Author Archives: Joe Clark

Sad Day for the Bomber Boys

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Joe Clark

Monday, June 13, 2011, will remain a sad day for the warbird community. A vintage warrior made her final landing in a cornfield near Chicago. After the landing, all seven aboard the airplane were able to make good their escapes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General | Tagged a $3.5 million restoration, a loss of a national treasure, a sad day for the warbird community, Air Force, airplanes, airshows in Canada transatlantic crossing to visit England, airspeed, altitude, an engine fire, Aurora Municipal Airport, B-17G, discipline, Don Brooks, engine failures, England, flying, Framlingham England, judgment, last landing in an Illinois cornfield, Liberty Belle, military service, Monday June 13 2011, Pratt & Whitney, professional pilots, Sad Day for the Bomber Boys, Sugar Grove Illinois, taildraggers, the 390th Bomb Group, the Connecticut Aeronautical Historic Association, The Flying Tigers Warbird Restoration Museum Kissimmee Florida, the Liberty Foundation, The United States Army Air Corps, World War II | 3 Comments

Cedar Key

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Joe Clark

One of my favorite places to fly for an afternoon or evening visit is a place in the crook of Florida’s Big Bend region. Where the coast turns more southerly, there is a sleepy little town called Cedar Key. I like … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying, History, Life in General | Tagged a word of caution for the aviators, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, artists, artwork, bird watching, boating, Cedar Key, Cessnas, floating down the runway, Florida, Florida's Big Bend region, flying, friends, important port in the South, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, instrument rated and current, judgment, kayaking, Las Islas Sabinas, no lights in the Gulf of Mexico, original Florida natives, relaxing, Spanish explorers, the island, the restaurants on Dock Street, the USS Hatteras, the walk into town is only a mile and a quarter or so, the War Between the States, trying to fly in the dark, writing | 3 Comments

The Looming GPS and Smartphone Wars

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Joe Clark

Yesterday, this blog dealt with the situation of the Federal Communications Commission approving LightSquared’s proposal to place a new wireless system into service requiring some 40,000 towers throughout the country. What LightSquared and the FCC neglected or overlooked was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General | Tagged 40000 base stations, 66 members of Congress writing a letter to the FCC, anglers, aviators, current GPS satellite system, drivers, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, FCC International Bureau, FCC International Bureau Chief Mindel De La Torre, FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology, frequency band and power output, Garmin, General William Shelton, GPS Industry Council, GPS LG4 and Government Woes, LightSquared, navigators, new 4G technologies, Philip Falcone, problems with 4G interference, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, refund of $1 billion, significant measured degradation in aviation GPS units Harbinger Capital Partners, surveyors, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), The Looming GPS and Smartphone Wars, Trimble, US Air Force Space Command, wholesale 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) wireless broadband communications network, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, “Experimental Evidence of Wide Area GPS Jamming That Will Result from LightSquared’s Proposal to Convert Portions of L Band 1 to High Power Terrestrial Broadband” | 3 Comments

GPS, LG4, and Government Woes

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Joe Clark

Something in the industries and the government is not quite right. Something’s up. Last January, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) waived their own rules to shotgun an approval through the system for LightSquared, an emerging company in the new 4G … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General | Tagged 40000 base stations, 66 members of Congress writing a letter to the FCC, Air Force, airplanes, anglers, aviators, current GPS satellite system, drivers, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, FCC International Bureau, FCC International Bureau Chief Mindel De La Torre, FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology, flying, frequency band and power output, Garmin, General William Shelton, GPS Industry Council, GPS LG4 and Government Woes, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, LightSquared, navigators, new 4G technologies, Philip Falcone, problems with 4G interference, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, refund of $1 billion, significant measured degradation in aviation GPS units Harbinger Capital Partners, surveyors, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Trimble, US Air Force Space Command, wholesale 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) wireless broadband communications network, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, “Experimental Evidence of Wide Area GPS Jamming That Will Result from LightSquared’s Proposal to Convert Portions of L Band 1 to High Power Terrestrial Broadband” | 3 Comments

Learning How to Land

Posted on June 10, 2011 by Joe Clark

This one is for all the students trying to master the technique of bringing an airplane back to earth. This is from the notes I kept when I was trying to learn how to land. ———————– Now, how does one … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Personal | Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, discipline, first solo, flight training, flying, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, memories, student pilots, taildraggers, training aircraft | Comments Off

Dreams of Waco UPF-7s

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Joe Clark

A very long time ago, my best friend, Paul, rather jinxed me. He introduced me to one of the airplanes I have always wanted to fly, rebuild, own, and showcase: the Waco UPF-7. (Found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuRT7fstFxs.) The UPF-7 is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General, Personal | Tagged 220 horsepower Continental radial engine, a loop, a training airplane, a wingover, airplanes, barnstormers, barrel roll, Dreams of Waco UPF-7s, flight training, flying, flying in the cooler air, friends, little wind, memories, my best friend, no turbulence, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, PT-14, rebuilding a classic airplane, the barnstorming era, The best time to fly, the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP), The Great Depression, The United States Army Air Corps, the Waco UPF-7, Waco Aircraft Company of Troy OH | Comments Off

Takeoffs and Climbs

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Joe Clark

Yesterday I touched on the theory of the different kinds of climbs. I discussed the best-rate of climb (Vy) and the best-angle of climb (Vx). Today, let’s talk about how we use the appropriate climb speed for given situations. Most … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying | Tagged adequate runways, airplanes, airspeed, all available excess horsepower, altitude, angle-of-attack, best-angle of climb (Vx), best-rate of climb (Vy), Cessnas, clearing an immediate obstacle at the airport, cruise climb, cruise level winds aloft, discipline, flight training, flying, grass runways, hard surface runways, Headwinds, judgment, learning to fly, mountainous terrain, mountains, normal takeoff, not being aggressive enough, over-rotating, overly aggressive pilots, proper cruising altitude, student pilots, taildraggers, tailwinds, Takeoffs and Climbs, the fastest climb to altitude, the short field takeoff, training aircraft, winds aloft are stronger at altitude | 2 Comments

Climb Speeds

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Joe Clark

Aircraft have different climbing speeds. One is appropriate for getting the aircraft up to altitude as quickly as possible and the other is for gaining the most altitude in the least amount of lateral distance. There is another speed, referred … Continue reading →

Posted in Flight Instructing, Flying, Teaching | Tagged 000) / W, absolute ceiling, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, basic understanding of theory, best-angle of climb (Vx), best-rate of and climb (Vy), Cessnas, Climb Speeds, discipline, excess horsepower, flight training, full power, gaining the most altitude in the least lateral distance, getting to altitude quickly, gross weight, higher density altitudes, learning to fly, maximum power available, service ceiling, the formula, the greatest distance between the power available curve and the power required curve, the greatest surplus of power, thinner air, which climb speed is appropriate, “cruise climb” | 2 Comments

D-Day + 66 Years

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Joe Clark

It is difficult to think of the Normandy invasion as having taken place 66 years ago today. Today, a young soldier who hit that beach as an 18-year-old kid is 84 years old. His second lieutenant division officer is now … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life in General | Tagged 66 years ago today, an enormous debt of gratitude, anti-aircraft fire, D-Day + 66 Years, German machine gunners, landing craft, LSTs, oral histories, paratroopers, Sainte-Mère-Église France, surviving the war, the 101st Airborne, the 82nd Airborne, the Allied invasion force, the generation who saved the world, the Normandy invasion, the survivors, the Utah Beach landing, Vierville France, we who value our freedoms today, young soldiers, young warriors | Comments Off

$2.2 Billion! Really?

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Joe Clark

The United States Post Office is reporting a $2.2 billion loss for the second quarter. And yes, that is billion, not million, as in nine zeros and three commas. It is a horrific loss—for one quarter. Officials say they may … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal, Publishing | Tagged $2.2 Billion?!, a $2.2 billion loss, a guarantee of delivery, apathy, automated telephone prompts, closure of 2000 post offices, collectin a guaranteed paycheck, cut Saturday delivery, getting to talk to a human, higher postage fees, online tracking system, post office leadership, premium fees, the elimination of 7500 jobs, The United States Post Office, tracking packages in real time, unhappy postal customers | 4 Comments

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

Sad Day for the Bomber Boys

Cedar Key

The Looming GPS and Smartphone Wars

GPS, LG4, and Government Woes

Learning How to Land

Dreams of Waco UPF-7s

Takeoffs and Climbs

Climb Speeds

D-Day + 66 Years

$2.2 Billion! Really?

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