Author Archives: Joe Clark

Playing the Game

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Joe Clark

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

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Joe Clark

“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

Peter Bowers and His Baby

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Joe Clark

One of my heroes is Peter M. Bowers. His name may be unfamiliar to some, but those of us who have been involved in aviation for a while know about Mr. Bower’s work as an aviation journalist, aeronautical engineer, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 65 hp Continental, 85 hp Continental, aeronautical engineer, airplanes, amateur built airplanes, aviation journalism, homebuilt airplanes, Peter Bowers, pilots, taildraggers, the Bowers Flybaby, the Experimental Aircraft Association | Comments Off

VJ Day + 70

Posted on August 15, 2015 by Joe Clark

Today, seventy years ago, Japan surrendered. There followed a cosmic sigh in the universe and peace enveloped world for the first time in many years. Photographers around the world shot photographs, which would later become iconic; my favorite is of … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life in General | Tagged airmen, children, grandchildren, Japan surrender, Marines, new beginnings, sailors, soldiers, survivors, Times Square, Veterans Affairs, VJ Day, VJ Day + 70, World War II, young Americans | 2 Comments

Finally!

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Joe Clark

I have not been blogging, because of work with my publishing company. I have been editing projects, organizing workflow, marketing, and giving advice to many would be authors and finally, after seven years in the business, finally got around to … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying, History, Life in General, Personal, Publishing, Reading, Writing | Tagged airplanes, aviation essays, aviation history, blogging, BluewaterPress LLC, first flying lessons, flight instructing, flight training, From Cubs to Jets, General aviation, inexperienced pilots, learning to fly, making plans, memories, Military Flying, pilots, professional pilots, setting goals, student pilots, Tips and Techniques, writing | 2 Comments

150 Years

Posted on April 12, 2015 by Joe Clark

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the end of the most devastating war America has ever fought. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee signed the instrument of surrender at Appomattox Courthouse and General Ulysses S. Grant accepted the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life in General, Personal | Tagged 150th anniversary, Appomattox Courthouse, April 12 1865, April 9 1865, combat deaths, Company G 15th Alabama Infantry, General Robert E. Lee, General Ulysses S. Grant, Gettysburg, John Alexander Woodham, Mr. Lincoln's War, non-combat deaths, Southerners, states' rights, the Civil War, The Civil War to Preserve the Union, the North, the prison at Elmira New York, The South, the War Between the States, The War of Northern Aggression, Vietnam | Comments Off

Getting a License

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Joe Clark

One of the books we produced at BluewaterPress LLC came to us from Captain LeRoy Brown. LeRoy lived the life all pilots would have wished to have lived, if they could have been as lucky. LeRoy, a fine gentleman of proper age, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying | Tagged airplanes, aviation history, CAA inspector, Captain LeRoy Brown, cropdusters, discipline, Dr. Leo Murphy, Florida, Getting a License, inexperienced pilots, judgment, L-1011, learning to fly, memories, National Airlines, open cockpit biplanes, Pan American World Airways, professional pilots, Samuel Dellinger, Stormy, taildraggers | Comments Off

Pilots, Briefers, and Weather, Oh My!

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Joe Clark

There is something to be said for knowing the weather in a particular geographic location. Additionally, I really miss flying in air masses over which I was capable of seeing vast expanses of air and moisture. I liked being able … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying | Tagged "zero-zero", a promise of good VFR, airplanes, Cessnas, critical fuel, cross-country flight, discipline, flight training, Florida, flying, fog, Hazardous weather, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, learning to fly, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, terrain obscuration, turbulence, weather, wind shear | Comments Off

Does It Matter?

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Joe Clark

The year is ending and the world has changed. We are moving from 2014 to 2015 and the changes that are taking place are, for the most part, wonderful. However, some of what is going on is not so wonderful. … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life in General, Personal | Tagged 2014, 2015, Against All Hope: A Memoir of Life in Castro's Gulag, Alan Gross, Armando Valladares, Batista, Castro, Castro’s regime, Che Guevara, communism, Cuban embargo, Morro Castle, my childhood in Cuba, normalization with Cuba, Raul Castro, repeating the same mistakes of history, “El Commandante”, “What does it matter?” | 7 Comments

AirAsia QZ8501

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Joe Clark

My heart goes out to those aboard AirAsia QZ8501 and their families. What a terrible tragedy. When the news first broke, complete with images of the weather in the area and word the pilot was trying to request deviations, I knew … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying | Tagged AirAsia QZ8501, Airbus A320-200, black boxes, Convective storms, debris, difference between an aerodynamic stall and your car engine stalling out, flight recorders, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, MH370, search parties, studying accidents, the Java Sea | Comments Off

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Author Archives: Joe Clark

Playing the Game

The First Passenger Death

Peter Bowers and His Baby

VJ Day + 70

Finally!

150 Years

Getting a License

Pilots, Briefers, and Weather, Oh My!

Does It Matter?

AirAsia QZ8501

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