All posts by Terry Pitts

Terry is a retired school teacher, retired Army Reservist, and retired civilian Department of the Army Civilian working about half the time as a pilot and flight instructor. He has been flying since age 19, adding gliders in 2011. He's been an FAA certificated flight instructor since 2013.
Books

Trying to upgrade my reading

MOST OF MY friends and family know that I enjoy reading. I can read a good book in the same room as a TV and just filter out the sound. I’ve read a lot of spy/secret agent, detective, lawyer stories over the last several years. In the last six months I’ve tried to raise the level of what I read. I’ve alternated something a bit higher than the traditional spy novel with German detective stories. I’m almost finished with six of eight books about a German private detective I’ve come to enjoy.

This turned out to be one of the most interesting books I have ever read. It was interesting. I learned more about the geopolitics of geography than I ever thought I would enjoy.

In between though, I’ve read some more intellectually stimulating non-fiction including a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a book about geography, and Frederick Forsyth’s autobiography. I’ll give a few thoughts on each book and provide a link to Amazon so you can see what others have said, or even buy it if so inclined. I would get a few cents, though this doesn’t seen to happen too often!

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian who became an active anti-nazi and was executed just a couple weeks before the end of World War II. He almost survived the regime he can to hate. The book includes information on Bonhoeffer’s life, the times in which he lived, and his impact on theology in the years after the war. It’s not a “religious” book, it’s about a struggle to stand up for one’s convictions.

Prisoners of Geography. Wow! What more can I say? Earlier this year I went to England to so some glider flying. The weather was not supportive, and I ended up making a day trip to Oxford (Where Inspector Lewis is filmed). I had a great time wandering around despite the dreary day and the expensive parking ticket! Right after I got out of the car I saw a bookstore. I like bookstores. I took a quick look, confirmed they’d be open when I came back later and went exploring. Later, back at the bookstore I found more books than I could possibly carry with the low baggage allowance that went with my cheap ticket to London. I selected a book about geography. This turned out to be one of the most interesting books I have ever read. It was interesting. The content flowed smoothly, almost seamlessly through one transition to the next. I learned more about the geopolitics of geography than I ever thought I would enjoy. If you wonder what makes the world tick, this really is for you.

One of the first novels I remember reading was the Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth. I’ve since read most of his novels. At the Frankfurt airport several weeks ago, I discovered that Forsyth had recently written an autobiography. It read like one of his books. It was full of energy, excitement, and stories. It was a great read about politics, spying for real, making and losing a lot of money, and about people in general. Well worth a read if you’ve ever enjoyed one of his books or wonder how an author comes up with ideas for stories.

Flying

Soaring Videos I have Made

Video

BLOG POSTS are most interesting when there’s visual content to go with the text. Interesting photographs make a difference. Adding video to the page can be even better as long as it’s something people might actually want to watch! I’ve made a number of videos that I’ve shared to YouTube. Some of the soaring ones are embedded below. Next time I do video I’ll try to get pictures of how I do it. That may be an interesting mini-tutorial for some readers.

Graham Saw survived doing some aerobatic training with me at Booker Gliding Club in High Wycombe, England, UK. This video is the product of multiple flights and multiple camera locations. At the time, it was perhaps the most complicated video I had done.

Aerobatic video number two was a learning event. I wish I had left the volume of the voices a bit higher and had lower volume on the music. I tried adding a title image to the beginning in an effort at “branding.” Notice the point where instructor Colin Short says “fantastic” in his Australian accent. I’d like to hear that more often! Lasham is the largest glider club in the world. (Oddly, this one is blocked in Germany.)


No aerobatics here, but this is one of my favorite videos to date. It consists of video from four different camera locations on four different flights. I like the Henry Mancini blues music. Occasionally you can see the shadow of the camera mount on the left with where the camera is looking towards the fuselage. This location disturbed the air enough that in a bank to the right I could feel the burbling air hit the tail/rudder. Hydration is important for the safety of flight. So is avoiding the other gliders. I really enjoyed flying the LS-4 with the Aeroclub Stuttgart where I was a member 2011-2013. The last 30 seconds of the video is just before landing; you can see my right foot on the rudder pedal, and it looks to me like I’m tapping with the music. 🙂

If I can tell a story, then I am a “real film maker,” nest-ce pas? This video was fun to make, and it is an effort to capture the flavor of launching and recovering a glider. Shot at Hahnweide, Germany glider field.

I hope you enjoyed watching a few of these. I had fun making them and sharing them with others.