Tag Archives: judgment

Alaska

Earlier, when I checked my email, I found a message from a former student who recently graduated. Like the graduates before him, it was time for him to figure out what to do with the rest of his life, starting … Continue reading

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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

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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

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“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

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BluewaterPress Goes National

Yesterday and the day before were busy days for BluewaterPress. As I finished the fall term at school, my mind naturally began thinking of the things I had to finish for the press. Highest on the list was drafting a … Continue reading

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Maximum Cruise Range

Engineers love playing with numbers, equations, and graph paper. They like playing with lines, French curves, straightedges, and their triangles. From all of their frivolous number-crunching and sketching, sometimes they come up with specific useful information. They, the engineers, discuss … Continue reading

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Inexperienced Pilots and the Just Highlander

Someone had an interesting query for Google the other day. It was “highlander aircraft inexperienced pilot.” The Google machine brought the Googler right straight to my blog. When I saw the query in the software, I started thinking about it … Continue reading

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Reno

As usual, the news media is doing a terrible job on the continual reporting of the Reno crash.  There is a modicum of fact and the remainder of their reports, articles, and videos contain unsubstantiated conjecture and a lot of … Continue reading

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Trim Tabs

Friday was a terrible day for aviation and for air racing in particular. When the elevator trim tab separated from the airframe, Jimmy Leeward lost control of his modified P-51 air racer, The Galloping Ghost, crashing into air race spectators. … Continue reading

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Looking Both Ways

In teaching student pilots, I have been amazed that a few will cross a runway or taxiway without looking. At airports with control towers and active ATC, the instances of this happening are more pronounced than at airports without ground control. The … Continue reading

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