My Interview With a Vampire

This is not a routine flight for the crew of the Boeing 777. Members of the media fill the passenger seats, taking notes as a spokeswoman enumerates the safety features of the aircraft. Piggybacked to the fuselage is a space shuttle. Within it astronauts prepare for an inflight launch. The 777 crew get the word from ground control: launch is a go.

In an instant things go wrong. The huge rocket engines ignite but the shuttle fails to disengage. The shuttle begins its swift climb toward space, shackled to the helpless 777. Moments later the space shuttle breaks away and can be seen screaming towards the edge of our atmosphere. The 777 is spinning; hurtling downward. As the crew battles to regain control, help has arrived in the form of a caped superhero. The airplane’s momentum is slowed and gently it comes to rest on the field of a sports stadium. Superman steps away from the airplane generating cheers from the crowd.

Some of you may recognize that scene from the 2006 film, Superman Returns. The 777 captain was played by stunt coordinator/performer/actor, Mike Massa, who also performed as lead stunt double. It’s kind of rare to actually recognize Mike on the big screen. He’s more like the Invisible Man; when you are seeing him perform a stunt, your mind thinks you’re seeing the actor. Just a few of his other credits are Bedtime Stories, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Spider-Man 3, Wedding Crashers, Spider-Man 2, Van Helsing, The Italian Job, The Matrix Reloaded, and Pearl Harbor. He was also the lead stunt double for the vampire “Angel” in the Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and Angel series.

Mike Massa spends his days fighting demons, falling out of skyscrapers, dangling from helicopter skids, crashing through windows, getting set on fire… and learning to fly. On the day of my first conversation with Mike he was again in vampire costume in New Orleans filming Dead of Night, a feature film adaptation of Dylan Dog (Italian comic series).

Becoming a stunt performer was not a goal for Mike. In high school, he dreamed of becoming a military fighter pilot, but was too tall to fit in the cockpit. As a teenager, Mike worked at Disney World performing bike and roller-skating tricks in the parades. In 1990 he auditioned for the Universal Studios stunt boat show – a skill he would later perfect in the 2003 film “The Italian Job” and for which he earned an award.

While working on a film, Mike and a friend were talking about some property in Colorado that he and his wife, Chris, want to
buy. His friend mentioned that instead of a 14 ½ hour drive from Los Angeles, it could take as little as 3 hours to fly there in his airplane. Realizing the utility that flying could afford his family, as well as the freedom from scheduled flights and crowded security lines, he was spurred into flight lessons. Once he started, he found he loved it. Mike flew his first solo on March 3rd, 2009, three years after he “captained” the B-777.

I wanted to know if he had been anxious when he soloed. “It was a little nerve wracking, but I wasn't nervous about flying the airplane. I was more nervous about the radios in such busy airspace,” he answered. After thinking about my question some more he expanded on his answer, “A lot of people work in offices and don't have to deal with fear on a daily basis. I'm not saying that I don't get scared, I just handle it differently. I've been a professional stunt man for 15 years and experience adrenaline-spiking situations constantly. Like today - I crashed through a window and rolled a car.” It was only mid afternoon at the time of our conversation. I wondered what kind of excitement was in store for him during the rest of the day.

“Once my instructor was out of the cockpit and I was back in the air, the thought did occur that it was all up to me to get this airplane back on the ground. But I pushed that thought away and followed the numbers just like when I'm doing a stunt. I just talked my way through my takeoffs and landings and taxied back to the ramp.”

Then Mike answered my unspoken question. “When I got out of the airplane I was as excited as a schoolboy. I couldn't wait to tell everyone about it!” It's nice to know that just about every pilot feels the same sense of accomplishment and wonder after their first solo.

I heard some voices on Mike's phone. Our interview ended when the vampire was needed back in makeup. 

2009 Sun-N-Fun Lives Up to Its Name

eager to join thousands of aviation enthusiasts participate in six days of blue skies, airplanes and shared passion for flight. Experienced pilots and future pilots alike congregated at Booth 17 to check out the newest technology in flight training and chat with some of our finest flight instructors. Inside American Flyers’ airconditioned trailer visitors enjoyed free sim lessons in our SimPro 200 flight trainers. Flying the simulator brought out the pilot in many guests and the competitor in others. One young lady remarked to her friend, “I landed it better!”

Our video crew wandered amongst the crowds recording interesting aircraft on the ground and in the air and posted videos daily on our website. They interviewed spokespeople from long established aircraft companies like Cessna and Husky, as well as those who’ve joined the industry more recently. They checked out an aircraft that resembles a very nice camper with wings and one with wings that fold up to park in a garage. We met a pilot who’d taken Flight Engineer ground school at American Flyers in 1966 and those who dream of taking their first flight. Our videographer takes us on a bi-plane ride as well.

Please visit channel 66 on our website to watch the six days of video:
http://www.americanflyers.net/About/sun_n_fun.htm.

4 Tips for Cleaning Your Windshield

Most general aviation aircraft windshields are made of an acrylic
material commonly referred to as Plexiglas. Though stronger than
glass, it is also softer than glass and scratches easily. You can’t use
ordinary household cleaners on them or you’ll get crazing like crazy. Here are some guidelines to keep your windshields clean,
bright, and sparkling for as long as your plane is flying.

1. Soak the window with plenty of water to flush off the debris and soften the bug residue. Remove as much abrasive dirt as possible without touching the surface. Never wipe a dry window with a dry cloth. Use an approved windshield cleaner with plenty of water. Don’t use anything with ammonia in it. Ammonia causes crazing (thousands of micro-scopic cracks).
2. Carefully dry with a clean, soft cloth. A soft cotton cloth that has been checked to assure there are no metal or hard objects stuck in it is best. Avoid paper products as they can cause minor scratching that over a period of time will accumulate and affect visibility.
3. The last thing to keep in mind when cleaning your windshield is to wipe it with vertical strokes, never wipe in a circular motion. The reason for this is that if you do cause any minor scratches a vertical scratch will not affect visibility nearly as much as circular scratches will.

The time you spend babying your windshield will be noticeable every flight you make when you can see clearly out the window.

Words of Wisdom…

There’s a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist. – E. B. Jeppesen

Caution: Cape does not enable user to fly. – Batman costume warning label

180-Degree Turn: A sometimes difficult maneuver to perform; the degree of difficulty is usually determined by the size of the pilot’s ego.

Mighty Mitchell

Three years prior to Pearl Harbor, the US Army Air Corps solicited bids for a twin-engine attack bomber. The North American B-25 Mitchell became standard equipment for the Allied Air Forces in World War II and was perhaps the most versatile aircraft of the war. It became the most heavily armed airplane in the world, and was used for high- and low-level bombing, strafing, photo reconnaissance, submarine patrol, and even as a fighter.

Between 1939 and 1945, 9,900 Mitchells were produced. The B-25 flew with the USAAF, the US Navy and Marine Corps, as well as with the British, Dutch, and Australian air forces. Its bomb capacity was 5,000 pounds, and some versions carried a 75 mm Howitzer that proved highly effective against Japanese shipping. One version carried eight .50-caliber guns in the nose, which provided 14 forward-firing guns overall.

A noteworthy accomplishment of the B-25 was the Gen. Jimmy Dolittle raid on Tokyo on April 18, 1942, in which a squadron of specially equipped B-25s performed a mission which the designers could never have imagined: takeoff from an aircraft carrier in the far North Pacific, carry out a daylight raid on targets in Tokyo, then, hopefully, fly into China where they were to land or ditch with minimum loss of life. The ultimate damage to Tokyo was light, but the raid went down in aviation history as a remarkable achievement against heavy odds.

Source: www.oldplanes.com

How to Improve Takeoff Performance
By Dave Menconi, Chief Flight Instructor

Knowing the published airspeeds that are applicable for a specific takeoff is a necessity, but did you know that you can increase your proficiency and get the most out of your airplane by anticipating its takeoff performance.

Many light single-engine takeoff operations have more than enough runway to safely takeoff. It is not uncommon for pilots to omit reviewing the specific takeoff performance for a flight if the departure runway is 3 or 4 times longer than what is normally required. This practice does nothing toward developing the skill required to achieve the maximum performance that is needed for short, soft, or high density altitude operations.

If a pilot knows the airplane’s ground roll and takeoff distance under the present conditions of weight, density altitude, configuration, and wind, the pilot can anticipate that the airplane will reach its rotation and lift-off speed at a certain point down the runway. The informed pilot starts applying control pressures in anticipation of reaching takeoff speeds, rather than reacting to the airspeed indicator, resulting in greater airspeed control during the lift-off and achievement of minimum ground roll. Familiarization of the initial climb performance (rate and angle of climb) allows the pilot to anticipate the flight path and establish the proper pitch attitude required to achieve the correct angle of attack. This results in improved airspeed control during the initial climb and achievement of maximum climb performance.

Becoming an expert on the performance of your airplane not only makes your routine takeoffs safer, but provides the mastery to obtain maximum performance when you really need it.

Maintenance Tip

When you have a screw that’s really stuck and you can’t get a good grip on it, use valve grinding compound from your local automotive store. Put a little dab it on the tip of your screwdriver. The grit helps the screwdriver get a grip on the groove. Work it into the screw a little bit, put some pressure on it and your screw will break loose. It saves you drilling out the screw and a lot of headaches.

For more tips like this one, visit “Plane Talk” on our Entertainment page at www.americanflyers.net.

From the Professor’s Desk

Q: I was on a VFR flight transitioning through Class B airspace as I neared my destination airport. While the forecasts and current report indicated VFR, I was flying into the sun and the haze became so thick that I couldn’t see much of anything. I managed to get to the airport, but only after ATC vectored me to the downwind. I had been next to the airport but couldn’t see it. Do you have any advice that might keep me from getting into that situation again?

A: First off, congratulations for doing the right thing by communicating with ATC. Whenever you feel uncomfortable in a situation, use ATC as a resource to help you.

My best advice is to know your limitations and have a plan of action to follow if the situation begins to deteriorate below your comfort level. Comfort level is important because it provides a buffer between the ideal and being marginally safe. You have already learned what exceeding your comfort level feels like and have learned by experience that marginal VFR, due to haze, especially when flying into the sun, for all intents and purposes is IFR. Take this experience into account when you do your preflight planning in the future. Consider if your flight will require flying due west in the late afternoon or due east in the early morning hours; is this a familiar airport or one you’ve never visited. However, if you find yourself in such a situation and are beginning to run out of comfort level, it’s time to end the flight. Tell ATC that you would like to be vectored to a nearby airport and that you are having trouble with the haze. Better safe than sorry is always a good motto to follow.

[Editor’s note: Consider taking a Basic Instrument Course to build your confidence and experience.]

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