VFXPilot

@DJSnM Not to worry, you will get to log plenty of actual. The same can happen if your BFR is overdue when you take it I am told. You have to log it as “Dual” not “PIC”

We actually flew IFR, because the field we were using had clouds along the missed approach. Getting down was totally clear. Because the examiner isn’t teaching, and because I wasn’t instrument rated at that point I was told I can’t actually log the 30 seconds of actual instrument time I got in each missed approach.

@nickcarrscouts Looks like VFX already marked up the screens for inserts

To cross it without authorization. It was under constant observation from an adjacent office, and I was told that if someone did set foot inside without permission, things got VERY serious VERY quickly. This is one of the computer stations, and to me, it's such a gorgeous...

Field notes from the time I scouted a decommissioned nuclear power plant... This is the control room, and if you look closely, you'll see a dark stripe in the carpet running the perimeter of the room. This was referred to as the "velvet rope," and absolutely NO ONE was allowed🧵

@DJSnM Flying in at night even under VMC just feels safer using the approach. I’ve done it into Mammoth when I arrive after dark just to be safe around the terrain.

@DJSnM Woohoo! Congrats man! You are going to get so much use out it (especially this time of year on the California coast.) One side effect I find myself using is flying the instrument approach to airports at night. Not filing, but flying the approach for night arrivals for terrain.

Guess who just passed his instrument checkride.

@Spamsammich69 @MCCCANM DVT is great once you dodge the training traffic. Pretty great restaurant as well

@MCCCANM DVT is by far my favorite, great food but PRC has a gorgeous sunrise and fantastic facilities.

This is what’s known as an “FBO” (Fixed Base Operator). It’s kind of like dropping into a gas station for airplanes. They sell fuel, but offer many other services as well. Some are very simple; just a shack you can get out of the rain w/ a bathroom. Others are elaborate…they may have showers, rest facilities, a kitchen or attached restaurant, gift shop, etc.. They often have a “crew car” available for you to drive into town. Some of those are nice, others are retired police cars bought at auction with 200k miles. Just depends. Some have hangar space & will put your jet to bed overnight instead of just tying it down outside. Then they’ll pull it out in the morning at whatever time you tell them. At Ellington Field in Houston, we got free beer & rooms if we dropped in & bought fuel. At Grand Junction, we got free pizza. Alexandria would let you pre-order a Shrimp Po’Boy over the radio for $1.50 as you got on approach. Alliance Fort Worth staffed the FBO with pretty, flirty young women & you got a free rental car if you filled up. There were always a bunch of military jets there on the weekend. In Bangor, you could order live Lobster to take home & they’d bring it to the jet. Prestwick Scotland was famous for giving you good Scotch at a deep discount if you purchased fuel. Sometimes free if you purchased a lot of fuel. Anyway, the point is the FBOs are competing for business & often distinguish themselves by the amenities they offer. It’s fun to drop in to one the first time. The really good ones get a reputation & when you flight plan, you pick them for a fuel stop. I’ve got quite a few pilot followers, so I’d like to ask them to describe their memorable FBO experiences & amenities in the comments. Maybe share a picture of the crew car. I think the sum of these comments will help you get a better idea of FBOs than I can offer in a post.

@MCCCANM An army Blackhawk landed just after us in Pecos once. The crew was amazing, showed the kids around it and even gave them a crew patch. Small airports are the best.

@MCCCANM Demming is also notable for having a rattlesnake aquarium in the FBO, the kids love it.

@MCCCANM I wish I had a picture, but the wildest crew car I ever had was a very 1980s style van at Demming, NM. You didn’t even need a key to start it, just turn the ignition. It was a riot. The FBO (shack) in Pecos Co Texas has free burritos in the fridge

@MCCCANM You can also fly to airfields just for the restaurant on the files, the so called $100 hamburger. There is an app for it now for iOS called FlyingFood. apps.apple.com/us/app/flyingf…

So this just happened…

@MCCCANM And that’s why you’re the captain….

@VFXPilot I just told them we weren’t in a good position to land, and they were not in danger. I apologize for the inconvenience & let them know we’ll be in the ground in about 7-10 minutes.

Turns out hitting golf balls is a good way to relieve the stress of watching your FO totally screw up the approach to the point you’re not even sure how you got in this position & have to go around. (Nobody was ever in danger & I commanded the go around at 1,500’)

@DJSnM In no particular order: Virtually anything in Utah (Zion, Bryce, arches, Canyonlands). If you want to take the low route instead of I-80, you could try Sedona, Page (slot canyons), meteor crater.

So, just say I wanted to do a road trip from SF to Colorado and back, what place should I visit? I can take different routes in both directions and take my time.

@LadyAstroJet @TheFlightWall Don’t sweat the building, you probably it have better things to do with your time. I keep my visible in the background of conference calls, it almost always gets a question and an interesting side conversation. Enjoy yours!!

@VFXPilot @TheFlightWall That’s awesome and I totally would have liked to build my own unfortunately that’s not my strongest asset so I just ordered one! So impressed by all of you that can build this stuff.

Got some happy mail today! Anyone else have a FlightWall? Hoping it’s everything I thought it was! I’ll keep y’all posted @TheFlightWall

@MCCCANM Now the follow-on question is do you have the automatic muting enabled or disabled?

I’m not saying it’s allowed, or that I do it. I’m not saying you’ll find many pilots that will admit doing it. But… Most of our headsets have a Bluetooth connection that allows you to play music in the background, under the radio & intercom. That’s a thing you know now.

@unclegarytrucks @3YearLetterman C’mon, at least make it challenging….

i vote in every election i motor boated 4 hooters waitresses last night 2007 UGA vs UF game i snuck in 4 dead raccoons into the florida locker room & pissed on tebows locker

@DJSnM @SciGuySpace I’ve had stop holes drilled in cracks on two different aircraft. It always felt just slightly wrong even though I intellectually understand it. This is on a whole new level though…

@SciGuySpace I found a photo of one of the repair operations, they literally drill a hole through the pressure hull to stop the crack propagating and then immediately seal it with epoxy.

I was able to get some more information about why NASA took the dramatic step 10 days ago of sending its astronauts into Crew Dragon for 'safe haven.' Spoiler alert: It involves saws and drills in space. arstechnica.com/space/2026/06/…

@neontaster The real question is what are you going to do to bring it back?

@neontaster “I don’t feel like we are going to lose our industry”, newsflash Karen: you already have. Are you that out of touch?

It is literally as easy as "make it cheaper to film there." That's it. That's the solution. There is no way to magically offset how ungodly expensive it is to do anything in LA.