Dave Piloted an Airplane - July 30, 2006

On July 30th, I was fortunate enough to receive a free flying lesson from Bill Komanetsky with Shawnna as the passenger/photographer. Bill is the neighbor of a friend we met on the ACE Train (Mike Seymour) and just so happens to be a flight instructor. We were at Mike's house for a get together a few weeks ago and I started to talk to Bill about flying and he generously offered to take Shawnna and I up in his plane for a tour of the San Francisco Bay - and try to reel me in as a student :-) When he said that he would let me fly, I figured he meant that he would give me the wheel for a few minutes as a token gesture. Boy, was I wrong...

At 9:45am, we met Bill at the Livermore Airport and drove out to the hangar where his plane is stored. We pulled the plane out and that's when Bill opened the left cockpit door, showing me all of the instruments on the panel in front of the pilot's seat and told me that's where I would be sitting to pilot the plane. My first thought was that he was kidding, but he wasn't, so Shawnna got in the back, I sat in the pilot's seat and Bill sat in the co-pilot's seat. I looked at the instrument panel completely baffled, but Bill walked through each gauge and explained its purpose. After an initial safety check, we taxied to the runway, performed a further safety check and got ready for takeoff.

Oh, did I mention that I was going to be the one taking off? That's right, Bill gave me the instructions on what to do and we went full throttle down the runway, I pulled back on the yoke and we lifted off - what a rush. Not only did I take off, but I also flew the entire time we were up in the air. I ascended to 3,000 feet and we headed toward Benicia to see all the battleships in the water. Then, we headed south toward San Francisco to get some great views of the Golden Gate Bridge from the air. After circling the bridge and checking out Alcatraz, we headed east to Point Reyes, checked out the lighthouse on the point and flew up the coast directly over the beach. Then, I ascended to 5,500 feet and we headed back to Livermore.

Of course, that was a very quick synopsys of what we did, but the time really seemed to go by fast. The weather was perfect - just a few clouds, but mostly sunny even over San Francisco. While in the air, I had to pay attention to the instrument panel to make sure everything was OK, but I was able to look out the windows quite a bit and take in the sights. Since landing the plane is probably the most challenging part flying, I handed control back over to Bill so he could get us safely on the ground - which he did very smoothly. Finally, we taxied back to the hangar, put the plane away and drove home (not as fun as flying).

When all was said and done, the flight took about 2 hours and I had control of the plane the entire time except for the landing. We flew at various altitudes, but never went higher than 5,500 feet and cruised at about 120 Knots (138 MPH). The airplane was a 2002 Cessna 182T in great condition and most importantly, it was a complete blast to fly. Thanks again Bill! It was awesome and if anyone is interested, here is Bill's website with lots of info about flying: www.komanetskyaviation.com

Click on any picture to enlarge. The map below highlights the general area where I flew.

Slayer & Lamb of God in Concert - July 19, 2006

On July 19th, Mike and I went to the "Unholy Alliance" tour which consisted of Slayer, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Children of Bodom and Thine Eyes Bleed. The show was at the HP Pavilion in San Jose and started at 6pm. After a days work, Mike picked me up and we ate at In-N-Out Burger before the show.

Once at the arena, we picked our spots to stand on the floor about 30 feet from the stage on the right side next to the "moshing barrier." Thine Eyes Bleed was first up and they were what you would expect from an opening band - nothing too special, but provided 30 minutes of warmup metal. Children of Bodom was next and I was very impressed with what I saw and heard. They had some nice, heavy tunes and the keyboard player kicked ass. He had what amounted to a whammy bar on his keyboard and played some solos that you wouldn't be able to differentiate from guitar solos if you weren't watching him smoke that keyboard - awesome. Next, Mastodon took the stage and were a bit of a let down after watching of Children of Bodom. They had a lot of energy on stage, but their material wasn't up to par.

At about 9:00pm, Lamb of God took the stage. It was obvious that this is what the fans were waiting for. The mosh pits were huge and the band was feeding off the energy of the crowd (and vise versa). For the entire 1 hour set, they held the crowd captive with their complex guitar riffs, deep, screaming vocals and bass heavy drum beats. Here's their set list:

Ruin
Hourglass
Laid To Rest
Now You've Got Something To Die For
11th Hour
Purified
As The Palaces Burn
The Faded Line
Vigil
Redneck
Black Label

Finally, at 10:15pm, Slayer was on stage and ready to rock the audience. While the crowd was rockin', it wasn't quite the same energy I felt when Lamb of God was on the stage. Maybe everyone was getting tired at that point, but it was still a great show. I was standing if front of Kerry King the whole time and was able to watch him rip some great solos on his guitar. It was nice to see that Slayer can still thrash with the best of 'em and their 1 hour 15 minute set contained some of the best, early, influential metal that paved the way for all the bands that opened for them. Here's their set list:

South of Heaven
Silent Scream
War Ensemble
Blood Red
Cult
Disciple
Mandatory Suicide
Seasons in the Abyss
Chemical Warfare
Dead Skin Mask
Hell Awaits
Raining Blood
Antichrist
Angel of Death

Overall, I had a great time and am glad I was able to see a combination of established metal bands as well as up and coming bands in the same show. My only regret is that I didn't get one of the signs in front of the stage that said, in big black letters, "BEWARE, moshing may occur."