Posts Tagged ‘airplane’

Piper Cub airplane helps create a new home for our redwood water tank

by on April 20, 2011

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An avid pilot since age 17, John Jordan tells the story of how his decision to purchase a J-3 Piper Cub last summer led to an ambitious building project and new aerial farming tool for our vineyard team.

John is a former Naval officer and history buff who enjoys a dry martini and a fine cigar from time to time; he’s always been intrigued by this small aircraft, which is considered an integral part of World War II history. The first J-3 Piper Cub aircraft was introduced in the 1930s and is named after its inventor, Mr. Piper. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt posed for a series of publicity photos with a Piper Cub to help promote the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Now one of these symbols of aviation history will soon have a permanent home on Jordan Estate.

And the Cub is making a comeback. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association just announced that Piper is debuting a new Cub, the Super Legend, in early 2012.

If you’d like to hear about pilot David Carmack’s cross-country journey to bring the Cub from North Carolina to California last summer, please post a comment. We captured his stories on video.

Aerial video: Farming vineyards from an airplane

by on September 1, 2010

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As part of our quest to continuously improve wine quality, we embarked on a soil mapping study of our estate vineyards in 2009. That summer, John Jordan began taking Assistant Winemaker Ronald Du Preez and myself up in his Beechcraft Bonanza airplane to access our vineyard blocks from a bird’s eye view. The aerial view of the vineyards, captured in this video, offers insight into soil and vine vigor changes not as visible at the ground level. Because our precision farming philosophy requires nurturing vineyard blocks on a vine-by-vine basis, we utilize any tool available. Since John has had his pilot’s license since age 17, we can quickly and conveniently fly over the estate for this insightful exercise. The aerial photos we take from the airplane will be used to compare changes in vine growth, leaf color and soil color against the soil mapping study findings. Then we can adjust our vineyard management practices to help unevenly growing vines become uniform with our finest vines. Mildly stressed vineyards with uniformly grown and ripened grapes produce higher quality wines.

A video about soil maps and their importance to winemaking will be published soon.

FlightSafety training in Southern California

by on January 26, 2010

My friends and colleagues know I have three passions in life: running the winery, flying airplanes and bass fishing.

Every January, I get to partake in one of the less-exciting aspects of being a pilot and operating a business jet: FlightSafety International training at the Long Beach Learning Center. FlightSafety is the world’s leading aviation training company, and all operators of transport-category aircraft are required to take annual tests with simulators and other training devices to ensure proficiency and, of course, passenger safety.

Here’s a quick mino flip video from my FlightSafety training last week.

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