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About The Author:
Born and raised in Chicagoland. Moved to St Louis in 1995 after bouncing around the world with the United States Air Force as a DJ and Management Engineer. Retired from the Air Force in 1998. Works full time as a National Radio Host and Operations Manager for the All Star Radio Networks (right here in St Louis). Joined WIL in 2006 after three years at KSD-FM and six years on K-Hits. Married to Gaynale (30 years). Two grown children Shauna and Brad. No grandchildren yet. My passions are Flying, Radio and being with my family. Catch me weekends on WIL.Old Dawg Learns New Tricks (Part 9 of 12)
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replying the story in its archived form does not constitute a re-publiccation of the story.
WHAT THE HECK IS A WHIZ-WHEEL?
No it has nothing to do with bathroom breaks on your family vacation and frankly, shame on you for thinking so.
Just kidding. The Whiz-Wheel (aka the E6B Flight Computer) is another pilot’s friend. This simple slide rule has been used for generations to calculate speed, distance, winds, fuel consumption and a whole lot more. We received an introduction in the use of our friend the “Whiz-Wheel” on Thursday night . Our instructor Eric Stake has a huge 5’ version of the Whiz-Wheel that he uses in class. Guess he uses that on them Boeing 747’s? Actually, that little gadget can be used on everything from a small sport aircraft to the Airbus A380. I received a calculator style version of the Whiz-Wheel from my wife last Christmas . I finally got a chance to take it out of the box and use it. Woo Hoo. I’m a geek!
Now that we’re finished with weather and the FAA Regulations, we begin to get into the what it’s all about. We began looking at all different types of charts to help us calculate our center of gravity, proper take off settings, performance settings to help conserve fuel and a lot more. We’ll continue that discussion on Tuesday and I have a lot of reading to do before that class. I knew I should have taken that Evelyn Wood Speed reading course back in the 70s.
Just an update: we took the Stage Two Exam on Thursday that covered Weather and FAA Regulations and I’m still holding on to my “A”, so I’m pretty happy about what I’ve accomplished so far. We still have performance and navigation to cover before we finish off the ground school.
As we head into the weekend I wish you straight and level flight and clear skies…
-Rik Out
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