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Tag Archives: pilots
It Seems As If Only Yesterday
It is the start of the new term. It is difficult to believe it is the Spring 2018 term. As part of the introduction to my classes, I used a scene from the movie, “The Dead Poets Society.” It was … Continue reading →
Posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged A-7E Corsair, airplanes, Carpe diem, discipline, extraordinary learning, flight training, flying airplanes, grades, inexperienced pilots, It Seems As If Only Yesterday, judgment, learning to fly, memories, military service, Navy, pilots, professional pilots, reading, Robin Williams, student pilots, studying, The Dead Poets Society, the key to learning, the Perseid meteor showers, the Spring 2018 term, “cramming”
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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 →
Posted in Aviation, Flying
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessnas, discipline, Florida, flying, fog, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, learning to fly, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, temperature-dewpoint spread, training aircraft, “reading” the weather
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Big Field, No Sweat
Okay, it happened again. Another pilot decided to try landing his crippled airplane on a road. Follow this link to view dramatic law enforcement dashcam video of a Cessna 150 trying to turn a road into an emergency runway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkriThuaaB0 … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessnas, crashing, discipline, Emergency Landings, flight training, inexperienced pilots, judgment, landing on roads, learning to fly, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, training aircraft
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Gladys Ingle
There was once a time when flying airplanes was really fun and truly free – free in the sense of a lack of regulations. This period was short-lived, lasting less than a decade. During the time from the end of … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying
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Tagged 13 Black Cats, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, an afternoon air show, barnstormers, Flying Circuses, Gladys Ingles, iron nerves, JN-4D Jennies, judgment, memories, open cockpit biplanes, over there, OX-5 engines, parachute, pilots, pluck, professional pilots, taildraggers, the 1920s, World War I
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6 Comments
Lost Logbooks
This past week, one of my students, Jo, asked about the problem. After I told her the solution, she asked, “Why didn’t you tell the class?” I usually do, but at the point in the course when I usually talk … Continue reading →
Posted in Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged flight training, flying, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, logbooks, lost logbooks, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots
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Understanding the Wing
Wings are very cool things. Many pilots like wings; they fly wings and most know the working speeds of wings (if only by rote). The question is, though, exactly how does a wing work? Keep in mind that designing an … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged "know the numbers", aerodynamics, airplanes, AR=b/c, aspect ratio (AR), Cessna 172, Cessnas, chord, flight training, flying characteristics, math, mission, P-51, pilots, Pitts Special, power to weight ratio, professional pilots, Reno race pilots, S = b x c, straight and level, student pilots, trailing edge, transport airplanes, unaccelerated flight, wing area, wing span, wings, working speeds
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A Dozen Rules to Spin a Prop
I looked at my Facebook page yesterday and found a photo of a pilot who lost the tip of a finger while hand propping his ultralight airplane. Pretty gruesome stuff. I often tell my students that hand propping an airplane … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged aerobatic, Aeroncas, airplanes, Cessnas, Champs, Continental A-65, Cubs, flight training, hand propping, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, Light Sport Aircraft (LSA), Luscombes, pilots, professional pilots, Rotax, student pilots, Subaru, taildraggers, the "Armstrong" technique, training aircraft, ultralight, VW
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Flying for Fun
As always, I woke early. Most of my students can’t believe I wake up so early – and without an alarm. I set my phone to sound at 6:05 and it is a rare morning when I sleep past 6 … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, barnstormers, Cessnas, early morning flight, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, friends, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, memories, open cockpit biplanes, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, sunrise flying, taildraggers, training aircraft
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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 →
Posted in Aviation, Flying
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Cessnas, discipline, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, learning to fly, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots
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2 Comments
The First Passenger Death
“Uh-oh!” It was a simple statement uttered by a man who was about to die. Pilots tend to do that – which is a way of recognizing they will say something very prophetic just before crashing. Usually it is a … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, History
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, crashing, engine failures, flying, Fort Myer VA, Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, military service, Orville Wright, pilots, September 17 1908, The First Passenger Death, the first passenger fatality, the Wright Brothers, the Wright Flyer, US Army, “Uh-oh!”
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1 Comment
