Search my Blog
Subscribe
rss
-
Recent Posts
April 2024 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 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
Classic
In their latest issue, Flying Magazine published an interesting article about the DC-3. It made me realize that sometimes we get so busy living life that time just passes by without our noticing. Such is the case with the DC-3. To … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History
|
Tagged 1927, 1935, a classic airplane, air travel, Airbus, airplanes, Charles Lindbergh, Charles Stewart Rolls, December 17, flying the oceans, Kitty Hawk, May 27, McDonnell Douglas, memories, military service, Rolls-Royce Ltd., taildraggers, the DC-3, The Mojave, the Wrights, train travel, World War II
|
Comments Off on Classic
Understanding the Wing
Wings are very cool things. Many pilots like wings; they fly wings and most know the working speeds of wings (if only by rote). The question is, though, exactly how does a wing work? Keep in mind that designing an … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
|
Tagged "know the numbers", aerodynamics, airplanes, AR=b/c, aspect ratio (AR), Cessna 172, Cessnas, chord, flight training, flying characteristics, math, mission, P-51, pilots, Pitts Special, power to weight ratio, professional pilots, Reno race pilots, S = b x c, straight and level, student pilots, trailing edge, transport airplanes, unaccelerated flight, wing area, wing span, wings, working speeds
|
Comments Off on Understanding the Wing
Solitude, at Icy Altitudes
This is a little bundled treat from music, aviation history, and my time. By my time, I mean from the time of my youth when the music was … different. The artist is Joni Mitchell, who was a fantastic composer, … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation History, Flying, Life in General
|
Tagged Amelia Earhart, aviation history, barnstormers, Both Sides Now, Charles Lindbergh, clouds, Hejira, Joni Mitchell, memories, music, open cockpit biplanes
|
2 Comments
Roar of a Tiger
Things you learn from researching a book. You get an idea, you act on it, and you learn so much. I decided to write about one of my favorite airplanes, the P-51 Mustang. Dropping the term “MOH P-51” into Google, … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History
|
Tagged 354th Fighter Group, 356th Fighter Squadron, 8th Air Force, Air Force, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, American Volunteer Group, Andy Rooney, brigadier general, Colonel James H. Howard, England, flying, January 11 1944, judgment, Lambert Field, Medal of Honor, memories, military service, Navy, Oschlersleben Germany, P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang, Pearl Harbor, Roar of the Tiger, the Army Air Corps, USS Enterprise, warriors, World War II
|
Comments Off on Roar of a Tiger
A Dozen Rules to Spin a Prop
I looked at my Facebook page yesterday and found a photo of a pilot who lost the tip of a finger while hand propping his ultralight airplane. Pretty gruesome stuff. I often tell my students that hand propping an airplane … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
|
Tagged aerobatic, Aeroncas, airplanes, Cessnas, Champs, Continental A-65, Cubs, flight training, hand propping, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, Light Sport Aircraft (LSA), Luscombes, pilots, professional pilots, Rotax, student pilots, Subaru, taildraggers, the "Armstrong" technique, training aircraft, ultralight, VW
|
Comments Off on A Dozen Rules to Spin a Prop
Dawn, October 23
It is amazing, the things you think about when you are awake at three in the middle of the night. Fifty-three years ago this morning at dawn, a section of RF-8 Crusaders streaked across the Cuban skies to record the … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History
|
Tagged Commander William B. Ecker, Cuba, diplomacy, Fidel Castro, Lieutenant Bruce Wilhelmy, Light Photographic Squadron Sixty-two, MacDill AFB, military assault, National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy, naval blockade, Nikita Khrushchev, nuclear fallout, October 16 1962, overthrow Castro, President John F. Kennedy, RF-8 Crusaders, single-engine single-seat jet pilots, Soviet ballistic missiles, The Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union, the United States, U-2, US Secretary of State Dean Rusk, VFP-62
|
4 Comments
OK, so I lied…
For the longest time, I told my students that the highest glider flight was “29,000 and change.” That was what I had read somewhere in the past. Glider pilots made most of the flights in the mountainous regions with a … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying
|
Tagged Absolute Altitude Record for gliders, altitude, California City CA, Einar Enevoldson, glider, Grob 102 Standard Astir III, meteorology, Paul Bikle, pressure suit, Robert Harris, sailplanes, Schweizer 1-23E, shoestring budget, Steve Fossett, the Perlan Project, the Sierra Nevada
|
Comments Off on OK, so I lied…
Flying for Fun
As always, I woke early. Most of my students can’t believe I wake up so early – and without an alarm. I set my phone to sound at 6:05 and it is a rare morning when I sleep past 6 … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying
|
Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, barnstormers, Cessnas, early morning flight, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, friends, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, memories, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, sunrise flying, taildraggers, training aircraft
|
Comments Off on Flying for Fun
Playing the Game
Much of flight boils down to the decision making process. This is particularly true when it comes to weather and fuel and many times, either weather depends on the fuel situation or vice versa. An intriguing part of flight planning … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying
|
Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessnas, discipline, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, learning to fly, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots
|
2 Comments
The First Passenger Death
“Uh-oh!” It was a simple statement uttered by a man who was about to die. Pilots tend to do that – which is a way of recognizing they will say something very prophetic just before crashing. Usually it is a … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, History
|
Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, crashing, engine failures, flying, Fort Myer VA, Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, military service, Orville Wright, pilots, September 17 1908, The First Passenger Death, the first passenger fatality, the Wright Brothers, the Wright Flyer, US Army, “Uh-oh!”
|
1 Comment