Author Archives: Joe Clark

Able Dogs and Spads

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Joe Clark

Today, in 1945, the XBT2D-1 flew for the first time. It was another of the great designs by Ed Heinemann, the designer of many aircraft produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company. As with many of the aircraft Heinemann created, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General | Tagged A-1E, A-1H, A-1J, Air Force, airplanes, Bernie Fisher, big four-bladed props, carrier-borne aircraft, discipline, Douglas Aircraft Company, Ed Heinemann, feet dry, feet wet, flying, ground troops, Helldiver, judgment, Korea, military service, Navy, Navy pilots, pilots, professional pilots, Spad pilots, taildraggers, TBM Avenger, the A-1 Skyraider, The Able Dogs and Spads, the cold war, the Congressional Medal of Honor, the deck of a carrier, the Sandy, the XBT2D-1, Vietnam, World War II, Wright R-3350, “sand blower” route | 6 Comments

Eastern Flight 1320

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Joe Clark

Sixty-eight passengers and a crew of five prepared for take off in the evening of St. Patrick’s Day, 1970. The flight, Eastern Airlines Newark to Boston Shuttle, Flight 1320, departed a little before 8:00 p.m. In the cockpit, the captain … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation History, Flying, History, Life in General | Tagged .38 caliber revolver, airplanes, an outstanding job of flying, deranged gunman, discipline, Eastern Flight 1320, Havana Cuba, hijacking, James Hartley, John J. Divivo, judgment, Newark to Boston Shuttle, professional pilots, Robert Wilbur Jr., St. Patrick’s Day 1970, true heroes | 53 Comments

Dave, You’re Working Too Hard!

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Joe Clark

I read with interest the insights learned by an Australian friend, Dave, a middle-aged (as he refers to himself) young person as he is learning how to fly. For his insight #13, he wrote, “Watch the airspeed on late finals! I … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal | Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Australia, Cessnas, correct airspeed, Dave, discipline, falling out of the sky, fear of stalls, first solo, flight training, flying, flying close to the ground, flying the airplane, friends, glideslope, inexperienced pilots, insights, judgment, landing, learning how to fly, learning to fly, on late final, pilots, professional pilots, relax, runway threshold, slow flight, stall speed, student pilots, Trim the airplane, working too hard, You’re Working Too Hard! | 5 Comments

Where is My Jetcar?

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Joe Clark

When the clocks ticked over from December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000, everyone in the entire world collectively held their breath to see if all of the computers would crash. There had been a great deal written and published … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal | Tagged 2001 A Space Odyssey, airplanes, Apollo, baby-boomers, Bones, Captain Kirk, code writers, computers, December 31 1999, flying, flying cars, Gemini, Gene Roddenberry, George Jetson, Global Positioning Satellites, hardware, internal clocks, January 1 2000, Jetcar, John Young, Michael Collins, New Year’s Eve, old-fashioned, recognizing the year 2000, Saturday morning cartoons, Scottie, software, Spock, Stanley Kubrick, Star Trek, the end of the world, the last Gemini mission, the moon, the New Millennium, the Starship USS enterprise, this perspective, turn of the century, Where is My Jetcar? | Comments Off

300,000 Miles!

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Joe Clark

Well, I meant to stop and photograph this amazing milestone. I wanted to get a photo of the odometer reading exactly 300,000 miles, but I was not driving. I had Mrs. Blogger driving while I was sitting in the right … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal | Tagged 000 miles, 300, a side road, amazing milestone, county deputy, deadlines, Florida, grandchildren, insurance card, motorists, odometer, red and blue lights, registration, situationally unaware, verbal warning, writing assignments, “Ma’am” | 1 Comment

Happy Birthday, Pan Am

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Joe Clark

Today in 1927, Key West birthed Pan American World Airways out of a small maintenance hangar near Duval Street in Key West. Kelly McGillis, the actress who co-starred with Tom Cruise in Top Gun, presently owns the building purportedly to be the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History, Life in General | Tagged 2001 A Space Odyssey, airplanes, Boeing 747, Clipper flying boats, Clipper Juan T. Trippe, Duval Street, flying, Fokker monoplanes, Happy Birthday Pan Am, Havana Cuba, Juan Trippe, Kelly McGillis, Key West, Lockerbie Scotland, Pan Am, Pan Am 103, Pan Am 73, Pan American Airways, Pan American World Airways, pilots, professional pilots, SCADTA, Stanley Kubric, Tenerife, the first Boeing 747 to carry passengers, the unofficial flagship airlines of the United States, the worst aviation accident in history, Top Gun, William Allen, World War II | 1 Comment

Have We Forgotten?

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Joe Clark

He is an old man now, the man sitting at the wooden table. His hair is remarkably dark for his age and belies the wrinkles of his face. He sits listening to the swing music, the music of his youth. … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation History, History, Life in General | Tagged an old man now, another life long ago, childhood sweethearts, England, Have We Forgotten?, I got to come home, married more than 53 years, memories, military service, old friends, prisoners of war, Saving the world, The Eighth Air Force, the good memories, the music of his youth, The old airman, the Veterans Affairs Department, the young ones, World War II veterans | 1 Comment

Intro to Instrument Flying

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Joe Clark

When I was a very young and most inexperienced private pilot with all of about 100 hours, I had the opportunity to participate in an instrument flight flown by a fellow student from college. It was a most interesting and … Continue reading →

Posted in Flying, Life in General, Personal | Tagged a fresh instrument rating, a most inexperienced private pilot, airplanes, blissful ignorance, breaking out, Cessnas, crawl before you walking, cumulonimbus, dark inside the cloud, discipline, flight training, Florida, flying, flying the airplane, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, Intro to Instrument Flying, judgment, keeping it under control, learning to fly, other career fields, pilots, probable thunderstorms, professional pilots, radar vectors, spring day in Florida, student pilots, the darkest moment, training aircraft, weak cold front | 1 Comment

Driving Costs Down

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Joe Clark

A couple of people have asked if I were having car trouble since I blogged about it on Wednesday. Actually, my Camry is running very well thanks to my neighbor, Dan, (Thanks, Dan!) and a set of new tires from … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal | Tagged 100000 miles, 2001 Camry, avoiding overly costly repair bills, better gas mileage, buying a new car, car mechanic, Car Troubles – A Modern Day Nightmare, car’s gas tank, contemporary cars, control heat due to friction, costly repairs, creature comforts and technology, Driving Costs Down, electronic ignition, engine, enhanced crashworthiness, flatbed tow truck, global positioning satellite (GPS) systems, happy ending to this day, lubricating metal parts, luxury autos, maintenance, metal alloys and composites, oil, oil change every 3000 to 4000 miles, oil level, passing 300000 miles, premium gas, proper tire inflation, recommended preventative maintenance, regular gas, regular maintenance, reliability, Renting a car, routine and regular maintenance, serious service difficulties, sports cars, the question of maintenance, your car in the shop | Comments Off

Fighting FIVE Takes the US Navy into the Jet Age

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Joe Clark

Sixty-three years ago today, Fighter Squadron FIVE became the first Navy squadron to land jet fighters aboard an aircraft carrier. On March 10, 1948, they took their brand new North American FJ-1 Fury jets to sea to land aboard the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History | Tagged aircraft carriers, Curtis F6C-4 Hawk, F-14A Tomcats, F-8 Crusader, Fighting FIVE Takes the US Navy into the Jet Age, Grumman F9F–2 Panther, jet fighters, last of the true gunfighters, McDonnell-Douglas F-4 five Phantom, military service, naval aviation, Navy, Neil Armstrong, North American FJ-1 Fury, open cockpit biplanes, sailors, Sundowners, The Korean War, The Screaming Eagles, Top Gun, USS Boxer, USS Essex, USS Kitty Hawk, USS Ticonderoga, USS Vinson, VF-1, VF-111, VF-3S The Striking Eagles, VF-5, VF-51, Vietnam, World War II | 2 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

Able Dogs and Spads

Eastern Flight 1320

Dave, You’re Working Too Hard!

Where is My Jetcar?

300,000 Miles!

Happy Birthday, Pan Am

Have We Forgotten?

Intro to Instrument Flying

Driving Costs Down

Fighting FIVE Takes the US Navy into the Jet Age

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