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Category Archives: Flying
Engine Failure on Takeoff
Last night one of my former students from a long time ago hosted a pilot get together on zoom.com. He had a great turnout and the theme of his meeting dealt with engine failure on takeoff. He led a discussion … Continue reading →
Experience
How did I get here? Many times, I must ask myself, am I a writing pilot, or a flying writer? When I was in second grade, just getting a handle on reading, I remember standing in the hallway of our … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General, Personal, Reading, Writing
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Tagged 1968, authors, aviation, basic math, becoming a writer, Benjamin Franklin, careers, chemistry, Dan Brown, Danielle Steel, drafting, experience, extraordinary lives, Fairy Tales, flying writer, girls, Hans Christian Andersen, history, James Caraway, logic, mom, music, Nora Roberts, research, Stephen King, teenagers, Tom Clancy, writing flyer
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I Wish I Had Shot More Photos
I have not been writing over the past year. This was due to many reasons, including the death of my wife, teaching, house hunting and moving closer to my university, fixing up a new house, running the publishing business, and … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged 909, A&Ps, annual maintenance, armchair quarterbacks, B-17G, Collings Foundation, FAA, Flying Fortresses, NTSB, speculation, teaching, writing
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Sitting Around Waiting
We’re sitting in a waiting room while waiting. After all, that is what you do in a waiting room. We sit watching television news about tornadoes and flooding in Tampa. As I watch the satellite and radar images of the … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessnas, discipline, Florida, flying, fog, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, learning to fly, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, temperature-dewpoint spread, training aircraft, “reading” the weather
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Big Field, No Sweat
Okay, it happened again. Another pilot decided to try landing his crippled airplane on a road. Follow this link to view dramatic law enforcement dashcam video of a Cessna 150 trying to turn a road into an emergency runway. http://www.kltv.com/story/36032281/video-dash-cam-footage-shows-moment-plane-goes-down-on-highway-69 … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessnas, crashing, discipline, Emergency Landings, flight training, inexperienced pilots, judgment, landing on roads, learning to fly, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, training aircraft
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The Magenta Babies
Standing in front of the class, I talked of the rudiments of navigation. I still marvel at the miracle of leaving somewhere on the earth in a vehicle, vessel, or airship and navigating precisely to another location. Then after visiting … Continue reading →
Gladys Ingle
There was once a time when flying airplanes was really fun and truly free – free in the sense of a lack of regulations. This period was short-lived, lasting less than a decade. During the time from the end of … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying
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Tagged 13 Black Cats, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, an afternoon air show, barnstormers, Flying Circuses, Gladys Ingles, iron nerves, JN-4D Jennies, judgment, memories, open cockpit biplanes, over there, OX-5 engines, parachute, pilots, pluck, professional pilots, taildraggers, the 1920s, World War I
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Lost Logbooks
This past week, one of my students, Jo, asked about the problem. After I told her the solution, she asked, “Why didn’t you tell the class?” I usually do, but at the point in the course when I usually talk … Continue reading →
Posted in Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged flight training, flying, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, logbooks, lost logbooks, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots
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Bob Hoover 1922-2016
It is hard to believe famed aviator Bob Hoover has passed. Of the world’s “Greatest Generation,” 16 million served in uniform during World War II. As of this year, approximately 620,000 still survive and they are dying at a rate … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation History, Flying, History
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Tagged Aero Commander Shrike Commander, Berry Field, Bob Hoover, F-86, P-51, Spitfires, T-28, The World's Greatest Generation
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Amazing Transportation
It is difficult to believe that 87 years ago today, pilots finally broke through the weather barrier and perfected instrument flying. I wrote about it before on October 31, 2010, describing the event that allows our airliners and other aircraft … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying
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Tagged airline passengers, airline pilots, airmail pilots, Amazing Transportation, blind flying, discipline, flying, flying into clouds, flying through poor weather, judgment, professional pilots, the flying public, the weather barrier
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