Archive

November 20, 2012

Jerrie Mock and the Spirit of Columbus

Jerrie Mock and the Spirit of Columbus I wrote an article for Air Facts Journal on one of the least known, but probably most interesting aviatrix of the last century. She was the first woman to fly around the world solo. One of the fun things about doing this story was that Jerrie lived in…

November 19, 2012

Flying Young Eagles: My 1st Rally

Flying Young Eagles: My 1st Rally I am ashamed to admit it, but Saturday was my first time to attend a Young Eagles rally. Not only did I attend, but I flew as a volunteer pilot. EAA Chapter 9, based in Columbus, OH,  was host to the November 17th event at The Ohio State University…

November 18, 2012

First Flight: Flight Testing your Experimental Aircraft

First Flight: Flight Testing your Experimental Aircraft Flight testing your homebuilt aircraft for the first time is statistically proven to be a riskier proposition than normal flight operations. Of course this makes sense; the first time a bundle of parts are assembled into an airplane and take flight there are going to be opportunities for…

November 17, 2012

Crossfired: A Spectacular Fly-In

Crossfired Over the summer a gaggle of around 30 RVs converged on a beautiful grass strip near Akron, OH. The destination – Crossfire’s, a veritable ‘field of dreams’ grass strip owned by John Fury. Once, or more times, a year John opens up his home to a bunch of RV-drivers and anyone else who wants…

November 16, 2012

B-17 Gas Station

B-17 Gas Station A friend sent me this story and I couldn’t resist posting it here. I tried to determine who the original author was, but to no avail. My best guess is from this website by a guy named Blair Shorney. Some of the claims in the story are pretty far-fetched, but the images…

November 15, 2012

My First Flight

My First Flight My first time to slip the surly bonds of earth occurred at Lawton, Oklahoma. I was 14 years old. The vehicle, a Piper Arrow IV. The pilot, Jim Huddleston. In my early teens I made the decision that I would be a pilot. The only nuance was I had never flow in…

November 14, 2012

Aviation Book List: ebooks

Aviation Book List: ebooks A friend of the blog asked on our Facebook page about a list of recommended aviation books. He was specifically interested in books that could be downloaded, since he lives overseas. Although we have the Book of the Month Club where we feature a book each month, I am going to…

November 12, 2012

A Horse of a Different Color: Flying and Horses?

A horse of a different color One of things I enjoy, outside of flying, is horseback riding. After a recent ride it occurred to me that there are some fascinating parallels between these two very different disciplines. Starting with the basics; the flight controls are similar in that you use both your hands and your…

November 11, 2012

Short Sortie: A Normal Flight in the RV-8

Short Sortie: A Normal Flight in the RV-8 Since the last time I flew the -8 was four weeks ago, I was looking for any excuse to go flying yesterday. My home airport doesn’t have fuel so I have to go to other airports to top-off. So the mission today was to top-off the fuel…

November 10, 2012

Aviation Mentorship: Air Facts Journal

  As a contributor for Air Facts Journal I penned an article for them on mentorship as it relates to aviation. You can find it here: http://airfactsjournal.com/2012/11/aviation-mentorship Hopefully you will find it useful, whether you are a potential or current mentor or a mentoree. If you have experience or ideas in this area, I’d love to hear…