Tincan-Flyer

This is my daughter’s first flight in a small airplane. The algorithm may not love it, but this video is packed with moments I’ll cherish forever. Watch her bounce between anticipation and pure, unfiltered excitement. It was a perfect evening for a first flight—smooth air, calm skies, and a beautiful sunset. This is a memory I’ll always hold onto, and I think she will too. ❤️ For those curious, we’re flying in a 1946 Cessna 140. Yes—1946. Camera Setup: Wing Strut – Insta360 X4 Map Light – GoPro 12 Black Panel – Insta360 One RS

When your father-in-law — and the kids’ grandpa — shows up while you’re warming up the 1946 Cessna 140 taildragger and wants to go for his first ride, you change your plans and make it happen! It turned into a beautiful evening flight — short but memorable. Enjoy the Southern New Jersey farmland and coastal scenery as we head toward the bay just before sunset in the Tincan.

This was a beautiful Saturday morning to fly! I decided to hop over to Ocean City, NJ Airport because I had not been there for many years, and never in this airplane. The scenery is beautiful. I decided to land on runway 24 despite a slight tailwind because it is a very scenic approach.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of nailing a wheel landing—and this one might be my best yet. Ironically, it came right after the “Jump Around” short I posted from the same flight. The conditions were perfect: calm air and a golden sunset. Couldn’t have asked for a better setup. I made up the contest but it’d be really fun to see other “super smooth wheel landings caught on video”. A friendly challenge! Please link other videos if you have them!

On this flight I hopped over to Woodbine NJ for a practice landing. When I arrived, I saw a bunch of J-3 Cubs parked on the side of the taxiway and I thought I had stumbled upon a Cub gathering! I then noticed the missing engine cowls, and realized that this is the staging ground for a banner tow operation that services Cape May, NJ.

Shout-out to  @Amy_Pilot  for inspiring the technique of showing “long distance” travel. Her method of showing short clips over a long distance gives both a sense of actual speed and total distance traveled without making the user sit through 30 minutes of video! Amy uses the technique to condense down epic journeys that span hundreds of miles and showcases vast changes in landscape. I did the best I could with my 25 mile trip! But I love the effect!

A quiet milestone in a noisy journey—finally doing the thing I wasn’t sure I could.

Most of my flying experience has been at large, paved airports—and after a 9+ year break from flying, the idea of returning to a small grass strip brought a lot of anxiety with it. Add in the challenge of learning to fly a tailwheel aircraft for the first time, and this milestone felt a long way off.

It’s taken time to rebuild my confidence and get comfortable in the airplane again, especially in this new environment. But little by little, with each flight, I chipped away at the fear—and today, I finally made it back. This might not look like much from the outside, but for me, it was a huge step.

The article that I mentioned in the video: “The (Un)Natural” by John Bishop, Plane and Pilot Magazine: https://planeandpilotmag.com/unnatural/

We spent this day practicing crosswind landings in my Cessna 140 at a small grass strip in South Jersey. The conditions were tough, but I was handling the airplane well—and it turned out to be a big confidence boost for my tailwheel flying.

At the end of the video, my instructor asked if I wanted to try a solo. We ended up holding off for a few reasons: the winds were expected to pick up, some birds were lingering around the pattern, and I’m still figuring out how much the plane’s behavior will change without a passenger on board. Still, I’m feeling good.

Lately, I’ve been training in some pretty challenging wind conditions—and doing really well! But this day ended up being a bit more than I bargained for. The winds kept picking up, and I figured it was a good opportunity to keep pushing my limits while I had my instructor with me. Well… I found my limits. 😅

In the gusty crosswinds at the grass strip, I slipped back into an old bad habit—trying to force the plane to land before it was truly ready. These aren’t the most fun flying days, but they’re the ones where you learn the most. Sometimes, you’ve just got to grab an instructor and see what you’re made of.