Tag Archives: instrument flying

Sitting Around Waiting

We’re sitting in a waiting room while waiting. After all, that is what you do in a waiting room. We sit watching television news about tornadoes and flooding in Tampa. As I watch the satellite and radar images of the … Continue reading

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Playing the Game

Much of flight boils down to the decision making process. This is particularly true when it comes to weather and fuel and many times, either weather depends on the fuel situation or vice versa. An intriguing part of flight planning … Continue reading

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Pilots, Briefers, and Weather, Oh My!

There is something to be said for knowing the weather in a particular geographic location. Additionally, I really miss flying in air masses over which I was capable of seeing vast expanses of air and moisture. I liked being able … Continue reading

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Pilots and Weather

We’re sitting in the hospital waiting room while waiting for my mother-in-law to come out of surgery. We sit watching the news about tornadoes and flooding in Tampa. As I watch the satellite and radar images of the weather, my … Continue reading

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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

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On Buying An Airplane, Part IV

Well, it is yours! The question now becomes, how much will it really cost to operate? The price of operating an aircraft falls into two broad categories. These include “fixed” costs and “variable” costs. Pilots (and accountants) appropriately refer to … Continue reading

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On Buying An Airplane, Part II

When it comes to operating your own airplane, you have to keep a few things in mind. First, airplanes are not cheap, but if you are going to do more flying than usual, which is to say more than seven … Continue reading

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On Buying An Airplane, Part I

Once you make the decision to buy an airplane, it is one of the most exciting times of your life. It can also be one of the most frustrating. Oh, and let me also say there is a little stress … Continue reading

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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

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Night Charter

I’m on the drive home going north along Interstate 95. The storms have just passed and they remind of a night long ago in the charter business. There is lightning cloud to cloud and cloud to ground off to the … Continue reading

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