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Tag Archives: professional pilots
Dinner Conversations About Fear
We were sitting with friends at a great restaurant on the beach. The temperature was just right, the humidity relatively low, and the wind was light, but refreshing. It was a great evening and since we were aviators, our conversation … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, being ready, control the fear, Conversations About Fear, discipline, emergencies, engine failure, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, flying careers, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, survival, survival training, training
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2 Comments
The Cub Versus the Champ
One of the ongoing debates in general aviation pertains to the merits of two of the most classic airplanes that flew in the formative years of aviation. The airplanes are the Piper Cub and the Aeronca Champ. I have written … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, discipline, first solo, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, taildraggers, training aircraft
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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
Leftovers
Leftovers. You have to love ’em. Especially if they have been hanging around the ’fridge for a while and they age appropriately—mixing in flavors in on top of flavors. Sometimes the leftovers are wonderfully tasty and you might think it cannot … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged 100-LL, 100-octane, 150-hp Lycoming, 80-octane, airplanes, alternate destinations, an unsafe practice, Cessna 172, critical thinking skills, day VFR fuel reserves, destinations, discipline, engine problems, excess fuel, flight planning, flying, flying instruments, general aviation airplanes, holding patterns, holding time, how many approaches, judgment, Leftovers, minimum fuel, night and IFR fuel reserves, options, pilots, pilots can never have too much fuel, Piper Cherokee, professional pilots, the ATC environment, useable fuel, weather below minimums
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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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Pattern Discipline
Flying the landing pattern is one of those simple tasks that makes use of all the fundamentals of flying. It also uses other skills and disciplines–along with math and physics–and a “dash” of common sense. The start of a good … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessna 170, Cessnas, discipline, flight training, flying, inexperienced pilots, judgment, landing, learning to fly, pilots, professional pilots, short field landing, soft field landing, student pilots, taildraggers, training aircraft
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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 →
Posted in Aviation, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, Alaska, altitude, Cessna 170, Cessna 182, Cessnas, floatplanes, flying, friends, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, mountains, Navy, pilots, professional pilots, seaplanes, taildraggers, water flying
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4 Comments
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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