Author Archives: Joe Clark

Labor Day Computer Blast

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Joe Clark

It is Labor Day Weekend. A day of rest. And there is no question—I really do need to take a break. For almost a month now, computer problems have beleaguered and hindered my progress preparing for school as well as … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal | Tagged a waste of time, bios battery, computers, computers clock, Google, iPad, Kindle, Labor Day Computer Blast, Labor Day Weekend, loose cables, Mac, open season on all computers, PC, technology, the bios screen, the mysterious midnight Microsoft update, the USB ports, Windows 7, Windows Vista, wireless keyboards and mice | Comments Off

1st Solo, + 40 Years

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Joe Clark

As I sit writing this, my mind goes back 40 years, almost to the second, of this instant. I cannot believe so much time has passed since the moment I feel as though I was truly born. I was there, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal | Tagged "her pound of papers and scraps", "land lubbers", a kaleidoscope of images memories events and people, a life aloft, a life-defining moment, a lucky one, A pilot's logbook, a witness and participant, all the secrets to life, an accident statistic, at one time?, Because I flew, Beryl Markham, Fatal statistics, having fun beyond description, I flew alone, just yesterday, learning to fly, my one and only perfect landing, my share of bad landings, over there, passing lessons down to the youngest pilots, proof of my own life in the sky, reserved only for aviators and sailors, Solo + 40 Years, Sunsets and sunrises, the first time I truly spread my wings, the good and the bad, the other side, the touch of their grandchildren, this instant, too, Was I that young, West with the Night, why he or she was so unlucky, why I was so very lucky, “young whipper-snapper” | 5 Comments

After the Storm

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Joe Clark

Irene has passed the northeast area for the most part. But now the real work begins. As Floridians, we have gone through this drill many times in our lifetimes. Those from New Jersey and New York are about to discover what … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General | Tagged civic-minded citizens, cyclonic storms, extreme danger, extreme storms, First Day of the Season, first official day of the 2011 Hurricane Season, happily playing outside, helping one another, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the aftermath of a hurricane, the goodness in people, the real work begins, tornadoes, tropical storms, “hurricane parties” | 1 Comment

Incoming at Cape Lookout

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Joe Clark

Hurricane Irene has chosen where she is going to make landfall. Cape Lookout, NC is ground zero for the impact. Our concerns are with the people all along the coastal communities of the Carolinas, Virgina, New Jersey, and New York. Hurricanes are no … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General | Tagged cyclonic storms, extreme danger, extreme storms, First Day of the Season, first official day of the 2011 Hurricane Season, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), tornadoes, tropical storms, “hurricane parties” | 2 Comments

Florida’s Hometown Hero

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Joe Clark

In the Orlando area, the aviation community is well aware of a gentleman by the name of Joe Kittinger. He has been well involved in the aviation industry almost all of his life. In fact, he has set some significant … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying | Tagged 102800 feet, 1LT William J. Reich, aeromedical research, Air Force, aviation records, Church Street Station, Clark AFB, Colonel John Paul Stapp, combat tours, F-84s, F-86s, Florida Gator, Florida's Hometown Hero, freefall at 714 miles per hour, Gainesville, he F-4D Phantom, high altitude ejections, high speed ejections, Holloman AFB, Jacksonville, Joe Kittinger, jumped out of a balloon, Marine Corps, Mig-21, Navy pilots, New Mexico, Orlando, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Rosie O'Grady's Flying Circus, Tampa, the A-26 Invader, the Bolles School, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the Hanoi Hilton, the Harmon Trophy, the longest freefall, the senior ranking officer, the Sunshine State, the University of Florida, Vietnam | Comments Off

Doing It the Old Fashioned Way

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Joe Clark

Well, I guess I have graduated from the School of Geekdom at the University of Hardknocks. Following this past week’s computer emergency, with the help of some friends, a couple of manuals, and the Internet, I was able to teach myself … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying, History, Life in General | Tagged a mean old cantankerous flight instructor, a sense of collective history, Alexander Graham Bell, am locomotive engineers, ancient sailors, Apple, black and white prints, Captain Ross, commercial electricity, computer emergency, computers, dependent on technology, digital cameras, Doing It the Old Fashioned Way, English, Ernest K. Gann, Fate Is The Hunter, French, Garmins, history, Johannes Gutenberg, Kill Devil Hill, manual typewriters, measured by column inches, mentors, MicroSoft, Nicola Tesla, proportion wheels, re-loading various software, rocket science, sailed across the Atlantic, School of Geekdom, smart phones, Spaniards, storytelling, the ancient Polynesians, the DC-3, the light bulb, the New World, the printing press, the telephone, the University of Hardknocks, the Wrights, Thomas Edison, Tom-Toms, Trimbles, Vikings, World War II, “the old-fashioned way” | 5 Comments

General Quarters

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Joe Clark

“General Quarters! General Quarters! All hands man your battle stations!” I don’t hear this call over the 5MC anymore, but yesterday morning felt as if I was back in the stress of GQ. It was 0530 when I woke, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal, Publishing, Writing | Tagged 1 terabyte hard drive, all hands, backing up data, battle stations, financial records, General Quarters, Microsoft 7, mid-night Microsoft update, new hard drive, operating system, photos, queasy feelings, sailors, sales tracking, ship's loudspeakers, Stand down from General Quarters, suitable backup plans, the 5MC, the computer screen, the Internet, the stress of GQ | 4 Comments

A Very Hard Week

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Joe Clark

The past few days have been hard for America. Particularly for our heroes. On Saturday, August 6, 2011, 38 men died in the crash of an Army Reserve CH-47 Chinook helicopter that went down in Afghanistan. Members of the Olathe, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life in General | Tagged A Very Hard Week, Afghanistan, August 6 2011, best friends, boyfriends, brothers, CH-47 Chinook, church members, combat operations, fathers, football players, friends, Kabul, loved ones, Olathe KS, Seal Team Six, sharing their grief, soccer teammates, sons, surfers, the Army Reserve, uncles | Comments Off

Looking Both Ways

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Joe Clark

In teaching student pilots, I have been amazed that a few will cross a runway or taxiway without looking. At airports with control towers and active ATC, the instances of this happening are more pronounced than at airports without ground control. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Personal | Tagged a late Friday afternoon, airplanes, airports with control towers, Cessnas, clearance to our ramp, crossing a runway or taxiway without looking, discipline, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, look both ways, Looking Both Ways, making the approach to another airport, pilots, professional pilots, similar runway patterns, student pilots, teaching student pilots, the mighty PA-44 Seminole, using the radio | 2 Comments

Anniversary

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Joe Clark

Today marks the one-year anniversary since starting this blog. Gotta tell ya, it’s been a helluva a great ride! And to think it was all influenced and started by Ardis and I watching a movie about cooking (Julie & Julia). My … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal, Publishing, Reading, Teaching, Writing | Tagged a movie about cooking, advertising, and life in general, Anniversary, Aviators and writers, bloggers, By posting less, Dave (down under), flying, guest columnists, I hope to write more, learning how to fly, my best friends' father, my writing discipline, one-year, publishing, Sanford, scale back a little, spinning propellers, suddenly gratified...and humbled, switchology, teaching flight theory and aviation history, the blogosphere, the Internet, Wordpress, writing, writing every day, Yak | 2 Comments

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Author Archives: Joe Clark

Labor Day Computer Blast

After the Storm

Incoming at Cape Lookout

Florida’s Hometown Hero

Doing It the Old Fashioned Way

General Quarters

Looking Both Ways

Anniversary

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