Author Archives: Joe Clark

102 Years Ago Today

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Joe Clark

A little after four o’clock in the morning this day 102 years ago, 30 year-old Louis Charles Joseph Blériot, an engineer and early French aviator, was nursing a badly burned foot. He and two other early pilots, Hubert Latham and … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History | Tagged 102 Years Ago Today, a 25-horsepower Anzani engine, a very rough landing, Blériot #VIII, Blériot #XI, Blériot-Aéronautique Aéronautique, Calais France, Charles de Lambert, crossing of the English Channel, Dover England, Hubert Latham, Louis Charles Joseph Blériot, Société Pour Aviation et ses Derives (SPAD), Société pour les Appareils Deperdussin, the airplane would never fly again, the Daily Mail, the Musee des Arts et Metiers | 1 Comment

Taking a Moment

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Joe Clark

Sometimes, you reach a juncture where you realize you have spent too much time working on life’s minutiae. That is when you will probably stop, step back, and look around. Then you might hear someone say, “It’s time for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal | Tagged a grin wider than a propeller, a Southern boy, birthdays, giant sunflowers, light-hearted joking, Raptor-Man, Taking a Moment, taking it in stride, the good in life, the next 60 years of living, the original optimist, the spinning blue-green asteroid, too much time working, “It’s time for a break!” | Comments Off

It’s Another Year

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Joe Clark

Well, until today, I was older than my best friend, Paul. Today, he is as old as I am. Unfortunately, we both went over the hill a long time ago. In other words, we are a couple of old fa… … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History, Life in General, Personal | Tagged a damn Yankee, a lifetime of gratitude, Alberto Santos-Dumont, barnstormers, biplanes, gypsy pilots, in the fifth grade, It’s Another Year, It’s [a] old Southern joke!, my best friend Paul, my only interest was jets, over the hill, the Demoiselle, the First World War, the summer of 1986, the Sunshine State, the War Between the States, ultralight airplanes | 1 Comment

The Last Landing

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Joe Clark

It is difficult to fathom what has happened to our space program. Yesterday, with the landing of Shuttle Atlantis, the United States no longer has a manned space flight program. Many of us are truly appalled. For the first time … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation History, History, Life in General | Tagged a failure of common sense, across the shores, Alan Shepard, beyond the horizon, ending the space program is a big mistake, Freedom 7, further exploration of the universe, into the depths of the seas, into the skies and beyond, manned space exploration, national security implications, Shuttle Atlantis, the end of the Shuttle Program, the International Space Station (ISS), The Last Landing, the United States no longer has a manned space flight program, the universe, this blue-green marble rotating around the fiery sun | 2 Comments

Knowing Where to Land

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Joe Clark

One thing about landing an airplane is knowing where to land. Of course, all pilots will land on an airport, but the question becomes one of where on the airport. Or maybe where on the runway. It makes little sense … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying | Tagged a pilot must know the performance of his or her aircraft, aircraft operations, capable of executing the landing within those parameters, centerline stripes, Cessnas, engine overheating, experienced pilots, fouled spark plugs, hard surface runway, knowing airport runway and marking, Knowing Where to Land, land near the FBO, naturally decelerate without using the brakes, Pipers, saves wear and tear on the brakes, saving taxi time, single-engine airplanes, the pilot-in-command, where to land on the airport, where to land on the runway | 2 Comments

We Choose to Go to the Moon

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Joe Clark

(Found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g25G1M4EXrQ.) When I was a child, I heard these words spoken by a President who dared to dream; by a man who said we would be on the moon by the end of the decade. Many thought he … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation History, Flying, History, Life in General | Tagged a President who dared to dream, Apollo 1, Apollo 11, Apollo missions, Ed White, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Gus Grissom, January 27 1967, July 20 1969, Lunar Module (LM), Mars is waiting..., Michael Collins, NASA, Neil Armstrong, Roger Chaffee, The Eagle, the Sea of Tranquility, the summer of 1969, We Choose to Go to the Moon | 2 Comments

The Thing About Flying

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Joe Clark

My friend, Holly, sent in this account of one of his latest adventures. He wrote it so well and supplied great photos, I had to have him debut as my first guest colmnist. ——————— The thing about flying, the adventures … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying | Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Atlanta, Epps Aviation, Florida, flying, friends, instrument flying, judgment, Larry King, memories, PDK, pilots, Pipers, training aircraft, Yaks | Comments Off

Happy Birthday John Glenn

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Joe Clark

Today, war hero, space hero, and Democratic Senator, John H. Glenn, turns 90 years-old. Glenn holds several distinctions for the life he has led. He was the first American to orbit the earth. To date, he is the oldest person … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation History, History, Life in General | Tagged 59 combat missions in the South Pacific, 63 combat missions over Korea, a Marine Corps pilot, a national hero, a personal friend of the President Kennedy, a ticker-tape parade in New York, and 8.4 seconds, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Democratic Senator, flew in both the Mercury and Shuttle Program, Happy Birthday John Glenn, jet fighters, John H. Glenn, Marines, Navy’s Test Pilot School at Patuxent River MD, orbit the earth three times, space hero, the F-4U Corsair, the famous ball-player Ted Williams, the first American to orbit the earth, the Mercury program, the oldest person to fly in space, the third Mercury mission, the Vought F8U-1 Crusader, transcontinental speed record of 3 hours 23 minutes, war hero, World War II | 2 Comments

41st Anniversary of Airport Screening

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Joe Clark

Forty one years ago today, the US instituted airport screening at New Orleans’ Moisant Field, now known as Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Prior to 1968, the hijacking Of US airliners was very rare. In the two years leading … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, History, Life in General | Tagged 41st Anniversary of Airport Screening, Airport Security, Athens, Beirut, Cuba, Florida, flying, Havana, Hezbollah, hijacking, Islamic Jihad, judgment, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, New Orleans Moisant Field, non-confrontational compliance, professional pilots, Rome, September 11 2001, the Middle East, TWA flight 847, United 93, US Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem | 2 Comments

Off to School

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Joe Clark

Every two years flight instructors must renew their credentials in order to continue teaching. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides three ways to accomplish this task. The easiest way is by providing documentation of flight activity showing at least an … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Personal | Tagged 80 percent success rate, Air Force, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Avon park bombing and gunnery, Cessna 150, Cessnas, CFI endorsements, discipline, documentation of flight activity, F-16 Falcons, FAA check ride, first solo, Flight Instructor Refresher Clinic (FIRC), Flight instructors, flight training, flying, friends, Guantanamo, gun sights, judgment, learning to fly, memories, Off to School, pilots, professional pilots, rolling in “hot”, student pilots, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), training aircraft | 1 Comment

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Author Archives: Joe Clark

102 Years Ago Today

Taking a Moment

It’s Another Year

The Last Landing

Knowing Where to Land

We Choose to Go to the Moon

The Thing About Flying

Happy Birthday John Glenn

41st Anniversary of Airport Screening

Off to School

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