Author Archives: Joe Clark

Uncle D’s Swift

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Joe Clark

D was a different kind of pilot. For one, he owned a Globe Temco Swift, powered by a 125-horse Continental. The Swift was a gorgeous airplane; she had tapered wings, a round tail, and pronounced dihedral. I will always remember … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal | Tagged 125-horse Continental, a different kind of pilot, a man of action, a tinkerer, airplanes, an airline pilot, D, flight training, Florida, flying, friends, Globe Temco Swift, groundlooped, he could fly anything, he was an ATP, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, no tailwheel experience, one of the prettiest airplanes ever built, pilots, professional pilots, taildraggers, the airplane was crashed, The old codgers, the shenanigans, Uncle D’s Swift, vacation traveling by car, years of reconstruction, “Ya’ll ought not do that” | 3 Comments

Columbia

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Joe Clark

Yesterday I wrote about the Shuttle Program coming to an end and all the remaining vehicles being retired. As always, it made me think about the first Shuttle launch I ever witnessed with my own eyes. I wrote about that … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation History, History, Personal | Tagged a good safety record, Air Force, Columbia, Florida, images of the vehicle streaking across the sky, January 16 2003, landing in Florida on February 1, local law enforcement, lost communication, military personnel, military service, NASA, Navy, professional pilots, regular citizens, Saturday shortly before 9 a.m., search for debris, the Civil Air Patrol, the first Shuttle launch I witnessed, the loss of Columbia, the Shuttle Program, “anomalies” | 3 Comments

The Shuttles

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Joe Clark

It is difficult to hear the Space Shuttle program has reached the end of the run. After a 30-year span, NASA will retire the remaining vehicles – all of which will go to museums around the nation. Discovery, the oldest … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation History, Flying, History, Life in General | Tagged Atlantis, Captain Kirk, Challenger, Columbia, Commander Dick Scobee, Commander Rick Husband, David Brown, Discovery, Endeavor, Enterprise, Gene Roddenberry, Gregory Jarvis, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, Los Angeles, Michael Anderson, NASA, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, the Air and Space Museum, the California Science Center, the First Teacher in Space, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Navy's aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, The Shuttles, the Space Shuttle program, the Starship USS Enterprise NC-1701, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, William McCool | Comments Off

The First Shot

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Joe Clark

This morning at 4:30 150 years ago, Lieutenant Henry S. Farley fired the first shot in the War Between the States when he let loose a single 10-inch mortar round at Fort Sumter. According to David Detzer’s book, Allegiance: Fort … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged Allegiance: Fort Sumter Charleston and the Beginning of the Civil War, Captain George S. James, Charleston Sc, Confederate Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard, Cummings Point, David Detzer, first official casualties of the War, Fort Johnson, Fort Moultrie, Fort Sumter, Lieutenant Henry S. Farley the first shot in the War Between the States, Major Robert Anderson, Private Daniel Hough, Private Edward Gallway, Roger Pryor, The First Shot | 2 Comments

Manned Spaceflight Turns 50

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Joe Clark

Fifty years ago today, the Soviet Space Program launched Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into a singular orbit around the Earth in their spacecraft, Vostok 1. The space race was on and Russia was in the lead, having flown an orbital … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life in General | Tagged a dangerous dose of possible nuclear annihilation, advancements in artificial limbs, Air Force, airplanes, Alan Shepard, computers, Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, Cuba, enhanced radial tires for cars, Florida, Freedom 7, going back to the moon and on to Mars, improved baby foods, improved water purification, infrared ear thermometers, landing on the moon first, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), Manned Spaceflight Turns 50, Marines, military service, Navy, new technologies, President John F. Kennedy, Sputnik, Tang, Teflon, tempur foam (think Tempurpedic beds), the Soviet Space Program, Vostok 1 | 1 Comment

Sun ‘N Fun Photos

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Joe Clark

Photos shot at Sun’N Fun 2011. (Click on photos to enlarge for viewing, using back button to return.) Top row, the Blue Angels of course. From left to right, the two solos blowing around the area low and fast, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying | Tagged airplanes, Cessnas, flight training, Florida, flying, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, taildraggers, Tampa, training aircraft | 1 Comment

The Rhythm of Life

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Joe Clark

From the book of Ecclesiastes, came a folk song written in 1959 that became popular in the mid-1960s. It referred to every thing having a season. A time to sow, a time to reap. A time to work, a time to … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life in General | Tagged admire and respect strangers, adversity, an open mind, destined to go to war, Ecclesiastes, folk song, insurmountable sorrow and pain, Our place in the tide, patience, pleasurable days on the beach with those we love, protest war, The Rhythm of Life, the seriousness of adulthood, to every thing there is a season, to recognize flows, wide open eyes | 2 Comments

The Just Aircraft Highlander

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Joe Clark

Last week I wrote about the tragedy of Sun ’N Fun followed by Saturday’s visit. The triumph of the fly-in event includes seeing the latest designs from the creative minds of backyard and professional aeronautical engineers and technicians. One such … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying | Tagged airplanes, flight training, flying, learning to fly, Sun ’N Fun, taildraggers, The Just Aircraft Highlander, the tragedy of Sun ’N Fun | 2 Comments

The Gracie Update

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Joe Clark

Here I sit, next to my number one proofreader and he is giving me hell for not reporting all of the facts. He says he needs a follow-up on Gracie’s trip to the vet yesterday. He has an inquiring mind … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal | Tagged A Bad Day for Gracie, a combat of wills, a great cat, an uneasy truce, Dave Barry, fickle feline!, getting old, hard not to laugh, having the last laugh, licking my wounds, little feline lips, Spike, surprised and speechless, taking a cat to the vet, taking a cat’s temperature, that awful day, tragically funny | 1 Comment

A Bad Day for Gracie

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Joe Clark

This is one of those blogs that falls under the category of life in general. Some things in life can be tragically funny. Everyone should read Dave Barry’s A journey into my colon—and yours. It’s a really important topic, one … Continue reading →

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Author Archives: Joe Clark

Uncle D’s Swift

Columbia

The Shuttles

The First Shot

Manned Spaceflight Turns 50

Sun ‘N Fun Photos

The Rhythm of Life

The Just Aircraft Highlander

The Gracie Update

A Bad Day for Gracie

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