Arizona Skiing – Yes, Snow Skiing!
March 12, 2010
Ah, Arizona. Land of sun, scorching summer days and winter skiing fun. That’s right, skiing. Yes, Virginia, Arizona, known for tumbleweed snowmen, actually gets snow.
There are four ski areas to choose from in Arizona, all within a few hours drive from Phoenix, the capital of Arizona.
The most well-known of the ski areas in Arizona is located in northern Arizona, 7 miles north of Flagstaff. The Arizona Snowbowl offers 4 lifts and 32 trails for skiers and snowboards of all levels, and 2,300 feet of vertical drop. You can also test your freestyle skills at their Sunset Terrain Park which includes obstacles and spines. Lodging available in nearby Flagstaff or you can choose to stay at the ski resort at the Ski Lift Lodge & Cabins located at the base of the San Francisco Peaks. For reservations, call (928) 774-0729.
The largest ski resort in Arizona is located in McNary in Eastern Arizona. The Sunrise Park Resort is owned and operated by the White Mountain Apache Tribe, and is just a 4-hour drive from Tucson and Phoenix. You have for your skiing and snowboarding pleasure 800 acres on three interconnected mountains. Base elevation is 9,200 feet extending up to 11,000 feet. They offer 8 lifts and 65 runs for skiers of all levels, as well as a separate snowboarding area, cross country ski trails, and a Terrain Park featuring a snow half pipe, implanted wood and metal rails. The Sunrise Ski Resort is open from the first week of December through the first weekend of April. Night skiing begins January 2. Lodging is available at the 100-room Sunrise Park Lodge located on Sunrise Lake. Winter rates begin at $124 per night. Call (800) 772-7669 for more information.
Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley is located on Mt. Lemmon just outside Tucson, which is the largest city in Southern Arizona. Though smaller than the Arizona Snowbowl and Sunrise Park Resort, Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley offers 80 skiable acres, 3 lifts, 18 trails and a 907-ft. vertical drop. The longest run is 8,500 ft. Their trail ratings are: Easiest at 20%; More Difficult at 38% and Most Difficult at 42%. There is no cross-country or heli skiing available.
For those of you learning to ski, you might want to head up to the Elk Ridge Ski Area, formerly the Williams Ski Area located in Williams, Arizona, approximately 30 miles west of Flagstaff. The Elk Ridge Ski Area offers two lifts and seven trails. Elk Ridge is typically open Thursday through Monday, starting mid December. Thursdays is “skiing only” day. For more information call (928) 814-5038.
If you’re planning a visit to Arizona this winter, or if you live in Arizona, it’s nice to know a day of skiing is within driving distance. Who needs to hop a plane to Colorado or Utah when winter fun is right in your own backyard?
Nike Sport Bundle for the ipod nano – Includes: Case, Armband & Flight Headphones
March 12, 2010
- Case: Padded divider to fit iPod nano, sensor, and receiver, Clear plastic card sleeve on back of divider, Cargo net storage pocket, Spool to keep headphones organized, Zipper enclosure, Water resistant.
- Armband: Protects your iPod nano from sweat while you’re working out. Designed for iPod Nano 1st and 2nd Gen but also fits 4th Gen. Stretches for a secure fit, Lightweight Nike Pro Compression fabric is cool, comfortable and washable.
- Headphones: Behind the head design with rear cable exit improves stability while running, Soft, sweat resistant, urethane earpieces, Small enough for optimum wearing comfort and big enough to deliver crisp, non-distorted sound, the 15 mm speaker driver is an ideal size for listening enjoyment, Comfortable & lightweight.
Product Description
Be ready for action with the Nike+ Sport Kit Carrying Case. This specially designed, water-resistant polyurethane case will keep all of your Nike+ accessories organized and ready to go. A padded divider holds your iPod Nano, sensor, and receiver, and a spool keeps your headphones tangle free. This lightweight case also features a clear plastic card sleeve on back of divider, a cargo net storage pocket, and a zipper pocket for small valuables. Also included is a Nike… More >>
Nike Sport Bundle for the ipod nano – Includes: Case, Armband & Flight Headphones
Private Pilot License – Pre Solo Flight Training Costs
March 12, 2010
Your Pre- Solo Training is the first Part of your Private Pilot License Training. In order for you to solo you have to be instructed and be found ” COMPETENT” in the areas listed in the Student Pilot Regulations of the FAA. I Have them listed in the Private Pilot License Requirements in my other articles.Now there are 15 Aeronautical Experience areas that need to be covered and you need to be proficient at them. I am finding two different types of students have two different ideas about soloing.The Younger Student: The younger students want to get soloed as fast as possible.The Older Students: I have a lot of students who are my age or older. These students are going after their life long dream but are now in the phase of their life were they don’t want to do anything stupid. In these cases the student doesn’t really care about soloing. So I move them ahead and go through the cross country phase. I have had many older students that get to about 30 hours, I have completed almost everything with them and finally say, ” It is time to get out there on your own” At this time they go do all of their solo time. Then we come back and finish up with the flight test preparation.In Either case if the student is not ready to solo I move them forward.For the purpose of this article I just add up the cost for you to get up to that phase of your training. If you are not ready to solo I just move on to the Post Solo Requirements.If you take a look at the requirements you can see that there are 15 areas that you have to be instructed in and it has to be logged in your logbook with an instructors signature. I always tell students not to focus on the solo. You want to focus on being a safe pilot and getting your Private Pilot License done on schedule and on a budget.Now in my syllabus I have 13 Flights to cover these areas with the addition of a Spin Entries Lesson and a Review Flight. In know that spin entries are not required but years back I had a student get himself into a spin. Since then I try and show every student spin entries and recoveries.All of this training adds up to about 17 hours and 3-5 hours of ground instruction. Now you have to remember that is me. If you have a good dedicated instructor, you should be somewhere close to this. If you are at a school that is going through flight instructors left and right, you can expect having different instructors. This turns out to be more money. Once again the reason I tell people to plan things out ahead of time.I will use an aircraft rate of $120 Per hour For a C-172 and $45 for the Instructor Since that is what I charge. You will find many different rates in different areas of the countries so just use my numbers as a guide for you. I have put 1.5 hours of solo time in here since your first and second solo should be close to this. If you are not ready to solo you will pick it up later on.17 Hours Dual Instruction @ $165 Per Hour1.5 Hours Solo @ $120.00 Per Hour5 Hours Ground Instruction @ $45 Per hour ( Flight Instructor )Total Dual Instruction $2805.00Total Solo Time $180.00Total Ground Instruction $225.00TOTAL $3210.00Now you want to remember this should be close with a dedicated flight instructor and flying on a regular basis. I would suggest 4 lessons per week. If you are not ready to solo, you should ask your instructor to move you forward. Most people have problems with landings so there is no reason not to move forward with the rest of the requirements because each flight you have to land. You will get the lightbulb to come on soon or later. Many times you will find that if you stop focusing on just landings you will start to get them nice and smooth.One other thing you want to remember is you are not the only person in the world who has problems in certain areas. Most students in general have the same problems and usually it is landings. Don’t let it bother you, you have been driving a car all your life and it takes a very long time to break the habits.Soloing is a great milestone but you want to remember that your main goal is to be a safe and confident pilot. I always ask students, would you rather solo in 10 hours or would you rather be prepared to handle any emergency that came up. You are dealing with a machine and sometimes no matter how well maintained they are, they are going to break.Your goal is to “FLY THE PLANE” and handle the emergency so you can make it to happy hour.Hope to see you in the skyAirfreddy
How To Buy Used Aircraft Parts
March 12, 2010
What are the Uses of Used Aircraft PartsSeveral aircraft owners as well as aero clubs are understood to be a regular purchaser of used Cessna parts. Generally, the airplane owners and aircraft clubs are eager on buying used aircraft parts such as that of a Cessna because they need to use these parts in their own aircrafts. Purchasing used aircraft parts saves their cash and time. In case of the Cessna, it saves them the difficulty of hunting for new parts for the airplane. purchasing used Cessna parts from dealers salvage yards, or maybe online auction saves lots of time for the aeroplane owners. Time is critical in case the aircraft owner has a flight schedule to meet and requires a categorical part immediately. Routinely, the aeroplane owners contact the company for the part it requires. At times the part in question may not be in stock and it might take the company a few weeks to gain it. In such an eventuality, buying a used Cessna part is a good idea. The airplane owner can contact a salvage aircraft parts company and have the part delivered in almost no time. purchasing a second hand Cessna part is also a good way of saving cash. According to Cessna owners, the money spent on the maintenance, repair [*COMMA] as well as upgrades is considerably less than what they would spend on a brand new piece. Aircraft owners can save thousands on dollars by buying used Cessna parts. Not just the critical parts, but purchasing used control surfaces, doors, and seats can also save thousands of bucks for Cessna aircraft owners. there are a few corporations that salvage diverse used parts of aircrafts and stock them. A great number of these used aircraft parts are extremely difficult-to-find. These corporations make such parts and others available to aircraft owners on a short notice. These companies earn big quantities of revenue on the sale of these used aircraft parts, such as used Cessna parts, to other firms, individual aircraft owners, and aero clubs. You can learn more about used aircraft parts here.
My Favorite Chicago Cubs Players
March 12, 2010
Favorite Chicago Cubs Players
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Listed below are a collection of Chicago Cubs players I have assembled that represent players that I have rooted for and have followed over the years. There isn’t any particular order and there may be someone I have left off and a few that someone may wonder why they are on the list. That’s ok, it’s my list. Any Cub fan can make a list.
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There are 33 players on the list but there is no special reason for that number. The length of time the player was with the Cubs had a bearing but I didn’t make it a rule in that regard. Just the longer they were just meant I had a longer time to see them play.
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I didn’t try to pick positions. I was not trying to make a All Star team.
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Some may wonder why Bob Buhl is on the list. He probably doesn’t match up well with some of the other pitchers on the list but there is something special to me about him. Any player that takes the time to come out to my first little league game of the season and speak to the 9-12 years olds like myself at the time is going to make my favorites list.
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Most of the players made the list for obvious reasons. Some are just personal choices because I liked watching them play and somewhere along the way they did do something special.
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I watched Don Caldwell pitch a no hitter on WGN along with Milt Pappas and Ken Holtzman. Jim Hickman hit some memorable game breaking home runs. Dave Kingman hit some monsters. Some were part of teams that went to the playoffs. The 1969 team was a special team even though they crashed and burned.
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I included Sammy Sosa but had second thoughts. He put up some big numbers and was a fan favorite for many years. But the way he finished his career by leaving the last game early and the cloud hanging over his head regarding steroid use and let’s not forget the corked bat had a simmering effect on his time with the Cubs. You don’t see his number being mentioned to be retired and his election to the Hall of fame will be in doubt.
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My Favorite Chicago Cubs Players
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Ernie Banks ss, 1b 1953-1971
Billy Williams of 1959-1974
Ron Santo 3b 1960-1973
Ryne Sandberg 2b 1982-1997
Randy Hundley c 1966-1973 1976-1977
Ferguson Jenkings p 1966-1973 1982-1983
Greg Maddux p 1986-1992 2004-2006
Glenn Beckert 2b 1965-1973
Don Kessinger ss 1964-1975
Jim Hickman of 1968-1973
Ken Hotlzman p 1965-1971 1978-1979
Andre Dawson of 1987-1982
Derrek Lee 1b 2004-Present
Kerry Wood p 1998-2008
Dave Kingman of 1978-1980
Bill Buckner 1b 1977-1984
Bob Buhl p 1962-1966
Don Cardwell p 1960-1962
Jody Davis c 1981-1988
Mark DeRosa if,of 2006-2008
Bob Dernier cf 1984-1987
Ryan Dempster p 2004-Present
Mark Grace 1b 1988-2000
Ted Lilly p 2006-Present
Gary Matthews of 1984-1987
Bobby Murcer of 1977-1979
Milt Pappas p 1970-1973
Aramis Ramirez 3b 2003-Present
Rick Reuschel p 1972-1981 1983-1984
Lee Smith p 1980-1987
Sammy Sosa of 1992-2004
Rick Sutcliffe p 1984-1991
Bruce Sutter P 1976-1980
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Beautiful Bullhead City, Arizona
March 12, 2010
Bullhead City is a city located on the Colorado River in Mohave County, Arizona, USA. More than five million people travel through Bullhead City annually to enjoy the wonderful weather and great community atmosphere.
