Monthly Archives: March 2011

Canceled Flights on the Horizon

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Joe Clark

Today’s technology is amazing. I can sit in my living room here in Florida and read papers from all around the world. You have to like that. There is nothing more satisfying than acquiring more knowledge, regardless of where the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Life in General, Personal | Tagged a shortage of pilots, actual combat, airline careers, airplanes, Canceled Flights on the Horizon, Cessnas, culture, disturbed sleep, flight training, flights canceled, flying, Ft. Rucker, helicopter training, inexperienced pilots, jobs, learning to fly, letters to the editor, military service, nap-of-the-earth (NOE) flight operations, noise complaints, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, taildraggers, the Army, the economy, the War Between the States, the Wiregrass area of Alabama, Times were hard, Today’s technology, training aircraft, “Fight like you train—train like you fight” | 1 Comment

The USS Langley, CV-1

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Joe Clark

This day in 1922 was a very important day in the records of Naval Aviation. Eighty-nine years ago, the United States Navy launched their first aircraft carrier. (Found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SSd_zPTYFQ.) The USS Langley, also known as CV-1, first served as … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History, Life in General | Tagged aircraft carrier, Commander Joseph Reeves, Commander Kenneth Whiting, Eugene Ely, flying, inexperienced pilots, judgment, LT Virgil Griffin, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, military service, naval aviation, Navy Yard Norfolk, professional pilots, Samuel P. Langley, the United States Navy, The USS Langley CV-1, USS Birmingham, USS Jupiter AC-3, Vought VE-7, “flight deck”, “seaborne aviation” | 1 Comment

Teaching Straight and Level

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Joe Clark

One of the first things a student pilot needs to learn is the task of merely flying straight and level. Sounds simple enough, right? It is, to a degree. Still, there are elements of performing the maneuver (can straight and … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying | Tagged a flight instructor, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, angle-of-attack (AoA), Cessnas, CFI, climbing or descending while flying straight ahead, climbs, descents, different visual aspect, flight training, flying, flying straight and level, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, pilots, sitting height, student pilots, Teaching Straight and Level, the four fundamentals, the simplest elements, training aircraft, turns, “sight picture” | 2 Comments

Able Dogs and Spads

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Joe Clark

Today, in 1945, the XBT2D-1 flew for the first time. It was another of the great designs by Ed Heinemann, the designer of many aircraft produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company. As with many of the aircraft Heinemann created, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General | Tagged A-1E, A-1H, A-1J, Air Force, airplanes, Bernie Fisher, big four-bladed props, carrier-borne aircraft, discipline, Douglas Aircraft Company, Ed Heinemann, feet dry, feet wet, flying, ground troops, Helldiver, judgment, Korea, military service, Navy, Navy pilots, pilots, professional pilots, Spad pilots, taildraggers, TBM Avenger, the A-1 Skyraider, The Able Dogs and Spads, the cold war, the Congressional Medal of Honor, the deck of a carrier, the Sandy, the XBT2D-1, Vietnam, World War II, Wright R-3350, “sand blower” route | 6 Comments

Eastern Flight 1320

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Joe Clark

Sixty-eight passengers and a crew of five prepared for take off in the evening of St. Patrick’s Day, 1970. The flight, Eastern Airlines Newark to Boston Shuttle, Flight 1320, departed a little before 8:00 p.m. In the cockpit, the captain … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation History, Flying, History, Life in General | Tagged .38 caliber revolver, airplanes, an outstanding job of flying, deranged gunman, discipline, Eastern Flight 1320, Havana Cuba, hijacking, James Hartley, John J. Divivo, judgment, Newark to Boston Shuttle, professional pilots, Robert Wilbur Jr., St. Patrick’s Day 1970, true heroes | 53 Comments

Dave, You’re Working Too Hard!

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Joe Clark

I read with interest the insights learned by an Australian friend, Dave, a middle-aged (as he refers to himself) young person as he is learning how to fly. For his insight #13, he wrote, “Watch the airspeed on late finals! I … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal | Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Australia, Cessnas, correct airspeed, Dave, discipline, falling out of the sky, fear of stalls, first solo, flight training, flying, flying close to the ground, flying the airplane, friends, glideslope, inexperienced pilots, insights, judgment, landing, learning how to fly, learning to fly, on late final, pilots, professional pilots, relax, runway threshold, slow flight, stall speed, student pilots, Trim the airplane, working too hard, You’re Working Too Hard! | 5 Comments

Where is My Jetcar?

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Joe Clark

When the clocks ticked over from December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000, everyone in the entire world collectively held their breath to see if all of the computers would crash. There had been a great deal written and published … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal | Tagged 2001 A Space Odyssey, airplanes, Apollo, baby-boomers, Bones, Captain Kirk, code writers, computers, December 31 1999, flying, flying cars, Gemini, Gene Roddenberry, George Jetson, Global Positioning Satellites, hardware, internal clocks, January 1 2000, Jetcar, John Young, Michael Collins, New Year’s Eve, old-fashioned, recognizing the year 2000, Saturday morning cartoons, Scottie, software, Spock, Stanley Kubrick, Star Trek, the end of the world, the last Gemini mission, the moon, the New Millennium, the Starship USS enterprise, this perspective, turn of the century, Where is My Jetcar? | Comments Off

300,000 Miles!

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Joe Clark

Well, I meant to stop and photograph this amazing milestone. I wanted to get a photo of the odometer reading exactly 300,000 miles, but I was not driving. I had Mrs. Blogger driving while I was sitting in the right … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal | Tagged 000 miles, 300, a side road, amazing milestone, county deputy, deadlines, Florida, grandchildren, insurance card, motorists, odometer, red and blue lights, registration, situationally unaware, verbal warning, writing assignments, “Ma’am” | 1 Comment

Happy Birthday, Pan Am

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Joe Clark

Today in 1927, Key West birthed Pan American World Airways out of a small maintenance hangar near Duval Street in Key West. Kelly McGillis, the actress who co-starred with Tom Cruise in Top Gun, presently owns the building purportedly to be the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History, Life in General | Tagged 2001 A Space Odyssey, airplanes, Boeing 747, Clipper flying boats, Clipper Juan T. Trippe, Duval Street, flying, Fokker monoplanes, Happy Birthday Pan Am, Havana Cuba, Juan Trippe, Kelly McGillis, Key West, Lockerbie Scotland, Pan Am, Pan Am 103, Pan Am 73, Pan American Airways, Pan American World Airways, pilots, professional pilots, SCADTA, Stanley Kubric, Tenerife, the first Boeing 747 to carry passengers, the unofficial flagship airlines of the United States, the worst aviation accident in history, Top Gun, William Allen, World War II | 1 Comment

Have We Forgotten?

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Joe Clark

He is an old man now, the man sitting at the wooden table. His hair is remarkably dark for his age and belies the wrinkles of his face. He sits listening to the swing music, the music of his youth. … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation History, History, Life in General | Tagged an old man now, another life long ago, childhood sweethearts, England, Have We Forgotten?, I got to come home, married more than 53 years, memories, military service, old friends, prisoners of war, Saving the world, The Eighth Air Force, the good memories, the music of his youth, The old airman, the Veterans Affairs Department, the young ones, World War II veterans | 1 Comment

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Monthly Archives: March 2011

Canceled Flights on the Horizon

The USS Langley, CV-1

Teaching Straight and Level

Able Dogs and Spads

Eastern Flight 1320

Dave, You’re Working Too Hard!

Where is My Jetcar?

300,000 Miles!

Happy Birthday, Pan Am

Have We Forgotten?

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