Slipstream November 2018

Chairman’s Message

By Susan Steeb

Together we FLY!
 
So unlike last month, this was a great month of flying for me. I got to fly right seat with Janice O to the SW Section meeting in Upland (see article below). We landed just after Grace C touched down. We had a really fun weekend taking notes about how to run a section meeting, also meeting and sharing stories with a GREAT GROUP of lady pilots. I HIGHLY encourage you at attend the Sacramento section meeting April 4-7th. Our goal is to bring at least one person who has NEVER attended a section meeting.
Grace C planned our October fly-out to Kernville. Grace flew while Tish A, Liz R and I got to sight-see along the route. We enjoyed a great lunch after securing the plane on sloped transient parking.
 
The following day I joined the Visalia formation flying clinic and got to fly a three ship and then an 8 ship to Porterville for lunch before returning to SLO. Did you know it was Cheryl Cooney who introduced me to formation flying? She flies formation to Oshkosh in her Cherokee. We got to talking at Oshkosh three years back and the rest is history. I’m hooked.
 
Finally, Erik and I had a conference in Oakland so we flew to Hayward and had to navigate the new Class B for SFO and pass over an American flight within one mile with flight following. I saw him long before he saw me. Luckily he was descending so I got to fly well above any wake turbulence. But the best part was taking off from SLO. I heard Janice on the radio returning home from the North and Jill taxing out for a solo flight.
 
Two days later I had a beautiful night flight home with a nice bright moon.
 
We are so blessed in CA to have such great flying weather all year long. I am also so inspired by all of you ladies who encourage me to experience different types of flying. I encourage you to do the same. Come fly right seat for a fly-out, fly to a new airport to stretch your experience, or just go enjoy a beautiful sunset from the air. Along the way, bring along a friend or fellow pilot.
 
Life is too beautiful to rush……Fly SLO!
Did You Know?

The SLO99s can receive money to support our scholarships and chapter. If you shop on Amazon, you can place your orders through Amazon Smile and .5% of your purchase will be donated to our chapter. No cost to you, great benefit to our chapter.
 
Donating is easy, just set the Southwest Section of the Ninety-Nines, San Luis Obispo Chapter as your charity and use the smile.amazon site - you would be amazed at how quickly those donations add up!
 
There is a great opportunity to increase Southwest Section of the Ninety-Nines, San Luis Obispo Chapter's AmazonSmile donations by reminding our supporters to shop at smile.amazon.com

Flying an Observatory in New Zealand

By Elizabeth Ruth
 
I am lucky enough to be a pilot on NASA’s Boeing 747-100SP called SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infra-Red Astronomy). This one-of-a-kind airplane has been modified to hold an 8.5 ft. diameter infra-red telescope in the back, and we normally fly our 10-hour night-time missions out of Palmdale, California. In June and July, when the nights are short up here in the Northern Hemisphere, we take the airplane down to Christchurch, New Zealand. We stage out of the Antarctic Center at the Christchurch International Airport, where our parking ramp is called “The Deep Freeze”, which always makes me smile.
 
So why New Zealand? Three reasons: Long nights, dry air and new skies. June and July are winter there, and the nights are especially long since it’s so far south. The air very dry, which helps the scientists get better data, since water vapor is the foe of infra-red data collection. It’s also quite cold at altitude, so there is less motion in the atmosphere to interfere with the light. We also avoid the convective activity that is often present in and around the U.S. during that time of year. The astronomers really look forward to our deployment because they get to look at a different part of the sky, which includes our galactic center.
 
As a pilot, New Zealand presents different challenges as well as opportunities. The main challenge is the weather. In Palmdale, we almost always have clear skies for takeoff and landing. Christchurch in winter is a whole different picture. Being so far south and completely surrounded by the ocean, they have a LOT of rain, as well as icy conditions. And there is a pesky thick fog that often forms at the airport right around our landing time. The visibility hovers just above and below landing mins, which can make things sporty. There are only three airports in the whole country that can accommodate us, so we are constantly checking weather and fuel to make sure we have good options.
 
One of the biggest factors we have to consider is our irreplaceable telescope. It has to be kept dry at all times, so we keep the door over it closed for takeoffs, landings, and whenever we fly through moisture of any kind. We typically close the door right before descent, so the telescope is protected from any weather we encounter on the approach. But we always have a plan in case the door fails to close, meaning a suitable airport where we can avoid clouds or precipitation all the way to touchdown. If there is bad weather over the entire country, we may have to cancel the whole mission.
 
And the opportunities? We get to be in New Zealand! The whole city of Christchurch welcomes us - the town council throws a big dinner for the aircrew and staff and the local astronomy club adopts us, arranging for us to give presentations and taking us on fishing trips and other outings. The people of New Zealand are wonderful and the scenery is breathtaking. It’s always fun to fly somewhere new, and are mission sometimes take us very close to Antarctica. The view from the cockpit is stunning, and we often get to see the Aurora Australis—the southern lights. When the conditions are right, they are dancing all around us for hours.
Whether you are flying your own airplane in General Aviation or flying a big airplane for an organization like NASA, the role of the Pilot in Command is the same. You are responsible for the safe conduct of your flight, which means making sure your airplane is airworthy, the weather is thoroughly checked, and you have a good plan for every contingency you can think of. Our scientists often ask us to push limits so they can get better observations. But as the flight crew, it is our responsibility to keep the airplane within safe parameters and not allow what we call “suicide by science”. The pilot always has the ultimate responsibility and always has the last word. As they say, The superior pilot uses her superior judgment to avoid having to use her superior skill.
 
Flight Aware: If you would like to follow SOFIA’s missions, you can go to FlightAware.com and type in NASA under “airline” and N747NA under “flight#”. We typically fly up to 4 nights a week, mostly on weekdays (direct link: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N747NA ).
 
SOFIA is also on Instagram under “sofiatelescope” (direct link: https://www.instagram.com/sofiatelescope/ ) and Facebook under “SOFIA Stratospheric Observatory for Infra-Red Astronomy” (direct link: https://www.facebook.com/SOFIAtelescope/ ).