Penny The Pilot

Friday's Fabulous Flyer! 

Penny R. Hamilton, Ph.D. 

Penny is a woman of many talent's with a love of aviation. She is a writer, photographer, aviator, leader, and educator who loves to cook. She was also inducted into Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2011. Penny spends her time sharing the love of aviation with children and conducted her doctoral research on Teaching Women to Fly. A lifetime in a paragraph doesn't do this woman justice, because  Penny is giving her life to aviation and sharing that love with others. She's also making an effort to help preserve Colorado Airport History. 

Curious where the inspiration for her book, America's Amazing Airports came from, I asked. There is no better place to begin, because it takes us to the life of Penny and her husband's driven motivation to inspire aviation. 

America’s Amazing Airports:

Penny and her husband are both General Aviation pilots, who have worked closely with aviation groups to promote the community benefits of airports for over 30 years. They needed a consistent, focused message, told over and over again. That's exactly what they are doing. As Penny said, "Aviation and airports are inspirational and magical. Through the America’s Amazing Airports book I hope to help our aviation professionals share our enthusiasm with others as a lasting legacy" Available in both print and eBook on Amazon.

Penny says, "The book was meant to be public information tool for airports to share aviation career information with young adult readers (ages 14+) and an easy to read outreach/educational book for airports to share with their community and leaders. In addition to STEM career information, airport and even American history, I reviewed how we/aviation pay for airports. America’s Amazing Airports is a great size with plenty of photographs."

Children's Adventure Day: 

The above photo is from Penny's annual Airport Children’s Adventure Day at Emily Warner Field at Granby/Grand County Airport, with she and her husband's Turbo Arrow.  Penny says, "What is more exciting than an airport and airplanes? Because of today’s security measures since 2001, airports usually don’t allow “easy” access. We offer at least four open house events every year for students, scouts, Day Camper adventures with balsa wood airplane landing contests with prizes. I love it because at least half the time girls win the “spot landing” competition. "

Penny The Pilot

"The above photos was my visit during our World Wide Women in Aviation Week at our local Granby PlayDays preschool right before nap time so we could dream of soaring and flying like a bird, and we would color our airplane page after lunch to earn our pilot wings to take home."

"Because aviation education and aviation heritage preservation are so important to me, I have been teaching pre-schoolers and elementary students, dressed in historic costume usually as “Penny, The Pilot,” for almost 30 years." 

"The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recognized this important General Aviation outreach with their prestigious “Central Region Aviation Education Champion Award.” Recently, my years of “Penny, The Pilot” aviation education programs for children was recognized with the ABC-Denver TV 7 Everyday Hero award. 

"The above photo is "ABC Channel 7 News Anchor, Mitch Jelniker, and his camera crew micing me up for the “flying children” segment. This has the 2.21 minute ABC Denver Channel 7 video link for their Every Day Hero Award to Penny, The Pilot http://www.pennyhamilton.com/aviator.htm

I usually dress up at Penny The Pilot because children love to pretend. In addition to hearing my words about flying and seeing my “pilot clothes” they “fly” around the room so I bring in movement which makes my visit that much more memorable. Also, they will “earn” pilot wings to take home so they can show their family. The younger we introduce children to aviation, the more open they are to STEM careers. I still have little girls come up to ask, “Can girls fly too?” They are much more impressed that I am a pilot, even more than I am “Dr. Penny!”

If you would like to watch 5 minute version of the "Penny, The Pilot" video produced by the CO Women’s Hall of Fame click HERE. 

The above photo is Penny dressing as Harriet Quimby. She said, "Actually the costume was given to me by Emily Warner because she used to wear it before she became World famous! I do this for older children and aviation events."

The above photo is when Penny was inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame, as Emily Warner introduced her at the annual celebration way back in 2011. 

I could not possibly do justice to this incredible woman's life. So, I suggest you learn more about Penny and her many activities by visiting her websites: 

PennyHamilton.com

ColoradoAirportHistory.com

TeachingWomenToFly.com

"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."

 Lao Tzu

Enjoy the Journey!

XOX Karlene 

If It's Broken

Fix it! 

"The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without 

changing our thinking."  

Albert Einstein

We have the answers,

Now we need to change our thinking. 

Life is worth the expense of adequate training

and enforcing a Safety Culture

Normalization of Deviance, 

A Threat to Aviation Safety

What happens when the deviant behavior is in 

the hands of management?

The things that airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and the FAA are not sharing with the public. This book is the result of my doctoral research—Safety Culture, Training, Understanding, Aviation Passion: The Impact on Manual Flight and Operational Performance. While the intent of the research was to learn what predicted manual flight, what was learned may have predicted and, if heeded, prevented the Lion Air Flight 602, 2018 crash, Ethiopian Flight 302, 2019 crash, and Atlas Air Flight 3591, 2019 crash. What was learned could also have prevented the Air France Flight 447 crash. 

We now have the data that proves we can’t simply blame the pilot. There is never one reason an accident occurs, but a chain of events. If you travel, fly, or touch aviation in any aspect, you have every reason to read this book. 

If you wish to read the actual dissertation, it may be found at https://petittaviationresearch.com.

Order Autographed copies on this site... 

And available on

Kindle Too!

Enjoy the Journey
XO Karlene

Happy Memorial Day 2020

In Memory Of... 

Memorial Day is an American holiday to honor the men and women who have died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decorations Day, originating a few years after the Civil War, Memorial Day became a Federal Holiday in 1971. Today we honor our heroes. 

Everybody Celebrates holidays in many ways. This year, I am celebrating by donating blood.  Yes, the donation centers are open on Memorial Day. There is no better day to give blood to save a life, when so many gave their blood to give us the lives that we have. You, too, can become a donor. 

Today is about honoring those

who gave their lives for you! 

Save a life today!

Enjoy the Journey!

XOX Karlene

Having Made it!

A Journey of Rediscovery and Purpose

My dear friend Christina Rivera sent me a copy of her book, Having Made It a Journey of Rediscovery and Purpose and it arrived during a challenging time in my life.  But aren't we all having a difficult time right now? She put life and the job into perspective with success and failure, and starting over.  She provides direction on how to find where you belong in your life versus where others think you should be. 

This morning I heard there were 90 million people unemployed in the United States. That number doesn't touch my friends worldwide losing their jobs either. There could not be a better time to  read a book about rediscovery and purpose. 

What if the job that left you

was not where you belonged?

Could you use this time of job loss to discover your passion, and where you really belong? If you're a pilot and waiting for your job to return, could you find something that fills you with joy to do in the mean time? 

Christina shares her life and her personal journey to finding herself. Openly discussing the mistakes she made, then she puts her justifications into perspective, and provides steps how she persevered. In her book, she talks about the jobs that she walked away from, those wrong choices she made, the power of limiting beliefs, and how taking a job for money was not the right decision. 

Christina is not new to Flight To Success. She was a Friday Flyer in November 2014, and then again in June 2017.  I had the great opportunity to share an an adventure with her on  iHeart Radio. She welcomed me into her home and she into my heart. 

She did not ask me to write anything about her book. But after finishing it last night, I know why. I also know that we are more kindred spirits than I realized. She also listed numerous books to read. Many I had read, and others I ordered this morning. 

If you are struggling with your life choices, 

finances, addictions, or  how to make a living, 

this book is for you! 

Get your Copy on Amazon

Today! 

You can find Christina:

Facebook.com/Unscripted
Email her at Christina@lifeunscriptedradio.com or
savvycentralradio@gmail.com
and join the Savvy family at LifeUnscriptedRadio.com

Enjoy the Journey!

XOX Karlene 

Flight For Justice

The Novels Continue ... 

Flight For Justice 

Chapter 30

“Are you worried about someone else bringing that technology to market before you?” 

“Nothing that a little viral pandemic, can’t stop,” he said. “Close the borders and distract the world. Besides, another reason for automation to control the skies. We are about to see an entire new world emerge and Drake technologies will be in the right spot at the right time.”

FLIGHT FOR JUSTICE

is coming soon! 

Until then... catch up on the series: 

The truth within the pages cannot be overlooked. The underlaying theme of these novels is an Airline Industry... Airlines, Aircraft Manufacturers, and the Government... and those powerful, corrupt and greedy individuals within, who are working together with a single minded focus: to remove pilots from the flight deck. Create a pilot shortage. Decrease pilot training and induce pilot error. Build the technology. Unfortunately the lack of FAA oversight that was designed to assist the plan, went too far. However, when one airline owns the FAA at the highest level, and negotiates a contract with Airbus to keep Boeings grounded, this makes the global plan airline specific. 

Then, we are surprised by a pandemic, leaving pilots worldwide without jobs and fearing if they will even have a career to return to. The fact that this pandemic was not a surprise by our government, and it will change the future of the airline industry, leaves speculation in the series. 

Truth in Fiction

Flight For Control: 

How far can you break an industry before you break the pilots? 

Flight For Safety: 

Where each flight becomes a game of Russian Roulette. 

Flight For Survival: 

Next Gen is on the horizon and the threats are looming. 

Flight For Sanity: 

How far will they will go to hide the truth?

Flight For Truth: 

When you get too close to the truth... 

there is no turning back. 

Order your paper copies off this blog,

Or go to Amazon for your ebook for Kindle.

Enjoy the journey! 

XOX Karlene

Reboot your Computer

Not While It's Flying 

Novels have been flying around the world. One reader loved the Flight For Safety novel so much, that he purchased a second copy for his friend and it was mailed to Tel Aviv. Well, this pilot has been such a joy to chat with. The friend who was receiving the surprise book had sent him a message about the B777. Definitely worthy of sharing. 

He told me his message, translated from Hebrew was this:

"For about 20 years from about the 777 generation onwards the airplanes became too 'smart'. This  means that there has been increased experiences of independent 'aircraft decisions'.

When the plane wants to be nice, it updates you. It doesn’t always want to be nice. And, the maintenance personnel are not always familiar with all system functions.

So just as we used to fix everything with WD40, in the next generation planes, half the malfunctions are corrected on the ground with backup power by switching off all the power on the plane and restarting.

On a 777 this takes 20-30 minutes, on a 787 this could take in certain situations up to three and a half hours."

He also sent a link to an interesting article about the 787 mandating a power off every 51 days.

"The US Federal Aviation Administration has ordered Boeing 787 operators to switch their aircraft off and on every 51 days to prevent what it called "several potentially catastrophic failure scenarios" – including the crashing of onboard network switches..." Read more click HERE.

Enjoy the Journey!

XOX Karlene 

Automation and Mental Health

Thoughts From Captain Wright

James Wright

As the saying goes... 
Airbus makes really good pilots
and really bad pilots, all average. 

If you were one of the really good pilots, and found pride in that, how does automation impact your mental health?

Captain Jim Wright always sends the most thought provoking comments and questions. Below is an email he sent. A definite research question. 

"While spending some quarantine time catching up on your blog, I noticed your April 13th edition about mental health. In giving this more thought, it occurred to me that mental health problems are quite rare in the harbor pilot profession. Which then begs the question, why would that be?

One answer that comes to mind is “Automation”. Why automation, you might ask? That is a good question raising several possible answers, the most likely being:

1. Harbor pilots typically use automation to augment rather than diminish learned skills.
2. Learned skills are the basis for self-esteem.
3. Self-esteem is a basic ingredient for positive mental health.

You might ask the follow-up question; can automation improve mental health in aviation? 

It seems that your “Flight For …” novels have made a good start in attempting to answer that question. Expanding your examination of how training for harbor pilots differs from training for airline pilots (as you began in “Flight for Truth”) might be worthwhile. Keep pressing on with your good work."  Captain Wright

Does Automation 

Impact Mental Health?

Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene 

My Gift to You!

Flight To Success

Be The Captain Of Your Life

"Opportunities to find 

deeper powers within ourselves 

come when life seems most challenging"

Joesph Campbell

Flight to Success was my journey through eight airlines, seven type ratings, two master’s degrees, and raising a family. Intertwined with my stories are those of others who share their successes, failures, losses, fears, hopes and dreams. Filled with stories, motivational quotes and jokes. 

Since Flight to Success was written, I have earned a PhD in Aviation, and obtained my 8th type-rating after having not flown for two years, because I was unjustly grounded. I did not quit. I mortgaged my home and sold an investment property to survive while I fought the most horrific injustice anyone could imagine. All the while my husband's heart was failing. I  survived because I believe in  and lived the principles in this book. My husband's heart is stronger than ever. The storms continue to blow over our life, but with faith and belief we will survive. I  have always believed in the concept to never give up. And then my friend, Ida, sent me a message on my birthday:

"Never ever give up,

that was Tony’s life mission statement 

all his life and he lived by it"

Tony was Ida's beloved husband who has passed. But he was a man of integrity, loved aviation and was a powerful force of training and passenger safety. Ida also shared Tony's unique way of looking at life's challenges, as he "never allowed negativity to have the upper hand on him". Ida said, "Another saying I took to heart ️ from Tony was, he always took all the negative challenges that happened to him and responded by saying:

"What opportunities is this giving me?"

We are in are in a world struggled right now. Thousands have lost their lives, and many more survivors grieve their loss. Thousands live in fear, many can't feed their families, others are struggling to find a balance in their new normal. However, what if we all looked at life, in the same manner Tony did? What opportunities is this giving me? This won't change our circumstances but it could create perspective. 

We may never understand why things happen, but, everything happens for a reason. However, you get to choose what the event means to you. You have the opportunity to create the flight plan that will take you to your destination, regardless of what is thrown in your path. The sun will shine after every storm. Even when you face the storms of your life with confidence, courage, and grace, you may still have to go-around and do it again. But it's easier the second time with experience.

Use this time of lockdown and fear, to live your experience that will build resilience, courage, and strength that you can share with generations to come. Now is the time to be the Captain of Your Life. You decide where that flight will take you. 

This inspirational, motivational book will take you on a journey of life, to assist you with yours. How do people achieve success? Why don't they quit? How do they find courage, stamina, and strength to persevere during the most challenging times? Where do they find the time to do it all? Most importantly, what is success? The answers to these questions and many more will be answered within the pages. 

We can't always control what happens to us in life, 

but we can decide what those events mean.

The choice now, is to open your mind and heart and not fear.  Don't focus on the negative of isolation. Use this time to read, to think, and inspire. Use this time to learn how to become the Captain of Your life. 

Be prepared to takeoff for the flight of your life, 

and enjoy the journey!

"The only real mistake is the one

from which we learn nothing" 

Henry Ford 

Order your autographed copy on this blog today!

(order form on ride sidebar)

or on Amazon!  

Stay Healthy, Be Safe

And Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene 

COMCAST FAILURE

WARNING To All Consumers of Security Systems

You might not be protected. 

When your security company fails you, and to make matters worse they lack accountability, what can you do? Below is what happened with Comcast. There is a high probability this was not accidental, but they knew exactly what they were doing. 

We were robbed. Someone stole our tools from our garage. But I had a security system with video monitoring and recording, and I could find out who took them, and get them back. My garage is a separate building so I didn't have it wired for an alarm, but I did purchase a camera and paid 24/7 monitoring to watch the building. 

I contacted Comcast to find out how to look up the recording. The representative said we could do that, "But only if the camera was recording."  

"Why wouldn't it be recording?" I asked. There were four men in my house, two wiring it for the cable, and two setting up the security system. We placed the camera in a location to monitor the garage and front area to the house, and turned it on, and connected it to the monitoring screen. I have the screen sitting at my desk so I can watch all activity. For the first month I had, 3 or 4 visits for malfunctioning sensors, and resets of the panel and even a screen replacement. And over the year multiple resets due to internal failures. But recording was never in question, because I was paying monthly for an entire year, and the techs set it up. 

Well, that representative who answered  the phone with, "only if the camera was recording" was correct. My camera was never set to record. He knew. This was not an isolated case. I also suspect that Comcast intentionally does not set the camera to recording, doesn't advise the customer that they must do so, and bills them for a service they are not receiving. This is what happened to me. Then the fun began. Not. 

I was able to able to get to a real person in about 20 minutes, then I was transferred three times. The third person said they were sending me to their manager, and placed me on hold for over two and a half hours. In the meantime, I began tweeting. During that time @ComcastCares directs me to DM (direct message). I send a message at 545 p.m. They responded at 804 p.m. apologizing for my "billing troubles". I received five more messages over the next two hours, as I attempt to explain the situation. None of which accomplished anything. 

Well, after being on hold for two hours and 30 minutes, a manager finally answered, and he asked me what the problem was. Ahhh! Then he said Comcast could refund $40. They could only go back for 120 days. Nope... that will not remedy this situation. He agreed to escalate it, and someone would call me the next day. I went to bed to deal with this another day. 

Gildardo called the following day, and we played voicemail tag until the third day at which time he asked, "What's the problem?" Sigh. I explained what happened.  It would be a natural assumption that since they set it up, and we see it's working, they identify the features, and we are paying for the recording feature, that all is well.  I voiced my concerns that this company is sending people into our homes, setting up a service, knowing that we did not go online to turn the camera to record, but they knew. I also expressed that this was not thousands of dollars. I told him that Comcast was a billion dollar business and that they owed accountability to their customers, for such a gross failure. Gildardo refused to allow me to speak to his supervisor. He said $40 was all they would do. And the case was closed!

COMCAST

The Billion Dollar Company 

Is taking our money, for services they 

do not provide.

I did a little research on Comcast and for "The twelve months ended December 31, 2019 , consolidated revenue increased 15.3% to $109 billion compared to 2018. Consolidated net income attributable to Comcast increased 11.3% to $13.1 billion . Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA increased 13.6% to $34.3 billion" 

Nobody can afford to give bad service, except those companies that are so large and powerful that they don't care about the individual. But when your security at stake, the stakes are a little higher. I also suspect that their billions are attributed to taking money from customers for services no received, and or ordered. 

I returned to tweeting after Gildardo's comments. Now I have invested three days and approximately 10 hours in effort with this. Immediately upon tweeting again @ComcastCares offers to reimburse me for the entire year: $119.  Would that have been difficult on day one and the first call with an apology?  I thanked the agent, and also asked for a three year credit to assist with the items lost. A reasonable solution for all. They refused. Since, I have received numerous responses from people and one person advised me of another tactic that the Comcast partakes in:

This person has auto bill pay and Comcast automatically added the playboy channel. Not a large amount, but they slipped it in without her ordering it, and added to the bill. How many people are not checking the itemizations on their bills and paying for something they didn't purchase? We trust people will do the right thing. Sadly they don't. 

What You Should Do:

• If you are a Comcast customer and are on auto bill pay... check your bills monthly for items you have not purchased. 
• If you have a Comcast Security System, call them and find out if your camera is turned to "recording" There is no way you would know, unless you wanted to review footage. At which time it would be too late. 

When I remodel my cabin on the lake, I will find a different security company and a different cable service. Until companies are held accountable to their actions, nothing will change. Please share this will all the people you know. If your camera was not recording, hopefully this will save you some heartache in the future dealing with Comcast as I have. 

Stay Healthy and Safe!

XO Karlene 

Congratulations

And the Winner Is.... 

Eric Hineman! 

Congratulations Eric!

The Model will be 

on it's way to your home soon!

May the 4th be with you! 

Thanks to everyone for your entries!

Enjoy the Journey!

XO Karlene 

Justice is Coming Soon!

Delay Does not mean Denial

Due to some very nasty tactics

the good old boys at Global Air Lines

Have Delayed Justice... 

But the Novel is coming soon! 

Darby Bradshaw identified serious safety concerns at her airline. Thus, she presented an internal safety report to her senior management, along with recommendations for improvements. What she didn't know was that she stepped into the middle of a plan to remove pilots permanently, where executives at Global Air Lines are working with Airbus to shutdown Boeing, they bribed an FAA administrator to create legislation in their favor in exchange for a position on their board of directors, and they bought their SVP of flight operations a position as the FAA administrator. They had to discredit Darby at all cost. 

What happened to Darby, should never happen to anyone. In Flight For Sanity, Global grounded a pilot for bringing safety information forward with an internal report, forcing her into a psychiatric evaluation. Flight For Truth was Darby's fight back. Management had waited until Christmas Eve, a year after they pulled her from duty, to tell her that her career was over. She fights like hell to get her job back, and to hold the individual's accountable. What she didn't know was the length that a handful of despicable individuals went to in order to keep her grounded. 

Flight For Justice continues the journey. In addition to proving her sanity, she is in the midst of an AIR 21 lawsuit. Discovery provides answers to corruption, violation of federal regulations, contractual violations, and the needless death of 228 people. The corruption slithers all the way to Washington D.C. Darby's chances to win are good, but it's not about truth or justice, but what you can prove in court. 

Darby Bradshaw and her attorney Robert Allen take on an airline, their million dollar legal team, and the FAA at the highest levels. The reader will have an insider's view on the corruption of the aviation industry. What makes this novel fun, is that the dialogue was taken from actual depositions and trial testimony, leaving the reader scratching their head and thinking... this is airline management? 

Flight For Justice, excerpt: 

Chapter 29 

Deposition of Captain Rich Clark, Senior Vice President, Chief Pilot

Robert Allen representing Darby Bradshaw

Wendel Kowalski representing Global...  

....

“Are you familiar with SMS?” 

“Yes. Safety management system,” Clark said. “Ours is very robust. Always had a very, very strong safety culture. Global was the first to qualify for SMS with the FAA. Can’t remember the date, but we have the greatest SMS anywhere.”

“Is having an SMS, then an FAA requirement?” Robert asked, establishing protected activity.

“The FAA does embrace SMS as the favored way for any airline or any operator to operate,” Clark said.

“Are you saying it’s a voluntary program?” Robert asked.

“No, I didn’t say that. I said that there are variations of SMS programs through all of the different airlines, all of the different charter outfits, and off the different flight training schools, anything having to do with aviation, because as a reporting structure up through the FAA they do want to have a safety management system established at the company. The question really is how elaborate is the system,” he emphasized. “How well does it work. And Global has been recognized as one of the top in the industry.”

Darby wanted to laugh. And he runs an airline?

Robert stared at Clark for a moment. Darby wasn’t sure if he was waiting to see if anything else would come out of Clark’s mouth, or because he was trying to figure out how to get this putz to answer a question. 

“My question was," Robert finally said, "does the FAA require Global to adopt an SMS program?”

“Yes.”

Darby wanted to laugh. He simply could not answer yes to anything on the first go. They talked about compliance, and Robert finally got Clark to admit he was obligated to comply with the FAA approved program. It’s was like pulling teeth. He finally admitted that whenever the program was in place, regardless if it had been a regulation at the time of implementation, it was an FAA approved program and they were required to follow it. 

When Robert asked what the components of SMS were, Clark babbled on about 'embracing it from the top down with the CEO coming down the organization, with a robust reporting culture that started at the ground level with the front line employees'. They were to distinguish trends and mitigate risk. Darby wished she could mitigate his ass. He was so full of bullshit. Cocky. Arrogant. And he had been the person who had placed the hit on her.

“Reporting culture is therefore an SMS component that Global was required to maintain,” Robert asked. “Correct?”

“Objection to the extent it calls for a legal conclusion," Wendel said. "You can answer if you know.”

“A reporting culture is something that Global has always embraced. As a matter of fact, Global has the most robust ASAP reporting program of any air carrier in the world, 25,000 reports per year that come through. I—”

“No, no, you are not answering the question.” Robert said.

“Objection,” Wendel said. “Let the witness be permitted to answer.”

“I am going to,” Robert said. “But I am just going to advise counsel and the witness, that if the witness answers the questions posed to him, this will go much faster. If you want to finish what you were saying, go ahead, and then I will re-ask the question," he said, exasperated. 

Flight For Justice

is coming soon! 

Catch up on the Series 

and Be ready for Justice!

There are 4  Days 

Remaining to 

win a B787 Model.

ENTER TODAY! 

Paper books on this blog 

or Ebook on Amazon

Enjoy the Journey!

XOX Karlene