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

Since the Learjet tragedy, I’ve seen pilots and weather experts having some of the most thoughtful safety discussions I can remember on here. As a Vision Jet owner who was on the tarmac waiting to take off from FLL when the LJ60 news alert came through, it’s made me look harder at my own preparation. How well do I know my airframe’s limitations? What can my weather radar show me—and what can it miss? Am I practicing hand-flying and emergency procedures enough? Have I suffered from “get-there-itis?” We owe the families respect and the NTSB room to establish what happened. We don’t need to speculate about this accident to take a closer look at our own flying. I chose this photo of a Civil Air Patrol pilot doing a preflight check because, to me, they embody the preparation, discipline, and commitment to safety that these conversations should inspire. Nothing makes a loss like this less terrible. But I hope these conversations lead to lasting changes in how we train, prepare, and make decisions. How has the Learjet tragedy affected you personally—as a pilot or passenger? Has it changed how you think about flying, preparing for a flight, or choosing a charter? #AviationSafety Photo: U.S. Air Force / Staff Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey (public domain).

I've been using Grok Bot to reconcile income and expenses in QuickBooks. Now I'm being told the new connector can't do that work, leaving me back at manual bookkeeping. It has some write actions, but I don't see bank-feed matching or reconciliation. Has anyone kept this workflow working? Is there a supported way to restore it? @Eric0dugas @stewnod123 @noahfleming — are you seeing the same thing? @bot @SpaceXSI @QuickBooks @QBCares — can you clarify what's supported and whether those capabilities are coming? #QuickBooks

If United wants to buy JetBlue, the window is probably within the next two years, with a Trump administration supportive of mergers. I've always thought it makes sense. Turn Fort Lauderdale into a mid-size United hub and a gateway to Latin America. I’m sure the government would make United give up gates at JFK given their hub in Newark, though. What do you guys think? Does a merger make sense? Would you fly @united out of FLL instead of @AmericanAir out of MIA? #FLL #aviation @FLLFlyer

Hats off to these pilots for being able to land on the road. When I was doing my PPL training my CFI was with another student, lost a cylinder in the C172, and landed on the Sawgrass expressway next to the Everglades. A few feet to the right he would have been eaten by alligators. It was all over the news. When I saw that I knew I had a great instructor.

Paul Bunyan night at the Big House. This defense has carried Michigan all season. They've earned an offense that shows up for them tonight. What I want to see: take a shot downfield early. Don't wait until you're behind to open it up. @UMichFootball fans, what's your final? #GoBlue

With my instructor after my first solo in a 1974 Cessna 172. All steam gauges. I flew from FXE to Naples using paper charts, timers, and visual cues. No GPS. No autopilot. I love the technology in my Vision Jet, but there’s real safety value in keeping your hand-flying skills sharp. You get a feel for the controls, how the airplane responds, and when something doesn’t feel right. That familiarity matters in an emergency. If the automation disconnects or isn’t doing what you expect, you still need to fly the airplane—not relearn its handling in that moment. Could that have saved the Learjet? Navigation skills matter too. If GPS fails or gets jammed, knowing how to use VORs, available ground-based approaches, and charts gives you alternatives. In suitable conditions, navigating by landmarks and heading-and-time calculations still has a place. I don’t practice these skills enough myself, and I should. It’s easy to get comfortable with the technology doing so much for you. Be honest, how often do you practice hand-flying and navigating without GPS?

Just wrapped my Cyberbeast in midnight blue and brushed titanium, and now the headlines say Tesla is winding down Cybertruck production. I still love the truck. Kids treat FSD like a theme-park ride. Whatever Tesla does next, this one isn't leaving my driveway anytime soon. @Jones1 @GrumpyTesla_ anyone else keeping theirs no matter what the press says? Will it become the next Delorean?

The Vision Jet has a whole-airplane parachute — CAPS. It's meant to deploy at a low airspeed but the Learjet tragedy got me thinking, what would happen if you deployed it as a last resort in an overspeed condition? If I were in that kind of situation — airplane coming apart or out of control, hand on the CAPS handle — what would that actually mean for me? The SF50 flies lower and slower, with a wing that isn't in Lear 60 coffin-corner territory. Mach tuck is basically not an issue for the Vision Jet. Official CAPS limit is the lower of 135 KIAS or 145 KTAS. Pull inside that and it deploys. The system is also designed to pitch up, idle the engine, and slow you first — and if it still can't get slow enough, to deploy anyway. What I still don't love: there was no required full in-flight high-speed CAPS test for certification. Analysis and lower-level testing, yes. So if you somehow couldn't get the speed down, what would happen to the chute and the airframe? CAPS is a huge safety net. It isn't magic. Respect the weather, know your envelope, and don't put yourself in a place where the only option left is hoping the parachute forgives the speed. Any pilots or physicists know what actually happens if CAPS comes out in an overspeed? Curious what other Vision Jet / Cirrus folks think. #Aviation

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