Ney Grant

Inspiration. Flying. Epic Adventures!

Ney Grant

Ney has the best of all worlds. He has a real job and flies for the adventure of it all. Ney works with business owners in assisting them to prepare, market and sell their businesses. But it's not all work...

 

"I'm fortunate, for a pilot, that I can use my plane for business to visit clients around the west coast.... Sometimes I stop along the way for an adventure." 

 

Ney owns a Cessna 210, a six seat single engine plane and has over 2,700 hours flying it on adventures. He wrote a book, Fifty Classic Destinations For Pilots, but I want to say this is not just any book. This book is filled with photos of glorious destinations and adventures; 179 pages of full color photos and detailed explanations of adventures you will want to try for yourself.

 

How do I know NEY? He contacted me to use one of my photos on arrival into San Diego. Okay... other than mine, all the destinations were done in his 210. While some of the destinations were on unpaved surfaces, no airstrip was shorter than 2,000 feet. Except for one... the 1,300 foot “Chicken Strip” in Death Valley.  Ney admits in the book that it scared him and he will not do that again!

A few of the adventures he's been were volunteer flights. He flies for the Mother Lode chapter of the Flying Samaritans, and in the book he detailed one of those flights to a clinic, run by the Baja California chapter. Ney has also flown volunteer work missions to the Navajo reservation in Arizona, and a mission with an organization called LightHawk to count wild horses in Nevada. 

 

  

Ney's adventures are many...

Classic adventures like flying to Shelter Cove on the California coast, then hiking to the famous black sand beach. Or flying to see the Grand Canyon’s scenic wonder, the popular south rim. There are lesser known adventures such as flying into Cliff Dweller’s airstrip at the edge of the Grand Canyon National Park. From the airstrip you can step into a six inch drainage ditch and follow it as it morphs into a major side canyon, Soap Creek Wash. He says, "It's likely you’ll have the canyon to yourself for this amazing day hike down to the Colorado River and back." 

 

Fry Canyon, Utah is another lesser known destination and is a aviator’s adventure wonderland. Fry Canyon is an old uranium mine airstrip, and from the 2,400 foot dirt airstrip you can hike and swim down a slot canyon, visit Anasazi ruins, or ride a bike to Natural Bridges National Monument.

 

Some of the adventures are easy such as flight-seeing above the San Juan Islands in Washington, a romantic getaway in Sedona Arizona, or a photography expedition to Mono Lake in California. Others are more difficult such as hiking to the top of remote Notch Peak in Utah to stand at the edge of the second highest cliff in North America after El Capitan in Yosemite. 

 

Ney takes you north to Montana to land at the wilderness airstrip at Schafer Meadows for backpacking, and south to land on a crushed sea shell runway at Laguna San Iqnacio in Baja California where boats await to take you out to pet the whales. 

 

Why Ney wrote this book: 

"For years I thought my adventures were “too far out there” for most pilots to enjoy, but the turning point was when I published a flying adventure on my blog Westcoastflyingadventures.com. The adventure was flying out to remote Utah and hiking to the top of Notch Peak (the second highest cliff in North America). 

 

 Someone commented and complained that I didn’t include enough information to complete the trip. They wanted to fly out, and do the same adventure! Someone cared. So based on the comments and emails over the years from my blog, I decided pilots would enjoy the journey I’ve been on to experience the western US by airplane."

"An inspirational guide to 
the ultimate adventure destinations 
for aviators" 

 

 

Fifty Classic Destinations For Pilots is available at www.fiftyclassics.com  

Flight To Success Readers...

Ney is giving you a  20% discount! 

Use the coupon code karlene20 

(This offer is good until the end of 2014 )

If you don't know what to get that special aviator in your life this holiday season... this is the book that will keep on giving!  And pilots... you might be able to entice that special someone into embarking on an adventure with you, they may not have otherwise gone on, after reading Fifty Classic Destinations For Pilots.

Enjoy the Journey!
XO Karlene

Congratulations to a New Instructor!!!

"Exam Passed! !!!! 

I AM CFII instrument H FAA H" 

Help me congratulate

Pietro Bisonni

Flight Instructor EASA/FAA
CPL/IR ( A+H ) FAA
MEP/IR A FAA
CPL H JAA/EASA (ATPL H+A Frozen )
PPL A JAA/EASA

Pilots and Gratitude

Pilots are Plane People Giving Back...

National Aviation Month and Thanksgiving both occurring in November has not gone unnoticed among the pilot community. There are many pilots writing, volunteering and giving of themselves to help others, when they could just kick back and enjoy the rewards of their labor....

This month our Blogging In Formation Team (BIF) 
 is about the gift of giving.

Ron Rapp and his wife give to the Hoag Hospital Foundation. When his wife needed emergency surgery, times were tough, and insurance that didn't pay much... the Hoag Hospital covered the bill. Ron also flew for Angel Flight when he had an appropriate plane. He continues to flight instruct to give back to the community that he is so proud of, and provides free instruction to other certified flight instructors.

Ron's favorite Angel Flight Passenger: Ashley

Leland (Chip) Shanle, "The allure of aviation seems lost in the last couple of decades. I wanted to show through: books, film and TV what an awe inspiring experience aviation can be."

Chip has accomplished this goal through his books, Project Seven Alpha, Vengeance at Midway and Guadalcanal, and ENDGAME in the Pacific-, and through his consulting as a military/aviation technical adviser for the movie industry with projects to include Pearl Harbor, Behind Enemy Lines, xXx, The Day After Tomorrow and Stealth. 

Mark L. Berry  has given back through his music, his writing and continued support of aviation authors. But more than that, Mark brought to market a heart-wrenching story of survival after his fiance fell to her death when  TWA 800 blew up. His courage to relive this story and share it with the world has not gone unnoticed. His words can help heal the worst possible of tragic events.

Brent Owens gives back to the industry, not only by flight instructing, but also by trying to make this career cost effective.  He took his time and ingenuity and wrote the book The Pilot's Guide to Flying on a Budget. 

Rob Burgon Is an Air Force pilot, who gives back to our country daily. His passion for aviation is like none other, and his company Tally One has grown from that passion. He is an inspiration to all and his shirts are pretty cool too. If you want to visit a world that very few live, you can because Rob takes the time to share it.

Andrew Hartley is a Certified Flight Instructor sharing his passion daily. He's an active supporter of the industry, and Andrew's Smart Flight Training podcasts are FREE on itunes.  

ANDREW!

Karlene Petitt,  I have a passion for supporting people who want to make their dreams come true. A passion for aviation safety. A passion for education. A passion of gratitude. I donate time daily, but there are other times I dig into my wallet. I attend auctions often, and love to donate books, photos, and my time. I'm also one to bid. After listening to the stories of the children in Sierra Leone, Africa, I donated to the Bridge Of Hope to pay for a teacher to help educate these children for the next four years. Through education we can create change. If you would like to become an advocate click HERE...pretty clever ideas how simply we can all help with just our time.

Each year you'll find me hosting flying events. But it's the pilots that make this a reality. Without pilot support and dedication, sharing the love of flight could not be possible. You too can fly it forward!  

Mark Berney is one such pilot but donating his time to fly foster kids.

Flight to Success is coming soon ... 2014. I plan on sharing success tips that anyone can use to achieve their dreams. Helping people reach their potential is something the world craves.

More groups I love to support:  Angel Flight West. Air Race Classic (ARC). Women in Aviation (WAI)! Zonta International. PNWA. WNBA. And Women Of Aviation. 

The aviation grand finale is I have committed to dedicate 10 years of my life, and a whole lot of money to ERAU, to write three Aviation Thrillers, Flight For Control, Flight For Safety and Flight For Survival (coming soon), and earn a PhD in Aviation with a focus on safety to fulfill My One Wish For Aviation...  This commitment is a team effort, so your time, support, and interest is so much appreciated! 

Cap'n Aux (Eric Auxier)

Last, but definitely not least.... 

November's giving back month, and BIF,  was to honor Cap'n Aux dedication to supporting charities through his writing. 

50 percent of the proceeds from book sales go to warmblankets.org and flyingkites.org!  

Code Name Dodger Mission 2 is his recent young adult novel, that even those older adults will love.

Cap'n Aux's post:

"Your Head is in the Clouds, Where is Your Heart?"

Speaks volumes on support, power of giving back, inspiration and gratitude. 

The stories he shares, the videos, an inspiration are amazing.

Without you, the wind beneath our wings, 

we would not be effective.  

From the BIF Team, 

To our supporters

We give our gratitude to you! 

Enjoy the journey!
XOX Karlene

Your comments are much appreciated!

YouBlogging in Formation (BIF) started off a week of gratitude. I'm believing that pilots are plane people who give back. - See more at: http://karlenepetitt.blogspot.com/#sthash.fFPC2cH9.dpuf

Blogging in Formation (BIF) started off a week of gratitude. I'm believing that pilots are plane people who give back. - See more at: http://karlenepetitt.blogspot.com/#sthash.fFPC2cH9.dpuf

Happy Fall Back!

I hope you had a great Halloween Weekend! 

To some who think they get an extra hour of sleep, there are others who count on that extra hour to work. I found myself, once again, writing at the end of a very long week. Last Sunday after arriving on a flight from Seoul Korea, I burned the midnight oil to get my statistics homework complete.

The week following was filled with homework, catching up on life necessities, and then fate through some snags on Thursday. Within an hour and a half, my phone blacked out and died. I rushed home and showered, and off to get a new phone but car screeched when I started it (three times). Fan belt I think. My husband was out of town. Seattle's wrath fell from the sky. I had to be at my granddaughter's school with this car for an event in 45 minutes!

I took the summer car to get a new phone. When I returned, I said a little prayer before the fourth attempt at starting the suburban, and she started up. A 12% charged phone kept me security if I broke down along the way. I made it to the event. At 630 I headed home, did quick change and my Mom took me to the airport at 7 pm. Off to Vegas. A quick nap in Vegas and I got the last seat to Austin then next morning. Dick joined us on Saturday after his Breeders Cup Vegas adventures.

 

A fun night of trick or treating with the little ones Friday, some great baby time, and the weekend was cut short as non-reving after a formula-one weekend was not going to happen on Monday. I wallet-whipped a couple tickets on Alaska for a Sunday night flight. 

Homework never ends. Sunday morning I finished a first edit on my paper around 0100. 0530 brought kids who didn't know they were getting another hour of sleep awake. The day began. Then, while my hubby was out golfing with our son-in-law, and my daughter and granddaughter were napping, I was sitting at a miniature table having lunch with a three-year-old. Peanut butter and jelly and fresh fruit, with Blues Clues on the television for him. For me.... a laptop, as I edited my human factors homework (multi-tasking at its best) and submitted before I headed out of town, homeward bound.
 

Tired yet?

This week there are some amazing events coming up. 

Blogging in Formation (BIF) started off a week of gratitude. I'm believing that pilots are plane people who give back. So stay tuned to see what the BIF team is doing.

The week ahead: 

• Homework! 
• Finishing motivation book: Flight To Success: How to be the Captain of Your Life.
• Interview with Christina for Aviation History Month to be aired Nov 14th.
• Friday and Saturday: A date with my eldest daughter and Oprah!
• Saturday Night: Aviation High School Auction! I've selected 8 incredible individuals and invited them to dinner as our guests to thank them for giving back to the industry. 
• Sunday: Cramming to get final papers in on time. 

 

 We missed our little Bend Trick or Treaters this Halloween

But will see them in two weeks! 

Enjoy the journey!
XO Karlene 

Thank you so much for reading and sharing my novels Flight For Control and Flight For Safety with your friends. If you haven't left a comment on Amazon, please do so. It helps so very much! 

Daniel Sallee

Living the Dream!

 Daniel Sallee

Last week I received an email from Andy, Daniel's dad, shouting to the world:

"Daniel Sallee on his first Boeing 747 flight from Cincinnati to Incheon South Korea. He is off to Hong Kong on his next leg." 

I asked Daniel what he said about his experience and he said, 

 

"The pacific is much quieter than Atlantic flying, that's nice. Overall I have always wanted to do pacific flying so this is pretty enjoyable. Also, I've wanted to fly the 747 since I was really young because my grandpa flew it. We had models around of that big Braniff orange 747 and I always thought it was the coolest airplane in the world. And I have to say I do love it. It's got so much room for the pilots, great rest facilities and flies and lands better than anything else I've flown."

And what could be better for today and a Happy Halloween to all, is a memory of the great pumpkin! Yes, Braniff's orange whale was called the pumpkin. 

Daniel is now flying with Altas and they are lucky to have such a qualified pilot. Daniel and his dad, Andy, come from a family of flyers. That grandpa he spoke of, Captain Jack Sallee, I honored my first novel, Flight For Control, to him, and his airline.... Coastal Airways.

Daniel was a previous Friday Flyer and how much fun it is to see photos of him as a little kid to the young man he has grown into. Click here to read more and see the change. Read about Daniel's dad here, and the legacy of the airline living on in the Sequim Valley Airport. And yet, the operation started with Jack Sallee, a Braniff captain who will be remembered always.  Next month is aviation month and what a better way to end October than celebrating a legacy of fliers and their accomplishments.

Daniel, your entire family is proud of you and I know Grandpa is on the top of the list! 

Happy Halloween!!

XOX Karlene

Propeller Basics

Airplane Techtalk for the Non-Technical: 

By Jennifer Lesher: 

I have signed up to take the first of my FAA certification exams in just 10 shorts weeks (eeep!) so expect more of these techtalk posts as I work through the material I need to have down cold for my exams.

A word about those exams. There are three sections to the exams, two of which are attached to licenses. The sections are General, Airframe, and Powerplant. Within the three sections there is one written test, one oral and one practical. Generally one takes the General exams at the same time as the first license exam. For me, this means I’ll take General and Powerplant on the same day. Again, eeeep!

Now, on to propellers. I will confess that until about a week ago, I had inadequate respect for propellers. Sure, I thought they were OK, but I hadn’t really reckoned just how important they are and how hard they work, nor did I know how efficient they are. Now I know – propellers are awesome.

Propellers work by essentially screwing themselves through the air (snerk). They spin against the air then push it over their blades (which are essentially wings), and then behind them, producing thrust. I find it helps to think about a propeller moving itself through a solid, to get a good sense of what they do.

When a propeller’s blades are more or less parallel to the plane of rotation (think flat) they can move easily through the air, taking a smaller “bite” out of the air, but providing quick “pickup.” This angle is used for takeoff where you need to get up to speed in a hurry. It’s similar to the first or second gear of a car – good to get going, but not good for cruising.

Here's a good example of propellers at low pitch.

When the blades are pivoted so they’re closer to perpendicular to the plane of rotation, they take a bigger “bite” of air, which is good for cruising, but would require the plane to have a really long runway to get up to speed at takeoff.

And, high pitch. These are probably feathered, which is a whole other thing, but they make it easy to see high pitch.
Because of this most modern propellers have the ability to vary pitch according to the phase of flight. Believe it or not, in the old days planes were made with several different propellers which would be swapped in and out on the ground according to runway length and expected flight parameters. This was a pretty clunky solution, so the variable pitch propellers were a huge improvement.

Propellers are about 90% efficient and are much more efficient than pure jet engines, which just explode fuel to get where they’re going.

When I learned how efficient props are, I wondered why we even have jet aircraft, if propellers are so great. There are several reasons. One is that while propellers are extremely efficient, reciprocating engines are horribly inefficient. Shamefully inefficient. Many propeller aircraft are also recips, so they’re not very efficient overall. If we all flew around on reciprocating prop planes we wouldn’t be able to afford to fly more than a few times per lifetime.

The efficiency problem is solved by turboprop aircraft, which use a turbine to turn the propellers. Turboprops are really, really efficient.

So, when I go overseas, why don’t I fly there in a turboprop plane? It’s because despite the propeller's many good qualities, it can only go so fast. This is because when a propeller’s blades move through the air at near the speed of sound, shock waves build up on them and they lose all their amazingness and become clunky blades of failure and death. And because the tips of a propeller move much faster than the center (because they travel farther per revolution) they begin to approach the speed of sound much sooner than the rest of the aircraft. Hence the speed of the aircraft needs to remain at about 60% of the speed of sound (or, Mach .6 if you want to sound techy).

Another type of engine takes advantage of propellers’ efficiency while raising the allowable speed: the turbofan. Turbofans are the type of engine that would carry you overseas. They have a turbine engine with a giant, many bladed propeller (fan) up front. To eliminate the speed problem, the fan is put inside a duct which slows the air down and also heats it. Hotter air increases the speed of sound inside the duct, allowing the aircraft to go faster without overspeeding the fans.

Oh, and one more thing – because aviation is designed to be confusing – if you’re looking at an airplane from the front, the surface of the propeller facing you is the … propeller back. My exam is going to be so fun!

Aviation History Month

Is Just Around the Corner!

The last week of October is rolling into November quicker than it should. I'm starting week eight in school and that means CRM and more experimental designs. Do you know what my team did in Statistics? We designed a study to allow computer usage for long haul pilots to create alertness at the end of a long day.

I just arrived from Bejing yesterday. And after a 28+ hour day, I posted our finished assignment after some final touches. This week... homework, trick or treating, Austin, playing with the grandkids, and more homework.

But today is about and invitation for you to become part of history. 
Savvy Central Radio...

Is celebrating Aviation Month with a great list of aviation superstars.

Christina says, "Our 3rd annual "Aviation Month" is just a week away. Here are just some of our exciting guests coming up:

Tyson Rininger Aviation Photographer: What sets you Apart in Your Business?
Jason Schappert Creative Solutions for Growing your Business.
Wayne Gorsek Essential Ingredients for Creating a Successful Business.
SkyVector Through Necessity, Brilliant businesses are Born.
Angelo & Bianca of ‪#‎RoyalJets‬ Inc. - Stand out by Being Exceptional — with Jason Schappert and 3 others.

And...

 Karlene Petitt 

New Approach to Aviation Safety –

 Proactive Versus Reactive.... 

NOVEMBER 14th, 2014

1700 PDT

For more information click HERE

If there is anything you would like us to talk about, leave a comment below!  We'll be recording on the 5th!

And remember to check out 

 

Flight For Control 

and 

Flight For Safety 

  

THANK YOU 

for your Amazon Comments!!