A Study On Short Final

Female mallard, taken from Sanford, FL (30 miles north of Orlando).

Mission Statement

Some of you already know this, but I didn't want to talk about it until it is confirmed.

After a few weeks of rejection, appeal, and a nice letter of recommendation from one of the engineers I worked with, I was accepted to Florida Institute of Technology as a provisional student pursuing a Master's degree in aerospace engineering.

As a provisional student, I have to complete the undergraduate curriculum of aerospace engineering with satisfactory marks before I can be formally admitted to the program.

And as an engineer who holds a Master's in computer science, I am lacking A LOT of required classes.

The tuition is expensive, since Florida Tech is a private school. Luckily, the company I work for has tuition assistance, and will provide 80% of the tuition as long as I make good grades. My manager just approved the funding yesterday, so I will start taking classes in May. If it wasn't for the financial aid, I wouldn't be able to do this.

Even when I was an music student at CCM, I considered double majoring in aerospace and piano. I even took college physics (which I had to drop out because of my hectic schedule as a music major) and borrowed books on aerodynamics even though I didn't understand the material. When I transferred to FSU, I had contacted one of the professors at the engineering department inquiring about the aerospace program. At the time, I was in a rush to quickly graduate, and when I realized I would have to start over, I was already finishing up my Bachelor's in computer science. I decided to drop the idea. Looking back on it now, I kind of regret that decision.

I think my problem was that I didn't know which area in aerospace I wanted to do. When I went into computer science, I thought I was going to do what my uncle is doing at his current job: fixing computers, setting up applications, etc. When I started taking courses like data structures and operating systems, I realized I have fallen into a black hole. Computer science was a fun and painful subject. I dabbled in a few concentrated fields here and there, ranging from networking to light kernel programming to computer graphics to image processing. But I never excelled at any of the subjects.

The Mur told me that I never seem passionate about the major. I am nothing like the programmers who work at Apple and game companies, where they live and breathe code in almost every aspect of their lives.

He was right.

I was already a Master's student when first I heard of the A3XX. After she became public and was formally named the A380, I realized that I really want to work on commercial aircrafts. At that point, I was already three semesters from graduating with my MS degree. I decided to finish it rather than dropping it altogether and start over, and I think that was a wise decision.

It goes without saying that starting this summer, I won't be posting as often on the blog as I normally would. I will try to go spotting and practice taking pictures as often as I can.

This journey is going to take me several long and difficult years, working full-time and taking one class a semester. But if I don't do it now, I will never be able to do this. This was the mistake my mother made when she was my age: She should have gone to medical school when she had the chance, but doubts kept her from pursuing it. She is now back in graduate school pursuing a physician assistance degree, in an attempt to salvage what is left of her dream. She will turn 54 this year, and I worry about her.

Time flies and never looks back, and I am not getting any younger either.

Model: Boeing 737-824
Airline: Continental
Tail No.: N79279
Location: Orlando International Airport (MCO)
Runway: 18R (departure)
Date and Time: 22 April 2007, 2150 Zulu

A380: The View From JFK Terminal 1

There were a large number of children at Terminal 1, and I wish I had taken more photos of them. I caught a glimpse of this Hasidic boy listening to the reception speeches for the A380.

There was a little girl next to me while I was photographing the planes, explaining in half English/Spanish to the other children the exaggerated dimensions of the A380. I witnessed a blooming of dreams: prompted by the flying metal bird, that look in their eyes, of both fascination and imagination, that they may or may not lose when they grow up.

I hope they will never lose it.

The A380 taxiing to the hangar for maintenance, while her smaller cousin, the JetBlue A320, takes off into the grey winter sky in NYC, 19 March 2007.

Spotter's Log - MCO

No plane pics from today's MCO spotting trip. At least not anytime soon. Just some photos that I've been experimenting with. The 18-200 mm isn't good for Airliners.net spotting photos (unless I am really close to the subjects), but that doesn't mean I can't have fun with it at the airport. ;)

I like to draw and paint. I've been drawing since I was very little. Taking pictures is more like creating coloring books for me to play with afterwards. Adobe Lightroom makes raw processing very smooth and streamline, and basically made post processing more fun and less work. The software definitely encourages the imagination more than the logic of realistic representation of the subject. A huge thanks to Zack for introducing me to this software.

The predator of MCO

One of the many birds that made their home at the airport.

Sunset

Ted A320 taking off into the last gleam of sunlight.

Abstract

Seagulls are evil...

...but they sure are pretty when they fly.

Just practising for the Sun-N-Fun Air Show, coming up next week. ;)

Mito (Lumix) on eBay

I finally got the courage to write up an eBay entry for the Lumix. I am sad, because this camera has helped my photography skills the past few months...and it is even sadder that I've only had it for such a short period of time. But there is no reason for me to have two cameras, so the Lumix is up for bid. He is in great condition, and I hope to find him a caring owner.

The eBay entry can be found here.

*UPDATE*

I pulled Mito from eBay yesterday. Just couldn't bear to sell him online...

D80: Things that fly, things that grow

After my trip to JFK, I started considering getting a DSLR. I didn't expect to want anything more than the Panasonic but alas, the Lumix is not made for spotting. I have learned a lot on that camera. As far as spotting photos go, even under ideal lighting condition and good lens, the Lumix can only do so much with a very small sensor. I decided it was time that I graduate to a different type of camera.

Naturally, I considered the Canon Rebel XTi and the Pentax K10D (Fujifilm does not have entry-level DSLR...instead they go from point-and-shoot to professional grade cameras that will cost me a liver to purchase). Initially, I didn't really consider Nikon simply because the equivalent model costs so much more compare to the Rebel XTi. That was, until Zack introduced me to Thom Hogan's page and I saw the 18-200 mm VR and the 70-300 mm VR.

Taken from DPReview, Nikkor 70-300 mm with VR, for planespotting

Taken from DPReview, Nikkor 18-200 mm with VR, one of the most sought after lens

The 70-300mm will be perfect for planespotting, but the 18-200mm is the general purpose lens...the kind that I can keep on the body for almost any occasion. After reading rave reviews about the 18-200 mm, I went online and looked, and realized that not only is the 18-200 mm sold out everywhere, but places where they do have in stock are selling the lens for 200+ USD above the market price.

So I thought I discovered a tactic to save my money: I decided that if I ever get a hold of the lens at the market price or less, I will buy a Nikon body. For that to happen anytime soon would be impossible, since the lens is backordered for at least six months to a year.

Be careful with what you wish for.

A few days ago, someone from Tallahassee was selling both the D80 body and (I am not joking) the 18-200 mm VR lens. The seller mentioned that the camera was purchased in December 2006, but he currently prefers to have a light camera so he was selling the D80 and everything along with it.

I made him an offer to buy both the lens and the body for less than what he could've sold it for, thinking that he would reject my offer.

After a quick check, the seller wrote back accepting my offer.

Two days later, the D80 and the 18-200 mm VR lens arrived at my apartment. I stared at the boxes for a very long time before I opened it. My very first DSLR.

Learning to capture...all over again

For comparison, here is a photo of a brown pelican taken by the Lumix. The difference in sharpness is astounding.

Now begins a new chapter with a different camera: one that is more temperamental than my Panasonic (whom I will have to sell, since there is no reason for an amateur to have more than one camera). Starting almost from scratch, learning how to take photos and process them all over again...

Warbirds: 17 March 2007

50 years of evolution...in one photo

When my flight to New York was rescheduled, I was free to attend the 2nd Annual Warbirds Air Show at the Space Coast Regional Airport (IATA:TIX). I witnessed, for the first time, the incredible feats that the pilots had to do in dogfights and to compensate for the not-so-powerful engines at the time. I left the air show with a newfound respect for the World War I pilots, and realized why back then, pilots from enemy countries were treated like friends by other pilots when captured.

In Flight

On the ground

And Finally...

*sigh* Biplanes are so romantic...