Jay Gaulard

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Archives for November 2006

The Hidden Waterfall in the Ridge

I went up to Paul’s house this past weekend to pick up some fiberglass insulation he wanted to get rid of. Perfect! I needed a few pieces to finish up the basement.

We decided to make a half-day of the visit and take a hike to the hidden waterfall in the Ridge. There was a very special little lady who decided to join us. We needed a good guide.

I can’t give you the exact location of this waterfall, but I will give you a hint. It is off a road off a road off of Rt.44/55 going through the ridge. Is that clear enough? It is about the height of Awosting Falls…well, maybe a little higher. I promised Paul I would keep mum about its exact location to respect the privacy of the area. Nuff said.

We started on our way and our guide was doing quite well. I am not sure she used a telescope or any other equipment, but I can tell you that she had a very keen eye for detail and direction.

Man Walking With Daughter

We made it to a wide open area that is used for part of the Catskill Aqueduct System. There was an opening of a few acres and even a helipad. Some digging had gone on there for shale. Also, on the right side, there were a few exposed pipes…part of the water system.

Catskill Aqueduct System Pipes

Walking Through Clearing in Woods

Just past the clearing, the trail to the waterfall started. It is a really nice area. It reminded me a lot of where I used to hike at Grimes Glen, when I lived in Naples, NY.

Waterfall Through Dam

I just love waterfalls and creeks. A short hike through some semi-rough terrain brought us to a pretty amazing hidden treasure. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. I also couldn’t believe that this is so hidden. Well, at least now I know where it is.

Tall Waterfall in Shawangunk Ridge

The coolest part is that you can jump around on all of the really large rocks at the base of the falls to cross the river and look through the caves. The one thing that can kind of freak you out is the steep cliffs that surround the area. You could just imagine if anything ever gave way. Anyway, if you ever find this place, make sure to bring some lunch and hang out for a while…it’s worth the hike.


Flight School – Lesson #13 – 10AM-NOON – Go Arounds and Forward Slip

I told you I would let you know how I did on the pre-solo written test. I did well. My instructor and I discussed the test and I got everything right…maybe too right. I think they were looking for general ideas and I gave them every last detail. One good thing is that it pushed me to learn a heck of a lot, especially where to look for stuff (in the books).

This lesson I was half way hoping I would solo. Yigal was really eager to get up in the sky. We used up a lot of time going over the test, so time would be cut a little short.

We took off and did a few landings. Yigal had me practice a few go-arounds and showed me how to do a “Slip to land” or as Bob C. correctly put it, “Forward Slip.” That was pretty extreme. A forward slip is when you need to get down to the runway at a steep angle, for whatever reason…obstruction at the end of the runway or icing on the windshield. Basically, you apply complete rudder pressure to one side and use opposite aileron pressure for the other. This turns and banks the plane in a very strange position, but decreases altitude quite well. In other words, you are losing altitude belly first, kind of sideways.

We did this once and had to call it a day. Yigal said that I am officially ready to solo for next lesson. I am a little nervous.


Flight School – Lesson #12 – 8AM-10AM – Engine Out Procedures and Presolo Written Exam

I know this post is a little late. Things have been busy lately, so my apologies. This lesson was on Friday, Nov.17.

We decided to check my mad skillz on landings again. We are prepping for my solo. You know the drill by now, take off, do the pattern and land for some touch and goes. I have to say, sleeping on it really improves you for the next lesson. I think you learn a lot during your sleep. I aced every landing during this lesson. Yigal looked over and said, “Good, now that you learned how to land, let’s get you ready for your solo and do some emergency procedures.” Now, we did some of these during my first few lessons, but we went more in depth this time.

Basically, there are different procedures for different times you may lose your engine. Each circumstance calls for something else. We practiced what to do if you had pretty good elevation. Ok, here goes: If you encounter engine loss in flight, you,

1. Immediately trim for best glide. In the case of a 1977 Cessna 172, that is 65kts
2. Pick a suitable landing site and fly towards it
3. Make sure carburetor heat is on
4. Make sure your fuel mixture is rich
5. Make sure your fuel selector is on “both”
6. Make sure your magnetos are on “both”
7. Make sure your primer is in and locked
8. At this point, if you can’t get the plane restarted or if an off airport landing becomes necessary, you radio “mayday, mayday”
9. Turn your transponder to 7700
10. Turn your mixture, mags, master switch and fuel off (no spark for hard landing)
11. Seats and seatbelts secure
12. All sharp objects away
13. Doors ajar and open slightly before touchdown

I think this might be pretty hard to remember right now, but will become second nature if it happens. The main problem I was having was gauging my distance from the runway. Once I overshot and had to go around and once I undershot. I could’ve landed, but it was on the beginning of the runway where you aren’t supposed to land. During an actual emergency, that would’ve been a good spot to land though.

I made a few more good landings and finished up the lesson. I asked for the pre-solo written exam and they gave it to me. I am completing it right now, so I will let you know how I do. To complete it, you need your training airplane POH, the checklist for your airplane and the FAR/AIM.


The Pickle Festival in Rosendale, NY

This is pretty cool. We went to the Pickle Festival in Rosendale this past Sunday. Laura said she saw a sign for it on the road and then emailed me a link. I checked out their site and was intrigued, to say the least. “What the heck is a pickle festival?” I asked myself. Then I said, “Hmm, I wonder.” And then thought, “Well, maybe we should go.” OK, enough of that.

We got in the car and drove over the Ridge and through Ellenville. We made our way up Rt.209 and then made a right towards Rosendale. I haven’t been up that way for over a year. I am always shocked at how interesting of an area it is. It’s just so tucked back in the Ridge that you really need a reason to go there.

I really didn’t know what to expect for this type of festival. Well, we arrived and apparently it is a pretty popular happening in that neck of the woods. If I had to guess the whole day’s attendance, I would say about 1,500 people. Now, I didn’t hear a peep of advertising for this thing, so I would have to say that road sign worked pretty well.

Pickle Festival Tent

We walked in the parking lot towards the entrance and couldn’t really find it, so we strolled through an opening in the tent around back. No one stopped us, so I guess it was free admission for us. After a brief look around, we discovered the typical booths…jewelry, t-shirts, fried dough, etc…Hmmm, not many pickles. We walked through the tent, lengthwise towards the front. There seemed to be more and more vendors giving out samples of food. There were different types of spreads, breads, jellies and finally…pickles! I started noticing that there was some sort of a line that snaked itself around the whole tent. I guess you just hop on this very slow line and get a sample from each booth. The only thing you had to do was battle the ladies who were trying to push their way through you. That’s right, through you. I don’t know why people think it is ok to be rude. They are lucky I didn’t body slam them. Perhaps a pile driver would’ve been ample…or a figure 4 leg lock.

We looked around for a bit and even bought a jar of Spacy Tracy’s Pickles…(hey, there’s some free advertising). She makes some pretty damn good pickles. Nice and garlicy…

Spacey Tracey's Deep Fried Pickles

PickleLicious Sign at Pickle Fest in Rosendale

…and then we noticed some commotion coming from all the way at the front of the tent. We made our way up there and saw this long line wrapped around…everyone was waiting for this dude to grab pickles our of these 5 gallon buckets and put them in quart containers. They must’ve been good pickles, so we got on line. A half hour later, we were getting our very own container of half-sour pickles for $5. Laura even got a different type of pickle for $1 (full-sour). We were kind of full. Who knew this guy filling pickle containers would be the coolest guy there.

Man Serving Pickles

He was hot shizznit. I ate one of them on my way down the parking lot…MMMMMMMM…gooooood! The best pickle ever! I have to find his recipe and make my own, or I can just wait until next year and get another quart. Over all, I would recommend this fun festival if you are in the area.


Flight School – Lesson #11 – 8AM-10AM – Spin Awareness & Recovery

This lesson was a really cool one. We started off by making the decision whether or not we would even go up. The winds were 10KTS and gusting at 20KTS. Yigal asked if I wanted to do it, of course I said yes. If I ever want to land at Block Island, I would have to be consistent with cross wind landings. We got up and did a few touch and goes. Since the wind was pulling us to the right of the downwind leg, I had to use the rudder pretty liberally to maintain my heading. On the third takeoff and turn to crosswind, Yigal mentioned that I wasn’t using my rudder enough. The ball in the turn coordinator was not centered. I kind of hinted that it was good, but he wanted to really plant the idea in my head of how important the rudder use was. He said that it may save my life in certain situations. I wasn’t quite sure what he was talking about…things have been pretty good up to that point.

Well, he wanted to show me what he was talking about. He told me to climb to 5,000 feet. I headed out of the pattern and climbed to that altitude. He indicated that he wanted to show me what can happen when you takeoff and climb with an airplane without proper use of the rudder. A spin can occur. Of course, he asked me if I wanted to do the maneuver and I said yes…after a bit of hesitation. The maneuver is not required by the FAA, but it really is something that should be covered. Yigal performed the first maneuver. He pulled the yoke all the way to him for a power-on stall with no use of the rudder. The plane naturally pulled to the left and the nose pitched down for a spin. We made about one revolution and he pulled back to recover. He wanted me to do the next one. I was kind of apprehensive before we did the first one, but once it was done, I loved the feeling. I pulled back for a power-on stall and right at that critical point, the plane pitched down and to the left for a spin. We spun about twice and I pulled back and used the right rudder to recover. I could really feel the g-force as I pulled back to maintain altitude. What an awesome feeling. Now I know why these guys get hooked on acrobatic airplane maneuvers.

So, now I knew what could happen without use of the rudder during a power-on stall. Next, we performed a power-on stall with the use of the right rudder. The plane pitched up, maintained its direction and pitched down perfectly straight. Lesson learned. The reason this is critical, is because it only takes, on average, 300FT to recover from a stall, but 1,200FT to recover from a spin. If any of these things happen right after takeoff, every foot counts.

We headed back to the airport, entered the pattern and did a few more pretty decent touch and goes. I am getting much better at landing in these conditions.

I really liked this lesson and really like how smooth the air gets at higher altitudes. It is sooo peaceful.

PS – I found a great resource that you can get involved in yourself. They are the Sporty’s Safety Quizzes. Give ’em a shot and see how you do.


Corporate Jargon – You Gotta Love It

You gotta love this…if you work in an office, you most certainly have heard the following sample list of corporate jargon. Perhaps you haven’t heard all of them, but I am sure you have had the pleasure of listening to the cooler people in your office rattle these things off, day in and day out. FYI – this is not an exhaustive list…I am going to add on to it as I hear them. Please feel free to add your own as a comment.

– “At the end of the day” (number 1 of all time)
– “Brainchild” – whoever thought of this word needs to be punched in the face
– COB – Close of business
– I need to to “champion” this (spearhead) (ooohhh, that’s really annoying)
– I have to go “put out a few fires”
– It’s a horse race
– Push the envelope
– Don’t “reinvent the wheel”
– Best of breed (oh, that’s annoying)
– Let’s have a power (working) lunch
– It’s great to finally “touch base” with you
– Seems like we are playing “phone tag…you’re it”
– Let’s circle back around tomorrow
– I think we’ve got a “key player” here
– Please keep me “in the loop”
– I wanted to give you a “heads up”
– Kudos
– Let me “wrap my head around this”
– Let’s “think outside the box”
– I’d like to revise an “addendum” to that piece
– Signing emails with “regards” or “best”
– Using one initial as your name in emails, like “J”
– FYI
– As per our conversation
– “Clearly” and “no worries”
– Please advise (this one strikes a nerve every time I hear it)
– “On brand” and “off brand”
– Can you be a little more “proactive”
– I will be working “off-site”
– She’s really “on top of her game”
– Here is tomorrow’s “agenda”
– At 9AM, we are going to have a “meet and greet” (grip and grin)
– Are you “in the know”
– Thanks for the “assist”
– Tnx
– I climbed that tree, got knocked down a couple of times
– Are we “on the same page?”
– I’ve “been down that road”
– That one “totally fell off the vine”
– Let’s “drill down” on this
– We’ve got to “jump into the pond”
– Let’s keep those “bees in the nest”
– Anything that talks about “team building”
– Let’s “piggyback” this with project A
– Asking a question and then answering it yourself
– Touchpoint
– Upset the apple cart
– Head fake
– We didn’t “see around that corner”

All time favorite email: We are putting together our publicity report for HB 5th and I would love to have a cover to grace the report that mirrors our creative – can you assist?

Who makes this stuff up? Here is a funny article on the topic…

PS – Please, please, please…now, this is just my meager opinion, but I really don’t think anyone past the age of 25 should let the phrase “24/7” leave their lips. I think I saw a minister on TV the other day say that in a sentence…I nearly fainted right there.


The Toll Booth Drag Race

Here is the scene – you are on a nice trip with your family (or just on your way to work, like me) cruising down the highway and you cross a beautiful river…ahh, the Hudson River. You cross the Newburgh-Beacon bridge to stumble upon the toll booths that are on the Beacon side of the river. You find a good lane and slide into it…You wait until it’s your turn to pay your toll, or slowly glide through EZ Pass. What a peaceful day. Once payment is made…WHAM! You hear the screeching of tires and car engines revving up to 9,000RPM. You see cars shooting out of the holeshot like bats out of hell. You smell exhaust like you never have before. You wonder what the hell is going on. Just on the other side of the booths was a nice laid-back cruise and on this side is alike a race to save your life.

Newburgh Beacon Bridge Tolls

I experience this almost every day I drive to work. Just the other day, there were two drivers, pushing their cars to do 0-60 in about 2.3 seconds, trying to pass a semi truck in the fast lane. Now remember, there are about 10 lanes merging into 2, so you need to be slightly…just slightly respectful to other drivers. These 2 cars pushed themselves so far up the rear of this semi truck they both almost crashed into the highway divider…by themselves. There was no other condition that caused their close accident.

My question is this – What the hell is going on? What is the rush? As I cruise slowly on purpose, I see the most aggravated looks on these people’s faces trying to get ahead. I think some of them would really kill you and not care, just to get in front of you. I love it when they whiz by you and then are forced to stop behind the car that was right in front of you. They have to feel stupid.

I really try to drive slowly out of the toll booth, but sometimes I slip. Yesterday, I was almost at the end of the merge and in my lane when this lady tries to fly up behind me and pass me on the left. Now, this really aggravated me. She got past, so I gunned it and went around her on the right. Once around her, I cut sharply to the left to land right in front of her. She had no idea what was going on, because she didn’t even know she was being rude.

I really hate it when adults have to discipline other adults.


Trees From The National Arbor Day Foundation Received

A while back, I ordered some trees from The National Arbor Day Foundation. I received the Norway Spruce trees the other day, but found the bulk of the other trees sitting on my front porch last night, when I pulled in the driveway from work. I was a little curious about the size of them.

When I opened the package of Norway Spruces, I was pleasantly surprised to see 10 trees, each about one foot high. They were pretty full trees. These trees come with their roots bunched up together and surrounded by gel in a plastic bag. It is recommended that you plant the trees immediately upon receiving them. Luckily, I saved all the plastic containers from all the shrubs I purchased throughout the summer. I mixed some topsoil with some sandy loam and planted all the Norway Spruce trees…one per container. I added these new trees to the collection of about 25 I am growing on my back porch.

As I mentioned above, the rest of the trees were waiting for me last night (by the way, I ordered a new shipment yesterday). I found two boxes with 3 Red Maple trees, 1 Paper Birch, 10 Canadian Hemlock trees and 3 Saucer Magnolias.

The common question everyone has is how big the trees are when you get them. Here is some insight. The Red Maples came about 2-3 feet high, the Paper Birch came about 4 feet high, the Hemlocks came about 8 inches tall and here is the good part…the Saucer Magnolias came about 6 inches high. They say these trees are supposed to be 1-2 feet high. Oh well. I have all these trees planted now in their own buckets on the back porch. In a few years, I will be able to plant them in their final place.

Obviously, these trees are meant for patient people, but go ahead, give it a shot and get your own!


Stick and Rudder – An Explanation of the Art of Flying

I finally received the book, “Stick and Rudder.” This book was recommended to me from a nice guy I met a few weeks ago, named Al. He is a Private Pilot and we had a great conversation for about an hour on the topic.

Stick and Rudder Book

This is supposed to be the “Bible” for any student pilot. Here is a description of the book from Amazon:

“In the early 1940’s, Wolfgang Langewiesche wrote a series of articles in Air Facts analyzing the various aspects of piloting techniques. Based on these articles, Langewiesche’s classic work on the art of flying was published in 1944. This book explains precisely what pilots do when they fly, just how they do it, and why. These basics are largely unchanging. The book applies to large airplanes and small, old airplanes and new, and is of interest not only to the learner but also to the accomplished pilot and instructor. Today, several excellent manuals offer the pilot accurate and valuable technical information. But Stick and Rudder remains the leading think-book on the art of flying. “

I will let you know what I think of it after I read it. Want to buy it? You can get it here.


Flight School – Lesson #10 – 8AM-10AM – Learning Landings

I felt good today. Maybe it was because of the recent change from Daylight Savings Time back to normal time. I have been waking up early because it’s now lighter out at 6:30AM than it used to be. Whatever the reason, I was on.

I had to rethink my lesson strategy after my last two rotten ones. Before those lessons, I went in on a mission. I concentrated too much. I wanted to do well and didn’t trust my instincts. Well, this time I went in on a different type of mission. This time, I was loose and wanted to act like I was driving my car…like I have been doing it for years. I think it worked pretty well. Actually, I didn’t even think about flying all week. I just keep my reading up for the ground school. There was a bit of time between these lessons, because we had to cancel Sunday because of the wind.

Again, we did touch and goes, which is fine with me. I really want to nail these landings. We took off from runway 26 and I did my normal thing. I turned in for final approach and did it…perfectly. Yes! I was back. I discovered that the “balloon” problem I was having wasn’t because of my excess speed, but because of my excessive flair. No, not my style (flair), but my pulling the yoke back to much when I get close to the runway. It just seemed to flow today, even with the breeze.

I did seven takeoffs/landings today, with Yigal handling one of the landings (it got a little hairy). I keep thinking back when landing seemed so much easier and how it seems like I got worse. But then I reminded myself that there is much more wind these days and how we are now whittling down from large, general exercises to more refined ones. In other words, we are getting down to the nitty gritty.

There was one attempted landing where I didn’t decsend fast enough and I was no where near the spot on the runway I should have been. I was way high, looking down at the blacktop. We had to perform a “Go-around.” It seemed a bit tricky today to decsend. I kept coming in high…I think it was because I was turning from downwind to base too soon. It’s funny, you can correct that problem pretty easily, just by cutting the throttle and letting the airplane decsend naturally. One would think that by pitching the nose down would be a better way to lose altitude, but you have to remember your airspeed. At that point in the traffic pattern, you already have your flaps down. If you decsend too fast and gain too much airspeed, you can tear the flaps off the plane.

I have to say that I am a champ on the radio. I was joking today with Yigal that if I could just sit on the side of the runway with a radio, I would be in great shape. He responded by telling me there are jobs for that…called Air Traffic Controllers. Very funny. I do like the communication and the authority though. The best part of it all is how I get to see other student pilots out in the same airspace as me doing the same type of training. I like hearing their radio calls and going back and forth with them. I think I will get a radio and a beach chair for the summer.

I think I want a few more lessons and then a real smooth day for my solo.