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Monthly Archives: August 2010
Night Flight
“You want to fly at night? Well, you just go over to Tampa International or somewhere else to fly at night. I don’t let my airplanes fly at night.” Charlie looks at me like I have lost my mind. “But … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged Charles Lindbergh, engine failure at night, flying checks, flying single-engine at night, Navy, Night flight, parachute, picking a good place to land, professional pilots, Tampa International, the old man’s admonition, The Spirit of St. Louis
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1 Comment
Why I Fly?
Why do I fly? Sometimes, something like that is hard to explain, especially to those who do not fly. They say a photograph is worth a thousand words; if that is so, a video is probably worth somewhere upwards of 500,000 paragraphs. … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged airport bums, barnstormers, Cessna 182, Charles Lindbergh, control over my life, enthusiasm, favorite students, first solo, flying checks, flying machines, flying single-engine at night, homebuilders, I knew I could do it, IFR clearance, instrument flying, instrument pilots, it was time, late afternoon Florida skies, life lessons, little country FBO, mechanics, Navy, Night flight, open cockpit biplanes, parachute, perfecting landings, picking a good place to land, pilots, Piper J 3, predicaments, professional pilots, safe landing, Tampa International, the barnstorming era, what was there to be afraid of?, You’re on your own
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1 Comment
Cutting Teeth
I am nervous, the weather is not good. I have been contracted to fly a client in her airplane, a Cessna 182, to the Cook County Airport up in Adel, GA. The weather in Tampa is awful, below mins. And … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged Cessna 182, Cutting Teeth, Flight Watch, glideslope, IFR clearance, instrument flying, instrument pilots, localizer, minimums, new commercial pilot, outer marker, predicaments, the weather is not good, untested instrument rating, weather forecasts
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Reading & Writing
If you are going to write, you must read. Moreover, if you are a writer who reads, you are going to write – you will write more, and you will find yourself writing well. Reading and writing go hand in … Continue reading →
Posted in Life in General, Personal, Reading, Writing
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Tagged driving, editors, flying airplanes, get on with life, music, On Writing by Stephen King, play a great game, practice, preparation, publishers, putting words to paper, read, Reading & Writing, sailing, teaching, typewriter, write
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2 Comments
Reading & Writing
If you are going to write, you must read. Moreover, if you are a writer who reads, you are going to write – you will write more, and you will find yourself writing well. Reading and writing go hand in … Continue reading →
Posted in Life in General, Personal, Reading, Writing
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Tagged driving, editors, flying airplanes, get on with life, music, On Writing by Stephen King, play a great game, practice, preparation, publishers, putting words to paper, read, Reading & Writing, sailing, teaching, typewriter, write
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2 Comments
First Solo, New Birthday
Today, this evening at about a quarter before seven, I will celebrate the 39th anniversary of my first solo. The day I soloed, it was raining hard. I got off work at the propeller shop and headed straight for Charlie’s. … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged 39th anniversary, control over my life, first solo, I knew I could do it, it was time, late afternoon Florida skies, New birthday, perfecting landings, Piper J 3, safe landing, what was there to be afraid of?, You’re on your own
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4 Comments
“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
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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Comments Off on My Favorite Student
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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