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Tag Archives: airplanes
The Master Birdman
Ninety-nine years ago today, America lost one of her most cherished heroes. Pioneer aviator Lincoln J. Beachey, died when the aircraft he was piloting at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco on March 14, 1915 suffered structural failure. He … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History
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Tagged 1915, aerial maneuvers, aeroplanes, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, aviation exhibitions, Barney Oldfield, barnstormers, Beachey-Eaton Monoplane, bicycle mechanic, demonstration pilots, flying, Lincoln J. Beachey, March 14, Morane-Saulnier H, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, racing, San Francisco, taildraggers, Taube, the loop, The Man Who Owns the Sky, The Master Birdman, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
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Model 299
In 1930, aviation remained in the beginning stages of development. Pilots were few, airplanes fewer, and almost every aircraft was small with inadequate performance. Most airplanes were of the biplane design with some sleeker monoplanes starting to come off the … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, History
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Tagged airplanes, B-17E, B-17G, Boeing, Boeing pilot Les Tower, C.L. Egtvedt, Coast Guard, Douglas B-18, E. Gifford Emery, Edward Curtis Wells, England, flying, Flying Fortress, General William Mitchell, inadequate performance, Major Ployer Peter Hill, Model 299, Pratt & Whitney, Seattle Times reporter Richard Williams, World War II, Wright Field
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The First Lady Lex
Eighty-six years ago today, the first aircraft carrier to bear the name Lexington was commissioned. The USS Lexington was the first of her kind and consequently she became the lead ship of her type, the Lexington-class. Of the class, there … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, History
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Tagged 1941, aircraft carrier, airplanes, Captain Frederick Sherman, CV-16, December 7, discipline, Essex-class ships, flight training, Florida, flying, friends, inexperienced pilots, judgment, Lady Lex, Marines, memories, Midway Island, military service, NAS Pensacola, Navy, Navy Secretary Frank Knox, Pearl Harbor, sailors, student pilots, The First Lady Lex, the Japanese attack, the Marshall Islands, the Pacific, the Quincy shipyard, USS Cabot, USS Lexington, USS Phelps, USS Saratoga, World War II
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Hurricanes and Emergency Diverts
Thirty years ago this month, I checked into my first operational squadron in Gitmo. They gave me the “gouge” about flying in the Caribbean, including divert/bingo information for any reason when we could not return to Guantanamo. I gathered up … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, History, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged A-4 Skyhawk, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cuba, discipline, divert/bingo information, flying, friends, Gainesville, Gitmo, Hurricane Kate, hurricanes, Hurricanes and Emergency Diverts, Jamaica, judgment, Kingston, Marines, memories, military service, Navy, Norman C. Manley International, old friends, professional pilots, the Caribbean, The Gators, the “gouge”, Weather guessers
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2 Comments
Rate My Controller!
I am sitting in my office, recording grades. Dr. Cass Howell comes walking by the open door and stops. We start talking about life. Get a couple of old naval aviators together and of course, the talk always turns to … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessnas, controllers, discipline, Florida, flying, friends, judgment, memories, pilots, professional pilots, ratemycontroller.com, taildraggers, Tampa
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2 Comments
Surviving an Airliner Crash
This week’s crash of Asiana 214 was a terrible event with great miracles – the survival of 305 people out of 307 onboard the airliner. When I initially wrote about the accident, I said I would follow up with some … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged able-bodied passengers, airliner accidents, airplane crash, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Asiana 214, avoiding panic, emergency, emergency exit, engine failures, fear of flying, flight attendants, flying, flying as a passenger, judgment, memorize the way out, pilots, pre-flight safety brief, professional pilots, seat location, smoke, surviving a plane crash, Surviving an Airliner Crash, survivors
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5 Comments
The Miracle of Asiana 214
Two dead, 182 injured, six in critical condition of 307 souls onboard. What happened yesterday, July 6, 2013 at San Francisco International Airport was truly a miracle. On short final, the Boeing 777 touched down short of the runway breaking … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flying
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Tagged accidents, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Asiana 214, Boeing 777, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, commercial aviation, discipline, emergency situations, engineers, fear of flying, fears about flying, Federal Aviation Administration, human factors, investigators, media coverage, Miracle on the Hudson, modern aircraft, National Transportation Safety Board, pilots, professional pilots, San Francisco International Airport, survivability, the safest mode of transportation
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2 Comments
The Safety of “Little Airplanes”
Many question the safety of “little airplanes.” By the way, they are only “little” until you have to wash and wax them; then the smallest airplane suddenly appears similar in size to a Boeing 747. General aviation aircraft have always … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged accident files, airplane accidents, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessna 170, Cessna 182, Cessnas, discipline, first solo, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, General aviation, highways, instrument flying, judgment, learning to fly, little airplanes, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), pilots, poor judgment, professional pilots, sailors, student pilots, training aircraft
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2 Comments
First Flights
When you first go flying with a new student, you should make certain everything is as perfect as possible. In other words, a new student’s first flight should occur very early in the morning when the temperatures are low and … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessnas, CFI, engine failures, First flights, first solo, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, friends, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, memories, new students, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, taildraggers, training aircraft
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4 Comments
Praise and Insults by Hemingway
I am writing again about writing pilots or flying writers. Sometimes it is difficult to decide which are adjectives and nouns when it comes to describing writers who are capable of flying, or pilots who can actually write. On my … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, History, Life in General, Publishing, Reading, Writing
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Tagged airplanes, altitude, editors, England, flight training, flying, friends, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, memories, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, publishers, sailors, student pilots, taildraggers, training aircraft
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4 Comments
