Insiders - Issue #44
Welcome to the Airplane Academy Insiders Newsletter where I share aviation lessons learned, my latest content, and other helpful links. I'm glad you're here. Let's dive in!
Your Fellow Left-Seater,
Charlie
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Charlie Gasmire
CSEL, CMEL, SES, IR, Tailwheel, Cessna 182 Owner, YouTuber at Airplane Academy
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I Learned This From That
This week I attended the funeral of a good friend.
My flying mentor (guy that gave me my first lesson when I was 14 years old and taught me many of the things I know in aviation), his wife passed away.
She was one of the sweetest people you've ever met. And she was only 73.
I sat in the pews of the church listening to the hymns played, looking at the rotating slideshow of her pictures on the screen.
I couldn't believe that her face was the one on the screen. This wasn't a stranger. I knew her, cared about her, went on flying trips with her and others, and now we're sitting at her funeral.
It's easy to think that everything lasts forever. That how things are now are the way they'll always be.
But celebrating someone's life at the end is a sobering reminder that we're all on a shot clock.
(As a believer in Jesus, I believe there is indescribable joy coming at the end of that shot clock for those that believe (John 3:16-17, Romans 10:9-10). But, the shot clock is still sobering to remember.)
Later in the day I joined my parents for lunch at a place where I used to wait tables at in college. Except, it wasn't the same low-light fine dining restaurant I knew and loved anymore. It's now a Mexican restaurant with a big patio and a huge margarita machine.
Don't get me wrong, Tex-Mex is probably my favorite food on earth.
But I was so sentimental looking around the restaurant trying to remember what it looked like before they blew out the walls to put in the beer tap and long bar. I was recalling the many late nights I spent waiting tables trying to provide the best service I could as a 19 year old that knew nothing about fine dining.
I put a lot of effort inside that building that looking at now, felt, well... gone.
And in an infinitely smaller way than the funeral, it was also another reminder that nothing is forever.
And my parents and I talked over fajitas that if you want something in your life, you have to go for it. That no one is going to do that for you.
It's the same with aviation.
If you're on the fence about starting to become a pilot, but every time an airplane flies overhead at your kid's soccer game and you're the only one looking up at it, you probably need to go for it.
We're on a shot clock. The things you want, you need to go do.
Maybe this email isn't as much of an aviation lesson learned as it is my way of saying goodbye to Karen. I'm getting tearful writing those words.
But my reflection yesterday, and my encouragement to you today, is this:
Take one step today towards your big goal. Tomorrow isn't promised. And any marathon you run will simply be a bunch of those same little steps, anyway.
So take that small step today. Whether that's the tiniest step towards starting on your private, instrument, buying an airplane, or telling your friend you love them. Go do it.
Because we don't know how long we have, but we do have today. Use it.
Your Fellow Left-Seater,
Charlie
My Latest Content
Two of the most popular GA airplanes in the world, compared side-by-side.
This video took a lot of work, but after getting to fly the 182 and Turbo 206 with Cessna, I was able to put a first-hand comparison together:
Cessna 182 vs. T206 Full Comparison (After Flying Both)
Other Interesting Links
Today I met the founder and owner of GA Kneeboard. His name is JC.
He built an interesting website that allows you to build printable kneeboards that you can customize for each flight. You can create and save your own templates and then it will populate it with the relevant info based on what airports you put in (frequencies, runways, etc.). You can also write and save your own checklists or portions of checklists (emergencies), or drop in pre-made templates like lightgun signals, etc.
Then you print it out on your home printer before each flight.
It's very customizable and he said across all of his customers, nearly all of them use their own template (which is the point). There's a little bit of a learning curve but I was able to figure it out after playing with it for a few minutes and he has video tutorials as well.
JC (owner) has a heart for helping GA pilots. He flies a 182 and lives in Seattle. I think this is a very useful and affordable resource and just wanted you to know that it exists.
https://www.kneeboard.ga/
PS - You can do a decent amount of playing around just with the free plan to just explore and then buy it if you want to print more than a few pages.
Gasmire Glimpse
Some things happening in our house lately:
- First "daddy-daughter" dance this weekend with my 3-year-old. She's freaking pumped. I'm a terrible dancer. Should be fun!
- Ate my first 5-level thai spice dish the other day. It may or may not show up in an upcoming YouTube video :)
- My 4yo son is obsessed with hockey and I know nothing about hockey. Trying to get him into lessons and it's a whole new world. If only he'd ask me how to talk to ATC.... I'm better at that.
- Baby #3 still healthy and still tracking towards due date at the end of May. This season of life is tiring but also amazing in so many ways.
- In a bit of a "work sprint" this week trying to move the needle on some content production and instrument rating flashcards. It's very hard work but I think they're going to be awesome. Also working on another product that I hope to get to announce in the next month or two that is really useful and I'm excited about.
- Started reading "Evidence that Demands a Verdict." Very interesting Christian apologetics book. I did not know it was 800 pages when I ordered it. Lol.
Resources to Know About
