Search my Blog
Subscribe
rss
-
Recent Posts
March 2026 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 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
Category Archives: Aviation
Eric, Gone West
My friend, Eric, has “gone west.” In World War I when a soldier died, his comrades placed his body on a caisson with the others who had died and the caissons passed other soldiers on the way to the rear … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Life in General, Personal
|
Tagged British cadets, Charlie Miller, Clewiston, combat experience, Embry-Riddle Flight School, England’s darkest hour, Eric Gone West, flight experience, Florida, Luftwaffe, Mosquito, the No. 5 BFTS, Winston Churchill, World War I, “gone west”
|
2 Comments
First Flight
If you are a pilot, or if you are not but have a serious interest in history, you owe it to yourself to visit First Flight on the outer banks in North Carolina. This is the place where the Wright … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying
|
Tagged aerodynamics, air screw, December 17 1903, First Flight, flight experiments, gliders, history, Kill Devil Hill, kites, Kitty Hawk, Neil Armstrong, North Carolina, Orville, Otto Lilienthal, outer banks, pilot, propeller, Wilbur, Wright Brothers
|
Comments Off on First Flight
The Perfect Flying Season
The perfect flying season is here. There are two times the flight weather environment becomes perfect and those times are fall and spring. Fall more so than spring, but still, spring is good. What makes fall and spring the perfect … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
|
Tagged checkpoints, clear skies, fall, flight weather environment, flying conditions, frontal activity, light winds, outside air temperature, spring, sunrise, sunset, The best time to fly, The Perfect Flying Season
|
Comments Off on The Perfect Flying Season
Ed’s Hotrod
Occasionally one of my students will ask me which airplane I liked flying the best in the Navy. The answer I always give is, “Depends. If I was going out to deliver weapons, no question – it is the A-7. … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
|
Tagged A-4, A-7, air combat maneuvering, attack pilots, dogfight, Ed Heinemann, Ed’s Hotrod, fighter pilots, formation flying, Gulf of Tonkin, naval aviators, Navy, North Vietnam, Pratt & Whitney J-52, shooting guns, Vietnam, wings of gold
|
Comments Off on Ed’s Hotrod
Remember When
Remember back when traveling by the airlines was something really special? Everyone dressed in their very best to “take a flight” somewhere. Passengers were well mannered, the food was good, the airline employees were happy, and massive radial engines made … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General
|
Tagged 18-cylinder radial engines, Eastern Airlines (EAL), Howard Hughes, Lockheed Constellation, Orville Wright, P&W Wright R-3350, Pan American World Airways (PA), Pratt & Whitney, president of TWA Jack Frye, Remember When, Trans World Airlines (TWA), traveling by airliner, TSA, “Connie”
|
2 Comments
Impressions
I remember the first time I saw the Blue Angels. I was working the line fueling airplanes at the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, so I was standing atop my fuel truck. I watched the team arrive and fly their practice … Continue reading →
Any Attitude, Any Airspeed
I am sure you have heard old flight instructors or pilots say, “An airplane can stall in any attitude or any airspeed.” Come on, admit it. You really didn’t believe them did you? I mean, how is it possible an … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Personal
|
Tagged 2 v 3 dogfight, A-4, Any Airspeed, Any Attitude, Challenger, critical angle-of-attack, DACM, dissimilar air combat maneuvering, F-14, Guantanamo, gunsight, old flight instructors, pilots, pointed straight down, rolling scissors, Skyhawk, slow flight, stall, throttle wide open, Tomcats
|
1 Comment
Low and Slow
Nothing is better and more fun than flying low and slow across the country. Particularly in an airplane with an engine that turns at a low rpm in cruise. It gives an all new meaning to the term “cross-county.” Hit … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Teaching
|
Tagged aeronautical knowledge, angle-of-attack, critical angle-of-attack, cross-county, flying low and slow, flying the wing, fun and joy of flying, higher fuel flows, horsepower, joy of the journey, Low and Slow, old days, pilot training, sitting inside an aluminum container, skill, speed, young pilots
|
Comments Off on Low and Slow
The Instrument Flying Season
We are moving into the “instrument time of the year.” It is a precarious season, a season in which the weather can be capricious at best and downright dangerous at worst. Caught in the middle with everything to lose or … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying
|
Tagged cold fronts, instrument approach minimums, instrument flying, instrument proficiency, instruments, judgment, local weather, national weather, newly instrument-rated pilot, non-precision approach, poor visibility, precision approach, private aircraft, shooting approaches, stratus type clouds, warm fronts, weather, “breaking out”, “on the gauges”
|
Comments Off on The Instrument Flying Season
The Barnstormers
After the First World War, aviators returned to America in search of their fortunes in aviation. For a mere $400 or $500 each, they were able to acquire training aircraft from the government, the most common of which was the … Continue reading →
