Author Archives: Colin Summers

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About Colin Summers

I am an architect, programmer, private pilot, husband and father. A couple of those I am good at.

Don’t Close the Airport

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Colin Summers

I sent this off to my congressional representative this morning. I also sent copies to my two senators and the Administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration. I don’t pretend that it will do any good, but every now and then … Continue reading →

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Learning to Fly

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Colin Summers

I belong to two different online flying communities. The first focuses on our plane, or all of the planes by the same manufacturer. That’s the Diamond Aviators Net. It is very relaxed, informal, and very polite. Statistics on Cirrus accidents … Continue reading →

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NorCal Hopping

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Colin Summers

Although I have been flying every week, we really haven’t been taking trips in the plane. That’s too bad, since it really contributes to my mental stability, something I thought about a lot on the two hour twenty minute flight … Continue reading →

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Many Buffalo

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Colin Summers

But not enough of them seen. Here are Rudy and Helen out on Catalina, just before we started the usual 2.2 mile Airport Loop hike around the airport. It feels like we haven’t spotted the buffalo in a while. This … Continue reading →

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Seven Years Back

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Colin Summers

I used to have half a dozen photographs of this crash. The fellow who sold me our plane sent them to me. He knows I am always thinking about walking away from a forced landing. This one was just so … Continue reading →

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Never Bent

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Colin Summers

I’m pretty sure when I mention to people that I fly a small plane the first thing they think of is a small plane crashing. That’s when the little planes make the news, so that’s probably what is in their … Continue reading →

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Staying Out of the Way

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Colin Summers

I have flown in and out of San Diego’s Lindbergh Field dozens of times now. I first landed there for Rudy’s first visit to ComicCon and since then we have discovered The Old Globe Theater and seen a bunch of Shakespeare and … Continue reading →

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Paper or Plastic

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Colin Summers

On of my favorite aviation bloggers, Aviatrix over at Cockpit Conversation, had a bunch of questions about changing over to an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) and how the iPad might compare to paper maps. As I was reading her entry … Continue reading →

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Catch-22

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Colin Summers

It’s amazing how happy this little piece of metal makes me. A lot of small airplanes have these little windows. They leet you put your fingers into the wind stream without filling the cabin with noise. They let you call … Continue reading →

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A Better Approach

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Colin Summers

I’ve flown sixteen hundred hours in the airplane and I’m still learning.  On Tuesday, July 1,  Nell spoke at the Great Books Summer Program up on the Stanford campus. It’s the perfect trip in the plane, two hours twenty minutes up … Continue reading →

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