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Tag Archives: military service
High Flight
My last blog was about the men who saved England, no, indeed the world. The documentary I watched about the pilots who flew in the Battle of Britain moved me. Their story overwhelmingly impressed me because of my realization of … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History
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Tagged airplanes, Canada, discipline, England, fighter pilots, flight training, flying, friends, High Flight, inexperienced pilots, John Gillespie Magee, Jr., judgment, learning to fly, military service, No. 9 Elementary Flying Training School, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, RAF, RCAF, student pilots, taildraggers, the Battle of Britain, the Fleet Finch, training aircraft, Winston Churchill, World War II
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1 Comment
The Battle of Britain
This week, I had the opportunity to watch a very well done documentary on the Battle of Britain. Hosted by Ewan McGregor and his brother Colin, they told of how they grew up in England studying about the fighter pilots … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, British pilots, Colin McGregor, discipline, Ewan McGregor, flight training, flying, friends, Harvard, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, military service, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, Stampe trainer, student pilots, T-6 Texan, taildraggers, training aircraft, World War II
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1 Comment
A Quiet, Nerdy Engineer
Neil Armstrong has passed at the age of 82. Yesterday, Fox News reported Armstrong regarded himself as, “a quiet, nerdy engineer.” Well, he may have considered himself in those terms, but for many of us, he was the nation’s hero, … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation History, Flying, History, Life in General
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Tagged airplanes, Apollo 11, Cape Kennedy, discipline, flight test, Florida, flying, Gemini 8, instrument flying, judgment, Korean War, learning to fly, Lunar Landing, memories, military service, NAS Pensacola, Navy, Pad 39A, pilots, President Kennedy, professional pilots, sailors, Sea of Tranquility, the moon, USS Essex
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2 Comments
Seeing the Sun
We were driving across Florida through the Ocala National Forest. It was one of those afternoons good for driving, not so much for flying, unless you held an instrument rating and had filed. We were passing near R-2910 and I … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged 200-1/4, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, clouds, discipline, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, GCA, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, instrument training, judgment, learning to fly, memories, military service, Navy, PAR, pilots, professional pilots, sailors, student pilots, TA-4J Skyhawk, training aircraft
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2 Comments
The Magic Plastic Wheel
Ernest K. Gann, the aviation writer of the Twentieth Century, once wrote about the plastic E6-B flight computer that resided in his top pocket of his uniform shirt. Other pilots had other favorite places in or on their uniform for … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Personal
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Tagged Air Force, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessnas, discipline, E-6B, Ernest K. Gann, flight calculators, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, learning to fly, military service, Navy, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, training aircraft, whiz wheels
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My Time
This time of year is my time. There is nothing better than the early morning cool, listening to the birds, and feeling the cool damp of the morning while drinking coffee in the sunrise. When I was learning to fly … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal, Writing
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Tagged a Sam Lyon’s painting, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, an escapee housecat, cats, Cessnas, early morning cool, early morning writing, early spring, flight training, Florida, flying, flying in the early morning, friends, learning to fly, listening to the birds, memories, military service, most pleasant flying memories, Navy, productive times, Reveille, rising early, sitting outside, sunrise, taildraggers, the delightful things I could see, the first cup of coffee, watching Cubs taking off, watching the fog on the lake, writers
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I Woke Up Old Today
When I woke up today, the talking heads on television were talking about historic events—in particular, John Glenn’s three-orbit flight around the world. I remember that flight. Just like it was yesterday. It was, however, 50 years ago. I turned … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, History, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged Air Force, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Atlas, discipline, February 20 1962, flight training, Florida, flying, John Glenn, judgment, Marines, memories, Mercury, military service, Navy, Pearl Harbor, pilots, professional pilots, training aircraft, World War II
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Sleep, Food, Water, and Performance
I have taught about the relationship between a pilot’s need for proper rest and flying for a long time. Corollary to having the proper rest is eating right and proper hydration. It is a complex equation, and I was pleased when … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged Air Force, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cuba, discipline, flying, judgment, memories, military service, Navy, pilots, professional pilots, sailors
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2 Comments
“CHRISTMAS AT SEA”
The sheets were frozen hard, and they cut the naked hand; The decks were like a slide, where a seamen scarce could stand; The wind was a nor’wester, blowing squally off the sea; And cliffs and spouting breakers were the … Continue reading →
Posted in Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged airmen, airspeed, altitude, black shoe sailors, coastguardsmen, discipline, flying, friends, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, loved ones, Marines, memories, military service, Navy, professional pilots, Robert Louis Stevenson, sailing ships, sailors, soldiers, writers
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So Long, Allan Wise
Two or three years ago, the veterans of World War II were dying at an alarming rate of more than 1000 per day. Of the 16 million who saved the world while wearing the uniform of one of the United … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged Air Force, airplanes, airspeed, Allan Wise, altitude, EAA, flight training, Florida, flying, friends, homebuilt airplanes, memories, military service, open cockpit biplanes, Pietenpol Air Camper, pilots, professional pilots, World War II
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