Author: bill@billwil.com

My Student Pilot Cast Audio Cast

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this here yet, but I wanted to make anyone following this blog aware of one of my other endeavors.  I’m currently learning to fly (getting a private pilot license), and before starting, I decided to produce an podcast about that endeavor called the Student Pilot Cast.  It has been pretty fun producing this, although it can be a bit time consuming.  It’s also interesting to put all of my training out there for the world to see, the good and the bad.

I have several reasons for wanting to podcast my training

  • I’ve been inspired and entertained by all of the aviation podcasts that I’ve been listening to, and wanted to add to this content by “giving back” some of what I have gained from all of these peoples hard work.  I felt like I could do that by podcasting myself (see reason ‘b’ below).  Some of these other podcasts that inspired me to do this include:
  • As a budding pilot (and a long time wannabe :)) I felt very strongly that it would be interesting to be involved in the chronicle of someone getting their private pilot license.  I know this because I would have loved this content (and did with Will Hawkins first podcast, and others), so that helped me understand that for those of us who have the flying bug badly, this content would be interesting.
  • Making this content available might just help to inspire a few people to get involved in aviation, finally take the plunge themselves, or just improve the perception of general aviation for someone.  I know this sounds a bit self-absorbed, but trust me, it is more about the realization that the content out there helped me, so I realize that every little bit might help someone else…and if that’s true, assisting in the popularity or perception of General Aviation is good for those of us who realize how important it is.  I’m actually still amazed that anybody listens…but if I think about how voracious I am with aviation content, I shouldn’t be surprised.
  • Keeping a good, rich, record of accomplishing this important thing to me will be something I personally will love having.  As I mentioned in episode 0, it is like keeping a media rich scrapbook and the body of content that I have when I’m finished will be priceless to me personally.  By having listeners wanting more episodes insures the external motivation necessary to help me to not slack off.  J
  • It’s fun!  And since I’m a technologist professionally, and an amateur audio/video/photography enthusiast…why not combine some of these passions (including aviation) into something that benefits others…and we all win.  Believe it or not, I’m a social, but very private person…but I’m in awe of my colleagues and friends (like Tim Heuer , and many others…its very common in my industry) who continually put themselves out there in the public eye for the benefit of everyone.  I think the generation after me (I’m 36 years old) has grown up with technology based social networking, and are comfortable wearing their lives on their sleeves (see things like myspace, facebook, twitter, etc.), and so to keep with the times, I need to teach myself to be more open, and what better way than to learn to fly in front of the world?  I think there is a societal benefit to sharing experience (there are downsides, too, but that’s another topic), and I am having fun learning to participate in this on a more grandiose scale by leveraging technology.  I know this is a bit philosophical, but I hope I’m getting my thoughts across.

Anyway…if you are so inclined, please check out my podcast at www.studentpilotcast.com.  I’ve released now something like nine episodes, and its speeding up.  Let me know what you think.

Student Pilot Cast Logo

Friend not Fish dive tour T-Shirts are ready to order

Everyone who is participating in the 3rd annual Friend not Fish dive tour in the Channel Islands can now purchase the official shirt of this years trip.  See the panel below, and what you want.  Let me know if there are any questions.

Also, don’t forget the dive trip checklist that I’ve posted before.


create & buy custom products at Zazzle

Davey Dance Blog

This just might be the best use I’ve seen yet of a video blog.  Unfortunately, you have to watch these online (not a podcast for downloading automatically from the RSS).  Worth it though.  This is the latest episode.

“Davey Dance-BLOG. A project started while traveling Europe during Spring 2007. Armed only with an ipod and a Canon PowerShot, Davey picks a location and a pop song. Then Davey records an improvised dance.”

Davey Dance Blog -47- DUBLIN – Talking Heads “Houses in Motion” from Pheasant Plucker on Vimeo.

Dance on.

Trent Takes the Controls

Here is a quick video from Trent’s and my flight.  My favorite part…”Do the brakes work up here?”

You can hear the ATIS for Chandler (CHD) about halfway through the clip, if you are interested.  This is the first time Trent had ever been in a small plane before…let alone fly one.  Good job, Trent.

Trent and I Go Flying

Trent and I went over to Chandler Airport today and jumped in a Cherokee 160 (with a CFI), and took a quick trip down to Casa Grande. We didn’t do this to go to Casa Grande, mind you, but for the experience itself. You see, I’m starting my training for my Private Pilot certificate, and hopefully Trent isn’t too far behind. 🙂 It was a good time…and I’m excited as all get out to finally be doing my training. Here are a couple of pics.

Trent is getting ready to take the controls (after the CFI, Brian, gets us into the air).

Here’s a shot while Trent is flying from the south of Chandler looking north. You can see I-17 running diagonally through the picture. The Cherokees are low wing aircraft, so the pesky wings seem to always get in the way.

SCUBA Diving Checklist

A couple of years ago, as we began the preparations for what would become the “Friends, Not Fish” annual dive excursion, I created an almost foolproof checklist for dive trips.  The idea was to create a checklist that would work for most dive trips, and would not get confusing if conditions or needs changed (i.e. warm vs. cold water).  I’ve sent this checklist out to many friends in preparation for trips, but decided to post it here for everyone…and for future reference for my dive buddies…current and future.

It’s fairly self explanatory, but here is an explanation anyway.  Each line on the checklist needs to be checked off in some way, wether you have packed the item (TAKE column), wether you are going to rent the item at your destination, or its provided by the boat/dive operator (RENT column), or wether you won’t be using this item on this trip (LEAVE column).  This way there is no ambiguity as to wether you’ve got a particular item.  If each row is checked and crossed off, you are good to go.  I usually decide before packing what I will be taking, renting, or leaving behind and check those boxes.  Then I cross off each line that is checked as RENT or LEAVE.  Then I proceed to pack my bags, and as I pack each item, I cross of that line.  I only have to worry about lines that haven’t already been crossed off.  Simple.  Foolproof.  I’ve even left blank lines in each section to account for last minute or unique items.  Finally, since the checklist is in Word format, it can be customized for each diver (or even type of trip).  For example, if you are a hunter, items can be added such as ‘pole spear’, ‘cleaning knife’, etc., or if you are a pro photographer, maybe even a separate checklist for each piece of camera gear.

Anyway, no one wants to show up to a boat and realize 12 miles out to sea that they forgot their fins, regulator, or whatever…so use a checklist that is hard to mess up.

Okay, so here it is.  This document is in Word 2007 format.  If you have an earlier version of Microsoft Word, make sure you have the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack installed, and you should be good to go.  If you don’t have Word at all, you can download and install the Microsoft Word Viewer for free (you won’t be able to edit the document…but you can view it and print it out).

If you have ideas for additions, changes, or come up with new ideas, please post them in the comments below and/or contact me through my contact page.

Enjoy.