When Weather Diverts You. . .

--> When Weather Diverts You. . .

It's part of flying, and there's nothing you can do about it. . . perhaps.

You're trying to get to your destination, or maybe you're trying to get home. You look at the weather and no matter how you plot out your time, direction of flight, and other options, you're staying put!

Blessing or curse?

I guess it depends what you'd like to make of it.

Flying home from OshKosh I met up with a couple stranded at the Mason County Airport (LDM) in Ludington,Michigan. If I were to be stranded anywhere, Ludington would be my dream! Beautiful sandy beaches on Lake Michigan have made this town one of the busiest resort towns in Michigan.

Again, blessing or curse?

This couple called over 40 hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts only to find all of them sold out! Once again they reviewed their options. Fly to Ann Arbor for a better position in the morning, sleep in the plane, make use of the comfortable lounge furniture in the terminal lobby?

The adventure continued. . .

A call from a local Bed and Breakfast revealed that there was one room they hadn't discovered. They'd have to share a bathroom, and there was no air conditioning, but there was a "bed" and a "breakfast!"

It turns out that this couple had also spent the night in Ludington on the way over to OshKosh when weather prevented them from flying across the lake.

Of course, I haven't heard the ending to this story yet, but If I wrote my own ending it would go something like this:

"After checking into the Bed and Breakfast, we walked down to the beach where we watched the boats and fishermen enjoy the evening as if nothing else in the world mattered. We realized we were getting hungry after the events of the day and found a cozy little seafood restaurant with a stunning view of the lake.

Before it was too late, I made a phone call to work letting them know I wouldn't be back on Monday or maybe even Tuesday! I was told to take my time and advised not push it if weather was an issue. How good can this get?

The room was just fine, and the breeze blowing through the open window was far more comfortable than a noisy room air conditioner.

After some interesting conversation and a tasty breakfast, we headed back home and didn't worry too much about weather.

If we had to stop again we'd have one more adventure to add to our journal and maybe another day or two off work!

Link: http://www.airplanenoise.com/great_trips.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pat Redmond, Brighton, Mi usa
airplanenoise@airplanenoise.com
http://www.airplanenoise.com
Pat Redmond, helps business owners who are tired of long lines and baggage claims, fly their way to freedom! Enjoy dinner with your family tonight! To learn more about the General Aviation Business, sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://www.airplanenoise.com

When Bad Things Happen To Good Aircraft Buyers: Recognizing

--> When Bad Things Happen To Good Aircraft Buyers: Recognizing When Bad Things Happen To Good Aircraft Buyers: Recognizing And Avoiding Aircraft Title Problems



By Gregory J. Reigel



2004 All rights reserved.



Whether you are purchasing your first aircraft or the latest in a succession of aircraft, as an aircraft buyer you need to proceed with caution. If you don't, after the seller has left with your money, you may have unanswered questions: Do I really own the aircraft? Have I missed any skeletons hiding in the closet that threaten my continued ownership and possession of my aircraft? What happens when someone else claims they own or have a prior interest in my aircraft?



To answer these questions, first we need to discuss what the FAA requires for an aircraft purchase transaction. Then we will talk about some of the problems/issues that an unwary buyer could face. Finally, we will address some of the steps an aircraft buyer can take to ensure that he or she will be the legitimate and undisputed owner of the aircraft being purchased.



Recording Purchase Transactions With The FAA. When you purchase an aircraft, you receive an FAA Form 8050-2, Aircraft Bill of Sale showing the transfer/sale of the aircraft from the seller to you, the aircraft buyer. The bill of sale must then be recorded with the FAA along with an FAA Form 8050-1, Aircraft Registration Application. (Unfortunately, Form 8050-1 is not available online, but must be obtained directly from the FAA or your local FSDO). Additionally, for the most part, all interests in aircraft, whether a security interest, lien, mortgage or judgment, must also be recorded with the FAA Registry in Oklahoma City in order to be valid and the first recorded interest usually has priority over interests recorded at a later date.



Failure to timely and properly comply with these filing and recording requirements can result in problems for the aircraft buyer. What types of problems can happen? Although a variety of such problems exist, two specific ways in which an aircraft buyer can find himself or herself in trouble are when a seller fails to convey title to the buyer or when a seller fails to convey "clear" title to the buyer.



Seller Fails To Convey Title. In this situation, the aircraft buyer does not become the actual owner of the aircraft. The seller may not necessarily intend for the aircraft buyer not to take title to the aircraft. Rather, the seller's failure to convey title to the aircraft buyer is inadvertent or unknowing. One such situation occurs when the bill of sale contains errors. Potential errors can include when the person signing the bill of sale does not have authority to sign on behalf of the corporation or limited liability company that owns the aircraft, when the aircraft is incorrectly identified on the bill of sale or when the person signing the bill of sale does not have capacity (e.g. a person signing the bill of sale is a minor, mentally insane or incompetent).



Unfortunately, situations also arise in which the seller's actions are intentional and result in the aircraft buyer not receiving title to the aircraft. This can happen when a seller sells an aircraft twice and the second buyer actually records his or her bill of sale before the first buyer. A similar result occurs if the seller forges the bill of sale or if the aircraft is subject to judicial proceedings (such as bankruptcy, receivership, probate, conservatorship or dissolution of marriage), and the court has not authorized the sale.



Seller Is Unable To Convey Clear Title. In this situation, the bill of sale may be valid and convey title to the aircraft to the aircraft buyer, but that aircraft may be subject to the interests of some other third-party. Such prior interests can include judgment liens, tax liens, mechanic's liens and various other liens and security interests. These prior interests would likely be recorded before the buyer's bill of sale. It is also possible, in some limited circumstances, to have an unrecorded, possessory lien against an aircraft. (Unrecorded, possessory liens make a strong case against purchasing an aircraft sight unseen without confirming the location of the aircraft and lack of claims by the party in possession if other than the aircraft seller).



What To Do? With such potential problems lurking in the shadows, what can/should an aircraft buyer do? Well, one answer is to hire an aviation attorney to assist you with the transaction. An aviation attorney will be familiar with the filing and recording requirements of the FAA and will make sure that the bill of sale and aircraft registration application are completed accurately, properly and filed in a timely manner. An aviation attorney will also be able to perform due diligence on your behalf including a title search and name searches for the seller to discover any judgments, liens, bankruptcies or security interests. He or she can also help you resolve any title defects that may be discovered during due diligence.



An aviation attorney may further help you obtain an affidavit from the seller affirmatively stating that the seller is not aware of any judgments, liens or encumbrances affecting the title to the aircraft. This may assist you in pursuing or asserting a fraud claim against the seller if a title issue arises which you can show the seller was aware of when the affidavit was signed.



Another way to protect yourself is to buy title insurance for your aircraft. The aircraft title insurer will ensure your documentation is accurate and filed in a timely manner and it will also perform the same types of title and name searches an aviation attorney would perform on your behalf. However, the title insurer may or may not be able to assist you in resolving any title defects and won't be able to provide you with any legal advice regarding the purchase transaction.



The bottom line is that you as an aircraft buyer need to proceed with caution and perform due diligence when purchasing an aircraft. Although this may seem like added cost in the short term, in the long run these steps can save you the large expense, and possible loss of your aircraft, that can result from title defects or third-party claims against your aircraft.



As always, fly safe and, when you are purchasing an aircraft, buy smart.

Greg is an aviation attorney and holds a commercial pilot certificate with instrument rating. His handles aviation litigation, including insurance matters and creditor's rights, FAA certificate actions and aviation related transactional matters. He can be reached via e-mail at greigel@aerolegalservices.com or check out his website at

What the Heck is a Futures Contract?

--> What the Heck is a Futures Contract? To learn more, visit: www.tradetofreedom.com

What the Heck is a Futures Contract?

Lots of people talk about futures, but what are they really? Why do you care? Because trading futures, if you use the right system, can be your path to great wealth.

To understand what we mean by a futures contract, let's meet trader Bob (a buyer), who wants to purchase a widget today because he believes that the widget will have more value in the future. If all goes well, Bob will buy the widget now, wait for the price to go up, then sell the widget for a small profit in a month. But where can Trader Bob obtain the widget? It so happens that Trader Sam (a seller) has in his possession the widget that Trader Bob wants. Trader Sam would like to sell the widget today because, unlike Trader Bob, he believes that the widget will have less value in the future than it does today. Trader Sam is selling today because he believes that he will make more money now than if he waits to sell in a month.

So Trader Bob and Trader Sam get together and agree upon a price for the widget. Trader Bob is now the proud owner. If the value of the widget indeed increases in the future, then Trader Bob can become a seller and part with the widget with a profit. If the value of the item decreases in the future then Trader Bob will have to sell the widget for a loss.

This basic relationship between buyer and seller is the foundation for all commerce. Futures are simply a variation on this theme, where instead of buying a widget now, Trader Bob contracts to buy the widget in a few months at a fixed price. The transaction still relies on the buyer believing the price will go up, and the seller believing the price will go down.

Trading Critters

Futures traders fall into two categories: hedgers and speculators. The primary economic purpose of the futures market is for hedging, which is buying or selling futures contracts to offsets risks of changing prices in the cash markets. Hedge traders, such as large commercial firms that may actually take delivery of certain commodities, like coffee or wheat, use futures contracts to protect (hedge) themselves against changing cash prices.

Speculators, however, make up the majority of futures traders. Speculators have no commercial interest in the underlying commodity and have no interest in taking delivery of the commodity. The potential for profit is what motivates speculators to trade commodity futures. Speculators buy when they believe that prices will increase and they sell when they believe that prices will fall. Futures traders using STARS would be considered speculators.

Basic Basics

If a trader is a buyer, he has taken a long position. A long position involves the purchase of a futures contracts in the hope that the price of the contract will increase in the future. Let's say our friend Trader Bob contracts in March to buy a widget (a long position) in June for $10. June rolls around, and the price of a widget is now $13. That means Bob now has the right to buy the widget for $10 even though the going rate is $13. Bob goes ahead and buys the widget for $10, then turns around and immediately sells it for $13, pocketing the difference.

A trader who is a seller takes a short position, which involves the sale of futures contracts in anticipation of prices falling in the future. Trader Bob in this case contracts in June to sell a widget in September for $13. Fall comes around, and the going rate for widget in September turns out to be $9. Trader Bob buys a widget for that going rate of $9, then immediately turns around and exercises his right sell the widget for $13, profiting from the difference. At first, it might seem odd that Trader Bob is contracting to sell something he does not yet own. But look at the situation this way instead: in June, Bob makes a commitment to sell a widget to Sam in September for a guaranteed price of $13. If Bob can buy the widget for less than that sometime before September, he will make a profit.

All of this is made simple and easy in a new book: A Simple Guide to Astronomical Wealth: the STARS Method of Trading Futures. Like Bob, you too can make huge profits by trading the STARS method.

Anybody can learn the STARS method - its easy! Just go to: www.tradetofreedom.com

Copyright Jeff Schweitzer

PERMISSIONS TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in its entirety free of charge, electronically or in print, provided it appears with the included copyright and author's resource box with live website link.

Jeff Schweitzer received his Ph.D. from UCSD in 1985. Jeff was appointed as a science advisor at the White House under the Bush and Clinton Administrations for three years before devoting attention to generating wealth through trading futures. He has published more than 60 articles in diverse areas, including neurobiology, marine science, international development, environmental protection and aviation.

What dreams will come!

--> What dreams will come! As the pioneers of aviation took to the air (not skies), in their human powered mechanical contraptions, what must have been said and thought?

Complicated pulleys and chain systems enclosing a lunatic, perhaps!

Or overly optimistic cyclists with designs above their head, even.

Yet they left us with the beginnings of international and inter-planetary travel, its' destinations, physical and figurative.

What of the scientists and chemists, self-sent to the grave through misadventure and experiment?

And their journals, which were and are hard copy legacies unbound by the limiting confines of the grave? Something was learned, in the big picture!

A spark of madness, as it seemed, was the ignition source for technological explosions.



Original computer models had lighting sequences, which was something, but couldn't have evolved without enthusiasm, imagination, finance and time, into what it is today. At that point in history, it couldn't have happened elsewhere on the planet, in the same way and speed. The formula for advancement would have been incomplete. Indeed, it couldn't have happened at that rate, without mass optimism and lots of people pulling in the same direction.



You see, something hypothetical or seemingly ridiculous can be some thing brilliant. The first aviators understood that a bird held no magical power, whatever about altitude. If these men couldn't fly, well then they would have learned new engineering techniques, along the way.

What dreams will come for the generations of today's' prosperous societies where children can access resources to overcome relatively minor learning disabilities, opposed to the aggressive and ignorant resources that successfully placed previous generations in the back of the schoolroom? The visual vantage point that it offered hardly compensated for hearing loss or impairment perceived as indifference.

What of the premature or "early" babies now breathing air where it always was, but previously too young to attain it? Or the thousands of people whose real lives were initiated "IN VITRO" (in glass)? New people that wouldn't have been, is the result.

Likewise with those having hearts incapable of the pumping cycles expected for life, some thirty years ago. Not new people with more life, is the result.

The "borrowed time" clich

What a Billionaire Balloonist Taught Me About Internet Marke

--> What a Billionaire Balloonist Taught Me About Internet Marke

Yes, believe it or not, after 10 years' of mastering Internet marketing I can now safely say that being successful at it comes down to just one thing..

Billionaire Richard Branson, the entrepreneur behind the Virgin brand, is one of the world's most successful and adventurous businessmen. Not being satisfied to run several highly profitable businesses Branson also engages in occasional feats of courage, or stupidity, depending on your stand point!

I read his autobiography recently and discovered something that perfectly sums up what it takes to achieve success on the Internet.

To set the scene - Branson had called a meeting a few hours before he and his co-pilot were due to embark on an attempt to fly from Japan to America across the Pacific non-stop in a hot air balloon. The attempt would be fraught with countless difficulties, challenges and life-threatening risks. One last pre-take off meeting was held to talk through all eventualities of the flight and to discuss what Branson and his co-pilot needed to do to survive in each case.

After an intense 3-hours' briefing, covering everything that could go wrong, on this, one of the most complex and risky aviation record attempts in history, Richard Branson came away having written just eight words into his notepad;

"Keep the fire burning - that's all that matters."

How incredible is that? He's faced with almost certain death and has just been briefed on the technical details of which levers to pull when, which buttons to press to escape crashing and which actions to take to prevent the capsule from decompressing and yet all he writes down is "Keep the fire burning".

Why? Because that's all that matters! As long as he keeps the fire burning the balloon will stay in the air and he will eventually make it across the Pacific safely, nothing else matters.

So what has this got to do with Internet marketing? Let me explain..

** Do You Have The Energy To Keep The Fire Burning?

Being honest now - how many times have you stared at your website and thought;

"What ONE thing can I do to get more sales?"

You've probably thought this a few times right? Well, you're not alone. Unfortunately though, too many people make the mistake of thinking that;

- The one thing is getting a high search engine rankings
- The one thing is getting more subscribers
- The one thing is getting more traffic
- The one thing is getting accepted by Yahoo!
- The one thing is getting an article published
- Etc.

But the point is that none of these are the right 'one thing'! The ONLY right 'one thing' is to do what Branson knew - keep the fire burning. Keep going and never give up.

We all know how easy it is to do those tedious or those time-consuming tasks when the sales are flooding in, right? But what about when nothing is happening on your website? What about when the sales dry up and your phone stops ringing, what then? What motivates you then?

Well then - you need to keep the fire burning.

Keep on doing what it is you need to do - as ultimately, this is what will make your website a success and separate it from many around you that become failures. The people that achieve REAL success on the Internet have just done one thing. The same thing that Branson did.

"I've Tried Everything!"

"But Michael, nothing is working - I have tried everything and still I'm not making any sales!"

Really? You've really tried EVERYTHING? How many things have you really tried? If you ever find yourself whinging like this force yourself to actually count how many different things you have tried. I bet you'll find it's often less than 20 and will always be a long way short of everything!

So What Happened To Branson and His Balloon?

His attempt to cross the Pacific was abandoned even before take-off as sub-zero temperatures caused some of the balloon's outer layers to disintegrate. But did he give up? What do you think?

He tried again two years' later and despite freak weather storms and his capsule catching fire he flew 6,761 miles across the Pacific and landed safely in Canada having achieved the longest-ever balloon flight in history. He had kept the (right) fire burning..

What Happens When a Pilot gets a DUI/DWI?

--> What Happens When a Pilot gets a DUI/DWI?

Your worst nightmare as a pilot - a DUI. Will this end your career as a pilot? What if you are the lawyer representing a pilot? Is this a simple DUI case or will it end your law career with a malpractice lawsuit? I know these questions can light up your eyes to why a pilot is different when they get a DUI.

First, pilot or not, you have to follow your state laws. Keep in mind your time frame for appeals or administrative hearings. You could probably get your driver's license back under an occupational license during your suspension. Even if its your first offense, you better be on your toes if you want to keep flying.

Second, pilots fall under another set of rules from the FAA. They are the FARS (Federal Aviation Regulations). Do you have to report to the FAA now or later? Can I just put it on my FAA First Class Medical Certificate? Can I just call the CFI (certified flight instructor) at the local FAA office FSDO (Flight Standards District Office)?

Your most important resource (lawyer or pilot) is Section 61.15 of the FARS. Section (e) states that you must report "not later than 60 days after the motor vehicle action". It lists the things you must submit to the FAA, Civil Action Security Division in Oklahoma City, not your local FSDO. This is very serious as section (f) states "Failure to comply with paragraph (e) of this section is grounds for . . .(2) Suspension or revocation of any certificate, rating, or authorization issued under this part."

In summary, what do you do? If you are convicted of a DUI/DWI, it must be reported on your medical application. You also have to notify the FAA in Oklahoma City within 60 days of the conviction. Do NOT contact the local FSDO, as this is NOT incompliance with the FARS. Do this quick or face a suspension for a non-reporting violation.

Drinking and Driving is bad. Drinking and flying is worse. Both can end careers, lives and marriages. They can even take innocent victims. Also, if you have two separate incidents within a 3-year period, then the FAA can deny an application or revoke/suspend a pilot's license. You can avoid all of this by not drinking and driving.

War of the Disks: A Close-in Analysis of the Hard Disk Drive

--> War of the Disks: A Close-in Analysis of the Hard Disk Drive Much has been written about solid state disks (SSDs) becoming the next big thing(1) in the IT industry. But as to whether or not we have enough knowledge of how it will revolutionize the industry is a different question. How much do we really know about SSDs? If we are to ask people on the streets, it wouldn't come as a surprise that they dont know much of what an SSD is. Even if they do know, most probably it would be limited to a USB pen drive, a CompactFlash or a Secure Digital card, which are more on the consumer side of the storage industry.

Technically speaking, they are not wrong. Most web definitions describe an SSD as a high-performance plug-and-play storage device that contains no moving parts. Therefore, given that most of the aforementioned mobile disk storage devices contain no movable parts, they can certainly be categorized as SSDs.

But then again, there's more to SSDs than being a non-volatile device. The purpose of this article is to give readers a clearer picture of what an SSD is, its usage as well as its difference when pitted against the predominant data storage device at present - the hard disk drive (HDD). More than its non-volatility, this article will reveal how much potential SSDs have in optimizing the performance of the computing system.

SSD Defined

Here are several ways the SSD is defined:

"A solid state disk (SSD) is electrically, mechanically and software compatible with a conventional (magnetic) hard disk or winchester. The difference is that the storage medium is not magnetic (like a hard disk) or optical (like a CD) but solid state semiconductor such as battery backed RAM, EPROM or other electrically erasable RAMlike chip. This provides faster access time than a disk, because the data can be randomly accessed and does not rely on a read/write interface head synchronising with a rotating disk. The SSD also provides greater physical resilience to physical vibration, shock and extreme temperature fluctuations. The only downside is a higher cost per megabyte of storage."(2)

"Abbreviated SSD, a solid state disk is a high-performance plug-and-play storage device that contains no moving parts. SSD components include either DRAM or flash memory boards, a memory bus board, a CPU, and a battery card. Because they contain their own CPUs to manage data storage, they are a lot faster (18MBps for SCSI-II and 44 MBps for UltraWide SCSI interfaces) than conventional rotating hard disks ; therefore, they produce highest possible I/O rates. SSDs are most effective for server applications and server systems, where I/O response time is crucial. Data stored on SSDs should include anything that creates bottlenecks, such as databases, swap files, library and index files, and authorization and login information."(3)

For the rest of the article, we will compare the HDDs and Flash-based SSDs. The latter are the most popular type of SSDs employed by the military, aerospace, industrial and embedded systems industries.

Mortality Rate

Hard disk failure is a common occurrence in this age of desktops and notebooks. A lot of horror stories have been told, passed around and even published about how valuable data was lost and the agony of trying to retrieve or at least save a portion of the crashed hard drive. It is during this time that people wonder, why do hard disks fail?

The reason is simple - wear and tear. Just like any good old machine with mechanical components, HDDs tend to deteriorate over time. HDDs consist of rotating, magnetically coated disks, known as platters, that are used to store data. This rotating motion of the mechanical arms results in much wear and tear after long periods of use. The operational lifespan of a computer HDD is over three years.(4)

A Flash-based SSD is different. Although the most common Flash chips have around 300,000 write cycles, the best Flash chips are rated at 1,000,000 write cycles per block. On top of that, Flash SSD manufacturers employ different ways to increase the longevity of the drives. In some cases, they use a "balancing" algorithm to monitor the number of times each disk block has been written, which greatly extends the operational lifespan of the drive. Furthermore, these manufacturers also designed special "wear-leveling" algorithms where once a certain percentage threshold for a given block is reached, the SSD will swap the data in that block with the data in another block that has exhibited a "read-only-like" characteristic in the background. This reduces performance lag and avoids further wearing off of the blocks and thrashing of the disk. Even with usage patterns of writing/reading gigabytes per day, a Flash-based SSD should last several years, depending on its capacity. Add to that the inclusion of a DRAM cache in the disk architecture that further enhances its operational capabilities as well as lifespan.

Speeding Up

With the very fast paced lifestyle these days, most businesses are time-bound and cannot afford a slowing down in their transactions. This makes speed of HDDs a crucial point in technological purchases. The typical access time for a Flash based SSD is about 35 - 100 s, whereas that of a rotating disk is around 5,000 - 10,000 s. That makes a Flash-based SSD approximately 100 times faster than a rotating disk.

This however raises another point - what's the benefit of a high-speed SSD when the entire system cannot support it? The evolution of CPUs in terms of performance has far surpassed the development of the data storage system. The HDD is actually limiting the potential of a computer system when they are not able to keep up with the performance of the other components, particularly the CPU. If an HDD is replaced by a high-speed SSD, the performance would significantly improve. The resulting system would be a high-powered set-up that can go beyond the demands of high-speed business or military environments.

Size Matters

To be a true plug-in replacement for HDDs, Flash-based SSDs are manufactured in standard 2.5" and 3.5" form factors. 2.5" SSDs are normally used in laptops or notebooks while the 3.5" form factors are used in desktops, or in JBOD or other SAN/NAS/DAS configurations. They can often be used to replace traditional disks in storage arrays or in a server's internal disk bays. Flash-based SSDs certainly fit the storage needs of most embedded systems that require much smaller form factors.

Reliability

In terms of reliability, conventional HDDs pale when compared to SSDs. The absence of mechanical arms and spinning platters is the reason behind its reliability. In demanding environments, SSDs provide the type of ruggedness required for mobile applications. Unlike the HDD, SSD's can withstand extreme shock and vibration with data integrity and without any danger of data loss. This feature is very important in industrial applications where exposure to highly combustible materials and electromagnetic radiation are typical. Their ability to deliver unnerving performance in extreme conditions also makes SSD play a vital role in military operations, be it in defense, aerospace or aviation applications. Military applications require, in most cases, an operating temperature range of -60