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Category Archives: Flying
The World’s First Supersonic Ejection
In 1955, George Smith was 31 years old, unmarried, stood 6’1” and weighed 220 pounds. It was a Saturday morning just like today. He was off work and on his way to the grocery store, but he stopped by his … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying
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Tagged 675 knots, 777 miles per hour, 8000 pounds of aerodynamic force, aeromedical doctors, Air Force, deceleration of 40g, F-100A, first supersonic ejection, FL 350, hospitalized for months, Los Angeles International, Mach 1, Mach 1.05, Mach 1.05 Ejection, North American Aviation Inc., rate of descent was 1140 feet per second, Super Sabre, surviving a supersonic ejection, The World's First Supersonic Ejection, wrong position for an ejection
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Brothers to the Rescue, Hermanos Al Rescate
Geographically, Cuba is a wonderful place, truly a paradise. Politically, however, it is a mess. Some of the recent news about Cuban politics includes Castro finally admitting socialism does not work and that the Cuban economic situation is broken. The … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged airplanes, Brothers to the Rescue, Carlos Costa, Cessna 337 Skymaster, Cessnas, Cuba, Cuban politics, Cuban refugees, Cubans risk their lives trying to escape, dreamed of flying, Fidel Castro, Florida, flying, flying career, free Cubans, Hermanos Al Roscate, humanitarian, judgment, Michael Moore's movie, paradise, pilots, professional pilots, quiet confidence, rafting to freedom, shootdown, socialism, the Cuban economic situation, the Florida Straits, volunteer pilots and observers
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3 Comments
A Change of Seasons
Well, we have finally moved from the “cold” season to the “warm.” Many new to the Sunshine State bemoan the fact that we have “no seasons” down here. Some have gone on to say they miss the turning of the … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged A Change of Seasons, aches, airplanes, Cessnas, cracking joints, crankiness, engine pre-heats, flying, friends, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, lke a bear in hibernation, more creakiness, northern visitors, oshkosh, set the thermostats from heat to a/c, Southerners, the color green, the colors of spring, the EAA Convention, the Sunshine State, the “cold” season, the “warm” season, variation, Wisconsin, “Feed the Fish”, “no seasons” the cold of winter
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2 Comments
The Perfect Storm
We are facing a situation in the aviation industry, which many may very well describe as an approaching “Perfect Storm.” For years, we have heard people in and out of the industry say there will be a pilot shortage. Current … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged aviation industry, discipline, extreme dedication, flight instruction, flight training, flying, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, Korean era pilots, learning to fly, perseverance, pilot shortage, pilots, professional pilots, remaining ready, student pilots, the little boy crying wolf, The Perfect Storm, too late, training aircraft, Vietnam vets, World War II pilots, world’s population, young pilots, “Perfect Storm”
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The Citabria
One of the finest airplanes produced is the Citabria, which, spelled backward, is “Airbatic.” That was one of the things this little two-place airplane specialized in—aerobatics—going upside down, turning loops, and flying Cuban Eights. Champion Aircraft originally designed the plane … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged 7ECA Citabria, 7GCAA Citabria, 7GCBC Citabria, 7KCAB, 8KCAB Decathlon, aerobatics, airplanes, basic acrobatic trainer, Champion Aircraft, Cuban Eights, flight training, flying, inverted fuel and oil systems, learning to fly, Lycoming O-235, Lycoming O-320, Lycoming O-360, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, taildraggers, the Champ, The Citabria, turning loops, upside down, “Airbatic”
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A Near Miss
My students look at me with great incredulity. “No way!” one says. “Six inches?” “Yep. At least we think it was six inches. It might have been closer.” “How could you measure a miss that close?” another asks. “Simple. We … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged A Near Miss, airplanes, Cessna 170, Cessnas, dark night, debriefing, Ercoupe, Florida, flying, flying the airplane by feel, gopher hole, inexperienced pilots, judgment, lucky, manual flaps, moving airplanes in the dark, nav lights, nosewheel, Paul Harvey, pilots, professional pilots, runway incursions, taildraggers, the airspeed indicator, the rest of the story
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3 Comments
Is the End Near? I Hope So!
Well, it is almost mid-February, which means spring is right around the corner. For me, it cannot get here fast enough. I am really tired of the cold. I am over feeling as if I am cooped up inside because … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged airplanes, Cessnas, flight training, Florida, flying, friends, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, learning to fly, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, taildraggers, training aircraft
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1 Comment
Hail
One of the most dangerous weather conditions anyone can encounter beyond tornadoes and hurricanes is hail. According to the National Weather Service, hail causes $1 billion in damages to crops and property each year. Oh, the “b” was not a … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged airplanes, Atlanta GA, dangerous weather conditions, DC-9, flying, flying into a hail shaft, Hail, Huntsville AL, hurricanes, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, instrument flying without radar, judgment, learning to fly, National Weather Service, New Hope GA, pilots, professional pilots, Rome GA, Southern Airways Flight 242, tornadoes
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1 Comment
The Soft Field Landing
Yesterday, I gave my insights to the short field landing; today it is time to discuss the soft field landing. Again, as with the short field landing, many pilots today have little or no experience on actual soft fields. It … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged a chance actually to fly off a short or soft runway, a large metropolitan airport, a long forgotten art, anything that is not paved, dirt strips, flight schools, former military bases, grass runways, hard surface runways, local pilots, muddy fields, non-towered country airports, practical experience, reciting the procedures, slow flight, snow covered fields, students, the Practical Test Standards (PTS), The Short Field Landing, The Soft Field Landing
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2 Comments
The Short Field Landing
Yesterday, I talked about the Miracle of Lift. Today, I will pass on some of the secrets of the short field landing. We’ll also discuss how the lift equation plays so importantly in “making the point.” One of the most … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged .002377 slugs per cubic foot, A Few Good Men, airspeed, altitude, Anyone Can Fly, arrive at the spot right at stall speed, coefficient of lift, Colonel Nathan R. Jessep, coordination of speed and AoA, Country airports, descent path, L=1/2 r V2 Cl S, landing short of the runway, lift equals speed times angle of attack (L = S x AoA), pitch, Power, rho, short field landings, short grass runways, the lift equation, The Mystery of Lift, the power curve, The Short Field Landing, the truth, velocity squared, where to aim, wing area, writer-editor Jules Bergman, “float”, “making the point”
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2 Comments
