cirrus sr22 aircraft Posts

Brad’s 2016 Business Travel at the Speed of Flight

I absolutely love traveling for business!  There’s nothing more productive nor fulfilling than meeting customers and suppliers face-to-face.  Despite the proliferation of modern technologies (instant messaging, video conferencing, etc.), there’s absolutely no substitute for visiting a customer’s facilities, meeting their team members and observing their operations first-hand to understand how to help solve their challenges and serve their needs.  I’ve always felt that being able to look someone in the eye and give a firm handshake shows a genuine commitment and dedication to service.  While many of my competitors sit on the porch waiting for business to arrive, we go the extra mile to get out there and make business happen in a big way.  I thought it would be fun to take a look back at my business travel for the year 2016 to share some highlights with you.  I’ve accomplished all these trips in my Cirrus Aircraft, managing once again to avoid taking a single domestic airline flight this year – such a truly remarkable and unbelievably capable business tool!   Enjoy reading my list as you as I present a real-world perspective of what I like to call, “Doing Business at the Speed of Flight!”

  • Nights in Hotels: 200+
  • States Visit: 22
  • Countries Visited: 4
  • FBO Crew Cars: 30+
  • Rental Cars: 75+
  • Most Rental Cars in a Single Day: 3
  • Domestic Commercial Airline Flights Taken: Zero! (0)
  • Longest Continuous Trip Away from Home: 31 days straight
  • Most Frequent States Visited: Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Texas
  • Most Frequent Cities Visited: Denver, Chicago, New Orleans, Fort Worth
  • Longest Offshore Flight: 1,031 nm (Orlando, FL to San Juan, PR)
  • Longest Mountainous Flight: 732 nm (San Diego, CA to Denver, CO)
  • Furthest Distance Flown: 1,865 nm – KORL (Orlando, FL) to KSAN (San Diego, CA)
  • Favorite State Flown: Colorado (Rocky Mountain flying is amazing!)
  • Favorite Hotel: (tie) The James (Chicago, IL) and The Broadmoor (Colorado Springs, CO)
  • Favorite Hotel Chain: Marriott (More specifically, the JW Marriott)
  • Most Productive Trip: Two week-long conferences and 14 military base visits
  • Most Beautiful Scenery: (tie) Colorado (mountains) and the Bahamas (ocean)
  • Latest Landing Time: 2am (Greenville, SC)
  • Earliest Departure Time: 6am (San Diego, CA)
  • Shortest State Visit: 15 minutes (quick-turn fuel stop)
  • Most Challenging Flight: DVT (Phoenix, AZ) to ABQ (Albuquere, NM) – Snow and ice
  • Most Challenging Landing: KNEW (New Orleans, LA) – Heavy rain and low ceilings
  • Most Beautiful Landing: MYEF (Exuma, Bahamas)
  • Shortest Flight Leg: 0.4 hours – GYB (Giddings, TX) to EDC (Austin, TX)
  • Longest Flight Leg: 5.3 hours – KAPA (Denver, CO) to KNEW (New Orleans, LA)

Looking back at all these flights, I’m reminded of all the wonderful places I visited and the amazing people I’ve met and spent time with in 2016.  I’m looking forward to even more incredible business travel adventures ahead in 2017.  There’s no doubt this past year I lived up to my motto, “Live Life to the Fullest and Enjoy Every Second of the Ride!”

Bahamas Boy Trip TV Commercials – Behind the Scenes!

“We’re going to be famous!”  Those were the enthusiastic words of my two boys upon finding out that the story of our annual Bahamas Boy Trip Adventures was going to be featured in national television commercials.  The journey from being casual guests to Atlantis Resort superstars was quite an exciting ride and hope you enjoy reading all about it.

Each year, I spend a week of fun in the sun with my two little buddies at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.  I recently chronicled the details of our annual tradition in a related blog post titled, Bahamas Boy Trip Adventures.  As a frequent guest at Atlantis, I receive plenty of e-mail promotions from the resort.  One day, an e-mail popped into my inbox which read, “Atlantis is celebrating our 20th Anniversary and we would like you to be a part of it!  Share your story with us and you could be invited back to paradise and featured in an Atlantis TV commercial.”  Memories our boy trips flashed through my mind as I thought to myself, our story would make for a great commercial!  I gathered up some photos from our trips and did nice write-up of why Atlantis holds such a special place in our hearts.  I wishfully pressed the send button and we were officially in the running.

The next day at my office, I was going about my regular business when my cell phone rang with an unrecognized number and the words “Los Angeles, CA” showing on my phone screen.  I thought to myself, that’s the entertainment capital of the world, but could they possibly be calling me already about my submission?  I optimistically answered the phone and I was greeted with an enthusiastic voice from a talent agency representative.  We had a nice chat and she expressed how much they loved our story!  We talked about our experiences at Atlantis and ended the call a few minutes later with the promise they would follow up in the weeks ahead.  About two weeks later, I got another call from the agency and we discussed even more details of our adventures, this time in much greater depth.  She confidently told me that our story was definitely in the running and they’d be in touch as they continued narrowing down the field of submissions from the casting call.  Two days later, an e-mail arrived stating that we’d made the initial round of cuts and to stay tuned… a few days later, another e-mail arrived stating, “Congratulations, You’re a Finalist!”  Wow… was this really happening?  I didn’t want to get too excited, but it was beginning to feel like our story had a real shot at being selected.  Another phone call followed to set up a screen test interview with the producers via Skype.  The boys and I put on nice outfits and we were ready for our big interview.  Sometimes it’s hard for kids to talk to strangers, so I coached them to be very outgoing with their responses and interactions with the interviewer.  The producer (who’s since become an amazing friend!) popped onto the screen and our screen test interview couldn’t have gone any smoother.  She was so nice and conversational with the boys that their responses to her questions flowed very naturally – they completely nailed it!  After the interview, we waited, and waited, and waited… while the boys constantly asked me each day if I’d heard any news.  I was secretly as impatient as they were, eagerly awaiting news about the final selection.

Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico

Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 1 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 2 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 3 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 4 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 5 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 6 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 7 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 8

When you fly as much as I do traveling throughout the country, it takes a lot to sit back and say “Wow, that was an amazing experience” reflecting on a flight.  This past weekend was one such experience flying from Orlando down to Puerto Rico in my Cirrus SR22 Aircraft, so I thought I’d share a blog post about it along with photos from my journey.

I left Orlando and flew directly to Exuma (MYEF) which took roughly 2 hrs.  The tower services were a bit strange in that they only serve in an “advisory” capacity, basically providing winds and nothing else.  Approaching the island was gorgeous despite some scattered clouds throughout the area.  There’s a 7,000 foot runway with only one turnoff (no taxiways) being about 5,000 feet down, so I’d recommend landing long – the condition of the runway itself was great.  The folks at Odyssey knew I was coming in ahead of time for a quick turn fuel stop ($7/gal) and pulled up the fuel truck as soon as I turned off the engine.  I walked into the FBO, a few minutes later was fueled and cleared customs ($50 fee – never talked to anyone other than the friendly person at the desk).  My expedited customs arrival/departure was due to e-mailing my passport and info ahead of time, didn’t even need to pull out my passport since they already had it.  I was airborne again about 20 minutes after I’d landed, a really quick turn.

Heading Southeast leaving Exuma was some of the prettiest flying I’ve ever done over water and islands.  The Turks and Caicos were especially pretty – that’s actually where I’d planned my fuel stop originally, but they wanted $150 for customs for the stop so I thought I’d save $100 enjoying the view from above.  Once I was South of the Turks and Caicos was where it got a bit more sparse.  You’re still communicating with Miami air traffic control, but there’s no land in sight for a long, long time as you cross hundreds of miles of open water.  Total flight time was around 3.5 hours, passing Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic along the way.  I had a maritime survival equipment onboard including a life raft (thanks to my friend Rich for inspiring that purchase), a marine radio, personal locator beacon (PLB), etc.  Despite being well prepared to take an unexpected cruise, I’m glad all that preparation was for nothing.  Just before reaching San Juan, Puerto Rico, I was switched over to their approach control from Miami.  I landed at Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (TJIG) which is the executive airport about five miles from the commercial airport (TJSJ).  My landing was smooth as silk and the tower air traffic control services were flawless.  Since I’d stopped in the Bahamas, I was now considered an international flight returning to the US (even though I was in Puerto Rico).  My stop at the US Customs office took all of 2 minutes and was uneventful.  The FBO (Million Air) greeted me at customs, unloaded my bags, and towed the airplane next door to their facility.  Then they pulled up a brand new Mercedes and the line guy drove me about 10 minutes down the road to my hotel.  Amazing service to say the least!

I had several days of successful business conference meetings then it was time to return to Florida.  On my departure from Puerto Rico, I once again passed through Million Air and had another fantastic experience.  Smiling faces who were over-the-top helpful – truly one of the best FBO experiences I’ve ever had anywhere.  My IFR (instrument flight rules) flight plan was filed and I was ready to go.  Here’s when I discovered a quirk compared to some of the other flying I’ve done in the states.  I filed fixes on the airways all the way back to Exuma.  Clearance rejected my flight plan however because they wanted the actual airway listed too.  Funny thing is the airway was a straight line between the two fixes, but I re-filed with the exact same route (this time spelling out the airway) which then made everyone happy.  My flight back to Exuma was equally as beautiful as on the way down.  This time there we no clouds though which made for even better views out the windows of my Cirrus.

It was late in the day as I landed in Exuma just before sunset.  No big deal, or so I thought.  I didn’t realize that when the clock struck 6:00, that meant there were no more departures – even though it was still perfectly clear daylight out.  The FBO attendant told me that I was stuck there for the night, unless I wanted to pay an extra $86 fee for an after hours departure.  So, at about 6:04, I paid my $86 and got my clearance to depart after hours – still with nothing more than a “wind check” advisory for my departure.  The way I figured it, my cost to stay overnight would have far exceeded the $86 so it was a no-brainer to pay it and chock it up to a lesson learned to fly earlier in the day.

I cleared US customs at their brand new customs facility at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE).  They customs agents there were fantastic!  They asked if I had any fruits, seeds, nuts, etc… right about that time I pulled out my snack bag I’d packed and realized I had a trail mix called “Fruit and Seed Mix”.  I’d just hit a double home run with my snack choice!  The customs agents were great and it wasn’t an issue as they were still sealed (and discarded) but did make for a good laugh.

On a trip like this the one thing that I’d stress is to make sure you’ve got all your US Customs eAPIS (Electronic Advance Passenger Information System) filings done ahead of time which just makes everything so much easier.  You’ve got to file your outbound US departure to Exuma, your inbound from Exuma to Puerto Rico, then the same in reverse on your return flights.  Between the US, Bahamas and Puerto Rico you’ll be clearing customs four times on the trip and file four eAPIS reports.  I use the FlashPass App on my iPad which makes it quick and easy to do.  It’s good to have the customs numbers for your intended airports handy too so you can give your US Customs Notices of Arrival as necessary.  Also, for anyone wishing to take this trip looking for alternate airports to file as well just in case a diversion becomes necessary – in the Bahamas you’ve got Stella Maris (MYLS) and in San Juan you’ve got Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (TJSJ).  Though it’s worthwhile noting at TJSJ, I was quoted $300-$600 for a ramp fee, but they wouldn’t be able to tell me exactly what it would really cost until I arrived.  Needless to say, I chose to go to the executive airport instead – and made an excellent choice choosing Million Air.  They communicated quickly with me over e-mail ahead of time and knew exactly what to expect in terms of fees and services provided.  If you go there, say hello to Juan the manager for me, really nice guy who runs a first class operation.  There’s also an excellent Cirrus Authorized Service Center on the field (Caribbean Aircraft Maintenance) in case you have any mechanical issues which need to be addressed.

Overall, this is one of those trips that goes down in the books as a truly great experience that reminds me of why I fly a Cirrus.  All the other folks at my conference took airlines down there.  I’m sure several thought I was crazy for flying myself – until I chatted about my adventure and showed them some pictures of my journey… then they wished they’d tagged along with me instead!  This is what living the Cirrus Life is all about, the experiences and joy it adds to our lives!

Feel free to reach out to me if you’re ever thinking of flying down to Puerto Rico and will be happy to chat further about my experience.  Definitely looking forward to taking another trip down there (and beyond) soon!

Living the Cirrus Life Landing in All 50 States

Brad Pierce Living the Cirrus Life Landing in All 50 States Photo Map

Click the image above or click here for a larger version version of my flight map.

It’s official, I’ve now landed a Cirrus Aircraft in ALL 50 STATES in the USA!  This bucket list adventure has been years in the making, beginning with my first successful touchdown during factory training in Duluth, Minnesota.  Nearly 2,000 landings later, it’s fitting to have made my final victory landing in paradise – Maui, Hawaii.

When I started this adventure, the goal of landing in all 50 states wasn’t even on my radar.  I was a rookie pilot transitioning from a Cessna 172SP which I hadn’t even flown outside my home state of Florida.  I was accustomed to flying low and slow and didn’t even realize all that I was missing.  Everything changed when I took delivery of a new Cirrus SR22 Aircraft in 2005.  My new aircraft was a stark contrast to my Cessna – it was modern, sleek and had speeds which made it ideal for longer distance travel.  Even the tail number was a perfect fit, N225HL, named after my twin boys Hunter and Landon who were born on 2/25.  As I departed Duluth with a safety pilot instructor by my side, I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was about to discover the joy of flying our great country.

Initially, I flew my Cirrus around the State of Florida just as I’d always done with other aircraft.  Then one day I had a conference in Atlanta.  I had ample time to make the trip, so I figured, why not take the Cirrus?  As I touched down in Atlanta, I glanced at my watch and realized my planned commercial flight would just be leaving the gate for departure, yet I was already safely on the ground at my destination – Eureka!  I’d discovered a whole new way to travel that would make commercial air travel a thing of the past.  I wasn’t just flying an airplane, I was flying a time machine that would allow me to outperform my competitors by effectively adding more useful hours each day.  As more business opportunities arose, I completed more and more flights in my Cirrus.  Soon I’d traveled to Chicago, Nashville, Washington D.C., New Orleans, San Antonio and more.  I was adding states to my list virtually as fast as I could fly to each of them.  After about a dozen states were completed, I downloaded one of those old RV camper maps, coloring each state green upon successfully landing.  It was a fun visualization of all the places where I’d flown to in my airplane.

Over the next few years, I continued to use my Cirrus for trips on a weekly basis – yet, my map was completely lopsided.  Nearly the entire Eastern half of the US had been flown while the Western half of the US remained blindingly white (unlanded).  The Rocky Mountains created a formidable barrier.  Along came my next plane, a brand new Cirrus Turbo SR22 Aircraft with a beautiful red and white paint job and all the bells and whistles.  The Cirrus sales rep asked how important it was to transfer my N225HL tail number to my new aircraft – I assured him this was a “must have” item – the adventurous spirit of my two little buddies was definitely going to be accompanying me every step of the way.  I watched in awe as my new and improved Cirrus rolled off the production line to greet me.  My new aircraft had FIKI (flight into known icing), built-in oxygen (for higher altitude flying), an Enhanced Vision System (EVS – night vision), the Garmin Perspective Avionics Suite (including synthetic vision to visualize terrain) – and of course, a turbo normalized engine which would provide the high performance needed for safe mountain flying.  Speed is life and I was now well equipped to utilize my bird as a true cross-country business machine.

While I had the aircraft performance needed to cross the great Rocky Mountains, I lacked the knowledge, skill and confidence to do so safely.  So, through the recommendations of good friends, I engaged the great folks at Independence Aviation in Centennial, Colorado (KAPA – Denver area) to begin mountain flight training.  A whole new world opened up immediately as I learned all about mountain flying operations including the unique wind and weather patterns that are so dramatically different than what occurs while flying the flatland’s.  I quickly became comfortable at the higher altitudes required to safely cross the highest of peaks and the view out the window was utterly amazing.  My first trip beyond the mountains took me to Oakland, California right outside of San Francisco.  I remember looking at my map upon touchdown and realized I’d just flown from Florida to California, my first true cross-country mission.  The sense of accomplishment I felt filled my body with a sense of pride that could only by rivaled by my first solo flight in an airplane roughly 20 years ago.

In the years that followed, the states naturally piled up one after the another while doing extensive business travel – or as I like to call it, conducting “Business at the Speed of Flight”.  I was bouncing between Florida and Illinois, Texas and Arizona, Colorado and California.  Before I knew it, I’d traveled to 42 states just by sheer coincidence, still not having a set goal of landing in all 50 states.  Flying from New York to Florida late one afternoon, the inspiration hit me, and I set a personal goal of landing in every state in America.  Delaware was one state in particular which had eluded me simply because I hadn’t had a business reason to land there… yet.  One day the opportunity presented itself and on my my inbound leg, the air traffic controller was especially relaxed and chatty with folks on the frequency.  I casually mentioned this landing being another notch on my 50 state goal and the radio quickly came to life with a commercial airline pilot chiming in.  He keyed up the mic and stated, “Southwest 123, with request”.  When the controller told him to go ahead with his request, the airline pilot remarked, “Yes, Sir.  Southwest 123 would like that Cirrus guy’s flight plan instead of ours – it sounds like a whole lot more fun!”.  Laughter followed and was one of those moments that made me realize the special and unique nature of what I was accomplishing.

I’d finally landed in all 48 states in the Continental United States and decided to turn my dull solid green map into something more vivid to celebrate the victory.  I painstakingly drudged through my vast collection of airborne photographs to create a map made of pictures, memories from my time soaring above each state across the country.  The end result was beautiful, truly a work of art.  On a number of occasions when I showed it to be people, I was asked the question, “What about Alaska and Hawaii?”  This question echoed in my own head as well… 48 states down, yet my journey wasn’t truly complete.  I’d accomplished flying to more places than most pilots even dream of visiting, but I don’t do anything in life only 96% of the way… hitting the 100% mark was the only viable option.  In early 2013, Alaska was checked off my list as I completed Brad’s Mini Flying Wild Alaska Adventure, which I wrote about in a prior blog post.  Nearly two years later, I safely touched down among the majestic scenery of Hawaii to claim victory landing in all 50 states.

My 50 state airplane adventure has been nothing short of amazing.  As I sit back to reflect and write this post today, I realize just how fortunate I’ve been to be able to accomplish such a goal.  There aren’t many people in this country who’ve visited all 50 states, and only a tiny fraction of those have had the joy of flying over and landing in every single one of them.  We live in an absolutely beautiful country, from the lush green trees covering the Eastern US to the well manicured farmland in the Midwest.  Further West introduces the snow capped mountains in the Central US which lead down to the perfectly chiseled rocks that make up the Southwest US.  Following the breathtaking Grand Canyon leads to the West coast where the land reaches the deep blue ocean.  Further North into Alaska is remote and gorgeous, and Hawaii is home to a paradise like no other place on earth.  Every bit of our country is amazing in its’ own unique way, and there’s no better way to see it than from the cockpit of a light aircraft soaring above this great land.  People have asked which state I liked best, that one is easy.  My favorite flying spot in the country is certainly Colorado – with its’ mountain peaks and enchanting valleys, it simply can’t be beat.  Alaska and Hawaii are both a close second and third place, but Colorado has won over my heart with its’ jaw-dropping views of the mountains throughout every season of the year.

It’s been an incredible journey flying and landing a Cirrus in all 50 states across America.  Despite traveling to many states dozens of times, I have to say, the view never gets old.  Each flight, I still discover new sights, have new experiences and am reminded of how fortunate I am for the opportunity to experience flying throughout the country.  The places I’ve gone, the people I’ve met, the things that I’ve done – I’ve cherished every single moment of the incredible adventure.  I’m elated to be living the Cirrus Life as I embrace my personal mantra of “Living life to the fullest and enjoying every second of the ride!”

My New Bose A20 Aviation Headsets Are Fantastic!

  

I literally spend hundreds of hours a year in the cockpit of my Turbo Cirrus SR22 Aircraft, so using a good quiet headset makes my frequent flights even more enjoyable.  I’ve always really liked my Bose Aviation X headsets which I purchased with my first Cirrus SR22 Aircraft – they were revolutionary, adapting world-class noise cancelling technology that wasn’t available in prior headsets I’ve owned.  Little did I know, there was an even better, quieter, more comfortable headset in my future…

Recently at an industry event, some great friends presented me with a surprise gift that was just perfect:  Not only one, but TWO pairs of Bose A20 Aviation Headsets!  Wow!  I literally turned red in the face with the shock of receiving such an extraordinary gift.  I was so appreciative that I could barely even express my thanks and gratitude in words.  Even though I had already flown many hours that day, I practically wanted to race back to the airport to try them out that very moment.  Needless to say, I absolutely loved the gift and am very thankful for their generosity!

As I climbed into the cockpit of my Cirrus to begin my journey back to Orlando several days later, I put on my new Bose A20 headset for the first time.  It fit like a glove!  They’ve re-designed the spring mechanism so the headset feels like it’s floating on your head, rather than the clamping feeling of my prior Bose X headset.  The ear cushions were also noticeably more comfortable, which have also been re-designed and are slightly larger to cover your entire ear.  The new headset felt great, but just how much better was it than my prior Bose X headset?  Once I leveled off at a safe altitude, I decided to do some real-world testing.  I plugged my prior Bose X headset into one intercom jack, while my new Bose A20 headset was plugged into another jack.  I swapped back and fourth between the headsets throughout my journey.  The noise reduction difference was amazing!  Bose has really raised the bar with noise cancelling technology that’s beyond what I even thought was possible.  Even though I’ve always thought my Bose X headset was great, my new Bose A20 headset blows it away in terms of noise reduction and comfort.

Aside from the many improvements I’ve already mentioned, there are also some additional noteworthy features which have been integrated into the new Bose A20 headset.  The first is Bluetooth technology which allows the headset to be paired with a Bluetooth enabled cellphone such as an iPhone.  Of course you’re not going to be using your phone at altitude, but the Bluetooth connectivity allows for you to have a crystal clear telephone conversation through your headset while on the ground.  This is especially useful when calling for clearances at uncontrolled airports where radio communications are poor or non-existent.  An additional notable feature is the inclusion of an auxiliary input port which runs directly into the headset itself.  This allows you to hook up an iPhone, iPod, or other device to route music and/or other audio directly into your headset without disturbing other passengers.  There’s even a user selectable switch that allows the pilot to select whether the auxiliary input audio is muted or continues playing during times when activity occurs on the aircraft radio.  Bose truly thought of everything when they created these headsets!

While I was excited to write this review immediately after I first started using my new headsets, I purposefully waited until now to do so.  I wanted to get plenty of real-world experience to make a solid determination of their quality and effectiveness before hastily proclaiming their greatness.  I went about doing my business – taking my phenomenal Turbo Cirrus SR22 Aircraft on trip after trip, working to grow my business, as I’ve done for the past several years.  I flew short legs, I flew long legs, and I flew everything in-between.  I flew completely across the country, over the heights of the Rocky Mountains to the depths of sea level in Louisiana.  Needless to say, in a very short period of time, I was able to log many hours of flight time in real-world conditions using my new headsets.  The verdict?  I’m sure it’s quiet clear by now, but just in case you missed it, they’re amazing!  I fly the best single engine aircraft in the world – the Turbo Cirrus SR22 Aircraft – I can now confidently say that it’s equipped with the best headsets in the world – my new Bose A20 Aviation Headsets.

I’d like to once again thank my good friends who surprised and delighted me in such an wonderful way.  My new headsets were the perfect gift which I’ll enjoy using for many years to come as I continue my journey soaring through the blue skies above.

Better comfort, better clarity, better noise cancellation, better features, better everything, my new Bose A20 Aviation Headsets are simply FANTASTIC!