For a minute, let’s go back to the summer of 2018. In the heat of the pilot shortage that kept your local airport busy, the FAA, having been pressured by purveyors of flight training, took comments and criticisms from students, instructors, the flight schools themselves, as well as some aviation organizations, and amended the requirements […]| royevansii.com
For a minute, let’s go back to the summer of 2018. In the heat of the pilot shortage that kept your local airport busy, the FAA, having been pressured by purveyors of flight training, took comments and criticisms from students, instructors, the flight schools themselves, as well as some aviation organizations, and amended the requirements for pilots seeking their commercial pilot certificate. Having previously been required to gain experience in what are called “complex airplanes,” the ...| Roy Evans II
Not quite the furthest we’ve flown in distance from our home, but certainly the furthest we’ve flown from the intrinsic parts of our home. Weeks, months, and years of planning, pleading, and praying for the stars to align and here we are upon our arrival to our fifth continent and latest addition to our passports, the Arab Republic of Egypt. A few glasses of orange juice later, we learn that over 20 million others are in town, not just because they live here, but many made a similar journ...| Roy Evans II
Meet Tuesday. My new adventure partner. Sporting some new shoes, she’s spent the last 900 miles of her young life yearning to enjoy the views found in our backyard. A few hand washes and subsequent detail jobs certainly await her return to civilization but for now she wears her southern Utah red dirt proudly. | Roy Evans II
There’s a new game I play every time I have the opportunity to fly the Cub. It’s called “how many?” and the object of the game is to count how many times pilots in the traffic pattern mention on the radio that they can’t see me on their ADS-B equipment. Yesterday, the count was only one, and within five minutes of returning to home base saturated with seven airplanes in and out of the traffic pattern, I was glad to hear not a second mention of our absence. | Roy Evans II
Another airplane crash in our community begets another quest for the why. ATC recordings, ADS-B bread crumbs, local news sources refreshed beyond belief. We all comb through whatever sources we can in an effort to piece together a puzzle that will be missing a few pieces for a while (or forever), and without any doubt, […]| Roy Evans II
While I sit here in the lobby of a dealership purchasing a new truck, memories of my former vehicles came to my mind. So here’s something from the vault, titled “A Tribute” to one of my former cars, the GTi. Twelve years ago, I had the distinct pleasure of being introduced to one of my […]| Roy Evans II
Empowered with never ending grit and determination (and some of my favorite applesauce), Luke stands at the ready, anxiously awaiting the countdown to the start of his last mountain bike race of the season. Merely a month prior was his first, on a course he’s never seen before, racing against other seventh graders who are […]| Roy Evans II
Within twelve hours to hitting the trailhead, Luke decided to come along on this year’s Timpanogos hike (I say that like it’s an annual thing but it is not. It is for some friends that invited us, but I digress). Originally planned sans-kids, Luke mustered the courage to climb trails unknown. Currently 13 miles in, rounding the corner back to the start, a few moments ahead of our summit party gives us a few moments to collect our thoughts and and share my journaling process with Luke. | Roy Evans II
Currently walking around one of my former favorite layovers that’s been upgraded to mainline service. Previous accommodations slightly improved, location alone by a factor of 100. Confused as to what to do with an entire day of no obligations, three tries at rising early finally prove worthwhile. First, a run along the shore. With paths like this, the memories of hotel bicycles being a California thing come to the forefront of my mind. Three hundred feet into the run, stop the workout, retu...| Roy Evans II
There’s something to be said about the differences between airline flying and general aviation safety. And I’m not sure what needs to be said about it, but it’s been on my mind as of late. Recently, I was asked to speak at the Utah Aeronautics Conference and usually I spin a few yarns about backcountry flying. Modest attempts combing through terabytes of pictures and videos in an effort to help illustrate the beauty of backcountry flying, my mind gets stuck on ADM, or aeronautical decis...| Roy Evans II
