Desert Pilot

This audio is my father, my son and I flying into Tucson international airport (KTUS). Recorded in June 2019._________Find the podcast on most podcatchers like Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or OvercastReach me on⇢✈︎ twitter: @DesertPilotTrev✈︎ facebook: DesertPilot Podcast✈︎ email: trevor@desertpilot.com

This audio is my son and I departing San Manuel Airport (E77) flying clockwise around Mt. Lemmon through the Redington Pass into Tucson international airport (KTUS). Recorded in May 2019._________Find the podcast on most podcatchers like Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or OvercastReach me on⇢✈︎ twitter: @DesertPilotTrev✈︎ facebook: DesertPilot Podcast✈︎ email: trevor@desertpilot.com 

This audio is my son and I departing Tucson international airport (KTUS) on a flight to do some landings at San Manuel Airport (E77) recorded in May 2019._________Find the podcast on most podcatchers like Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or OvercastReach me on⇢✈︎ twitter: @DesertPilotTrev✈︎ facebook: DesertPilot Podcast✈︎ email: trevor@desertpilot.com 

This is more audio at Tucson international airport (KTUS) with Wright Flight recorded in April 2019 approach and landing._________Find the podcast on most podcatchers like Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or OvercastReach me on⇢✈︎ twitter: @DesertPilotTrev✈︎ facebook: DesertPilot Podcast✈︎ email: trevor@desertpilot.com 

This is more audio at Tucson international airport (KTUS) with Wright Flight recorded in April 2019 approach and landing._________Find the podcast on most podcatchers like iTunes, Stitcher, or OvercastReach me on⇢✈︎ twitter: @DesertPilotTrev✈︎ facebook: DesertPilot Podcast✈︎ email: trevor@desertpilot.com 

This is some audio of me taking off at Tucson international airport (KTUS) with Wright Flight recored in April 2019.=====Find the podcast on most podcatchers like iTunes, Stitcher, or OvercastReach me on:twitter: @DesertPilotTrevfacebook: DesertPilot Podcastemail: trevor@desertpilot.com 

This is the return from from Ep. 03 flying back from Benson (E95) to Ryan Airfield (KRYN). Find the podcast on most podcatchers like iTunes, Stitcher, or Overcast=====Reach me on twitter: @DesertPilotTrevOn my facebook page that I don't keep up on: DesertPilot PodcastOr shoot me an email: trevor@desertpilot.com Intro music by Planet OrangeOutro music by Duke Ellington 

This is a flight from Ryan Airfield (KRYN) to Benson Airport (E95) and yes you can hear me bust the class charlie airspace around Tucson International (KTUS). And yes I filed a NASA report for the event.Find the podcast on most podcatchers like iTunes, Stitcher, or Overcast=====Reach me on twitter: @DesertPilotTrevOn my facebook page that I don't keep up on: DesertPilot PodcastOr shoot me an email: trevor@desertpilot.com Intro music by Planet OrangeOutro music by Duke Ellington 

This is part one of Cole's first flight in a general aviation aircraft. The uncut video of this is on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/LJ_0kfkyjaY =====Reach me on twitter: @DesertPilotTrevOn my facebook page that I don't keep up on: DesertPilot PodcastOr shoot me an email: trevor@desertpilot.com

This is a basic med story. You'll laugh and you'll cry, actually you probably won't do any of that.=====Reach me on twitter: @DesertPilotTrevOn my facebook page that I don't keep up on: DesertPilot PodcastOr shoot me an email: trevor@desertpilot.com

There has been lot of changes in life, a change of job, I’m not in the military anymore, so that also means a change in location. Arizona called me back from San Diego. Although I was sad to leave this is where we are supposed to be. We moved to Marana a town on the north side of Tucson it’s a great location close to work and family and best of all it is only a 10 min drive from Marana Regional Airport. The airport has 2 interesting runways 12-30 which is the long almost 7000’ runway and the shorter almost 4000’ 03-21. Most of the time the traffic favors 12.Shortly after moving to Marana I was at the park or out walking with my son I wanted to know what was going at the airport. I’m not directly under the pattern but I can see most of the planes on downwind. So I put up an antenna in my attic wired it my aviation handheld and then to a computer and steamed it online through LiveATC.net. Just a side note if anyone wants to do that liveatc is super helpeful at getting it all set up it makes it really easy.So for a few months now I’ve been listening to the traffic at the airport. The airport is non-towered, although it is in the 20 year master plan to build a tower. This day on Wednesday Mar 15, 2017 was one of those days that a tower would have been useful. The airport is popular with students because it is just over the threshold for what the FAA deems a cross country flight from most of the phoenix area airports. The Army also likes to come to the airport to train too. In this recording the Army aircraft are a Mustang which is a helicopter not the P-51 and Shady which is a twin turboprop that is acting as a jump plane. Because of the nature of a non-towered airport the pilots announce what they are doing and there is a lot of traffic this day. It get a little heated and I thought it would be a good training tool for everyone.A number a take-aways that I got from this recording. First one is to listen, listen, listen to the radio and paint that mental picture of the traffic in your head or if you can see it even better. Second even though it got a little heated on the radios the pilots remained professional. I love this about aviation that we all know there is more important things to put on the radio then our egos. You hear this that people are still reporting even during the argument. Third you never know when you are being recorded I think it should be assumed that anything you put on the internet or over the radio will be forever.

If you are like me you listen to a plethora of aviation podcasts. I think some of the best aviation news comes from them and they stay on the topic I most care about most... aviation. A few months back I was listening to an episode of the Airplane Geeks Podcast and they were talking about the airplane of the week. One of the choices was the Aeronca Champ.If you didn't know back in the fall of 2008 I received my tailwheel endorsement in a red 1942 7AC Aeronca Champ. I don't think I've loved and airplane more then the Champ. I think it's a smilier experience to a first car or girl friend you never seem to forget it. Flying the Champ is real stick and rudder flying. Like any tail dragger you have to be quick on the rudder peddles but not hard I can still hear my instructor saying toe pressur that's all you need to control the rudder, sometimes not even that much just thinking about adding left or right rudder would do the trick. There is a real finesse in flying that I think so lost flying heavy more stable aircraft like a Cessna 172 or Piper Warrior. Just before my tailwheel endorsement I had just earned my private from Arizona State University's Pilot Development Program. A great program that gave me a great base of knowadge of aviation and my future certificates. But it was also very airline cockpit and Crew Resource Management (CRM) oriented.  The company procedures were many and the Pilot Operating Hand Book (POH) for each plane were hundreds of pages along with the other supplement guides that the school required to fly with. In contrast the Champs POH was barley 50 pages. The equipment on board was a radio, transponder, altimeter,  airspeed indicator  and an oil temp gauge. Flying the Champ was like riding a bicycle  Once I got the hang of it and in coordinated flight you could just feel everything in balance and it felt good. The visibility in the plane was amazing. It had large windows all around you and tandem seating so there was no one next to you to block your view. With a stick between your legs in place of a yoke it made the Champ more my kind of flying. After receiving my endorsement the Champ was my first choice for the airplane I wanted to take up as offen as I could when going around the patch or for short trips. It was fun and cheap then only $62 an hour wet!The airplane geeks did featured the Champ as the airplane of the week and David Vanderhoof did a great history segment on it followed by a story I told about flying back from Payson AZ to Mesa AZ  and the experience I had of almost running out of fuel, I thought. hope you enjoy.Download the podcast here.This is the day I got my endorsementMy favorite picture in Champ coming in short final in to Falcon Field AZ (FFZ)

This poem has been around the internet a while and probably on paper longer. Just a quick search I found it on AvWeb in 2006 and on an Airline forum in 2003. Another had posted it again this year and it made my smile so I thought I'd recored it here. I got bored and added the links in below.T'was the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp,Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ.The aircraft were fastened to tie downs with care,In hopes that -- come morning -- they all would be there.The fuel trucks were nestled, all snug in their spots,With gusts from two-forty at 39 knots.I slumped at the fuel desk, now finally caught up,And settled down comfortably, resting my butt.When the radio lit up with noise and with chatter,I turned up the scanner to see what was the matter.A voice clearly heard over static and snow,Called for clearance to land at the airport below.He barked his transmission so lively and quick,I'd have sworn that the call sign he used was "St. Nick."I ran to the panel to turn up the lights,The better to welcome this magical flight.He called his position, no room for denial,"St. Nicholas One, turnin' left onto final."And what to my wondering eyes should appear,But a Rutan-built sleigh, with eight Rotax Reindeer!With vectors to final, down the glideslope he came,As he passed all fixes, he called them by name:"Now Ringo! Now Tolga! Now Trini and Bacun!On Comet! On Cupid!" What pills was he takin'?While controllers were sittin', and scratchin' their heads,They phoned to my office, and I heard it with dread,The message they left was both urgent and dour:"When Santa pulls in, have him please call the tower."He landed like silk, with the sled runners sparking,Then I heard, "Left at Charlie," and "Taxi to parking."He slowed to a taxi, turned off of three-oh,And stopped on the ramp with a "Ho, ho-ho-ho..."He stepped out of the sleigh, but before he could talk,I ran out to meet him with my best set of chocks.His red helmet and goggles were covered with frost,And his beard was all blackened from Reindeer exhaust.His breath smelled like peppermint, gone slightly stale,And he puffed on a pipe, but he didn't inhale.His cheeks were all rosy and jiggled like jelly,His boots were as black as a cropduster's belly.He was chubby and plump, in his suit of bright red,And he asked me to "fill it, with hundred low-lead."He came dashing in from the snow-covered pump,I knew he was anxious for drainin' the sump.I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work,And I filled up the sleigh, but I spilled like a jerk.He came out of the restroom, and sighed in relief,Then he picked up a phone for a Flight Service brief.And I thought as he silently scribed in his log,These reindeer could land in an eighth-mile fog.He completed his pre-flight, from the front to the rear,Then he put on his headset, and I heard him yell, "Clear!"And laying a finger on his push-to-talk,He called up the tower for clearance and squawk."Take taxiway Charlie, the southbound direction,Turn right three-two-zero at pilot's discretion"He sped down the runway, the best of the best,"Your traffic's a Grumman, inbound from the west."Then I heard him proclaim, as he climbed through the night,"Merry Christmas to all! I have traffic in sight." Author Unknown

This cockpit audio was recorded at least 2 1/2 years ago I don't really know. I just found it going through my computer and decided to share. I'm flying 3 touch-n-gos and have 2 other pilots in the plane with me. Dave an instructor and another buddy of mine who is a private pilot in the back seat. 3 pilots in an airplane is always fun.Download the podcast here

Yes it's true at almost 1 year since my last audio podcast and 6 months from my last post the DesertPilot  podcast is back. I recorded this episode off the deck of the USS Princeton CG-59. Enjoy.Download the Podcast hereSH-60B going around

Ok so I'm back after 5 month of Navy basic training and Operation Specialist (OS) "A" School. I'm now at my first duty station in San Diego, CA aboard the USS PRINCETON (CG-59). I have tons to learn now. It's nice to be finally where I'm suppose to be for I can do my job. Here is a small video I made on my flight home.

Yesterday I took my son up in a small airplane for the first time. A fellow pilot friend Bill sent me a tweet that he needed a co-pilot for the fly to Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) from Stellar Air Park (P19) for Cutter Aviation's free BBQ so I said sure then asked if Shad (who is 18 months-old) could come too he said he didn't have a problem with that. Below are some of the pictures from the flight and the audio from the short flight home. Shad had a good time the only part he cried was when the engine started and got hit with the wind from the prop blast but it was short lived. He did great. Download the PodcastShad "helping" with the preflightAll strapped in ready to go.This is taken in the air although you can't really tell. He was a little unsure.Captain BillOn Final Runway 25L After we touched down he fell asleep I guess it was stressful.the BBQ area at the endflight crewHe slept the whole way home.A good flight

My youngest brother and I in November of 2010 got to go see the only flying B-29 when it came to the valley for a few days it was very neat. There was also a B-25 and B-17 there. We got to go inside of all of them and took lots of pictures. Below are some and on a link to even more.Download the short podcast of the flight over here.B-29 on take off with the B-17 and B-25 in the foreground.My little bro and the B-17B-29 coming in for landingHanging out the window of the B-25Manning the guns of the B-17inside the cockpit of the B-29FIFI Check out more pictures of our flight here.

I did it. I made the sacrifice and switched to AT&T and now have an iPhone 4. One of the features on the iPhone is that I can upload HD video that I took and edited on my phone to Youtube. I've done a few videos and wanted to post them on here. I flew a non-rev flight to Texas to see my cusins went to a Rangers game and rode along with my cusions who is a local cop there. tons of fun.

Last month as part of my intership at Mesa Air Group 3 other interns and I got to "play" in their Canada Regional Jet (CRJ) model 200 full motion simulator while they're was not pilot scheduled for training. It was loads of fun.

A little while back I was listening to the Uncontrolled Airspace podcast ep. 186 and they were talking about flight bags and all the things that they carry in their flight bag. I was shocked when they didn't mention any survival gear that they carry. I consider survival gear an essential part of flying and my flight bag. I put this together to show everyone what I carry and give some ideas. I'm open for any input so send it my way.Arizona Survival Gear from Trevor Smith on Vimeo.Download the video HERE for your mobile device.

In my Aircraft Design and Logistics Management class at Arizona State we made a Radio Controlled Airplane. But the way we did it was the class was step up like a company would be with a design, supply, manufacturing, etc. departments that all worked together to make the plane. I learned a lot and was a neat idea for the class. The grade we got in the class was not based on if the plane flew but how we worked together and what we learned from it.I was in the test and evaluation department and charged with recording and editing this video which is a summary of the semester. Arizona State RC Airplane Project Spring 2010 from Trevor Smith on Vimeo.Download the video for your mobile device

This is a recording of a flight back into Scottsdale coming home from a 5 hours Civil Air Patrol exercise. We are flying in from the north west and there are tons of students around we really had to have our heads on a swivel. http://www.archive.org/download/FlyingIntoSdl/CapIntoSdl.mp3

Download podcast here:http://www.archive.org/download/FundedCapFlt/fundcapflt.mp3This flight is my first really funded flight flying for the Civil Air Patrol that I flew last Tuesday. My squadron at Falcon Field Airport (FFZ) just got a plane assigned to them again and today I signed up for a crew pick up flight. The Arizona Wing does consolidated maintenance and for good or for bad some has to go pick up the pilot that takes their plane in to the shop in Payson (PAN). On this flight I pick up a pilot after he dropped off his plane and took him back to his car at Chandler Municipal (CHD).Falcon Field like many in the Phoenix valley has its roots as an Army Air Corps field build for training British pilot in World War II. Falcon Field was it's original name give to it by the British in the 40's and the name has suck since. Currently it has one 5100ft and a parallel 3800ft runways and is one of the busier airports in the valley one probably my favorite. This recording is just me taking off and opening my flight plan. You'll notice that I recored this podcast different then the others. I bought a patch cable that plugs right into the headset jack but it did something very strange in the begining of the flight the audio levels were normal but the slowly got lower and lower that by the the of the flight you could barely hear the audio at all. That's why you are only getting the first part.  The rest of the recording was so bad that I really couldn't even use it. If there is any one that has an idea of what is happening please send me an email trevor@desertpilot.com. On past audio recording I used a little tie clip mic that I put in my headset ear cuff. The patch cable audio is much clearer with very little background noise, but the background with the tie clip you can hear the plane noise and gives it a more organic feel like you are there. It's different let me know what think of ether I hope you enjoy.Falcon Field sq. patch

Boeing B-17 touch-n-gos at IWA from Trevor Smith on Vimeo.Podcast Download:http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13836556/b17touchngo.mp4I was driving (Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010) to Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport where I go to school back from lunch and looked up and saw the B-17G Sentimental Journey fly over the car on final a few hundred feet off the ground doing touch-n-gos. The plane is based at Falcon Field (FFZ), just to the north of IWA, and operated by the Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force I've never see a B-17 flying before and it was quite a sight.The video in the podcast feed is a lower quality the one found on the blog so it can be viewed on an ipod 

This episode is my mother and I flying back from Payson, AZ to have breakfast with my Grandpa on his 79th Birthday. Mom did great she was a little nervous but that is normal from anyone who hasn't sent too much time in little airplanes. Here is a link to her blog where she talks about the flight and posts a few more pictures. The breakfast crew

This the promised video from the podcast from yesterday. In this video I did 4 touch-n-go's and I full stop landing back a Chandler. Merry Christmas!Desert Pilot: Christmas Touch-n-go's from Trevor Smith on Vimeo.

This is part two of the podcast where we are flying back from Copperstate 2009 at Case Grande Airport (CGZ) It's not a long flight but a fun one. I posted pictures and the 3D map of this trip on the previous post Copperstate 2009 part 1. The podcast is below. enjoy.

This episode is part 1 of flying with my friends Nick and Jacob to Copperstate 2009 last month. Copperstate is an EAA event and I would say that it is like Arizona’s Oshkosh. It’s is at Case Grande Airport (KCGZ) just about .5 hobbs south of Chandler where we flew out of. Below are some pics from the day we were there and this podcast, part 1, is us flying there. Hope you enjoy.This Trimotor was giving rides that I should have taken but we saw flying in and out all day.This is the heli we got a ride in.Jacob and the Heli pilotNick and Inice bikes that I could see my self on.Trimotor taking off.the only jet there.The l-39 on take off2 Apache coming inKicking up some dustMeDon't know how one got this2 heli's and the jettaking offchecking out a Huskeysitting in the roomy Super Sport CubOver fly of some StermansFlying backView a 3D map of this flight using Google Earth

This flight I'm flying right seat for a friend (Dave) practicing IAP.  The podcast isn't the whole flight just coming back into Goodyear (GYR) when it got a little interesting. here is a link direct to the file but you can always subscribe to the podcast using iTunes by clicking the link on the side.http://sites.google.com/site/trevjsmithfiles/podcasts/dp002dave.mp3DaveClick here to view this route in 3D using Google Earth

This is my first try at a podcast:http://sites.google.com/site/trevjsmithfiles/podcasts/DesertPilot-flyingbackwithNick.mp3 For those of you who don't know what is that is I found a good little article about what it is.http://www.how-to-podcast-tutorial.com/what-is-a-podcast.htmI started to record cockpit audio and when I go on my flights. I haven't really got is all down with the recording and me narrating the podcast but I'll get better as I go.This flight is off to a fly-in breakfast that the Coolidge airport put on the first sat of every month in the fall, winter and spring month. So this was the kick off for the after the hot summer.here is a few pics:Stearmans flying over (sorry about the camera smudge)Andy and I next to he's pitts, if only it had two seats.Great J-3 Cubvery nice newly painted CitabriaBlue is there red is backClick here to see the above map in 3D with google earth

Got my first free flying "mission" with CAP today. It wasn't a lot it was a short 20min flight from Chandler to Deer Valley airport and back. I shared the flight with 2 others so I only flew on the way back. All the pics I took from the back seat on the way there. I hadn't been in the back for about 6-7 years. The pic below is some of the CAP planes in a row before we left at Deer Valley and it looked cool.Here is what we flew. I think I would fly around the valley when I do it again because of all the extra radios that are in the CAP airplane there was tons of static and radio interference around south mt. (two peaks on the map) from all the radio towers on top. the flag on my shoulder meChandler towerflying over Stellar airparksouth mountainthis is a military center of some sort the radar gave it a away but I'm not quiet sure, looks armyDeer Valley's brand new towerAt Deer Valley we had a few hour class about mountain flying it was very informative, really a great class and great things to know in Arizona.

This is my new DIY camera clip that I made to hold my my camera and clip it to the dash board. I drilled a hole in the top and put a screw in there it worked pretty well. As you can tell from the video.Went to Payson, AZ to take some pics of a train set my Grandpa wants me to sell on ebay. I still need flight time so flew. It's just over 50nm but climbs 4000ft. in elevation so the ground comes up to meet you. View CHD to PAN in a larger mapStarted in Chandler 0530 trying to beat the heat it was still just about 90F when I left.Mt. OrdMeFlying back into the valley about 0930 just under 100F

I went Flying with David, from the Phoenix Pilot Group meetup, who needed to do some instrument approaches to stay IFR current. You don't need a instructor to do this just another pilot.He had a great just over 10 year old Bonanza in great shape and flew just as well.We flew from Gateway an the did some VOR, GPS, and ILS approches in to Coolidge and Case Grande until coming back and doing 2 into Gateway to make it 6.under the hoodbeautiful morningmemore of the valley

I Flew to Sells, AZ today. I love finding and going to new airports. This one is a smaller airport with tight runway with cracks in the pavement lined with bushes and trees. I had never landed with trees so close to the runway it was a neat new experience.This is looking down runway 22 My trusty 152 at the runway 4 end.The house that had a helicopter take off from it and what looked like a fuel truck was there.What was the FBO.E78 from the air.Saw this after I landed at Chandler (CHD).  very nice.

This is the first Fly-in that I flew in to. Super fun!http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13836556/cactus09.mp4