Resolutions for 2009

I don't normally hold with the tradition of making resolutions at the turn of the calendar. I believe that if I find a deficiency in my life, or just want to change my direction, I don't need a celestial trigger to take action. That said, the last two months have been a watershed of introspection for me. I've made new friends, both on-line and in real time, I've been offered new opportunities in both my paid, and volunteer work. Finally I've taken two weeks off to be with family over Christmas. A very fertile environment for new plans and hopes for the future. Also a number of other pilots who blog are committing resolutions to the net. I'm not one to let a band wagon pass without at least testing the ride so here goes:

1. Loose 20lbs. This is a fairly standard resolution, but I have a slight twist which I hope will motivate me to make it happen. My airplane burns 1lb of fuel per minute at maximum cruise. If I loose 20lbs I can cary 20 minutes more fuel, which is a third of my personal reserve. It will also make my wife and doctor happy.
2. Spend more time with my family and friends. This unfortunately means cutting back on some of my volunteer activities. Sulako has set a target of 10%. I think that is reasonable and what I'll aim for too. The problem is, there are so many good causes out there, and so few people actually willing to commit time and energy to them.
3. Do more long cross country trips in the plane. I hope to combine this with #2. I learned, or perhaps relearned, on a trip earlier in the month that the distance spanning abilities of GA can bring us together with people we care about that is not possible with other modes of transport.
4. Finish two renovation projects. I have four or five on the go, some for an embarrassing long time. I really should finish them off, and I can combine this with #2 as well.
5. Because 5 is a Dihedral Prime, there is a certain asymmetric symmetry that I like, so my fifth and final resolution is to spend more time kayaking. Since this will also help me with #1 and #2 it will be an efficient use of my time. Besides, there is nothing half so much worth doing than messing about in boats.

Have a safe and prosperous new year.

Dell Insperon Mini 9 - Ubuntu Remix

I've been playing with a Dell Insperon Mini 9 for a while. Dell has released an ISO image for the Ubuntu installation on the Mini 9. So far it has been a painful download, and I still have 2 hours to go. Apparently this is a re-install image so it will wipe the hard drive, so I will have to put some thought into how best to create an image of the current Windows XP installation. Right now I'm thinking of shrinking the partition, then using a live CD to copy the image to some place safe.

I'll have to see, download first.

Move to Canada Eh?

I'm thankful it isn't that easy.

Morning Routine, XKCD Style

Which is why I use a Blackberry.

Dell Insperion Mini 9 - Initial Thoughts

The Dell Inspiront Mini 9 Netbook is reviewed at PC Magazine. I've gotten my hands on a unit with 1 GByte system memory, 16 GByte solid state disk drive with Windows XP Home installed. The unit has been with me for about eight hours and I'm writing this post with it. The actual specifications are available from Dell, or from the PC Mag review, so here I will limit my comments to my impression of how it is to use.

The first impression is the size, as the PC Mag review says it has the same footprint as the ASUS EE PC but a much better screen. The keyboard is also small and has some odd shaped keys around the edges. A machine of this type is always going to be a compromise between ease of use and power vs size and weight. If you are looking for a light duty maching to surf, email blog or office tasks while on the road and you don'd have a lot of space or weight for a lap top the Mini 9 could be for you. Initially I thought I would never be able to touch type on the keyboard, I'm still making some mistakes but it isn't too bad, and I think after a few days I will be back up to my normal speed.

It is really a great package, I'm sitting on the couch, watching PVR with the Mini 9 on my lap and it isn't cooking my thighs. The screen is bright and very readable, there is no fan or disk noise and it isn't much heavier than some of the remote controlls I have for my entertainment system. When the lid is closed, or I just ignore it for too long, it takes some time to get prepared for standby. When I'm ready to go again it takes almost no time to come back up. This is one of the great things about having a solid state disk drive.

Battery life is quite good, the wall wart power charger is tiny compared to other laptops. It would have been very nice if Dell could have arranged to fold the power prongs into the unit like Sony has been doing for a long time. Recharging is very quick, so if you are travelling it may be worth while to pop in the charger for a five or ten minutes during a layover.

I ordered the unit with XP pre-loaded for two reasons: the shipping date was earlier, and I like to have my portable computers dual boot to Linux and Windows (preferably XP) for ultimate flexability. With the XP preload and Open Office installed I still have 10GBytes of disk space left for a Linux partition. I expect the low end versions with 512MBytes of system memory and 4GBytes of disk and Ubuntu pre-installed will be very good, and inexpensive tools for road warriers.

So far I really like it, and it is my favourite mobile computer at the moment.

Blackberry OS 4.5 - The First 12 Hours

So after about 12 hours of use here are my impressions.

User Interface:
The included applications (Mail, Calendar, Address Book, etc) all have a dressed up user interface. This doesn't add anything but eye candy, but its nice.

Browser:
The WiFi Browser is now called Hot Spot Browser. It now has a start page separate from the bookmark list that has a URL field; a search field that searches Google, Wikipedia or Dictionary.Com; Bookmark and History mini lists that link to full lists; and it does favicons. There also seems to be better JavaScript support. The best thing though is the cursor in column view. This is a cross between what were mobile and desktop views. Instead of scrolling through text and randomly (or so it seems) jumping between links, you can now have a cursor that you can drive exactly where you want. Wonderful.

Calendar:
Appointments can now be "Sent using" one of your configured mail sources. What, exactly that means in every case will need some investigation. Each "calendar" can be configured for wireless sync (if you have a Unite or BES server), and each gets its own colour.

So far I'm pleased, but don't use the Rogers version. Search the web to find the latest release.

Blackberry 8820 OS 4.5 Rogers Upgrade

I found the official Rogers version of Blackberry OS 4.5 (4.5.0.37 Release 52, the "latest" release for this device is 4.5.0.75) so I've decided to install it today. Normally when upgrading the OS on a Blackberry you want the desktop software version to match that of the OS upgrade. Rogers doesn't have the Desktop Manager 4.5 so I installed the RIM generic version. This simply means that I had to track down and delete (actually I rename) the vendor.xml file. Vendor.xml determines which versions of what software the Desktop Manager will install on the device. If someone else is managing your Blackberry, you probably don't want to do this without their permission, but I manage my own.

Once vendor.xml was taken care of the Desktop Manager offered to upgrade my unit. You will probably, like me, want to go into the advanced options and change the load out somewhat; enable Blackberry Maps, disable languages you don't need, etc. Make sure a complete backup of your data is enabled and click next.

The process of the upgrade proceeded very smoothly but it does take time, and you don't want any interruptions, so make sure you have good reliable power supplied to your PC. The longest part of the installation is after the new software has been installed and the Blackberry reboots. I can take a very long time to come back. This is normal but can be worrying the first time you go through it. My device took nearly a half hour of flipping the hourglass to get everything sorted out. Once it came back the desktop automatically restored the data.

Most things came back just fine. I had to reload Facebook, the starter icon was on the ribbon, but the application was removed. You still can't past the password from the password keeper which is stupid.

So far I haven't noticed any real significant changes. The GPS has a location enable/disable option and location assist. It will take time to see if location assist does anything useful. There is a new theme, but I don't like it any better than the one I'm using now. There are some changes to the WiFi configuration screens that I will have to explore. BIS activation came back automatically, but I had to re-activate on Unite.

Update:

Should have gone with the latest release. 4.5.0.37 has a really stupid bug to find its way into a production release. Sigh!

Cessna 206 - Tiweano Equador

I came across this video of a jungle landing and just had to share it. Unfortunately the quality isn't really good. Is that a dog on the runway or a trick of the light?

So What's up with the COPA Website - its Back

It looks like the Canadian Owners' and Pilots' Association domain registration has expired.

Copa is back. If you go to their web site www.copanational.org you will see a Network Solutions page offering a back order or renewal of the domain. I hope they get this sorted soon. their normal informative pages.

Fabric Covered Car

We've had fabric covered airplanes for a long time. Shrinking the fabric as part of the finish process allows for quite complex forms without complex production methods. Now BMW is using this in a concept car called GINA. Fabulous! You have to watch.

Climate Change, Food Crisis

The only thing I have to say about predictions of climate change is: learn some math, look at the data, make your own decision. Perhaps have a look at: Earth's Temperature History: How Well is it Known? for motivation.

If you want to know what happens when a large portion of the world population goes off half cocked in a panic without considering the full impact of a decision have a look at this Google search for the words "climate change ethanol food".

Fast Cars and Faster Planes

Time for a little mind candy. A Bugatti Veyron vs Eurofighter.

Lindsay Airport Economic Study

Aviation.ca is reporting the results of an economic impact study for CNF4. Seems to be more good news. Now we just have to wait for the task force report in June.

Bumpy Landing

Sulako posted a video of an Airbus having difficulty with the wind on March first that got a lot of discussion in the comments at Cockpit Conversation. Here is one of a landing at London City airport January 17th.

More on Spot

I've blogged on the Spot before, as have others. Since my last post there has been more from Kevin Psutka at COPA. Basically every thing that looked so reasonable about the proposed ELT regulation has been washed away. US pilots take note, the proposed regulation will require you to install a 406 ELT before venturing into Canadian airspace. What impact this will have on our tourist economy I do not know, but on top of high gas prices and the dollar, it can't be good.

However, this is only a proposed regulation. As Kevin advises, if you have issues with the proposal, let Transport Canada know. Kevin tells you how.

Lastly, there is also an article about Spot at InterGovWorld.Com.

Good News for one Small Airport

I've had posts about airports coming under threat from municipal government and local groups before. Happily I found this article about a small town airport that seems to be getting some recognition at least for the fiscal contribution it makes to the area. A bit more digging turned up the actual study posted on-line.

COPA: Aviation Language Proficiency & You

I recall Aviatrix wrote something on her blog about this, but I can't find the actual article. In any case COPA has a short write up on the rather complex issue of Canadian pilots' licence and the ICAO language proficiency certification requirements. There seems to be lots of promises not to violate each other's pilots wafting across the Canada-US border, but I wouldn't want a trip to depend on everyone having gotten the message.

A Successful Crash

The latest post over at Cockpit Conversation resonates with some recent events in my flying, and around Eastern Ontario.

During a recent stop over I was showing off the airplane to a youngster. His mother asked me if we wore parachutes. She was a bit nonplussed that my answer was no, it would be too difficult to get everyone out, and that most people wouldn't have the training to use a parachute safely; instead pilots are trained how to land safely in fields in case of emergencies.

Of course we must understand the lay persons attitudes when I pilot puts this training to use, executing what would seem to be a very successful emergency landing that ends up being described as a "soft crash". There was also a great deal of coverage on a First Air 737 completing an emergency landing after having difficulty with flaps.

Perhaps all this coming so soon after a runway overrun at Ottawa has sensitized the press. It would have been nice to see some reporting that indicated that at least two of these occurrences were normal and perhaps the best possible outcomes from mechanical difficulties. I guess I'm just wondering why the press are so quick to point out human error when it is the cause of an aviation mishap, but seem so reluctant to point out when humans, following correct procedures and training, snatch safety from the jaws of danger.

West Jet 737 Skids off Runway in Ottawa

Last night after 4mm of freezing rain fell in the Ottawa a West Jet 737 slid off the end of the runway. No injuries were reported among the passengers or crew. Transport Canada and the TSBC are, of course, investigating.

BloggingPilots.Com is Back

With a quick restore of an off-site backup www.bloggingpilots.com has returned. Welcome Back.

BloggingPilots.Com Defaced

If you are like me and frequent www.bloggingpilots.com you already know the site has been defaced. If you haven't been there yet, I don't advise it. The page placed by the defacers claims to be a warning to the site administrator, but who knows.

With the help of other blogging pilots I have attempted to inform the site administrator, in case he hasn't already noticed. I've removed the link to bloggingpilots from my list but will put it back when the site has been restored.

Some Good News for Lindsay Airport

The Lindsay Post reporting on the January 14th public meeting of the Lindsay Airport Task Force indicates that majority of attendees were supportive of continued operation of the airport. This is good news, let's hope it continues.

Lindsay Airport At Risk?

I was stunned to read of this over at Information Echo considering the amount of traffic and number of people I see at Lindsay whenever I'm there. I certainly support the airport, and second hopes that the town council will see the benefits of keeping the airport.

WiFi Blackberry

A while ago I came into possession of a WiFi enabled Blackberry 8820. I can't and won't be commenting on how this affects voice calling. Blackberries with WiFi only support UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access), as far as I know none of the mobile phone providers in Canada currently support UMA. I know for sure that mine doesn't. From what I've learned about UMA I'm not holding my breath. UMA allows your mobile provider provide voice service using Voice Over IP (VoIP) and unlicensed wireless (specifically Bluetooth and WiFi) technologies. Initially there are a number of conclusions that are easily leapt to:

• There is WiFi access at home, the cottage, work or my favorite coffee shop;
• If my call is going via WiFi and the Internet, I'm not using cell tower airtime;
• So UMA calls made from home, work or an open access point should be free!

Alas no. If you look at the system diagram at the link above you will see that the Unlicensed network (WiFi) only replaces the cell tower part of your provider's infrastructure. Your call is still handled by the core mobile network.

So what good is UMA. Well it allows mobile providers to provide service by setting up a WiFi or Bluetooth access point instead of a full on cell tower. Obviously this would be a lot cheaper. It could allow them to handle more traffic in busy areas, or places where traditional signals don't penetrate easily. They could, but aren't required to, allow me to connect using my WiFi router at home or the cottage where licensed coverage is poor or non-existent. So UMA is good for providers. That isn't necessarily bad for us consumers, but don't expect free unlimited voice calls using UMA over your own WiFi router.

Ok, so is getting a Blackberry with WiFi worth the cost, wait, effort? I think very definitely it is. If you are using a Blackberry and are worried about voice calls you are probably on the wrong platform. The Blackberry is first and foremost a data communications device. Blackberries do voice fairly well, and it is convenient not to have to carry around a phone as well as a PDA, unless you do a lot of voice calling. Data communications with WiFi is everything that voice communications with UMA is not. Even though my provider does not support UMA, I can connect to the internet using WiFi where ever I can get access. I can store my favorite networks and automatically to connect whenever I'm in range. EMail, PINs, web browsing all prefer WiFi over GSM/EDGE when available. One of the nicest features is an additional browser configuration for WiFi. I have my internet (GSM/EDGE) and WAP browsers configured to not download images, the WiFi browser is configured to download all images. I can even set bookmarks to use the WiFi browser to only fetch bookmarks if I have WiFi service, Internet or WAP browsers if I'm willing to use GSM/EDGE bandwidth to fetch them.

The actual implementation of this data magic is not a lot different from the way UMA handles voice. When accessing the internet over GSM/EDGE the Blackberry uses the mobile data provider's network to connect with the Research in Motion operations center. From there the connection may be relayed to the appropriate Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES), or to the Blackberry Internet Server (BIS) which satisfy the request, push email, etc. When the unit switches over to WiFi, it opens up a connection that looks like Secure Hypter-Text Transport Protocol (HTTPS) to RIM which (presumably) does the data transport work in lieu of the mobile network. In theory this means that RIM could keep track of the bandwidth consumed and relay that information to the mobile service provider for billing. I'm hoping they don't because this really makes the Blackberry much more useful. I can carefully sip at essential data, and keep in touch when I'm on the move. I can participate in the full multi-media internet experience (to the extent a Blackberry is able), chat up a storm, or play on Facebook when I'm near a hot spot without dragging out the laptop, sitting at the desktop or worrying about huge data charges. Or so I hope, I'll let you know when the bill comes in.

406 ELT Eh?

If you are a member of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) you have probably already read Kevin Psutka's large and detailed article on ELT options for Canada. If you aren't you can, and should, read it on the web site in English or French. The article is full of links to other sources of information, including SPOT a potential alternative to a costly TSO C126 installation, that I first read about at Information Echo in this article. If nothing else you should have a look at the presentation of results.

I would like to thank Kevin and the COPA staff for this work on our behalf. If you are a Canadian Owner or Pilot and aren't a member of COPA, think very seriously about joining.