Author Archives: Joe Clark

Another Grand Experiment

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Joe Clark

To quote from a couple of great songs from long ago, “Help, I need somebody!” and “I get by with a little help from my friends.” You may have noticed a couple of changes in the blog. I moved my … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal, Publishing, Reading, Writing | Tagged a couple of changes in the blog, Another Grand Experiment, Feedburner plug-in for subscriptions, great songs, Inmotionhosting.com, more freedom, our Internet publishing presence, promote our books, sell advertising, subscribers may have to re-subscribe, thank all of you who have taken the time to read my writings, unable to monetize the site, very pleased and happy with WordPress, WordPress.com, “Subscribe by E-mail” subscription form | 1 Comment

That’s a Blog

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Joe Clark

Yesterday’s blog was a bit on the heavy side with the language. It was thick with terms from the aviation industry. I was concerned enough to post a warning at the beginning of the blog to caution those not conversant … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal | Tagged a lighter style of writing, blog fodder, bordered on being blasphemous, Casablanca, confusing to the writers, conversant in aviation expressions, easy to write, eyes rolling to the back one’s head, Gracie, heavy side of language, hitting the publish button, keep her from biting me, photographers, publishers, Rick’s Café, she knows she is being bad, terms from the aviation industry, That's a Blog | Comments Off

A Near Miss of Potentially Grave Proportions

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Joe Clark

Editorial note—this blog is more appropriate for seasoned aviators rather than the casual reader. My apologies; I promise to return to a more relaxed writing style tomorrow. ————————— This morning, a Lufthansa Airbus 340 with 286 passengers onboard almost collided … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General | Tagged a breakdown in communications, A Near Miss of Potentially Grave Proportions, a pilot deviation, a runway incursion of incredible magnitude, Air Traffic Controllers, airline pilots, crossed the hold short line, Egypt Air Boeing 777, EgyptAir 986, heavy airliner, intersection of taxiway Juliet and runway 22R, JFK International Airport, KLM 4805, Lufthansa Airbus 340, Lufthansa Flight 411, overheated brakes, Pan Am 1736, Port Authority technicians, rejected takeoff, rejected the takeoff, runway 22R, taxied clear of the runway at taxiway Hotel, taxiway Bravo, the arrogance of the captain, two Boeing 747s collided in the fog at Tenerife, “Cancel takeoff! Cancel takeoff plans”, “No! Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa!” the aircraft in extremis, “Takeoff clearance canceled” | 6 Comments

Queen of the Skydivers

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Joe Clark

Georgia Ann Thompson was a very slight girl born in Oxford, NC on April 8, 1893. At birth, she weighed only three pounds and the nickname “Tiny” would stick to her for life. She was a different kind of young … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History | Tagged a grandmotherly persona, Broadwick’s World Famous Aeronauts, Charles Broadwick, Georgia Ann Thompson, Glenn Martin, Griffith Park in Los Angeles, I’ve Got a Secret, manually deployed the canopy, Oxford NC, parachuting from a hot air balloon, paratroopers, Queen of the Skydivers, reserve parachute, the first person to ever free-fall, the first woman to parachute from an airplane, the jump school at Fort Benning GA, the nickname “Tiny”, the US Army | Comments Off

In Search of Perfection–Drat!

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Joe Clark

OK, this weekend was a rough one regarding writing and publishing the blog. I literally wrote the blog at the last moment while Ardis drove home late at night from her granddaughter’s baptism. Additionally, I was tired because I did … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal, Publishing, Reading, Writing | Tagged a critical place, a perfectionist, catching all the mistakes before publishing, discipline, do your best, granddaughter’s baptism, In Search of Perfection--Drat!, it is really bad to make a mistake as a pilot, making it perfect, my most ardent proofreader--Holly, not sleeping well, publishers, rough weekend, Saturday night, taking pride in writing, the probability of making mistakes, unforgivable, working hard and fast, working tired, writers, writing and publishing the blog | Comments Off

Arranging Words

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Joe Clark

What is the deal about arranging words? What could possibly be so important about the way an author puts words on to paper? Can it really make a difference? After all, as long as you transmit the message correctly, that … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Reading, Writing | Tagged a budding novelist, a serious writer, agents, another question and fodder for a blog, Arranging Words, authors of resumes and cover letters, capitalizing words, choosing words carefully, clacking on a typewriter, collecting rejection letters, colons, editors, freelance magazine writer, inserting commas properly, is punctuation necessary?, lighting off the word processor, making heads or tails out of your writing, parentheses, periods, publishers, punctuation marks, putting pen to paper, putting words to paper, question marks, quotation marks, re-writing your work, rules for using punctuation in your writing, sell enough magazine articles to make a living, semi-colons, The Great American Novel, transmitting the message correctly, using skill and discipline to arrange and edit | Comments Off

Happy Birthday Southwest!

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Joe Clark

Today is Southwest Airlines’ 40th birthday. The airline traces its first lineage all the way back to the 1967 incorporation of Air Southwest Co., by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King. However, the name change and first flight of Southwest Airlines … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Life in General | Tagged Air Southwest Co., Air Tran Airways, airplanes, ATA Airlines, Braniff, cabin announcements, Continental Airlines, Dallas, flying, Happy Birthday Southwest!, Herb Kelleher, Houston, judgment, Morris Air, Muse Air, pilots’ public announcements, Rollin King, San Antonio, serving only Texas, Southwest Airlines’ 40th birthday, the Southwest family, Trans-Texas | Comments Off

“Like a Sack of Potatoes”

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Joe Clark

When Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic Ocean in May of 1927, he ignited the imaginations of many. One enthralled by the idea of being the first woman to fly across the Atlantic was Amy Phipps Guest. Amy Phipps was … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History | Tagged a suitable girl with “the right image”, a ticker-tape parade, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Amelia Earhart, Amy Phipps Guest, barnstormers, Captain Hilton H. Railey, Charles Lindbergh, copilot Louis Gordon, discipline, England, flying, Frederick Edward Guest, Friendship Trepassey Harbor Newfoundland Burry Port in Wales, instrument flying, Lockheed Vega, New York City, Pilot Wilmer Stultz, President Calvin Coolidge, publishers, the Atlantic Ocean, the Fokker F.VIIbb/3m, “Like a Sack of Potatoes”, “Maybe someday I’ll try it alone.”, “Would you like to fly the Atlantic?” | 5 Comments

Wow! Thanks!

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Joe Clark

I was surprised this week, when I found my blog had attained the distinction of acquiring more readers than I could possibly have imagined. From all over the world! And all this since I started the blog last August. For … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal, Publishing, Reading, Writing | Tagged a long lost cousin living in Switzerland, a small world, accomplishing everything I want to finish, and South America, baseball and football players, comments, losing discipline, making myself write, MidLifePilot’s Flying Blog, my Cuban grandfathers, my “grand experiment”, pianists, pilots, practicing, private messages, readers, research & writing tools, Russia, staying on top of your game, surgeons, the Caribbean, the Internet, the movie Julie & Julia, the Pacific Rim, the trials and tribulations of learning to fly, this blue marble sitting out and spinning in space, Wow! Thanks! | 4 Comments

The Blue Angels First Performance

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Joe Clark

On this day in 1946 at NAS Jacksonville, LCDR Butch Voris pushed the throttle forward on his blue and gold Grumman F-6 Hellcat to start his takeoff roll. The other pilots on his team, in their individual Hellcats, also pushed … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying | Tagged Air Force the Thunderbirds, airspeed, altitude, and LCDR Lloyd Barnard, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Chester Nimitz, combat veterans of the Pacific war, discipline, F/A-18 Hornets, Florida, flying, Grumman F-6 Hellcat, judgment, LCDR Butch Voris, low-flying maneuvers in tight formations, LT Maurice "Wick" Wickendoll, LT Mel Cassidy, memories, NAS Jacksonville, professional pilots, sailors, taildraggers, the Army Air Corps, The Blue Angels, The Blue Angels First Performance, the team’s first airshow at NAS Jacksonville, the United States Navy, World War II | 1 Comment

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Author Archives: Joe Clark

That’s a Blog

A Near Miss of Potentially Grave Proportions

Queen of the Skydivers

In Search of Perfection–Drat!

Arranging Words

Happy Birthday Southwest!

“Like a Sack of Potatoes”

Wow! Thanks!

The Blue Angels First Performance

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