Handling an Aircraft Emergency Few of us really know how we’ll react in a true emergency. Thankfully, they are extremely rare in our modern GA airplanes. But will you be prepared when that day comes? The day that something goes terribly wrong and it’s completely up to you to save yourself and your passengers. Having…
My Ride in a T-34 In High School I pumped gas to pay for my flying. It turned out to be a great opportunity to be a paid airport bum; I met all sorts of people and learned a ton. One of the neat things that happened was meeting Col J. Paul Tidwell, a retired…
If you don’t already know about the FAA’s free publication that comes out 6 times a year, you owe it to yourself to check it out. FAA Safety Briefing is a very well done full-color glossy periodical that covers a wide variety of topics. The Nov/Dec edition’s theme is on Small Airplane, Big World, so the…
My Last Piston Twin Trip My last paying trip in a piston twin was emotional, but not for the reasons you might think. First I should quantify, at the time I didn’t realize this was to be my last round trip. I was flying for a great little FBO in my home town. We did…
Each month I will feature an aviation book that I would recommend you add to your collection. An appropriate title for some of my more recent posts, Stick and Rudder: An Explanation of the Art of Flying is the oldest flying book I have read and it might be the most practical. Wolfgang Langewiesche was way…
Flying with Finesse I love it when we refer to flying as art. It distills away all the sorid technical details and leaves us with the one thing that keeps us coming back, our physical connection with the flying machine. This connection should be a major concern for us as pilots. Our handling of the…
UPDATE: 11/03/12 You may have heard, but in case you haven’t, there is a flying movie out November 2nd called ‘FLIGHT’. It stars Denzel Washington, which I’m a huge fan, and it is directed by Robert Zemeckis, who did ‘Forrest Gump’ and ‘Cast Away’. I saw the movie Saturday night and while it doesn’t involve…
Cory Bird’s Symmetry One of the most beautiful light airplanes I have ever seen is Cory Bird’s one-of-a-kind homebuilt called Symmetry. Cory designed and built this aircraft over 14 years and 15,000 man-hours. Powered by a 200hp, IO-360. It first flew in April 2003 and everywhere it goes, it draws a crowd.
Hot off the presses from General Aviation News: http://www.generalaviationnews.com/2012/11/01/71216/ Editorial WACO Classic Aircraft has won FAA approval of the S-TEC System 55X autopilot STC for installation in the WACO YMF-F5C and 5D. I must have hit my head as child because I don’t get it. Why in the world would I want an autopilot in…
Naming Contrary Mary How did my RV-8 come to be called ‘Contrary Mary’? Early in the construction of my RV-8 I needed to decide on a paint scheme. I wanted something that would pop, the traditional white base with some kind of accent strip(s) wasn’t going to cut it. Lots of RV-8 has pseudo-military paint schemes so…