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Tag Archives: pilots
The “Potato” Plane
If you look at the Piper Apache head on, it looks a bit like a potato. A potato with wings and smaller spuds on the wings that house Lycoming engines of different sizes. Originally, the Piper PA-23 came out with … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged A potato with wings, a real airplane, airplanes, flying, high-lift wing, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, Lycoming engines, multi-engine trainer, new ME trainees, PA-23-150, PA-23-160, PA-23-235, PA-23-250, pilots, Piper Apache, Piper Aztec, professional pilots, student pilots, The “Potato” Plane, training aircraft
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1 Comment
Adaptation
Sometimes life will throw you a curve and you have no choice other than to adapt. In the case of those who want to fly, many times the curve ball is color blindness. Colorblindness is usually a problem for the … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged Adaptation, airplanes, backup plan, be productive, colorblindness, commercial pilots, connect, create, cross-country flight, curveballs, discipline, flying, flying career, having a plan, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, make a living, no choice other than to adapt, pilots, professional pilots, serve, start a business, student pilots, the big picture, your own company jet
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2 Comments
Flying Tired
It is time for the blog to go up, it is time to write the blog, and I am only at the beginning of the post. Unfortunately, I am really tired. I am not complaining, and I am sure many … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged a lethal situation, accidents, airplanes, commercial fishing, crew duty and rest requirements, Cuba, degraded performance, Douglas DC-8 freighter, driving trucks, fighting fires, flying, flying airplanes, Flying Tired, Guantanamo Bay Cuba, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, Kalitta International Flight 808, Leeward Point, Navy, pilot-in-command’s judgment, pilots, professional pilots, running an operating room, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), tired aircrew, walking a police beat, working tired
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1 Comment
We’re All In This Together
And, according to some of my old Navy pilot buddies, “None of us are getting out alive!” If there were a group of humans who possess an almost morbidly comedic viewpoint of death, it would be Navy carrier pilots. Only … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged all in fun, bravado, cats, deadly serious business, emergency tanker pilot, far out at sea, flying, getting out alive, Marines, military service, morbidly comedic viewpoint of death, moxie, naval aviators, Navy, Navy carrier pilots, old Navy pilot buddies, pilots, pre-destiny, professional pilots, We’re All In This Together, “checking out”
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1 Comment
Hey – what’s happening here?
Those were the last words of Captain Robert Loft, 38 years ago tonight. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 departed New York’s JFK airport at 9:20 in the evening enroute to Miami International Airport. The flight progressed normally until about 11:30. On … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged airplanes, autopilot, Captain Robert Loft, cockpit voice recorder (CVR), Eastern Airlines, Eastern Airlines Flight 401, famous last words, First Officer Albert Stockstill, Flight 401, flying, Hey - what's happening here?, indication on the nose wheel, judgment, Lockheed Tristar, Miami International Airport, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), New York’s JFK, pilots, professional pilots, Ray Dickinsin, Robert “Bud” Marquis, sawgrass, the Everglades, water
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1 Comment
Hey – what’s happening here?
Those were the last words of Captain Robert Loft, 38 years ago tonight. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 departed New York’s JFK airport at 9:20 in the evening enroute to Miami International Airport. The flight progressed normally until about 11:30. On … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged airplanes, autopilot, Captain Robert Loft, cockpit voice recorder (CVR), Eastern Airlines, Eastern Airlines Flight 401, famous last words, First Officer Albert Stockstill, Flight 401, flying, Hey - what's happening here?, indication on the nose wheel, judgment, Lockheed Tristar, Miami International Airport, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), New York’s JFK, pilots, professional pilots, Ray Dickinsin, Robert “Bud” Marquis, sawgrass, the Everglades, water
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1 Comment
What Makes a Good CFI?
Some believe you must be a great pilot to be a good flight instructor. Others think you have to have great teaching skills. Then there are those who believe it all boils down to patience. For those who believe it … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged airplanes, discipline, flying, good flight instructor, great pilot, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, learning to fly, patience, pilots, professional pilots, professional reputation, stress, student pilots, teacher, the Law of Effect, training aircraft, What Makes a Good CFI?
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Comments Off on What Makes a Good CFI?
Heroes
My student and I finished our flight a little early and when we returned to the ramp, I saw an early model Cessna 210 sitting in front of the flight dispatch building. From afar, the airplane looked good. As I … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged a true American hero, aeronautical engineering, airplanes, an older gentleman, Cessna 210, Cessnas, Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket, Eastern Airlines, Edwards Air Force Base, flying, Hawker Siddeley, heroes, just another Cessna pilot, military service, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' (NACA), Navy, North American Aviation, pilots, professional pilots, Scott Crossfield, test pilot, the fastest human alive, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee for Science and Technology, the X-15, World War II
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4 Comments
The Juan T. Trippe
These days, if you don’t know who Juan T. Trippe is, the old airplane guys can almost excuse you because we have now moved so far down the timeline away from the glorious days of airline travel. This was a time … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged air-taxi service, airplanes, Aviation Company of the Americas, Boeing 707, Boeing 747, Clipper flying boats, Colonial Air Transport, Cuba, Eddie Rickenbacker, Florida, Havana, Howard Hughes, international jet travel, Key West, Long Island Airways, Mojave CA, Pacific Ocean, Pan Am, Pan American World Airways, pilots, the early airline industry, The Juan T. Trippe, the Tony Jannus Award
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4 Comments
Jimmy Stewart
Jimmy Stewart, born James Maitland Stewart in Indiana, Pennsylvania on May 20, 1908, was one of the most beloved movie actors of the Twentieth Century. Stewart was a gentle man who also happened to be an excellent piano player. Moreover … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged 453rd Bombardment Squadron, 703rd, a natural born leader, acting, Air Force, airplanes, B-24 Liberators, building model airplanes, Captain Andy Low, Hollywood, Hollywood star, James Maitland Stewart, Jimmy Stewart, judgment, military service, Old Buckenham, pilots, Princeton, Revolutionary War, War Between the States, World War II, “Old Buc”
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1 Comment
