Monthly Archives: April 2011

Sun ‘N Fun Photos

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Joe Clark

Photos shot at Sun’N Fun 2011. (Click on photos to enlarge for viewing, using back button to return.) Top row, the Blue Angels of course. From left to right, the two solos blowing around the area low and fast, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying | Tagged airplanes, Cessnas, flight training, Florida, flying, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, taildraggers, Tampa, training aircraft | 1 Comment

The Rhythm of Life

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Joe Clark

From the book of Ecclesiastes, came a folk song written in 1959 that became popular in the mid-1960s. It referred to every thing having a season. A time to sow, a time to reap. A time to work, a time to … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life in General | Tagged admire and respect strangers, adversity, an open mind, destined to go to war, Ecclesiastes, folk song, insurmountable sorrow and pain, Our place in the tide, patience, pleasurable days on the beach with those we love, protest war, The Rhythm of Life, the seriousness of adulthood, to every thing there is a season, to recognize flows, wide open eyes | 2 Comments

The Just Aircraft Highlander

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Joe Clark

Last week I wrote about the tragedy of Sun ’N Fun followed by Saturday’s visit. The triumph of the fly-in event includes seeing the latest designs from the creative minds of backyard and professional aeronautical engineers and technicians. One such … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flying | Tagged airplanes, flight training, flying, learning to fly, Sun ’N Fun, taildraggers, The Just Aircraft Highlander, the tragedy of Sun ’N Fun | 2 Comments

The Gracie Update

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Joe Clark

Here I sit, next to my number one proofreader and he is giving me hell for not reporting all of the facts. He says he needs a follow-up on Gracie’s trip to the vet yesterday. He has an inquiring mind … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in General, Personal | Tagged A Bad Day for Gracie, a combat of wills, a great cat, an uneasy truce, Dave Barry, fickle feline!, getting old, hard not to laugh, having the last laugh, licking my wounds, little feline lips, Spike, surprised and speechless, taking a cat to the vet, taking a cat’s temperature, that awful day, tragically funny | 1 Comment

A Bad Day for Gracie

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Joe Clark

This is one of those blogs that falls under the category of life in general. Some things in life can be tragically funny. Everyone should read Dave Barry’s A journey into my colon—and yours. It’s a really important topic, one … Continue reading →

A Lesson With Two Engines

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Joe Clark

Yesterday, I finished my piece about flying with Maurice by giving him thanks for a great flying lesson. It got me thinking about other great lessons I learned in airplanes with other flight instructors and I thought of another, with … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Personal | Tagged a great flying lesson, a great lesson, A Lesson With Two Engines, a loss of power, a moment of hesitation, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessnas, checklists and running the radio, flight training, flying, following procedures, judgment, learning to fly, multi-engine airplanes, multi-engine flight instruction, one of the best lessons in flying twins, pre-takeoff checks, professional pilots, something wasn’t quite right, surprise in the cockpit is never a good thing, training sortie, turn in the direction of the inoperative engine, twin Cessnas | 1 Comment

Flying the Ercoupe with Maurice

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Joe Clark

Down at the airport where I first worked as a flight instructor, my friend Maurice kept trying to get me to fly in his Ercoupe. For the pilots unfamiliar with the Ercoupe, it is a lovely little airplane powered by … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal | Tagged a slight wind right down the runway, airplanes, Cessnas, Ercoupe, flight training, flying, Flying the Ercoupe with Maurice, inexperienced pilots, judgment, landing in a crosswind, learning to fly, learning to fly in tailwheel airplanes, Maurice, memories, no rudder pedals, perfectly calm days, S-turning on final, slipping the airplane, taildraggers, take her around the patch, the limp windsock, the windsock, Time to fly the Ercoupe, training aircraft, watching a tailwheel pilot fly an Ercoupe | Comments Off

Today is Michael’s Day

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Joe Clark

Today Michael Monsoor would have been thirty years-old. He was born in Long Beach, CA and was the third child of four. Michael was a typical California kid, playing tight end on the Garden Grove High School football team. He … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life in General | Tagged a typical California kid, Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, Coronado CA, Delta Platoon SEAL Team Three, discipline, Golden Trident, Great Lakes IL, he gave his life to save his fellow teammates, Iraq, military service, NAS Sigonella, Navy, Navy SEALS, Quartermaster “A” School, Ramadi, the Bronze Star, the Silver Star, the son of a former Marine, Today is Michael’s Day | Comments Off

Unbridled Student Excitement for Flying

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Joe Clark

Nothing is better than sitting in the office and having a student drop by to talk about flying their first aerobatic flight. When they become so excited they have a hard time containing their enthusiasm, it truly is an amazing … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal | Tagged a combat veteran of the Middle East, aerobatic flight, Air Force, air show airplanes, airplanes, Beechcraft Bonanza, commission in the Air Force, connecting to my own youth, discipline, enthusiasm for flying, eternally grateful, F-16 Fighting Falcon, first solo, flight training, Florida, flying, flying in the military, formation flying, friends, going vertical, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, military service, pilots, professional pilots, pulling 6g’s, slow rolling, student pilots, Sun ’N Fun, taildraggers, tailwheel flying, talking about flying, training aircraft, Unbridled Student Excitement for Flying | 2 Comments

Sun ’N Fun–The Day After

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Joe Clark

Okay, this is not officially the day after Sun ’N Fun, but it is for me. Often, I have said I want my 20-year-old body back; each day I live, it becomes more evident I am now well beyond 29 … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General, Personal | Tagged a bunch of backyard tinkerers, airplanes, at the hangar one evening, barnstormers, camaraderie, Cessnas, Continental engines, Experimental Aircraft Association, fellowship, flight training, Florida, flying, friends, homebuilt airplanes, inexperienced pilots, learning to fly, Lycoming engines, open cockpit biplanes, people who like flying and building airplanes, pilots, professional pilots, sitting underneath the wing, student pilots, taildraggers, Tampa, training aircraft, What Sun ’N Fun Is All About, “homemade” airplanes, “store-bought” airplanes | 1 Comment

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Monthly Archives: April 2011

Sun ‘N Fun Photos

The Rhythm of Life

The Just Aircraft Highlander

The Gracie Update

A Bad Day for Gracie

A Lesson With Two Engines

Flying the Ercoupe with Maurice

Today is Michael’s Day

Unbridled Student Excitement for Flying

Sun ’N Fun–The Day After

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