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Tag Archives: pilots
Flyboys
OK, have you seen the movie, Flyboys? If not, why not? You call yourself an aviation aficionado, right? Well then, you have to see this movie. The amazing thing about the movie is not the story, but story of these … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation History, Flying, History, Life in General
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Tagged airplanes, American flyers, aviation aficionados, Flyboys, flying for France in World War I, Frank Buckles, full-scale Nieuport 17s, gone west, Holden MO, Lafayette Escadrille, military service, open cockpit biplanes, original time schedules, pilots, Robert Baslee of Airdrome Aeroplanes, taildraggers, the 103rd Aero Squadron, the Escadrille Américaine 124, the movie Flyboys, the US Army Air Corps, The Valiant 38, the War to End All Wars, Verdun on May 13 1916, World War I, World War I aviation
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2 Comments
Uncle D’s Swift
D was a different kind of pilot. For one, he owned a Globe Temco Swift, powered by a 125-horse Continental. The Swift was a gorgeous airplane; she had tapered wings, a round tail, and pronounced dihedral. I will always remember … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged 125-horse Continental, a different kind of pilot, a man of action, a tinkerer, airplanes, an airline pilot, D, flight training, Florida, flying, friends, Globe Temco Swift, groundlooped, he could fly anything, he was an ATP, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, no tailwheel experience, one of the prettiest airplanes ever built, pilots, professional pilots, taildraggers, the airplane was crashed, The old codgers, the shenanigans, Uncle D’s Swift, vacation traveling by car, years of reconstruction, “Ya’ll ought not do that”
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3 Comments
Sun ‘N Fun Photos
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
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Tagged airplanes, Cessnas, flight training, Florida, flying, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, taildraggers, Tampa, training aircraft
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1 Comment
Unbridled Student Excitement for Flying
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
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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
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2 Comments
Sun ’N Fun–The Day After
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
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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
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1 Comment
What Sun ’N Fun Is All About
Sun ’N Fun is all about camaraderie. Pure and simple, it boils down to people who like flying and building airplanes getting together in fellowship. There is not one group of people to better “hang out” with than those who … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged a bunch of backyard tinkerers, airplanes, at the hangar one evening, barnstormers, camaraderie, Cessnas, Continental engines, controlling the finances of the project, 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, seeing the light, sitting underneath the wing, student pilots, taildraggers, Tampa, the last of the sunset, training aircraft, What Sun ’N Fun Is All About, “homemade” airplanes, “store-bought” airplanes
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1 Comment
The Tragedy of Sun N Fun
Yesterday will long live in the memories of many of the homebuilders who flew their airplanes into Sun N Fun this week. For those who survived the devastation, they will always be grateful. For the builders who lost their planes…, … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged "spam-can" airplanes, a great deal of property loss, a treasure, aerial displays, airplanes, builder-owner pilot, Cessnas, Florida, flying, friends, homebuilders, homebuilt airplanes, horrific storms, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, Lakeland Airport, learning to fly, life must go on, memories, no one died, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, Sun N Fun, taildraggers, Tampa, The Navy's Flight Demonstration Team, The Tragedy of Sun N Fun, training aircraft, Vero Beach, Wichita
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1 Comment
Sun N Fun Gets Slammed
It is early, but late. I have slept too long. It is after 6 a.m. and I am usually up and writing by 5:45 most mornings. But last night was a late night and so I understand why I am … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged a comforting rain, airplanes, airplanes upside down, Cessnas, double-check the weather forecasts, editors, Florida, flying, friends, get up to make coffee, go back to sleep the word processor, hangars demolished, lightning and thunder, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, radar screens, rain, student pilots, Sun N Fun, Sun N Fun Gets Slammed, taildraggers, Tampa, The Lakeland Airport, the pinging of hail, the Sunshine State, the telecommunications expert, thunder, tornadoes, training aircraft, typesetters, typewriters, up and writing by 5:45
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1 Comment
The Almost Did Club
The old pilots, those much older (and presumably wiser) than me, have proclaimed, “There are those who have and those who will.” What they are referring to are pilots who have landed an airplane gear up and pilots who will … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Personal
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Tagged airplanes, automaticity, autopilot, breaking the rules, Cessna 210, Cessnas, charter pilots, discipline, flying, Flying Tired, GUMP check, judgment, landing an airplane gear up, landing flare, old pilots, Orlando International, pilots, professional pilots, redundant backup warning systems, Tampa International, The Almost Did Club, the famous four-letter expletive deleted, the junior officer’s hand salute, you don’t remember, “hackers”, “There are those who have and those who will”
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Comments Off on The Almost Did Club
Sky King!
As a bit of humor, yesterday I posed the question of Rin-Tin-Tin and Lassie knowing one another. By the time I finished writing at the end of the piece, I realized the true answer to the question would determine the … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History, Life in General
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Tagged airplanes, an old Cessna T-50, baby-boomers, Cessna 310B, Cessnas, Florida, Florida’s Beeline Expressway, flying, Gloria Winters, his niece Penny, influencing more young girls and boys into aviation, judgment, Kennedy Space Center, Kirby Grant, Lassie, learning to fly, NASA, Navy, pilots, professional pilots, Rin-Tin-Tin, Ripcord, Schuyler “Sky” King, Sky King!, STS–16-A, The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin, the shadows of Mercury Gemini and Apollo, the Sky King Youth Ranches of America, the Songbird, the Space Shuttle Challenger, The Whirlybirds
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6 Comments
