Tag Archives: altitude

Sealord and the Atlantic

It is the day after Mother’s Day and for her treat, I take Ardis to dinner at the Reef Restaurant on the beach. As is always the case, whenever I look out to sea, my mind wanders back a couple … Continue reading

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Pilot-Engineer Wars

There is a thought that engineers created performance charts just to drive pilots crazy. And, as if that were not enough, they had to include “notes,” “cautions,” and “warnings.” The pilots need to heed all those, too, just to keep … Continue reading

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The Aeronca Champ

The Aeronca Champ is one of the most classic of airplanes from the 1940s. As with most of the old airplanes from that era, the Champ was able to fly based on a very fine balance between large wing area … Continue reading

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Close Calls, Near Misses, and Collisions

I have been following the blogging of a new student pilot from Down Under. Dave refers to himself as a middle-aged pilot learning to fly for the first time in Sydney, Australia. As with pilots all over, he is now … Continue reading

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A Lesson in Ricochets

One day, the weapons instructors introduced us to the technique of firing live rounds. Now this is a little different from going down to the rifle range and learning to shoot; what we were going to do was learn how … Continue reading

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Flying at (Density) Altitude

I am a Florida boy who learned to fly at mean sea level. As such, I do not care for a couple of things. The first is cold, the second is high density altitude. Many pilots do not understand the … Continue reading

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The Doolittle Raiders

Sixty-nine years ago this morning, 80 very brave men in 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers launched from the deck of the aircraft carrier, USS Hornet. They and their leaders planned the mission well, but as they steamed toward their targets, they … Continue reading

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A Lesson With Two Engines

Yesterday, I finished my piece about flying with Maurice by giving him thanks for a great flying lesson. It got me thinking about other great lessons I learned in airplanes with other flight instructors and I thought of another, with … Continue reading

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Teaching Stalls, Part II

Yesterday, we hit the basics of teaching stalls. Today, let’s go a little more in depth. First, some important questions. Why should we learn how to stall? Why should we learn how to recover from a stall? What is the … Continue reading

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Teaching Stalls, Part I

One maneuver scary to many student pilots is The Stall. This maneuver comes in a variety of flavors—there is the power off stall, the power on stall, the approach to landing stall, the accelerated stall. It is no surprise this … Continue reading

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