Adam Clampitt

One of my scariest moments in the Vision Jet was shortly after I bought it. I had less than 50 hours in it. Thanksgiving at Sedona, winds favoring runway 21. No published approach, a steep arrival over obstacles, and cliffs on every side. Pilots call it an aircraft carrier. Family on board. I hadn't done enough research on how to land 21. I went around once, came back, pushed too hard on the brakes, thought I was going off the end, and blew a tire. We stopped on the runway, the airport closed behind us, and a Global 6000 had to go around. A real disaster could have happened. Thankfully, we were okay. Cirrus drove two hours from Scottsdale and got us flying again the next day. I've been a lot more cautious ever since. Before an unfamiliar airport now I look for approach videos online, ask other pilots who've done it, and even fly it in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Anything that builds familiarity before the real thing. The biggest lesson is, if you are not comfortable sticking the landing, don't do it in the first place. What's a landing that changed how you fly? #aviation #VisionJet #avgeek

Back on the West Coast and the first stop was non-negotiable. In-N-Out hits different when it's been years. Double-Double, fries, and a vanilla shake because I have no self-control. Anyone else have a spot they dream about when they're gone too long? And real talk — does anybody think there's a burger in the world better than In-N-Out?

Football’s got its headaches right now. Meanwhile No. 5 Michigan women’s basketball just took down No. 2 UConn at Crisler, 77-66. That’s a bright spot for Michigan athletics this year. Who else is watching these women? @umichwbball #GoBlue @Underwood_szn @TWH_Chris

Hate week looks like this: checking injury reports, arguing with myself about play-calling, and counting down to kickoff. Michigan State is banged up. If Michigan leans on the run early (and actually runs the right direction) and stays clean, this should be a statement game. If they get cute and gift turnovers, it'll get loud in East Lansing. My prediction Michigan 17 MSU 9 @CSayf23 @TWH_Chris what's your final score?

Michigan vs Michigan State on Saturday. I want a football game, not a fight. My three keys: 1. The defense keeps doing what it's done all year 2. Play-calling that commits to the run early (downhill only please not east/west for no yards) 3. No turnovers Go Blue @UMichFootball By the way I found this great photo from 1969 of the Big House. Really cool. Photo: University of Michigan News and Information Services / Bentley Historical Library, CC BY 4.0

Back in San Diego for Navy Reserve duty this week, and it's great catching up with old shipmates. Whatever the headlines say after an election, in the military we keep going and do the job. The work that matters most now is rebuilding our maritime industrial base and keeping the reindustrialization of the last couple of years going, with smart policy that brought work home. More ships, more shipyards, more American jobs. Photo: U.S. Navy / MC2 Sean M. Castellano @johnkonrad @cdrsalamander @USNavy

New look for my other machine, a 2024 Cyberbeast: a two-tone wrap in midnight glossy blue and brushed titanium steel. One of the great things about a Cybertruck is that you can keep getting new wraps and change its personality. It's the best vehicle I've ever owned. What color would you wrap yours? @Jones1 @SilentServiceEV @CKEVS1998 @GrumpyTesla_ @cybertruck @CybertruckOC

My 11-year-old is an avgeek like his dad, but his grades weren't where they needed to be. So last year we made a deal: straight A's earns a flying lesson every quarter. He's had straight A's ever since. Last week he flew a Cirrus SR-20 to Marathon and landed it with very little help from the CFI. Thanks to @forgeaviation and owner/friend @Alej_Victorero. #avgeek #aviation #GoBlue #cirrus

One real downside of owning a Vision Jet: no Starlink, and no retrofit path. Even a Starlink Mini won't work through the anti-glare coated windows. So I pay Gogo about $10,000 a year for 14,000 MB (which is enough to send few emails) then board @united today and get 244 Mbps on @Starlink for free. @Cirrus, any plans? #aviation #avgeek

I'd barely posted on X until I asked pilots whether I should stop in Flagstaff. Days later it was Planes, Trains and Automobiles: two days of FLL storms, a no-go call on the ground, and me in a commercial seat to San Diego. I learned a ton from the pilots who chimed in and actually enjoy this place now. Think I'll be posting a lot more about life flying the Vision Jet. Here is the weather map that will live in infamy. 3 words describe it best: NO WAY OUT #aviation #pilotlife #avgeek

Flightradar24 has FLL as the most disrupted airport in the world right now, and this is what it looks like. I'm a Vision Jet pilot based at FLL, tried to get out of there myself today, and I've seen planes that were scheduled to leave at 11 AM still sitting out on the tarmac at 6 PM. Jets on taxiways, nobody moving, then the runway direction flips and everyone shuffles to the other end. Question for @FAANews and @FLLFlyer and any other experts: when storms close the departure routes, why push planes off the gates with no slot instead of holding them at the gate? What would actually fix this on storm days? #aviation #avgeek

Two days, two scrubs. I'm parking the Vision Jet and flying commercial to San Diego. Thunderstorms over South Florida with tops above 40,000 feet, and FLL departure delays over 2 hours and that's for aircraft not flying NW like me. Tomorrow looks no better. An airliner has more room to go around this stuff and more options over water. Private pilots, have you ever given up and bought an airline ticket because of weather? @CirrusAircraft #aviation #avgeek

Day two of trying to leave Fort Lauderdale in the Vision Jet. Yesterday: thunderstorm ground stop, scrubbed. Today: looked much better at 9 AM. Then another ground stop. Northbound departures are held, and the only way out is offshore routing I'm not comfortable with. So I wait again. Conroe for fuel, then El Paso tonight if the storms let me go. After yesterday's Learjet crash in Palm Beach County, nobody here is in a hurry. Pilots, what's the longest you've waited on weather to start a trip? @CaptBob_Nomadic @singlepilotops

Much nicer day to fly. Off to Conroe soon. Some @USMC Ospreys in the background. Semper Fi! 🇺🇸

Hard day for aviation in South Florida. Nine people lost in Palm Beach County, and my prayers are with their families. I spent most of today in a ground stop at FLL and went home. Tomorrow I get another chance, although headwinds mean an extra leg: FLL to Conroe for fuel, then to Albuquerque for another stop, and finally on to Flagstaff in the Vision Jet. Not taking that for granted tonight. Hoping for better weather in the morning. #Aviation @MenTourPilot

Carr's first Paul Bunyan game. He's ready. The question is whether the play sheet is.

This is very disturbing. You can hear the fear in the voice of the pilot. It's possible they went into an embedded thunderstorm and then had an elevator stall from the ice shortly after the precipitation started. NTSB will need to figure out what happened. What a horrible tragedy.