First Test Flight With The GoPro

With the latest news today that DoD employees will be furloughed for 11 days this year, we have been trying to watch our budget a little more.  With that situation looming, I don't want us to stop having fun though!  I have been lusting for a GoPro camera for a few years and finally discovered that I could turn in some of our credit card points for some Amazon.com gift cards.  So I got a new toy!  I ordered a GoPro HERO3: Black Edition.  I also ordered some Polar Pro snap on filters.  One polarizer filter for flying and a red filter for diving.

Today was the first time I had a chance to go up for a few minutes and try things out.  One big problem with aviation videos using the GoPro, and other cameras, is how the propeller is captured in the video which make for some weired visual effects.  It's call aliasing.  It can be mitigated some with neutral density filters.  There are some good, and expensive, options out there, but I decided to give the Polar Pro filter a try.  I think it worked out pretty well.  Now I just need to work on some mounting options.

You can see the results in this video:

Spring Break 2013

A large brush fire north of Treasure Cay

It's hard to believe that another year has gone by, but at least that means another family trip to the Bahamas!  This year was our longest stay yet at 9 nights.  We were able to put or "held monies" from last years unsuccessful Memorial Day trip towards this stay so at least half of our trip was already paid for well in advance.  We stayed at the Bahama Beach Club again, but this time rented directly from the club.

The plan was to head down Saturday morning, but the weather was not looking too cooperative.  It was forcasted to be overnight fog giving way to numerous thunderstorms around 8 am.  Fortunately all the ship-work was done by Friday noon and the condo was available so we picked up the girls a little early from school and we were in the air and southbound at 2:00 pm.  It was a very smooth and uneventful flight.  Just north of the Kennedy Space Center we were cleared direct to Freeport which took us right over the runway and Vehicle Assemble Building.  The early turnout also gave us some favorable tailwinds.  In less than 2 1/2 hours we were on the ground in Treasure Cay.

This year we were again joined by family and friends.  We were really excited to have our family friend Ray, from Northern Ireland, with us.  Ray is great fun to have around.  Both my girls enjoy playing with him and he's also my favorite dive buddy!

The beauty of the Bahamas never disappoints, but this year's stay was mostly marked by cold and wind.  Everyone was bundled up in coats and sweatshirts.  Due to the conditions we were unable to rent a boat this year, but everyone enjoyed the heated pools when they weren't strolling the beach.  Ray and I were lucky enough to get two days of diving in as well.  By the end of our stay the weather was a little more normal we enjoyed some fabulous time on the beach and in the water.

Our family and friends were staying a few days more than us so when we left Easter Sunday we made two nice, low passes down the beach to "wave" goodbye.  The flights home went well.  We cleared Customs in Ft Pierce without issue and opted to make it a quick turn to just get home.  North of Daytona we started or descent for home.  As soon as we got below the cloud layer it got really bumpy.  We slowed to minimize the bumps.  As much as that helps the ride, it makes you ride in it longer!  Abby almost got sick, but held it together and we safely made it home in one piece and with a few treasures too!

Here is a slideshow/video of more pictures from our vacation:

Saving A Little Money

iPod Classic (Image by Apple)

I love to listen to music.  I have Sirius/XM in my truck and love it. Years ago I loaded all my CDs into iTunes and have my entire music library loaded on to my iPod.  We have XM Weather in the plane displayed through the Gramin 496, but I'm not quite ready for ADS-B weather so XM Weather is still worth it's weight in gold to me.

Anyway, ever since we subscribed to the weather I have paid the extra cost to also have the XM Radio option.  We have all enjoyed it like the time we made our first Christmas journey in the Arrow and cruised around listening to the Christmas Music Channel.  I never paid much attention to my options until this last trip with my dad when I turned on the XM Radio and he requested to listen to some Eagles.  "Sorry Dad, they aren't playing right now, but I'm sure one of the stations will be soon."

I could have plugged in my iPod , but it was tucked away out of reach.  After the trip I got to thinking about the whole arrangement a little more.  Sure I can plug in the iPod, but after the big panel rearrangement in  2011, I don't want any cables strewn across the cockpit and panel.  Well let's see.....the PS Engineering PMA8000BT audio panel has Bluetooth.......what if my iPod had Bluetooth?  Well it doesn't, but I fixed that.

PMA8000BT (Image by PS Engineering)

I found a 32GB iPod Touch (3rd Generation) in perfect shape on eBay for $105 and sold my 80GB Classic for $125!  My whole library only takes 23GB so I'm set.  The new iPod paired up perfectly with the audio panel and sounded great.  I called Sirius/XM and cancelled the XM Radio side of my subscription.

iPod Touch (Image by Apple)

I like the Sirius/XM Radio Service, but since I'm not in the plane everyday like I am in my truck, it really wasn't worth the extra $15 a month.  So now I can wirelessly enjoy all my music in the plane while saving myself $180 per year. Not too shabby.