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Tag Archives: discipline
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
The Souls of Airplanes
I remember the first time I realized an airplane could seem as though it were a living being. I was out at the Zephyrhills airport near Tampa, where I met a young man who owned a Republic Seabee amphibious aircraft. … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessna 170, Cessna 182, Cessnas, discipline, engine failures, first solo, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, for the sake of flying, friends, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, learning to fly, memories, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, Piper Cubs, professional pilots, Republic Seabee, student pilots, taildraggers, training aircraft, Zephyrhills airport
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6 Comments
Engine Failures Are Louder at Night
I have written about engine failures in the past (Engine Failures, “Go ahead, punk, make my day!”, Running on Empty, and Dinner Conversations About Fear). The one thing I have not addressed is engine failure at night, which is, without question, the worst thing … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessnas, discipline, engine failures, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, learning to fly, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, taildraggers
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8 Comments
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
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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Comments Off on The Cub Versus the Champ
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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Comments Off on The Magic Plastic Wheel
