Most people who know me know that I have been an aviation nut as far back as I can remember, and in 2002 I took that obsession to a new level and got my pilot's license. Here are a few links of some of the sites I visit most, and a good, free, flight planner.
Personal History My logbook Dad's logbook My 1968 Cessna 177 Cardinal, N3212T Where has Cardinal N3212T been recently? Chuck's CFI Page Places to Go! Sport Air Racing League Flying Food Adventure Pilot Flying Calendar Fun Places to Fly Fly2Lunch.com Flight Planning Assistance AOPA Internet Flight Planner AirNav.com - Aviation navigation information DUAT Aviation Weather Aviation Weather Center National Weather Service FAA Temporary Flight Restriction Map FAA Special Use Airspace Map AeroPlanner.com PDFPlates.com Approach Plates and A/FD Bulk Downloads NACOmatic Approach Plates and A/FD Bulk Downloads SkyVector.com - OnLine Aeronautical Charts Aircraft Information Aircraft Information from the FAA Best Practices Guide for Maintaining Aging GA Airplanes Request Copies of Aircraft Records Aircraft Registration FlightAware.com - Track IFR Flights Aviation Safety FAA Pilot Proficiency Program (Wings) Internet Search and Rescue Aviation Mannuals, Handbooks, Brochures and More The Finer Points Aviation Safety Videos Parts and Suppliess Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co. Chief Aircraft Brown Aircraft Supply Sportys Pilot Shop Pilot Groups Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association AOPA Air Safety Foundation Cardinal Flyers Online Cessna Owner Organization AOPA Project Pilot Angel Flight Southeast Amusements and Other Interesting Things Chicken Wings by Michael and Stefan Strasser Air Force Blues Jenny, The Military Spouse Virtual Air Museum 2007 AOPA Sweeps Cardinal Lightspeed Aviation Headsets Garmin Avionics Trade-A-Plane NACO Charts Catalog LiveATC.net When Thumbs Fly Flight Level 390 Gleim
Chuck's Certificated Flight Instructor Training I started working on my Certificated Flight Instructor rating this year (2011) in hopes of finishing within 6 months so that I can start teaching my boys to fly. I have started collecting information that I'll use for my rating, and training and have created a web page to keep it organized. I'm not planning on re-inventing the wheel, so to speak, so I've taken a lot of stuff from a lot of different web sites and I plan on modifying it to a format that I like. I'll acknowledge the authors where possible at the bottom of the page. You can find the CFI page here.
Is Air Traffic Control "Inherently Governmental"? Some government officials have their minds set on privatizing most aspects of the government. While for some things, such as the US Postal Service, it might make sense to privatize, the functions of the government that focus on public safety should not be. A lot of pressure is coming to bear from certain public officials that say that the Air Traffic Control system should be privatized to bring greater cost efficiencies to the system. One such efficiency is automating the Flight Service Station system and doing away with the people at the other end of the phone/radio. If you ever thought that this was a good idea, listen to this exchange between a local FSS and a panicked pilot... Flight Assistance

Both of my boys love Scouting, and I love Scouting with them. Scouting has been a big part of my life since I was a boy and I wanted to make sure that my boys had a similar experience. Although Tiger Cubs didn't exist, I was a Cub Scout when I was little, got the Arrow of Light, went on to Boy Scouts, and became an Eagle Scout. I am hoping that my boys want to go that far, but I don't want to pressure them into it. Its all about having fun, learning and growing. When I signed the boys up I also signed up as a parent volunteer, not knowing that I would eventually be running the Pack. As it turns out, I have done everything from lowly Den Leader to Cubmaster, then when the boys moved up to Boy Scouts, I signed up to be one of the Assistant Scoutmasters. I want to make sure that my boys enjoy the program, and I can do that by helping out where I can.

Here are some Scouting links that I have found useful.

National BSA WebSite Scouting Forms The NetWoods Virtual Campsite Pinewood Derby and Space Derby Hints Scoutstuff.org - OnLine Scout Shop Boys Life OnLine Scouting Magazine Scout-O-Rama

Jeeping
I started riding trails with a friend a couple of years ago when we would go out into the Osceola forest and search for Geocaches. He had an old Jeep CJ7 that we went almost anywhere in and had a great time. When my son got old enough to enter Boy Scouts it quickly became clear that a sports car would not do well transporting scouts to campouts, so I needed a new vehicle. The Jeep I bought is more than sufficient for that task, and it also allows me to go Geocaching on the weekends as well. I love my Jeep!

Official Jeep Site
2008 Jeep Wrangler Owners Manual
Project-JK.com
JK-Forum.com
JeepForum.com
4Wheel Drive Hardware
Quadratec
JP Magazine

Geocaching
Jeeping and Geocaching go hand-in-hand in my book. Geocaching is an outdoor activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook. Larger containers can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value. Geocaching is most often described as a "game of high-tech hide and seek", sharing many aspects with orienteering, treasure-hunting, and waymarking.

Geocaching.com
Geocaching with Garmin

Model Railroading

Geoffrey, Nicholas, and I love to play with trains. We have built several train layouts, but the current one seems to be sticking around.

Check out our latest train layout!
National Model Railroad Association
Model Railroader
N-Scale Magazine

Education has always been extremely important in my family. I graduated from college in 1993 with a degree in Aviation Computer Science (with the Airway Science option) from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Although 'Aviation Computer Science' sounds like a very specialized degree, it is really a software engineering degree. As it turns out, although I have a great interest in aviation, I have never worked in the aviation field. I chose Embry Riddle because it had, and still has, one of the most advanced computer labs of any university around. If you are looking for a GREAT Computer Science degree, check out Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. You can take a look at my resume here.