Author Archives: Joe Clark

Writing & Selling Books

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Joe Clark

There are many who would like to write a book, but they don’t know where to begin. They lack the knowledge of the industry and cannot even guess at where the editors and publishers have located the starting blocks. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Publishing, Reading, Writing | Tagged a solid manuscript, become a millionaire, book production, bookstore managers, bookstores, e-publishing, expert speaker, marketing plan, non-fiction work, novels, passion, printers, returns, self-publishing, solid monthly sales, the key to success, traditional publisher, unknown authors, voting with dollars, writers, Writing & Selling Books, writing a book | 2 Comments

Don’t Only Practice Your Art

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Joe Clark

I find myself searching, even after all these years, ways to attain perfection; I want to help others reach the same perfection, particularly in aviation, writing, and photography. I want to practice to be the best, I want to enjoy … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal | Tagged an open piano, best photographs, discipline, Don’t Only Practice Your Art, friends, in need of practice, Landings, music, paradise found within, perfection, practice, The Piano Guys | Comments Off

The First Lady Lex

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Joe Clark

Eighty-six years ago today, the first aircraft carrier to bear the name Lexington was commissioned. The USS Lexington was the first of her kind and consequently she became the lead ship of her type, the Lexington-class. Of the class, there … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, History | Tagged 1941, aircraft carrier, airplanes, Captain Frederick Sherman, CV-16, December 7, discipline, Essex-class ships, flight training, Florida, flying, friends, inexperienced pilots, judgment, Lady Lex, Marines, memories, Midway Island, military service, NAS Pensacola, Navy, Navy Secretary Frank Knox, Pearl Harbor, sailors, student pilots, The First Lady Lex, the Japanese attack, the Marshall Islands, the Pacific, the Quincy shipyard, USS Cabot, USS Lexington, USS Phelps, USS Saratoga, World War II | Comments Off

Amazing Grace

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Joe Clark

As with many mornings, I woke a little after 5 a.m. and began working. When I turned on the computer, the Google page lit up with something that referred to the age of 107. I had a hard time thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life in General | Tagged Amazing Grace, COBOL, computer, computer languages, Dave Letterman, Digital Equipment Corporation, Google, Harvard University, math and physics, military service, Navy, Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, the Mark I computer, USS Hopper DDG-70, Vassar College, World War II, Yale | Comments Off

Hurricanes and Emergency Diverts

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Joe Clark

Thirty years ago this month, I checked into my first operational squadron in Gitmo. They gave me the “gouge” about flying in the Caribbean, including divert/bingo information for any reason when we could not return to Guantanamo. I gathered up … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying, History, Life in General, Personal | Tagged A-4 Skyhawk, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cuba, discipline, divert/bingo information, flying, friends, Gainesville, Gitmo, Hurricane Kate, hurricanes, Hurricanes and Emergency Diverts, Jamaica, judgment, Kingston, Marines, memories, military service, Navy, Norman C. Manley International, old friends, professional pilots, the Caribbean, The Gators, the “gouge”, Weather guessers | 2 Comments

Great Writers Dying Too Young

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Joe Clark

I was in the middle of teaching my aviation class when a text came through on my phone. The students were taking a quiz, so I had a moment to look discreetly at the message. My wife had texted, simply, … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Publishing, Reading, Writing | Tagged Act of Treason, American Assassin, CIA Agent Mitch Rapp, Clear and Present Danger, Consent to Kill, Dead or Alive, Debt of Honor, Executive Orders, Executive Power, Extreme Measures, Great Writers Dying Too Young, incredible stories, Kill Shot, Locked On, Memorial Day, naval flight training, Patriot Games, Protect and Defend, Pursuit of Honor, Rainbow Six, Red Rabbit, self-publishing, Separation of Power, Term Limits, The Bear and the Dragon, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, The Hunt for Red October, The Last Man, the Marine Corps, The Sum of All Fears, The Teeth of the Tiger, The Third Option, Threat Vector, Tom Clancy, Transfer of Power, Vince Flynn, Without Remorse, www.vinceflynn.com | 2 Comments

Rate My Controller!

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Joe Clark

I am sitting in my office, recording grades. Dr. Cass Howell comes walking by the open door and stops. We start talking about life. Get a couple of old naval aviators together and of course, the talk always turns to … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal | Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessnas, controllers, discipline, Florida, flying, friends, judgment, memories, pilots, professional pilots, ratemycontroller.com, taildraggers, Tampa | 2 Comments

Planes and New Pilots

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Joe Clark

A long time ago when I was a little kid, every Sunday evening I watched a wonderful television program called Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. All of us watched programs that were varied and entertaining. I am sure this … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, History, Life in General, Personal | Tagged commercial pilots, Disney’s Planes, distractions, dwindling pilot starts, Flight instructors, imagination, involved with flying, little kids, new blood, old geezers, personal flying, pilot in command, Planes and New Pilots, private pilots, professional flying, regulations, renting airplanes, shrinking pilot population, simulated flight, student pilots, technological advancements, the mystique of flying, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, youth in aviation | 2 Comments

Automation in Aviation

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Joe Clark

There is a great deal of dialogue about the use of automation in aviation. Lately, some of the talk is focusing on the failure of automation and the role it played in the crash of Asiana 214, the Boeing 777 … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying | Tagged accident reports, air carriers, aircraft accidents, Asiana 214, auto-throttles, automation failure, Automation in Aviation, autopilot, aviation safety and efficiency, basic airmanship, Boeing 777, cockpit automation, complacency, confidence, discipline, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, problems in the cockpit, professional flight crews, runway 28L, San Francisco International, systems failure, technology, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), The University of Central Florida | 2 Comments

Surviving an Airliner Crash

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Joe Clark

This week’s crash of Asiana 214 was a terrible event with great miracles – the survival of 305 people out of 307 onboard the airliner. When I initially wrote about the accident, I said I would follow up with some … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General | Tagged able-bodied passengers, airliner accidents, airplane crash, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Asiana 214, avoiding panic, emergency, emergency exit, engine failures, fear of flying, flight attendants, flying, flying as a passenger, judgment, memorize the way out, pilots, pre-flight safety brief, professional pilots, seat location, smoke, surviving a plane crash, Surviving an Airliner Crash, survivors | 5 Comments

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Author Archives: Joe Clark

Writing & Selling Books

Don’t Only Practice Your Art

The First Lady Lex

Amazing Grace

Hurricanes and Emergency Diverts

Rate My Controller!

Planes and New Pilots

Automation in Aviation

Surviving an Airliner Crash

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