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Category Archives: Flying
Passing Gas
A pilot spends his or her entire life avoiding other traffic (code for not hitting another airplane in mid-air). And then one day, he or she becomes a military pilot. The next thing you know, someone says, “Go up and … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying
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Tagged Air Force, Army Air Services, Army aviators, avoiding traffic, challenges, DH-4B biplanes, getting aboard, hit the tanker, in-flight refueling, Korea, military pilot, Navy, Passing Gas, Texaco, Vietnam, World War II
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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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True Solitude
In yesterday’s blog, I touched on the peculiar sense of solitude found only in flying alone. I have spent my fair share of flight time flying solo. In my Part 135 days, I was alone from Sunday night to Friday … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged A-7E Corsairs, catapult shot, catshot, F-14 Tomcats, flying alone, flying solo, hauling checks, night trap, spatial orientation, TF-41 turbofan, The Air Plan, the flight deck, the yellow shirts, True Solitude
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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
Strawberry Fields Forever
OK, so I was arcing about the web reading other blogs last night and came across FlyingGma’s Blog about going to a fly-in with the top down. She and her husband started out on their motorcycle, but then changed their … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged Corvette convertible, eat my fill of strawberries, fly-ins, FlyingGma’s Blog, ground reference maneuvers, J-3 Cubs, laughing, motorcycles, relative wind, smelling all the smells, strawberries, Strawberry Fields Forever, top down, winds
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2 Comments
Vacuum Cleaners
My friend Mike commented he wanted to “see/hear” more A-7E stories. I read his email just before going to sleep last night, so of course, I was thinking of the days of the Corsair as I drifted off to sleep. … Continue reading →
Posted in Flying, Personal
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Tagged A-7E Corsair, another night at sea, flight deck, good night at sea, live jet engines, S-3 Viking, TF-41, The Hoover, Vacuum Cleaners
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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
