Discover Flying Day, April 2001
Business Jet Center, Dallas Love Field (DAL)
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DFD 2001 was another record breaking event. This year we
also had our first EVER weather issue. As the morning progressed it became
apparent that we would have to fall back to a "rain date" for
some, if not all, of this year's participants |
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The windsock at Dallas Love Field. For the first time in
our history, the weather did not cooperate with our plans for this year's
DFD. The morning forecast was for improving conditions, but the IFR
conditions continued until the afternoon. We had to cancel almost all of
the morning flights. A couple were able to leave in VFR conditions only to
have to land at outlying area airports to wait for conditions to improve
at DAL, or they had to file for an IFR return. This year some of our students actually
received not only their first flying lesson, but also an instrument lesson
as well. |
Photo by Michael Cintron |
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Photo by Fred Blue
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As in the previous five years, Rainbow Flyers
sponsored another DFD this past April. Here John Pruitt, our DFD 2001
event coordinator, is making morning announcements to the record breaking
53 DFD participants. |
| There's a lot of preparation that
goes into putting on an event like Discover Flying Day. We provide the
airplanes and the instructors for the event by soliciting the
"volunteer" aid and assistance from Ary Sarment, our chief pilot
for DFD, shown here at the right. Ary is meeting with the 8 instructors
discussing the route and airports we will be flying to. This year's event
was unusual in that we were flying into and out of Dallas Love Field, a
major Class "B" airport within the Dallas/Fort Worth Class Bravo
Airspace. Our intent is to be as cooperative within the system as
possible. Safety is always a paramount concern for RFPA! |
Photo by Fred Blue |
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Photo by Fred Blue
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Keith Uhls, left, is one of our members that
also served as an instructor for this year's Discover Flying Day. He is
also an owner of a beautiful Citabria in addition to being a professional
pilot. |
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It takes tons of volunteers to make this event
successful. Al (left) and Frank (right), shown here, are staffing the
registration table. They made sure that all of the airplanes were filled
appropriately for their respective weight and balance, kept up with the
registration, made sure that each student received his or her first flight
certificate, and helped in general keep the operation moving along
smoothly. Al is also our resident computer expert and he made this year's
DFD the first ever with online registration. |
Photo by Fred Blue |
Photo by Fred Blue |
Our DFD event was held in conjunction with the
National Gay Pilot's Association's Dallas Safety Weekend. Here is one of
the speakers from the National Aviation Speaker's Bureau, Ms. Cathe' Fish.
(Blue jacket) |
Some of our 53 DFD student pilots with their instructors, preparing to
depart for their flight.
Photographs by Fred Blue and Michael Cintron |
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PO Box 190990