Wii Fit

Nintendo launched the Wii Fit in the US Today. As an individual who takes his endurance exercise pretty seriously, I can't imagine that this game / fitness device will make a significant impact in someone's fitness.

However, I did get a Wii for my son's 11th birthday a few weeks ago and it's the most fun game machine I've played with in a long time (not withstanding $20M Flight Simulators). When I play simple tennis on the game, I get a decent sweat going even if I'm not running around a court. It's a fun, simple distraction from a base line of solid endurance work. It's certainly more entertaining for cross training than watching TV from an elliptical machine.

The best stationary cycling machine I've used is from Expresso. The virtual reality and competition is only way I can stay focused indoors for more than an hour.

Combining an entertaining visual, kinetic and audible experience is a great way for time to pass on otherwise extremely dull indoor activities. The Wii Fit is just a baby step in the right direction for combining exercise and entertainment in new and interesting ways.

DNF

I learned some valuable lessons in yesterday's marathon. Ultimately I dropped out at the Newton Fire Station (17.5 mi) due to severe cramping.

Here's what I did wrong: 1) Insufficient training, especially in hot weather. This led to 2) dehydration causing severe cramping. 3) Other minor factors were the Passover holiday over the weekend where we hosted and I had a significant change in diet.

The hardest part about Boston is not the hills - it's training through the Boston winter. I go insane after more than an hour on a treadmill or elliptical machine. While I can endure 120 laps on an indoor track a few times per training season, I don't have the ability to make it a regular part of my regimen. So I'm left with taking long runs outdoors irrespective of the weather conditions. This year, I simply didn't do enough long runs. Consequently, I didn't manage my intakes well past the second hour.

Last year when I successfully completed the marathon, I walked in the last two miles since my quads locked up. In discussing what happened with more experienced friends, and subsequently confirming this during long (6 hr+ ) bike rides, I needed to take electrolyte supplements during warmer days, especially when out for more than 2 hours. So in this year's marathon, I was well equipped for the warm weather with electrolytes.

I made sure to drink at every water station. However, in my run induced haze, I badly miscalculated the amount of water I was taking in. During my long training runs, I would carry a water bottle and know quite precisely my fluid intake. Along the marathon route, with the small, sloshing cups given out by the excellent volunteer crew, I was taking in maybe 2-3 oz per station. So after 3 hrs, I had maybe drank 20-30 oz, instead of the 60+ plus oz I would have drank on a long bike ride or a training run. That was exacerbated by the extra electrolytes I was taking in so as to not repeat last year's walk in. Since I hadn't done enough training runs in warm weather I didn't notice the clear warning signs, first at foremost that I had stopped sweating even though the temperature was rising.

Just before mile 15 at the Marathon Sports / Whole Foods location in Wellesley, I popped another electrolyte pill, thinking that a water station was in sight. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a non-official station created by bystanders which we had been warned to avoid. All the salt was already absorbed in my mouth by the time I got to the real station 0.5 mi down the route. My lips and mouth started to swell and tingle. And I still didn't drink enough at this station.

Soon afterwards, near the end of mile 15, just before the Wellesley-Newton line is the biggest descent of the course. It's one of the more technical areas, so I ran it at least 10 times in training to improve my downhills. Halfway down the hill at a decent clip, my left hamstring cramped up, I grunted in pain and barely limped to the side. I walked it out and it seemed to get better. Immediately afterwards is the first of the Newton climbs, from the Charles River to Route 128. By the top of the climb, I had bad cramping everywhere - left and right hamstring, quad, calf. I knew the Dana Farber tent was a short distance ahead. By the time I got into the tent, I was light headed, nauseous and felt like I was going to pass out. They sat me down and I started to recover. Incredibly I was actually worried about hyponatremia rather than dehydration so I refused the water they offered me. I didn't train enough to read the signs.

When I was capable again, I walked 0.5 mi more to the medical tent at the Fire Station. I felt so lousy by then that continuing was out of the question. I called home to let them know I hadn't died on the course. I had blown my estimated time badly. Still feeling cramped and light headed, I lay down on a cot, sipped a bit of water, and was covered in a mylar blanket by the attentive First Aid crew. Eventually, the other wounded and I were bussed to the finish line.

Injuries:

• Toe blister
  
• Some sunburn, chaffing
  
• Bruised ego
  

I will not be running Boston in 2009 because it is around the same time as my daughter's Bat Mitzvah, so I won't have the training time. Perhaps I'll do another, easier marathon. In 2010, I expect to run Boston again, with much better training and preparation. It's certainly a challenging course. The event is really special both for the runners, a valuable charity cause, and the thousands of terrific spectators along the route.

My thanks to Dana Farber for an excellent organization, and especially to my family for permitting me to take the time to train for this valuable experience.

"I'll be back."

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a toy

All my spare time has been devoted to preparing for the Boston Marathon this coming Monday, so updates to the blog have been sparse. Now, it is taper time so I can catch up a bit.

Got the attached photo from a friend at Embraer. This is Phenom 100 s/n 003, which has the full, final interior. It is getting cold tested in a big fridge down in Florida. Pretty amazing ramp presence, especially compared to the Eclipse. The Eclipse looks like a toy next to the P100. You get what you pay for...

POGO IPO Delayed - maybe indefinitely

POGO is another start-up Air Taxi operator, basing their business on the much maligned Eclipse 500. They were planning a stock issue of approximately $100 million, mainly for the purchase of aircraft. POGO is led by Robert Crandall, ex-AMR / American Airlines Chairman.

This week, their investment bankers were supposed to set the price, but has since delayed the offer due to lack of interest.

Everyone knows of the turmoil in the capital markets so it clearly is not the best time for any company's IPO, let alone anything aviation related. Airlines have a long history of exaggerating market cyclicality. If we are in a recession, airlines will suffer more than most.

Nevertheless, I have serious doubts about the POGO model. According to their last S-1, they were planning on using the Eclipse 2000 hrs / year. I can't imagine how they would get that kind of dispatch ratio. The Eclipse is having significant problems with delayed FIKI, Moving map / GPS, Autopilot and EASA certification. The shortest of due diligence would see through this.

DayJet, the major current operator of Eclipses as Air Taxis, is expanding but still significantly under utilizing their fleet of 28 planes, as you can see in these detailed stats. DayJet is in the Southeast US. POGO was supposed to operate in the Northeast. For reliable business purposes, it is simply impossible to operate a non-FIKI plane of any type in the Northeast winter.

So even if the economy and IPO market were favorable, I'm skeptical of the Eclipse and Air Taxi operators that base their business upon it.

D-Jet Gets Bigger Engine

Diamond announced yesterday that their upcoming single engine jet will be upgraded from the FJ33-4A-15 to FJ33-19. This will increase thrust from 1,564 lbs to 1,900-lbs.

This larger engine is the same Williams engine planned for the Cirrus Jet.

Rumors have been circulating for awhile that the -15 engine was too small for the plane.

The problem with both of these single engine jets is that they are limited by certification to 25,000'. At 25,000' the fuel burn will likely be 400-500 lbs / hour. In contrast, a Mustang or P100 at 41,000' will burn only 10-15% more fuel. For that you get two engines, less weather and more redundancy in all systems.

Both SEJs also have less efficient engine configurations that the traditional pylon mount on the tail. The D-Jet has two narrow intakes which will cause some turbulence and inlet drag. The Cirrus Jet engine is vectored so both intake and exhaust are angled.

These two single engine jets certainly have lower acquisition costs than a Mustang or P100, but their fuel burn and therefore fuel cost, will be very similar to the twins.

Registration Sticker, not Duct Tape

An update to my post about Duct Tape Destroying a Wing: The plane was being delivered from Independence (KIDP) to Croatia. The Croatian registration sticker, not duct tape, had been placed over the fuel vent. Many countries require the tail number be displayed under the wing as well. In this case, the registration was a similar white color to the wing.

At least this makes it a little easier to understand why the pilots missed the sticker - perhaps they didn't know the plane well enough to know where all the fuel vents were. When they saw the sticker, they probably didn't assume there was a vent hiding underneath it. An official looking sticker is a lot less obvious than a big piece of duct tape.

There does not appear to be an NTSB report yet, but there is one from the FAA. Two months after the incident, the plane was repaired and was apparently delivered to Croatia.

Mustang vs. Phenom 100 Comparison

Here is the definitive Cessna Citation Mustang vs. Embraer Phenom 100 Comparison. There's probably way too much detail. Want a one minute answer? From the first page:

The Mustang is right for you if:

• It will be owner-flown, often single pilot, with part-time, short distance revenue rides.
  
• You are stepping up from something smaller.
  
• Passengers are typically 3 F’s: family, friends, and free-loaders.
  
• Cabin comfort and convenience is not that important. You are willing to spend $3M on a jet yet would be ok with using a bag in a bucket as an emergency lav and having only half the passenger seats able to recline.
  
• Minimal operating expense is important.
  
• You need the comfort of an established, reputable service organization.
  

The P100 is the right for you if:

• It will be mostly professionally flown, with maybe an occasional owner/operator.
  
• You are stepping down from something bigger.
  
• You will get paid to carry people.
  
• Your wife won’t let you buy a jet unless she’s happy – cabin comfort, color/style, and variety of options are very important. You must have a fully enclosed lav even if it is dry chemical.
  
• 5-10% higher acquisition and operating cost won’t break your budget.
  
• You rarely use runways less than 4,000’ long.
  
• You are confident and willing to bet that Embraer will figure out how to service these planes including AOG issues. Once the factory maintenance is in place, you need a high dispatch rate, say greater than 1000 hrs per year.
  

Now read the gory details.