I Love Biplanes! One of the most existential things you can do as an aviator is fly a biplane, especially an open cockpit variety. Having been lucky enough to have been a steward to one of these sentient vehicles in my youth, I can say I have tasted it’s nectar first hand. There are few…
Don’t wait on your dreams! Recently I got a disturbing call from a good friend of mine. He was diagnosed with a disease that will forever clip his wings. This is a life-long aviator in his late 40s. This really punctuates the need to not wait on your dreams. My friend has had a fantastic…
I have never really had any interest in the Clippers, although they were a big part of aviation’s coming of age. I just skipped over that era of aviation history, but I was aware of the art deco posters that romanticized the big flying boats and their exotic ports of call. Recently, someone sent me an…
Today marks the sixth month anniversary of this fine aviation blog. Here’s some fun facts: There have been over 40,324 page views, 198 posts, 200+ comments, and 196 subscribers since I began the blog last September (2012). Hey, if you aren’t a subscriber, press here to get signed up. All along the goal of this…
I hate to disclose this embarrassing nugget of information, but the confession might cleanse my soul – ok maybe not. Some background first. If you frequent the blog you’ll know that I fly an RV-8. I love all sorts of airplanes; I am no RV snob, but I gravitated to the Vans designs some years…
This is a fictious story of an average middle-aged guy with a family that also has an affliction – it’s called flying. NOTE: This could be anyone. Jack is a loving family man. His wife and two kids mean everything to him. But now in his 40s, life is starting to provide more opportunities to…
According to Aero-New Network, “Air Force II Won’t Be Ferrying The Vice President Home For Weekends. VP Joe Biden says that he’ll once again be taking the train home to Delaware from Washington for the weekends now that the sequester has grounded Air Force II from weekend trips. But he does not seem to be…
RV NATION: It’s a grass roots thing! Scott Brown, creator of RV Nation, is building a community. A community of like-minded RV folks where they can come together to talk and exchange all-things-RV. The really cool thing that Scott is doing is providing significant value to members. One of the ways is by leveraging the…
“I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things…” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
When you fly you don’t really think about energy management so much. As long as the fan out front is turning, you don’t have to waste a lot of brain cells on the topic. But what about folks who fly without engines, like glider pilots? They are constantly considering the relationship between the potential energy…