January 2018
STAN SNOW
Welcome to Mountain Lake Aero!
These pages were created to:
Provide you with educational resources, mentorship, and direction prior to and during your time with us. Or, if you're just looking around, I hope you find things interesting and useful to answering some of your questions on aviation.
Help you think about what sort of pilot you would like to become, in what aircraft, or along what paths in aviation and aerospace you'd like to walk.
Give you the straight scoop on things as a newbie with zero sales pressure, hype, fluff, or bias.
As for personal introductions?
BABY STAN
I was born into aviation almost 46 years ago, and with B-52s rattling my baby carriage at Fairchild AFB's 92nd Strategic Aerospace Wing.
In fact, on the day I was born, USAF announced my birth globally on 50 MHz for all air crews and enemies in Vietnam to hear rather than Hanoi Hannah's radio propaganda.
Thus, as bad guys were burnt and shredded under Operation Linebacker.....though I still lived nameless for another two weeks until Dad came home... the reds at least heard the sound of my Strategic Air Command baby name all the same!
Being nameless for two weeks with nurses dubbing a kid "Pumpkin" can really play hell on you, but, to the VC, they recall my name as Thunder, Lightning, Death from the Air, the Widow & Orphan-Maker Baby, and Utter Doom Pending for Hanoi. And, when I was just starting to crawl, Dad left me again to lead the B-52s from Thailand into Hanoi -- bombing the crap out of them which set our POWs free.
Some are born as red diaper babies. I was born with star spangled undies and in a flight suit by my first year waving a little flag for returning POWs.
Flight was calling to my soul since before I was born. In fact, the earliest of my memory as a child is of diving down from the clouds to inhabit this body. That was actually my First Solo before even born -- a vertical, hypersonic dive, and faster than hypersonic......diving in desperation to be born as me. It is to the sound of thunder, lightning, and impact momentum that I first opened my eyes, and so the storms and I have always had a unique relationship.
To most, the storms are just weather--the result of natural forces. But, I am a weird one in life. I visit places, see things, and fly even in my dreams. My great grandfather (Perez, in the Memorial page)....he knew from hundreds of miles out to sea on a diplomatic mission the exact moment his eldest daughter died giving birth.....same as I knew from afar the exact moment my first dog's heart stopped; Same as my mother knew her time was near; Same as her mother knew; Same as her family in Guam knew all through occupation that America would return.
My mother's little brother died of aneurysm on Easter Sunday back in the 1950's. They say a foreboding wind swept through their house at that moment slamming all the doors. Decades later, my mother also passed of aneurysm and died on Good Friday with curious signs & wonders around that.
My mother's line has always had peculiar "sight", signs & wonders, unusual sense about things, and the hand of God behind things. We islanders -- descendant from the ancient mariner -- are somewhat more in tune with the forces of nature, the sea, the earth, and the sky. We always know things most neglect.....because we listen and look more than we talk.
Where people sometimes find us strikingly bold, it is not really that at all. Rather, it is just the knowledge that every soul has an appointed time and manner of passage. When it is not your time, it is simply not your time. When it is, there is nothing you can do to stop that.
Ones like me....we always know when it is our time, and I was not born for a normal life, nor shall I ever pass of any accidents, nor in a sick bed. I was built to live long and die well someday as a tired old man.
Many times in the air or in life-- beyond my ability to count anymore -- things and circumstance have tried to kill me, and yet I remain. Not from any skill of my own, but just little and big miracles. Strong protective powers that have always watched over my family. The first being Christ and St. Mary. Other most notables being the St. Joseph consecration, especially, along with St.Michael, St. Raphael, St. Christopher, and others.
Faith is not at all a requirement to fly, but times in the air can be scary and it most certainly helps. Visitors here need not join my church, convert, nor even pray. I can only tell you that just reading the St. Joseph prayer does deliver on its promises, and, for those of you who do just read it, you will always be safe from harm. Where you even doubt the prayer, it has a strange way of proving itself to you. Beware!
There, I am sharing with you the secret to my family's miraculous survival among the extremes of war, and basically the Popeye spinach which has always carried me as yes...invincible!
Don't like it? Offensive to you? Well, gaze upon the baby and "talk to the hand"! That blessing of you by "Father Stan" concludes the extent of my evangelical streak. Like it or not, you are now like a ship which has been christened and consecrated. Some lecture and bible-thump. Our way is to just Catholic "curse" you! And that's it.
SOME SNAPSHOTS OF MY AERO LIFE
As of January 2018, among some notable moments....
It has been about 40 years since I first dreamed of being a fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. About 35 years since calling a USAF recruiter and later sobbing when he killed my pilot dream due to eyesight.
Been about 40 years since looking as a boy to the sky, twirled around until dizzy, and imagining flying among the clouds. About 40 years of studying every form of flight and motion of arrows, bullets, darts, birds, insects, and imagining / mirroring the motion of toy airplanes in play as a boy.
Some 35 years since first building, flying, and wrecking cable-controlled, model airplanes, combat kites, and toy rockets.
Almost 30 years since driving cars as a mad man and deranged, bad boy youth comfortable at 150 MPH over the highways.
Been 28 years since taking my first sailplane lessons under the instruction of an old Navy fighter pilot who used to swat me on the head with his sectional chart whenever losing airspeed. His methods there later saved my life, though.
Been over 28 years since volunteering for the Gulf War, medical disqualified due to childhood asthma records, and mentored along a civil aviation and counter-intelligence direction by old Army/OSS men wanting me to walk a different path embedded among the colleges and flight schools with foreign students (pre-9/11). Though not frail anymore and in really good athletic shape as a wrestler and hiker, I was basically like the feeble Steve Rogers before medical experimented upon into Captain America! Tried to enlist in every branch and was medical records rejected each time...because I honestly checked off a damn box on a form....due to my father's advice to just be honest. First, USAF snobbed me. Then, Navy and Marines. By then, the Gulf War erupted, college protestors and Iraqi agents were everywhere, and they needed young spooks on the domestic front while my family history and eagerness were ideal. Army pushed hard for and guided me in bypass of the paper trail. Though not along the formal military path, it is old Army Air Corps men who gave me my first start in aviation. Air Force panzies, Navy inbreeds, Marine jugheads....yeah you can talk to Baby Stan / Captain America's hand! Though USAF and Navy tend to be where my nerd work is more appreciated, my heart remains with the lowly Army grunts more so than any of you snobs.
Been 27 years since making my First Solo by Cessna 152, and 27 years since dealing with my first inflight emergency all alone -- 11th solo flight; seat track full flyback on takeoff; majority loss of flight control; a fight for majority recovery through my downwind leg.
Been 27 years since entering Aerospace / Aeronautical & Mechanical Engineering -- spacecraft systems, ADAC, propulsion, power, payload, telemetry, missions, microsats (before cubesats were all the rage).
Been 26 years since picking up the rotting, mangled, burnt corpses of my pilot friends -- and holding the severed human face of one in my hands. So, if I seem a bit too mother hen on boring safety, it is because I have buried enough friends and almost been on their doomed flights.
Been near 26 years since earning my Airframe Mechanic license, and 25 since earning my Powerplant Mechanic license. By far, I would have to say these two licenses are the real pride of my aviation career in that U.S. Government and other pilots trust mechanics to be honest, competent in our field, and both the front line and last line of defense on aviation safety. Just as a flight instructor signs off students as safe to fly alone, the A&P certifies aircraft are airworthy coming out of inspection and repair. We usually flight test and troubleshoot or ferry aircraft which scare our pilot pals. We help good pilot-owners and operators to stay airborne affordably. We report defects developing on aircraft. We tend our birds like happy medical doctors. We are really the only sanity zone between pilot / owner/ operator greed, skimping, or cheapness, and innocent passenger cluelessness, versus excess government regulation. Being a nice guy is fine, but learning to say "No!" is vital to A&P career longevity and flight safety. Pilots all have egos and often hold their noses up to each other, but they always are nice to mechanics. When you are young in aviation, you beg to fly in any aircraft. As a mechanic, people always like you flying in their aircraft and aviation becomes more affordable. Owning an aircraft doesn't have to be a rich man's hobby, but just a restoration project on an old bird or new kit construct. Not just holding the A&P licenses, but being competent to exercise them is something I would recommend to anyone aspiring to a commercial pilot's career, as most small charter, copter, and business jet operations prefer pilot-mechanics....at least for maintenance budget & staff supervision. I earned my licenses among the more affordable path of internship at Part 61, 141, and 43 operations, and also wreck investigation & recovery supporting needs of FAA, FBI, and NTSB. Wrecks are a messy business and dirty, ugly job, but you see a side of aviation which no pilot cares to think about much and become more aware of the consequences to what we do.
Been 26 years since stupidly sucked into a nasty thunderstorm flying IFR in a Cessna 172 -- hurled from 4,000 to 14,000 feet, icing, hail, unable to descend, spit out, chased by it, first seeing textbook green plasma cloud to cloud, heavy rain & hail, wind sock twirling everywhere fully pegged....and best of all: ATC sounded the alarms! All they saw on radar was us flying over hills as vectored, and then gone for minutes. No forward motion. We were going vertical the whole time! We weren't taunting the weather. Just flying on instruments as ATC vectored. It is a big miracle there we were still in the updraft. Another couple minutes in the cloud and we'd have been shredded while seen coming out in pieces.
Been 26 to 27 years since engaging in maintenance test flights as a student pilot, solo or copilot. Also, 26 years since managing a Part 141 flight school, and 25 years since being a "chief mechanic" training newbies. Though I really wasn't ready for those chief mechanic duties, I leaned heavily on old men IAs, as I do to this day.
Been around 25 years since an old girlfriend once foolishly demanded that I give up aviation among her "worry" over me, so I got rid of the girl. Love of aircraft and the sky takes precedence over all and everyone else for the aviator. We can no sooner separate from it than a bird can endure not flapping its wings, or living in a cage. It is not our hobby. Not a rich man's play sport. It is my life, profession, and very breath. People are always trying to draw me along other courses in life and business, but that is like asking a seagull to live inland.
Been 24 years since once a top USAF ROTC cadet, and then back sheep-dipped again into my murky world of intrigue, spookery, and politics. Too long a story for here. Continually along this line has been work on USAF aerospace interests, defense science & technology incubation, technical intelligence, etc. Mountain Lake Labs evolution.
Been 15 years since falling ill with well-meaning doctors trying to fix me but only worsening things, and so I wound my way to doctors in Naturopathy, Chinese Medicine, and Classical Homeopathy....ultimately becoming a classical homeopath myself in practice with over 200 patients the last 14 years to 98% satisfaction.
Been 14 years since trying my hand at first-time land development & construction management. Built a 5 acre ranchette in Lake County and developed into a commercial meat goat operation for 12 years. The goat pasture is my future PPG/PPC airfield.
Been about 10 years since evolving more into Electrical and Electronics Engineering with a lot of mathematical physics in quest for improving aerospace energy & propulsion. Today, I actually work on real "warp drive" systems for a future man-made, mini Starship Enterprise drone / deep space probes and nothing I can talk much about there.
Been 6 years since setting up our UAV & rocket shop at Lampson Field while hanging a sign stating "Powered Paragliding" and "Search & Rescue". Been busy in other areas, but still building it.
Been a bit over 1 year since flying our first Search & Rescue mission in Lake County, which helped to locate a missing man's body for his family
Along that run of my life, I have only around 250 hours flying alone (pilot in command time) by single-engine aircraft, and around 2,800 total air time in crew roles -- copilot, navigator, observer, gunner, flying mechanic among a variety of light single, twin, turboprop, and rotary aircraft.
That may seem like a lot and some Master Yoda background to outsiders and newbies, but it is important to be realistic...
That puts me about middle-aged as an aero engineer and mechanic. Maybe a few thousand flights have flown under my wrench and signature as safe for flight. During that time, never any enforcement or safety issues. But, because my background has been broad, A&Ps of my same years in aviation have had maybe 5 times or more that volume under them. This is why I like to work with local A&Ps and older IAs, not steal their customers. I depend upon their mechanical advice and greater experience at times.
As a pilot, if we consider senior airline captains and copter pilots in the 20,000 to 70,000 hour range....I exist fuzzily at about only 0.3% to 14% of that flight experience, but not in heavy aircraft type. Likewise, the most green commercial pilots begin at 250 hours. Airline Transport Pilots (ATP) begin their careers at 1,500 hours (fixed wing) and 1,200 (copter). These are ratings actually not too far outside my reach if I invest more in my flight training or professionally fly, but other work keeps me occupied and commercial flying of that nature is not my interest.
As a PPG/ PPC pilot, what am I? Presently just a baby sucking my thumb. But, this is an area of aviation where I really enjoy flight down low & slow with the birds. I love the aircraft portability, relatively lower costs all around, and expanding industry plus nice potential for Unmanned Aerial Systems integration.
We all fly a different course in aviation -- everything from hobbyist pilots to professionals. The magic of paramotor flight is in delivering low-cost, personal, portable aircraft which enable more people to share our love of flight. Wherever you venture and whatever you do, I hope you find happiness, too! Welcome to our Flight Dojo!
WHERE WILL I FLY INTO THE FUTURE?
Wouldn't you like to know!
I am also:
A student with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University picking up their Aviation Maintenance Management degree and then toward their Masters in Business Administration, with transfer/ license/ degree credits awarded.
I don't really need the degree or the MA for what I do now with Mountain Lake Labs and in engineering , but access to their technical library as a student is actually well worth the annual tuition. I'd pay that for an engineering library and all the subscriptions alone.
Matriculation also allows me to pass some of our engineering projects over to grants and student / intern research which normally are less interesting to venture capital.
In the future, I might wish to teach aviation, engineering, and aerospace courses at a local community college, with ERAU, or with any other university.
At the moment, I could apply to teach aviation maintenance, aerospace, and flight courses under California's Vocational Teaching Credential, but you either need go through a year of teacher education at a university or just have endorsement of a school district, and I am busy with other duties for now. Just packing my career "parachute" in those additional directional capacities. Meanwhile, basically developing the curriculum right here.
Where flying more in PPG and ready, I might like to instruct here in Lake County under USPPA's Tandem Trainee (TT) and Tandem Instructor (TI) program.
Defense science & technology incubation and advisory keeps me pretty busy, but I also need to spend more time just flying.
When finally a tired old man with life in a nursing home prison looming or terminal illness calling, I hope to have developed some form of aircraft suitable for global sky sailing. Imagine a sailboat/hydrofoil and large powered parachute aircraft which requires no fuel. All the basic live-aboard systems. My future home in the air or on the sea.
From there, maybe I will go get myself killed on medical missionary work kinda like Flying Doctors format --tending the sickly and poor abroad as a classical homeopath. I'm thinking, when my body has no more fight left, maybe as certain radicals continue trying to conquer the world, I will fly around and invade their strongholds as an annoying old priest. Oh, they'll want me dead but will refrain because, with my quack medical art, I do cure many things to almost miraculous degree.
Dr. Quack's book on Amazon (hardcopy)
My quack book on Lulu (free).
My quack book on Scribd (free)
As such, a thousand years from now, little old church ladies will hold novenas in my name, and my cheap, plastic idol will bobble-head on their hover car dashboards!! As my mommy always nagged me to go to church, some genetically engineered, test tube future baby, little brat's mother will nag him and give him a St. Stan Medal. They will make up all sorts of crap on my graceful, sinless, life of holiness and perfection, and I'll be laughing my butt off as a ghost in the clouds!!
Crazy? Not really. Wasn't too long ago my work had audience with the Saudi throne. So, I do get around and can make trouble in all the fun places. And, there are always refugees somewhere in the world needing a good smuggler of the skies or medical relief of their camps. "De Oppresso Liber!" The true warrior dreams of a good death, and I live many times over on simply borrowed time. My aviation life and "quack" medical art have been divergent to date, but would also come full circle and converge nicely when I morph into Sky Quack! I am okay with any departure other than in a sick bed. Been there, done that. I pray that I check out really feisty. Baby Stan-Leonidas style! Come and get some!!!!!!!
