HISG Social Media Network

HISG Social Media Network teaches about Storify as part of their Social Media Presentation.

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New to Storify.com A great way to create stories online

Storify is a new online resource that enables you to combine news items from social media and the web together into one place. Interfaced with all the major social media resources, such as Twitter and Facebook, Storify enables you to combine it all together in one place. See my story at the link.

Story about HISG and Storify

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How to use Foreflight on EMS duties

This is how I use Foreflight Mobile HD on standby as an EMS helicopter pilot. There are two methods, the one described first is the one I developed to work around issues with bearings and distances, and the second, much easier technique, is as a result of showing this text to the team at Foreflight. I have to say that Foreflight has greatly improved my ability to ensure good situational awareness and is therefore an improvement to safety.

Under the requirements of the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) through Operations Specifications, EMS pilots are required to record the highest obstacle or terrain elevation within 2 nm of their intended route.

To achieve this, after requests for improvements to Foreflight have taken place, I now use my iPad in the following steps: (Note: I have used this technique on my iPhone version in exactly the same way.)

METHOD 1

At the beginning of my shift I open Foreflight in the map mode, radar is best as I am able to check weather. (Image 1)

Create a route from home base to the nearest trauma hospital.Wait for a launch request message from my communication center which includes the town and county, bearing and distance, and expected hospital destination.

Double check that the bearing and distance matches the launch request message, and if necessary adjust that waypoint by dragging it to the most accurate position you can.


Place my finger on the center of the previously created route, and drag the middle of that track to the approximate destination. (Image 2) and touch "Add this coordinate to route"


Now touch a point near home base. (This is necessary because if you touch home base it only offers to delete from route.) (Image 3)







Drag the point to home base and touch the home base waypoint listed. (Image 4) Note: if your home base is not in the Foreflight waypoint list, such as an airport or registered hospital landing site, create a user waypoint for your base per the Foreflight instructions.




Switch to VFR Sectional map, and by visual inspection determine the highest obstacle or terrain elevation within 2 nm of that route and record it.

Finally, I have asked the Foreflight Team to consider the ability to modify an existing route by bearing and distance once the waypoint is created by dragging the pre-stored track to the approximate scene location. In my wish list I would like to be able to rapidly create a point in space waypoint as described above, then modify it either by latitude and longitude or by bearing and distance. This would be quick, efficient, and above all, totally accurate.

Method 2 - the easy way!

P.S. Got an email back from Team Foreflight after I wrote the note above. Jason, one of the co-founders, pointed out that you CAN enter a waypoint as a bearing and distance. All the above steps can be done like this, into the search box type HOME HOME/060/15.4 TRAUMA HOME where 060/15.4 is the bearing and distance from home base to the scene. Gobsmacked! I didn't know that! So forget all the above, just type it all in!

Cheers.

I have a soon-to-be-a-collectors-item, a signed book, The Rogue Aviator

Greetings, dear readers.

I met a fascinating gentleman yesterday at Rochester Wings Event at KROC. Ace Abbott wrote the book, The Rogue Aviator. As a comrade of mine (him USAF, me RAF) I found we had lots in common. Those who know me will no doubt guess our conversations soon became more "hangar tales" or as the RAF used to say, "Shooting a Line" Now if you don't know that piece of jargon, google it.

Now, Cap'n Abbott, I am in trouble. My honey do list is delayed this morning as I couldn't put the soon-to-be-collectible book down. Your views on such things as the FAA, aviation safety, and the wonderful, blissful, and uniquely aviation related misuse of the English language are fun to read.

Folks, buy this book, or else you'll never have the chance to own a collectors item. Of course it'll be more collectible after the author has gone to the great runway in the sky!

Signed ..... in a cheeky mood this morning...

Honor Flight Rochester - Veterans' visit to Washington DC

I was asked at short notice to be a guardian on Flight 16 on Saturday 14th May 2011. I am delighted to join this group.

Check out the website. Donate, volunteer, register a veteran you know! A worthy cause.

Only two posts this year? Must write something.

Greetings however few readers there are out there. I was looking for something I wrote back in 2007 and noticed how little I had contributed to the world's wisdom! Or not, as the case may be.


Well here we are with the advent of warmer weather. The ice is melting on the lake, and indeed I was outdoors yesterday working on the boat. How nice.... certainly this last winter has been long and hard.


Took a snapshot yesterday, our Rudi is such a loving dog, he puts himself into uncomfortable positions just to rest his head on you. This was on our way home from Smith's Lumbar in Lakeville....

Must get a comb and do my hair before I take any more photographs.

The degree course starts Monday, although we've been invited at Liberty University Online to get on with some work before the date. So I'll be learning new stuff! Actually, I've always had the idea that the day you stop learning is your last day on this earth. Plus ca change!

Delving into theoretical stuff will be quite stimulating, but as someone who prefers a "hands on" or practical approach to life in general, I shall constantly try to apply those more intellectual or academic principles to real world situations. I already came across the vagueness of academia in some of the preparation work.... erudite gobble-de-gook, I called it. It seems a feature of so-called learned people to use long words that nobody else uses, perhaps in an attempt to impress or to convince us they know what they are talking about!

Ever watched the Discovery Science Channel? 

One of our favorite presenters is Professor Michio Kaku. His great strength is his ability to explain things in plain language. As it says on his bio (click the link above) he is "a theoretical physicist, best-selling author, and popularizer of science." He is that, but of course his passion and love of science comes across very well. I wish he was my professor of aeronautics... I love the quote I found in an interview online, he said, "Wealth is something that corrupts and dies with you. But ideas can live forever and change the world."

Oh well, time for more study and reading.

Cheers.

What a totally awesome Sunday this has become!

Greetings, friends.

I thank God every day for friends, and one of them was performing last night with Bob's Brother's Band.
He asked me to help him in a new activity. Dan Winslow is the music minister for a new church. Never been to a new church before, so we went to hear what it was all about.

Well, the music was just wonderful. Contemporary Christian music, well played by Dan and his small, but growing team. My taste in music will fit in perfectly there, so I'm delighted to become involved.

Not only that, the excitement of meeting new people in a new spiritual venture was novel, satisfying, and quite uplifting. The church? It's the Discovery Metro Church. The pastor, Elliot Sneed, gave a practical, gospel based sermon that was topical, to the point, and well presented, even though the poor man was suffering and had had a temperature of 103 the night before.

So, dear friends, if you want to experience a warm welcome, a new and exciting event, and frankly would be kind enough to support this fledgling community, please consider coming to the "Grand Opening" on 20th February. Details on their website. Connect to them on Facebook

See you there.

Back to School

Greetings,

Well, I feel like a teenager! I've enrolled in a Bachelor of Science Degree at Liberty University Online

Liberty University in Lynchburg VA was founded by Jerry Faldwell SR. You can read about the university in their "About Page"

My degree will be in Aeronautics! (Really?!) Well, it's what I do for a living.

As a Christian university, I made contact with the Liberty Online Ministries They have initiated a scheme where local students may get in touch with each other. So I have written to my two neighbors who have expressed an interest in the online ministries.

Here is a photograph of the campus.

Wish me luck