve all read “Position Wanted” ads, where a senior pilot with six jet type ratings and 10,000 hours is begging for somebody (anybody!) to recognize all that experience, and offer him or her a job. Pilot B could be in that position.
At the same time, each of us knows someone like Pilot A who got a jet charter position or was hired by a commuter on a “wet” commercial ticket, or who made it into the “majors” with relatively limited qualifications.
The difference is that one pilot “knew somebody,” and the other did not. One can either despise the person who got the break, or work hard to be next in line. That’s why you must put as much effort into making good contacts as earning your ratings.
It’s far easier getting to know somebody than it is to pick up several thousand hours of flight time! The bottom line is of course it’s best to be well qualified as a pilot, and have contacts who can help you meet your career objectives. That’s what you should be shooting for.
Hopefully I’ve convinced you of the importance of developing good connections while you’re building flight experience. To learn more, see Job Hunting for Pilots.
Ride along with renowned aviator, writer, and photographer Greg Brown in his light airplane, the Flying Carpet, as he searches behind clouds for the real America, experiencing countless aerial adventures along the way.
One thing I’ve learned over many years of piloting is that rarely can we plan a flight, take off, and then not have to think about anything until we reach our destination.
More often than not, circumstances arise before takeoff and en route that require planning, strategy, and tactics to deliver us safely to our destinations. A big part of this, too, is being prepared to land at any point… To turn around. To divert to an inconvenient airport that might even be unattended. But if we’re not willing and able to make smart decisions “on the fly,” we cannot safely fly around in potentially marginal weather.
This episode’s flight was great piloting adventure because we did not know over the entire three-hour flight whether we would make our destination.
But when I discussed this flight with pilot friends afterwards, including some very experienced ones, I discovered that in the course of it I’d unwittingly done something innovative and useful—an integration of new technology with what we’ve always done. Whether pilots or not, I think you’ll find it interesting.
Okay, everyone, grab your logbooks, hop aboard my Flying Carpet, snug up your seatbelts, and prepare for takeoff on today’s adventure, “iPads & Icing!”
When I shared this morning’s “Facebook Memory,” touting AOPA Flight Training magazine’s 2020 coverage of my Flying Carpet Podcast debut, my friend Gary Palmer observed, “A great homage and inspiration. But that picture is of a younger year which sounds like you have another story to tell!”
There is indeed a story behind that photo, but it’s a sad one. It was taken in 2018 by my late friend Mike Collins, longtime AOPA editor and photographer who passed away of COVID in February, 2021. Gary’s comment revived a flood of memories of working with Mike and socializing together over his passion for microbrew beer.
Mike had flown commercially to Arizona to take new author-photos for my then Flying Carpet column. Together he, my wife, and I enjoyed a few memorable days of flying, photography, and friendship, before he launched back to AOPA’s Maryland headquarters. It was such an enjoyable experience that I wrote a column about it, never guessing it’d be the last time I’d see him.
So here is my August, 2018 column about the experience, “Waiting for Weather,” which I apparently never got around to posting at the time. Mike, I know I’m far from alone in missing you… hope you’re gettin’ in some serious flying and photography up there.
Photos: Above, Greg pilots Mike and Scott homeward over Phoenix (Mike Collins photo.) Below, Mike photographs Greg following our sunset landing described in the column. (Scott Tabako photo.)
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Hey Folks, I’m proud to announce that prestigious Flight Safety, International (FSI) has licensed two of my aerial photos for exclusive global advertising!
Here is FSI’s first ad incorporating my photo, in this month’s Aviation International News:
Like all my Fine Art Metal Prints, “Dusk Arrival” ready-to-hang pricing starts at just $135, with super-affordable shipping throughout the Continental US all the way up to the largest sizes.
Ride along with renowned aviator, writer, and photographer Greg Brown in his light airplane, the Flying Carpet, as he searches behind clouds for the real America, experiencing countless aerial adventures along the way.
Grab your logbook, and join our flying adventure attending a unique “working cowboys” rodeo, and then fleeing thunderstorms on the flight home!
You may remember meeting my cowboy buddy “Baldy” way back in Flying Carpet Podcast Flight #2, “Cowboy Pilot,” in which Jean and I were first invited to the annual “Arizona Cowpuncher’s Reunion.” If you don’t remember that episode, or haven’t heard it, you might want to get to know Baldy via that episode before starting this one.
Regardless, I predict you’ll get a kick out of attending this unique “working cowboys” rodeo, and experiencing our piloting travails flying there and back.
Okay, everyone, hop aboard my Flying Carpet, snug up your seatbelts, and prepare for takeoff on today’s adventure, “Cowpunchers Reunion: Rough Flight Home.”
Hey Friends, check out“Geiko & Escort,”one of my personal-favoriteDown to EarthFine Art Metal Prints,photographedin Kyoto’s renowned Gion District, Japan.
Note this lady’s amazing details of makeup, dress and hair! I didn’t learn until afterward how fortunate I was to capture this photo.
Geikos/Geishas are paid entertainers so they rarely allow random portraits shot on the street. As a result, most casual shots capture them awkwardly from side or rear.
In this case I saw the couple coming, raised my camera to my waist and asked if I might take a photo. The Geiko smiled and nodded yes. Hence a treasured shot that hangs proudly on my own kitchen wall…
Incidentally, I learned from our guide at the time that white makeup and stylized eye- and mouth treatments originated to highlight geishas’ facial expressions when performing back in the age of candlelight.
Like all my Fine Art Metal Prints,“Geiko & Escort,” ready-to-hang pricing starts at just $135, with super-affordable shipping throughout the Continental US right up to the largest sizes.