Author Archives: Joe Clark

Precession – Is It Really A Left Turning Tendency?

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Joe Clark

Flight instructors teach their students about the left-turning tendencies an airplane encounters on takeoff. Unfortunately, some flight instructors may not fully understand the dynamics of takeoff and might pass a misconception or two on to the next generation of new … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying | Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Back in the Old Days, Cessnas, conventional landing gear, flight controls, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, full throttle, high power settings, high-angle-of-attack-flight, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, left-turning tendencies, Newton’s third law, nosewheels, novice pilots, P-51 Mustang pilots, P-factor, pilots, precession, Precession - Is It Really A Left Turning Tendency?, professional pilots, propeller blade, right rudder, spiraling slipstream, student pilots, students, taildraggers, tailwheels, torque, training aircraft, World War II | 6 Comments

Time For a Plane Diet?

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Joe Clark

Yesterday, I talked about the problems of loading an airplane improperly. With a forward or aft cg, especially if loaded outside the limits, you are going to have control problems. Now for the rest of the story, as Paul would … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying | Tagged absolute ceilings, altitude limits, an overloaded airplane, best angle of climb, best rate of climb, carrying a little extra weight, control problems, exceeding the allowable aft cg limit, flying an overweight airplane, high rotation speeds, higher landing speeds, increased takeoff distance, loading an airplane, lower climb rates, performance issues associated with heavier operating weights, putting too much in the airplane, service ceiling, shallower climb gradients, Time For a Plane Diet? | Comments Off

Loadin’ Up the Old Family Plane

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Joe Clark

There is a trick to loading an airplane properly, especially for a long cross-country flight. Many pilots lack a practical understanding of the important concepts of loading. It is not the same as going out to the family SUV and … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying | Tagged balance equates to controllability, center-of-gravity, elevator control feels very heavy, exceeding the aircraft’s g-limits, FAA private pilot written exam, loading an airplane properly, Loadin’ Up the Old Family Plane, ng cross-country flights, over control the plane, overloading the aircraft, pilot examiner, pitch control is exaggerated, recovery from a spin, stall recovery, understanding the concepts of loading, weight and balance | Comments Off

The Seventieth Reunion

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Joe Clark

My friend, Mike, is a very interesting fellow. He is an aviation aficionado of the highest standing. He is also a very funny guy whose wife must absolutely be the greatest understanding wife of all time. Sometimes, I wonder how … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, History | Tagged an aviation aficionado, an understanding wife, B-25 Mitchell bombers, David J. Thatcher, Dayton OH, drink a very solemn toast to their comrades, Edward J. Saylor, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jack Hudson, planning their seventieth reunion, Richard E. Cole, Robert L. Hite, the "Whirling Dervish", The Doolittle Goblets, the Doolittle Raiders, the Hennessey Company, the National Museum of the Air Force, The Seventieth Reunion, the USS Hornet, the “Ruptured Duck”, the “TNT”, Thomas C. Griffin | 1 Comment

Funny Gator Stories

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Joe Clark

Can there be such a thing as a funny gator story? Well, yes. Of course. An older Floridian, Ray, who spent part of his childhood growing up in Saint Augustine tells the story of his grandmother’s front porch and “George.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General | Tagged a big cat-eating lizard, a big fuzzy lovable gray tabby, a juvenile alligator, California, Dudley, eagles, Funny Gator Stories, hawks, older Floridians, rge enough to eat a cat, Saint Augustine, The Alligator Farm, the Sunshine State, ’gators | Comments Off

Flying From Here to There

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Joe Clark

One challenge I enjoyed most learning to fly was flying from one place to another. In the aviation business, they call this flying cross-country. It truly is a great challenge and immensely fun. It is also a fascinating science. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying | Tagged charts, checkpoints, flying cross-country, Flying From Here to There, following directions, going from point A to point B, GPS, instruments, most fascinating navigators, navigation at sea, navigational instruments, printed timetables, rudimentary sextants, the ancient Polynesians, the Hawaiian Islands, the Pacific Ocean, when technology fails | 5 Comments

Downed Raptors

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Joe Clark

The Air Force Times reported on an interesting development this week on July 27. According to the AF Times, the entire fleet of F-22 Raptors in the Air Force inventory has not flown since May 3, 2011—the result of problems … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying | Tagged a complex machine, aircraft life support systems, Anchorage AK, Captain Jeff Haney, cognition, Downed Raptors, F-22 Raptors, hitting trees on landing, hypoxia, liquid oxygen (LOX), military O2 systems, OBOGS, On-Board Oxygen Generation System, pilots, system concerns, the 525th Fighter Squadron, The Air Force Times | Comments Off

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Joe Clark

Another of the great writer-flyers from World War II was a Frenchman by the name of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Unlike the youthful Bert Stiles profiled yesterday, Saint-Exupéry was relatively older—especially for serving as a combat pilot. Saint-Exupéry is the author … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, History, Life in General, Reading, Writing | Tagged a silver identity bracelet, airline companies, an airmail pilot, André Prévot, Antoine Saint-Exupéry, author, combat operations, dehydration, F-5B reconnaissance aircraft, finding his place as a wordsmith, Flight to Arras, gathering intelligence, hallucinations, L'Aviateur or The Aviator, Marseille, navigator, Night flight, pioneering flights, Riou Island, the fastest flying time from Paris to Saigon, the Free French Forces, The Little Prince, Wind Sand and Stars, World War II | Comments Off

Bert Stiles

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Joe Clark

Yesterday I wrote about the bomber bases in England, left crumbling today 66 years after the end of World War II. Mentioned in the blog, was the loss of talent resulting from the deaths of many. Specifically, I said I … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History, Writing | Tagged 505th Fighter Squadron, a feature writer, a writer ahead of his time, B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers, Bassingbourn England, Bert Stiles, captured, dogfight, Estes Park, exceptional writing, flying the B-17 into combat, Hanover Germany, Hitler’s war effort, killed in action, missing, P-28s, P-47s, P-51D, P-51s, Serenade to the Big Bird, Tar Heel, the 91st Bomb Group, The Eighth Air Force, the Royal Air Force, The Saturday Evening Post, US Army Air Corps, V-1 buzz bombs, V-2 rockets, W.W. Norton & Co., World War II, World War II bases, wounded | Comments Off

I Woke in England

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Joe Clark

I woke this morning at 0530 and could not sleep any longer. I did not wish to disturb my wife, so I got up and started working. When I looked at the computer, I had forgotten to close Google Earth. … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, History | Tagged B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers, Bert Stiles, captured, Google Earth, Hitler’s war effort, I Woke in England, killed in action, missing, P-28s, P-47s, P-51s, The Eighth Air Force, the Royal Air Force, US Army Air Corps, V-1 buzz bombs, V-2 rockets, World War II bases, wounded | Comments Off

Search my Blog

Search for:
Subscribe

If you have enjoyed reading my blog, please consider subscribing. Just enter your email address and press "Subscribe."
Delivered by FeedBurner
rss

Subscribe in a reader
Recent Posts
December 2025

S M T W T F S

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

« Aug
Archives
Archives
Recent Comments
- Marie Palachuk on My Grandfathers
- Ingrid on My Grandfathers
- Joe Clark on The Aeronca Chief
- Lindsay Barra (Knowles) on The Aeronca Chief
- Peter Brown on Gladys Ingle

Author Archives: Joe Clark

Precession – Is It Really A Left Turning Tendency?

Time For a Plane Diet?

Loadin’ Up the Old Family Plane

The Seventieth Reunion

Funny Gator Stories

Flying From Here to There

Downed Raptors

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Bert Stiles

I Woke in England

Search my Blog

Subscribe

rss

Recent Posts

Archives

Recent Comments

Categories

Interested in placing ads in my blog?

Please email me at

ads@bluewaterpress.com

for details and questions.

Blogroll