Tag: California

“Birthday Flowers,” Greg’s Flying Carpet Podcast #15

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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 “Birthday Flowers,” Greg’s Flying Carpet Podcast Flight #15

When celebrating birthdays with zeros in them, flowers alone won’t do it. So when my wife Jean marked a new decade I sought somewhere special we could fly to celebrate.

“But it seems kinda weird celebrating a big birthday in Death Valley,” she said…

If you enjoy this podcast, please share with friends!

Greg

See associated photos below!

Podcast music by Hannis Brown.

PS: Find all Greg’s Flying Carpet Podcast episodes here!

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Episode #15 Photos

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About Greg

A former National Flight Instructor of the Year, Greg is author of five books, a former Barnes & Noble Arizona Author of the Month, and recently completed twenty years as aviation adventure columnist for AOPA’s Flight Training magazine. Some reviewers have compared his book, “Flying Carpet: The Soul of an Airplane,” to sixties road-trip classics like “On the Road,” and “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.”

“Greg thinks with the mind of a pilot, questions with the curiosity of a philosopher, and sees with the eyes of a poet.” — Rod Machado, aviation author and humorist

“You don’t have to be a pilot, or even a frequent flyer, to soar with Greg Brown in [his] Flying Carpet.” — Nina Bell Allen, former Assistant Managing Editor, Readers Digest

So buckle in and join Greg for the ride!

Please support Greg’s Flying Carpet Podcast, Blog, & Student Pilot Pep Talk Facebook Group!

Make a one-time donation, or better yet, subscribe your ongoing support. Thank you! Greg

If you enjoyed this story, you’ll love Greg’s book, Flying Carpet: The Soul of an Airplane. Autographed copies available!

Check out Greg’s Aviation Books, Fine Art Aerial Photo Prints, and Pilot Achievement Plaques!

Greg’s Aviation Books
Greg’s “Views from the Flying Carpet” Aerial Fine Art Prints
Greg’s Pilot Achievement Plaques

“Santa Ana Winds,” Greg’s June, 2015 Flying Carpet column

flying adventures, Flying Carpet column, Greg's piloting tips, Greg's photographs

The price of adventure

GregBrownFT615_2789eSmw1200

Let’s face it, not everyone is cut out to be a pilot. Flying is as much about adventure as it is about transportation. Jean and I could drive to Southern California for our annual seaside vacation, as others do. Yes, it’s a dull 8-hour trek, and requires negotiating miles of maddening traffic. But little planning and few decisions are required — just hop in the car, and go.

By Flying Carpet, the same journey takes just two hours and delivers us three miles from the beach. Along the way are spectacular views of mountains, desert, and the Colorado River. Sounds impressive to the uninitiated, but flying demands planning, research, and sometimes stress. We pilots see such challenges as the price of adventure — overcoming obstacles for the rewards of stunning sights and completing our “missions.” But for others less suited to piloting, such trials seem troublesome travel complications.

This would be our second flight into Oceanside Municipal Airport for our “beach fix” with friends Tim and Hedy Thomas. It’s a delightful rural airport, but not without challenges: a short obstructed runway, and noise-abatement procedures that demand preflight study. Those I’d mastered last visit.

This year’s travel was constrained because our hosts could accommodate us for only two specific days. Every pilot knows the challenges of trying to meet an inflexible schedule. Fortunately, this route normally features benign flying weather, so I wasn’t too worried about it.

GregBrownFT615_0513eSmw1200As the day approached, the Southwest enjoyed record winter temperatures: Flagstaff in the 60s and Oceanside in the 80s. The cause was a powerful weather system generating easterly “Santa Ana winds.” I knew the effects of the Santa Anas, but had never flown in them.

Yes, 25-knot tailwinds would speed us on our way. But Oceanside is just 30 miles downwind of California’s rugged coastal mountains, raising specters of mountain wave stretching out to sea, moderate to severe turbulence, and low-level wind shear at our destination…

READ THIS MONTH’S ENTIRE COLUMN, “SANTA ANA WINDS.” (Allow a moment for the article to load.)

Top photo: California’s Oceanside Municipal Airport (lower left) lies just up the San Luis Rey River from its namesake town, beach, and pier (upper right). Lower photo: The reward: savoring sunset at Oceanside Beach, California. SEE MORE PHOTOS HERE!

(This column first appeared in AOPA Flight Training magazine.)

Greg

©2015 Gregory N.Brown

“Secret Mountain Sunset,” Greg’s Aerial Fine Art Photographic Print

Greg's photographs

Although I’ve often photographed the area of “Secret Mountain Sunset” in daylight, never before have I experienced such an opportunity to capture the hulking rock towers of Arizona’s Red Rock / Secret Mountain Wilderness as they slip into night.

“Secret Mountain Sunset” debuts in Limited Edition 27″x40″ and 24″x36″ prints, and Open Editions of 16″x24″ and 10″x14″. Print prices start at $175. See detailed pricing and ordering information.

Like all my Views from the Flying Carpet, this photograph was collaboratively tuned for print with Master Photographic Printer Richard Jackson, who prints for the world’s finest photographers. Each individual print is meticulously crafted, mounted as appropriate, and packaged for shipping under Mr. Jackson’s supervision.

Learn more about my Views from the Flying Carpet Fine Art Photographic Prints, including available images, and our process for creating these marvelous prints.

View a video about my aerial photography, and subscribe for email updates.

Hope you enjoy this view from my cockpit!

Greg

PS: Visit my first Phoenix-area Views from the Flying Carpet Arts Fine Art Aerial Photography exhibit at the Arizona Historical Society Museum in Papago Park, Tempe, AZ, mid-July through September, 2014.

©2014 Gregory N. Brown

“Death Valley Salt Flats II,” Greg’s Aerial Fine Art Photographic Print

Greg's photographs

I photographed “Death Valley Salt Flats II,” near Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America, at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level.

Death Valley is the most other-worldly place Jean and I have ever encountered, both on the ground and from aloft. Swirling “salt devils” arise from bone-white salt flats to pierce a cobalt sky, contrasting against shockingly vibrant mineral deposits tinting the surrounding cliffs and mountains with unnatural color.

Read my Flying Carpet column, “Birthday Flowers,” describing this particular trip. (This column first appeared in AOPA Flight Training magazine, June, 2005.)

“Death Valley Salt Flats II” debuts in Limited Edition 27″x40″ and 24″x36″ prints, and Open Editions of 16″x24″ and 10″x14″. Print prices start at $175. See detailed pricing and ordering information.

Like all my Views from the Flying Carpet, this photograph was collaboratively tuned for print with Master Photographic Printer Richard Jackson, who prints for the world’s finest photographers. Each individual print is meticulously crafted, mounted as appropriate, and packaged for shipping under Mr. Jackson’s supervision.

Learn more about my Views from the Flying Carpet Fine Art Photographic Prints, including available images, and our process for creating these marvelous prints.

View a video about my aerial photography, and subscribe for email updates.

Hope you enjoy this view from my cockpit!

Greg

PS: Visit my Coconino Center for the Arts Fine Art Aerial Photography exhibit in Flagstaff, Arizona, through May 31, 2014.

©2014 Gregory N. Brown