Author Archives: Joe Clark

Emergency Landings

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Joe Clark

Well, another event happened following a loss of power in a general aviation aircraft. A pilot had an engine failure, tried to make it back to the airport, and landed on a Florida beach. Unfortunately, the forced landing killed a … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying | Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, beach noises, discipline, Emergency Landings, engine failure, Flight instructors, flight training, Florida beach, flying, flying off grass airstrips, general aviation aircraft, inexperienced pilots, judgment, Landing in a pasture, landing on a beach, learning to fly, professional pilots, risk, safely landing, student pilots, taildragger pilot | 4 Comments

Got Student Loans?

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Joe Clark

June. It is a fine time of the year. It is a time for Father’s Day and graduation. The fathers probably pretty well have it figured out. The graduates, on the other hand, may be still working on it. Congratulations, though, … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General | Tagged careers, debt, Father’s Day, graduation, job market, June, paying taxes, small Internet businesses, start a business, student loan payments, the Internet | 6 Comments

Pilots and Weather

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Joe Clark

We’re sitting in the hospital waiting room while waiting for my mother-in-law to come out of surgery. We sit watching the news about tornadoes and flooding in Tampa. As I watch the satellite and radar images of the weather, my … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal | Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, ATC controllers, atmosphere, Cessnas, cumulonimbus, dangerous weather, discipline, flight training, Florida, flying jets, fog, FSS specialists, Hazardous weather, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, learning to fly, memories, pilots, Pilots and Weather, professional pilots, skilled pilots, storms, student pilots, tactical jets, terrain obscuration, training aircraft, turbulence, weather patterns, wind shear, “reading” the weather | Comments Off

Typewriters

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Joe Clark

Writing is a way of life for some. We are compelled to write, we don’t write just because we want to. There are some stories that must absolutely be told, either by word of mouth or by printed page. Now … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged books, bookstore, Florida, great ideas, library, manuscript, memories, notepad and pencil, publishers, school, stories, the Internet, typewriters, typing skills, University of Florida, University of Florida School of Journalism, words, writers, “the old days” | 3 Comments

Veteran Airshow Fans

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Joe Clark

I overheard the Chair of the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI), Bob Meder, say, “You can tell who the veteran airshow fans are. They’re the ones not paying attention to the show.” I thought about it and concluded he … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal | Tagged airplanes, AOPA, barnstormers, Cessnas, EAA, first solo, Flight instructors, flight training, Florida, inexperienced pilots, learning to fly, memories, NAFI, open cockpit biplanes, professional pilots, student pilots, taildraggers, training aircraft | Comments Off

Trees, Shade, and Friendships

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Joe Clark

We went to a town hall meeting last night, Tuesday evening, to listen to one of our elected officials speak before his constituents. It was a very interesting event; Representative Ron DeSantis is a straight shooter and we enjoyed listening … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Life in General, Personal | Tagged "the years", Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, catching up, flying, friends, friendships, Jaime, Lou, memories, Old comrades, pilots, planting an oak, professional pilots, Representative Ron DeSantis, shade, the next great adventure, town hall meeting, Trees Shade and Friendships, Wind Sand and Stars | Comments Off

The Master Birdman

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Joe Clark

Ninety-nine years ago today, America lost one of her most cherished heroes. Pioneer aviator Lincoln J. Beachey, died when the aircraft he was piloting at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco on March 14, 1915 suffered structural failure. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History | Tagged 1915, aerial maneuvers, aeroplanes, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, aviation exhibitions, Barney Oldfield, barnstormers, Beachey-Eaton Monoplane, bicycle mechanic, demonstration pilots, flying, Lincoln J. Beachey, March 14, Morane-Saulnier H, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, racing, San Francisco, taildraggers, Taube, the loop, The Man Who Owns the Sky, The Master Birdman, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition | Comments Off

I Hate Yesterday

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Joe Clark

Yesterday, we started a new season of Daylight Savings Time (DST). I have survived another passing of the start of DST, but I remain just as vexed by the change today as the first time I experienced it many years … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life in General, Personal | Tagged accidents, airline pilots, Austria, Benjamin Franklin, circadian rhythm, Daylight Savings Time (DST), dozing off, driving fatalities, Entomologist George V. Hudson, Germany, Hungary, judgment, Losing sleep, sleep deprivation, sleeping routine, time change, too irritated, too sleepy, too tired, US Department of Transportation | 4 Comments

Model 299

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Joe Clark

In 1930, aviation remained in the beginning stages of development. Pilots were few, airplanes fewer, and almost every aircraft was small with inadequate performance. Most airplanes were of the biplane design with some sleeker monoplanes starting to come off the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, History | Tagged airplanes, B-17E, B-17G, Boeing, Boeing pilot Les Tower, C.L. Egtvedt, Coast Guard, Douglas B-18, E. Gifford Emery, Edward Curtis Wells, England, flying, Flying Fortress, General William Mitchell, inadequate performance, Major Ployer Peter Hill, Model 299, Pratt & Whitney, Seattle Times reporter Richard Williams, World War II, Wright Field | Comments Off

Six Days in Space

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Joe Clark

In 1968 over the Christmas holidays, three Americans orbited the moon for the first time. It is the incredible story of Apollo 8 crewed by Commander Frank Borman, James Lovell serving as the Command Module Pilot, and William Anders piloting … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation History, History, Life in General | Tagged Air Force, Apollo 8, black & white photography, color photography, discipline, earthrise, Florida, Frank Borman, James Lovell, judgment, Life magazine, lunar orbits, Mission Control, Navy, professional pilots, Sea of Fertility, Six Days in Space, the Book of Genesis, the moon, William Anders | Comments Off

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

Emergency Landings

Got Student Loans?

Pilots and Weather

Typewriters

Veteran Airshow Fans

Trees, Shade, and Friendships

The Master Birdman

I Hate Yesterday

Model 299

Six Days in Space

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