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Category Archives: Flight Instructing
“Go ahead, punk, make my day!”
I am dreaming. I know I am asleep and this is only a dream. In the dream, I see Dirty Harry threatening me with his famous line, “Go ahead, punk, make my day!” Only Dirty Harry is not a cop, … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged 45-degree AOB turn, bank angle, emergency, engine failure on takeoff, flying skills, inexperienced pilots, lucky, make my day!”, punk, shallow turn, stall speed increases, steep turn, turning back, turning quickly, uncoordinated turn, “Go ahead
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3 Comments
My Favorite Student
Becky was a wonderful person. From the moment I first met her, she was on her way to becoming one of my favorite students. Becky came to me by way of a fellow airport bum and friend, Dave, a pilot, … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged airport bums, barnstormers, enthusiasm, favorite students, flying machines, homebuilders, life lessons, little country FBO, mechanics, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, someone as old as me, the barnstorming era, the CPTP program, WASPs, Wittman Tailwind
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You Are Cleared to Blah, Blah, Blah
There is something I don’t understand about the new pilots who are learning to fly in these modern times. Many are all for flying, but they must have the radio to do it. And GPS. They can’t go anywhere without … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged air traffic controller, ATC, Blah, clear of other traffic, controllers, delight in flying, Flight instructors, flying, focus on the basics, learning to fly, near misses, reliance on technology and the system, self-reliance, student pilots, technologies, training, Why do you fly?, You Are Cleared to Blah, “freedom” of flying
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2 Comments
Engine Failures
Last week I told the story of my first engine failure in Joe’s Luck. Looking back from the vantage point of 30 years, it’s pretty funny. At the time, however, it lacked any humor; it was not until I slept … Continue reading →
Why You Should Fly That Old Taildragger
My friend, Ray, is fond of saying, “ ’Bout the time you start feeling comfortable and think you have everything under control, you suddenly see a bright flash going by the right side of your cockpit. About a second later, … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged antique biplane, Cessnas, everything under control, forces acting on the cg, gear up landings, glass cockpit, groundloop, instability of the landing gear design, longitudinal axis, nosewheel pilots, Pipers, taildragger pilots, the tail of your airplane, twins, Why You Should Fly That Old Taildragger
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1 Comment
Joe’s Luck
I was at the airport when a man inquired about flying lessons. He asked all the usual questions and then pointed to his wife and two boys. “Can you teach my wife how to fly also? You know, in case … Continue reading →
Posted in Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged airplane lost power, airspeed, altitude, Cessna 150, cow pastures, emergency landing, engine problems, first solo, flying lessons, heart attacks, maintaining altitude, make the field, my first flying job, power available curve, power required curve, uneventful landing
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2 Comments
More Treasures of The Garage
First it was the Dzus key, then the old high school yearbooks. Then we hit the mother lode. We found some very important old photos for which I had been searching for a long time. I shot these photos as … Continue reading →
Posted in Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged 1959 Cessna 150, aerodynamics, airplanes, Charlie’s Airport, Continental engine, how to fly, N6269H, old high school yearbooks, old photographs, Piper J-3 Cubs, private pilot checkride, rebuilding a Cub, Treasures of The Garage
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5 Comments
Driving Around Tampa
I rarely sit in the backseat, but here I am with my wife looking out the back windows. Her dad is driving and her mom navigating as we transit around the city where we all grew up. For me, it … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged Alessi Bakery, B-26 Marauder, Cuban bread, Cuban sandwiches, Drew Field, in Tampa Bay, MacDill AFB, One a day, Rough Riders, sitting in the backseat, Tampa International Airport, Teddy Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders, University of South Florida
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5 Comments
The Importance of Reading
One thing slowly disappearing from the repertoire of many individual’s skills is reading. During this day, when too many are attached to their electronic devices, the idea of reading a book has fallen from popularity. It takes too much time; … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Reading
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Tagged aviation books for sale, aviation textbooks, flying books, learning, reading, vicarious learning
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Airplane smell
My logbook starts early on a Saturday morning on the last day of July 1971, the year I graduated from high school. I had been driving around out in the country looking for an old man named Charlie and he … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing
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Tagged airplane smell, airplanes, fabric airplanes, first flight lesson;, learning to fly, old airplanes, taildraggers
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