Reflection 2025: After Twenty-Five Years, There is Still Time for First Times

Twenty-Five Years Later

I logged my first 0.6 hours of flight time in a Cessna 172 out of the Kalamazoo / Battle Creek International Airport (KAZO) on September 7, 2000. A realization that I've flown airplanes for a quarter century comes with a hefty dose of imposter syndrome, but the arithmetic is simple and the numbers are what they are. Despite the years and the 3,000+ hours of accumulated flight time, I still feel an anticipatory thrill of adventure whenever I lay eyes on my humble airplane. Familiarity has scarcely diminished joyous wonderment.

When I reflect on a very mixed set of experiences in 2025, I am struck by the number of firsts logged this year that ran the gamut from great to...well...not so great. Regardless, they underscore one of the best facets of aviation: there are so many aircraft to fly, places to visit, and experiences to have that there are always opportunities to do something new. All we need to do is pursue them.

The Photos

Aloft over Rochester, NY at dusk.
("Electric Twilight")

Final approach, runway 6, Nantucket Memorial Airport, Nantucket, Massachusetts.
("Perfection is a 'Mild Blue Day' on Nantucket")

A massive accretion of ice on the downwind end of Lake Ontario.
("Schrodinger's Weather")

A WWII P-47 Thunderbolt and B-29 Enola Gay at the NASM Udvar-Hazy Center.
("Those in the Know Just Call it 'Hah-Zee' | Part 2, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center")

Catching a Cessna Skyhawk on final with some lens flare at the Alton Bay Ice Runway.
("Alton Bay's 'Excellent Water'")

A rainbow shimmers in Niagara Falls mist.
("Always Have an Out: The SLD Incident")

Rock Island and the Rock Island Lighthouse surrounded by a mostly frozen St Lawrence Seaway.
("Schrodinger's Weather")

Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid, NY.
("Adirondack Autumn")

When steam and an evening sunbeam collide!
("Fire Hour")

A Cessna Skyhawk about to touch down on the Alton Bay Ice Runway.
("Alton Bay's 'Excellent Water'")

"I just logged PIC time in a Super Decathlon and did my first spin!" Photo by Don H.
("A Nice PARE")

Warrior 481 at the Williamson Sodus Airport ready for an early morning departure.
("Rescue from Altoona")

Rattlesnake Island, Lake Winnipesaukee, NH.
("Alton Bay's 'Excellent Water'")

Final approach, runway 1C at Washington Dulles International Airport, my first landing at a Bravo airport.
("Those in the Know Just Call It 'Hah-Zee' | Part 1, Washington Dulles International Airport")

Montauk Point Lighthouse, Montauk, NY
("A Montauk Sentinel Reborn")

Mark returns to Bloomsburg Airport after his ride with Ron in the AutoGyro Cavalon.
("Barbecue with a Side of Autogyro")

Sixteen Mile Pond west of St Catherine's, Ontario.
("Always Have an Out: The SLD Incident")

An SR-71 Blackbird at the NASM Udvar-Hazy Center.
("Those in the Know Just Call it 'Hah-Zee' | Part 2, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center")

Cape Poge on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts.
("Perfection is a 'Mild Blue Day' on Nantucket")

Final approach, runway 1, Alton Bay Ice Runway. Photo by The Bear.
("Groundhog Day at Alton Bay")

Great Point Lighthouse in the Coskata-Coatue Refuge of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.
("Perfection is a 'Mild Blue Day' on Nantucket")

Flying over I-90 after dusk.
("Electric Twilight")

Williamson Flying Club aircraft Five Five Whiskey and One Delta Tango staged for rides.
("2025 Williamson Flying Club Pancake Breakfast - A View from the Tower")

A placid Niagara River reflects overhead clouds on its post-falls journey to Lake Ontario.
("Always Have an Out: The SLD Incident")

Following Jet Blue from a cautious distance at Nantucket Memorial Airport.
("Perfection is a 'Mild Blue Day' on Nantucket")

Early morning departure from the Williamson Sodus Airport bound for Altoona, PA.
("Rescue from Altoona")

The helm of the one and only Hughes H-4 Hercules, otherwise known as the Spruce Goose.
("Forged by Vulcan | Part 6, When the Elephant in the Room Has Wings")

American and Bridal Veil Falls at Niagara.
("Always Have an Out: The SLD Incident")

The space shuttle Discovery, the most utilized orbiter of them all.
("Those in the Know Just Call it 'Hah-Zee' | Part 2, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center")

A roll cloud hanging low over a frozen Lake Ontario shoreline.
("Repressurization")

Sunset over Martha's Vineyard after departing Katama (1B2).
("Perfection is a 'Mild Blue Day' on Nantucket")

The People

As I get older, I realize that while my fascination for airplanes and aviation is undiminished, what I most want to celebrate each year are the people that have enriched my life as an aviator, including my family, friends, colleagues, and others who have shared the adventure with me. Below are some people moments from 2025.

Kristy and me on our way to a lunch date.
("A Farmers Market Lunch Date")

Steve, Charlie, Eric and his kids, Jonathan, me, Alyssa, Mark, and Javon at the Empire State Aerosciences Museum.
("A Hercules of a Different Kind: Empire State Aerosciences Museum")

With Dan P, Jonathan, Alicia, Tom, Ed, and Dan V at Potsdam Municipal Airport / Damon Field.
("Warrior 481 Gets a Useful Load Increase")

Scott, Joe, Mark, me, Ed, Gilead, and Randal at the Alton Bay Ice Runway.
("Alton Bay's 'Excellent Water'")

The Bear made her first visit to the Alton Bay Ice Runway. Photo by The Bear.
("Groundhog Day at Alton Bay")

Jonathan, me, Alicia, Alyssa, Tom, and Jacob after enjoying pancakes (or in my case, pancake) at the Piseco Airport.
("Adirondack Autumn")

Family visor selfie at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C.
("A Bear's Adventures in the Flight Restricted Zone")

The Bear finally saw the 1903 Wright Flyer (AKA the "airplane with no wheels") on her first trip to Washington DC.
("A Bear's Adventures in the Flight Restricted Zone")

Is there an "ACME" label on that fuel tank? At Benton Airport for the annual BBQ fly-in with Gilead, Mark, Kim, and Scott.
("Barbecue with a Side of Autogyro")

Gilead, Matt, Ed, Tom, Noah, Jonathan, and me at the NASM Udvar-Hazy Center with the SR-71 Blackbird.
("Those in the Know Just Call it 'Hah-Zee' | Part 2, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center")

The Highlights

I think it is fair to say that there were some obstacles in 2025, but my overall sense is that it was a great year to fly.

• Surpassed 3,000 hours.
• First landing in Delaware to finally add that state to my map. "Hi...I'm in Delaware."
• First landing at a class Bravo airport (Washington Dulles International).
• First time visiting the Hughes H-4 Hercules, AKA Spruce Goose. First time in Oregon, for that matter.
• First time spotting an F-15 in flight from the cockpit of Warrior 481; probably also the last.
• First Pilot in Command time in a Super Decathlon. (Flight review with Don.)
• First intentional spin and recovery. (Flight review with Don.)
• First flight plus stick time in an AutoGyro Cavalon gyroplane. (Thanks, Ron!)
• Memorable destinations:
• First time flying to the Alton Bay Ice Runway (B18) twice in the same year (my sixth landing there). 
• I organized one trip for the Williamson Flying Club under the Activities Committee umbrella (a first) on a record setting day with 164 airplane arrivals to the ice. 
• A week later, The Bear finally experienced her first landing on the bay.
• Montauk.
• First time exploring Nantucket Island.
• First flight to Washington DC with the family via College Park Airport (KCGS) in the Flight Restricted Zone. It was The Bear's first visit to Washington DC.
• First flights to two iconic grass-only airports:
• Massey Aerodrome in Maryland (MD1).
• Katama Airpark on Martha's Vineyard (1B2).
• Great aviation museum experiences:
• First visit to Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, OR.
• Flew to both Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum facilities in the same year:
• On the National Mall (via College Park Airport)
• Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (via Washington Dulles International).
• Explored the cockpit of a C-130 Hercules at the Empire State Aerosciences Museum.
• Returned to the Piper Aviation Museum for a surprise peek at the Piper Jet prototype prior to public announcement of its arrival.

The Lowlights

Some of the firsts in 2025 were not exactly highlights, but nonetheless added to the experience bucket.

• A surprise diabetes diagnosis involving medication that in turn caused a suspension of my flying. This was remediated by big lifestyle changes to bring my numbers down enough that I am no longer on the medication. (Yay!) This issue dominated all aspects of my life in 2025 and resulted in my lowest number of flight hours over the last five years due to the pause.
• The battle with Lyme disease was no picnic either, especially when I flew my family home from Washington DC on the day symptoms first appeared. (I was not symptomatic during the flight itself, but I wonder in hindsight how much of that came from force of will.)
• First flat tire on landing, thankfully at home.
• First encounter with supercooled large drop (SLD) icing on a cross country flight. Always have an out! (I did.)
• Precautionary fuel stop based on low -- and false -- gauge readings.
• Discovery that I have been transmitting on both radios simultaneously for the past four years. Problem solved, but I am stunned that the issue existed so long without multiple ATC complaints.

The Numbers

• Hours flown: 150.5 / 3095.7 (total)
• Hours in IMC: 3.1 / 90.9 (total), where IMC = instrument meteorological conditions
• Hours at night: 10.1 / 151.9 (total)
• States visited: 10; CT, DE (new!), MD, MA, MI, NH, NY, PA, VT, VA
• Airports visited: 14 (new) / 44 (2025) / 298 (total)

Airports visited in 2025, generated by MyFlightBook.

Thanks for visiting. Wishing you a happy and prosperous 2026!

Say Again? The Impossible Transmission

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

- Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride

The Binghamton Incident

Warrior 481's panel photographed 28 December 2022.

The first sign of trouble occurred while climbing away from Greater Binghamton / Edwin Link Field in 2023. With com2 (a vintage KX-170B) tuned to Binghamton Tower and Departure dialed in on com1 (Garmin GNS 430W), I swapped the transmitting radio from Tower to Departure with the audio panel when prompted by air traffic control.

"Cherokee Four Eight One, are you broadcasting on Departure and Tower simultaneously? I hear you on both," asked the radar controller after I checked in. By design, the airplane's audio panel only allows transmission on a single radio at a time and mine was set to the radio tuned for Departure. Nevertheless, I twisted the knob on com2 to an arbitrary frequency other than Binghamton Tower before responding. "Not intentionally." It was not standard phraseology, but there is no standard phraseology for an impossible act.

"Oh, that's better," responded Departure.

Weird. 

Unfortunately, I was distracted by other flight issues shortly after that exchange and completely forgot about the incident. 

Time went by.

In 2025, I was overflying Elmira / Corning Regional Airport and speaking with Approach on com1 while monitoring the emergency frequency (121.5 MHz, also known as Guard) on com2 per my standard practice.

"Cherokee Four Eight One, I am also hearing you on Guard every time you transmit." It was another comment suggesting transmission on two frequencies at once. It was just as impossible as before, but hearing this a second time focused my attention on the issue.

I wrote to PS Engineering, the manufacturer of my now fifteen year old audio panel, to ask if there was any known failure mode that might cause both radios to transmit at once. After all, the audio panel is the device that controls which radio transmits. My question was answered directly by the head of the company and his response definitely had a tone. "That is utterly impossible."

Yet I had two examples of air traffic control claiming exactly that. A quick test with a handheld  radio verified the ATC observations. Any transmission made on com1 was also broadcast on whatever frequency com2 was set to.

Inconceivable!

A Brisk 11 °F

   

Date	Aircraft	Route of Flight	Time (hrs)	Total (hrs)
05 Dec 2025	N21481	SDC (Sodus, NY) - GVQ (Batavia, NY) - DSV (Dansville, NY) - SDC	1.8	3094.1

It was my first winter flight of the 2025-2026 season; 11 °F under a clear blue sky with just enough snow piled against the bifold hangar door that it needed to be shoveled away. The first large snowbanks of the season were taking shape along taxiway edges.

Brisk!

Downtown Rochester, NY from 3,500 feet.

When presented with definitive proof of anomalous radio behavior, Jake proposed a gratis troubleshooting session with my radios and audio panel. I made the thirty minute flight from Sodus to the Genesee County Airport in crisply frigid air as the Warrior's heater endeavored to melt the sole of my right shoe. Unfettered sunlight poured down from above, reflecting from a landscape blanched by newly fallen powder.

I set up my computer in an airport conference room and worked while Jake examined the Warrior's avionics. He reappeared only thirty minutes later with a hangdog expression to explain that when he installed the autopilot in 2021, he miswired the audio panel such that clicking the push to talk button keyed both radios.

Panel photo taken 18 June 2021 showing the audio panel (top of center radio stack), com1 (GNS 430W directly below the audio panel), and com2 (KX-170B right of com1 under the "Warrior" placard).

I was shocked that I had flown the airplane over four years in that condition with only two comments from ATC. I was surprised that I did not constantly receive "you're on Guard, dude" commentary from other pilots every time I transmitted to Approach or Center on com1 while monitoring the emergency frequency on com2.

We would have caught the problem sooner had my com2 been a more modern radio with a "transmit" indicator that illuminates when the radio is broadcasting. My ancient KX-170B has no such amenity,  presenting an impassive face while blathering away on whatever frequency it is set to.

As always, Jake made it right before I left Batavia that day.

A Chance Encounter

With the impossible transmission made properly impossible again, I departed Batavia and flew to Dansville for a quick bite to eat, then navigated the valleys east of Dansville on a roundabout route back to Sodus.

Approaching Canandaigua Lake from the south.

I landed at Sodus behind a member flying the club's Bold Warrior. With a ramp covered in black ice, I struggled to coax the Warrior into the safety of the hangar, even while shod with YakTrax. When finished, I noticed the Bold Warrior taxiing from the fuel pump to a hangar and hurried over -- as much as possible without wiping out on the ice -- to help the pilot push that plane into its hangar.

Brendan and I had never met before, but I learned that he was an air traffic controller at Syracuse.

"Oh!" I said. "Are you the Syracuse controller who always asks what we're up to when we fly places with multiple airplanes?"

He laughed and explained that most of the ATC team in Syracuse knew our tail numbers and recognized that we frequently did group fly-outs. I used to suspect we had a reputation, now I am certain of it. When I told him my tail number, he said, "Oh, I have definitely talked to you before." I praised him and his colleagues for their continued excellent service during the recent government shutdown.

Next, he described where he flew that day and asked about where I went. I explained the double transmission issue that I went to Batavia to resolve, describing how surprised I was that it took four years to realize I had a problem. "That happens more often than you'd think," he responded. "I usually tell pilots when it's happening, but some other controllers don't."

It would seem that the impossible is more possible than I thought.