Medically speaking Editorial Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, nor do I play one on TV. The information herein is not medical advice or guidance. Since this month my 1st class medical is due again, I went to the Doctor’s office like I have done for the last 26 years. Over those years I…
RV-8 cockpit tour The video below is a basic cockpit tour of my RV-8. This airplane has an IO-360 200hp engine with inverted fuel/oil and a Hartzell constant-speed prop. It first flew August 13, 2011. It is equipped with an Advanced AFS3500EE EFIS, Garmin 696 moving map GPS, GNC-300XL IFR GPS/Comm, GTX 327 transponder, and…
A shout-out to aviation’s volunteers Flying creates such an emotional connection that it really draws people in, many of these folks actually never fly. In fact, some of the more important people to our hobby aren’t licensed at all. The good news about aviation is there are so many ways to be involved and you don’t…
Spartan Days I was a student at Spartan School of Aeronautics (their new name is Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology) back in 1990. At the time Spartan had a boom of pilots coming through with dreams of airline cockpits in their heads. First, I want to say that Spartan is a great school steeped…
Virtual Self-Righteous Aviator As a companion article to the Self-Righteous Aviator(SRA), I present to you the Virtual Self-Righteous Aviator (V-SRA). This particular sub-species of SRA, can usually be found lurking on message boards throughout the Internet as trolls. Their modus operandi is to pounce with impunity on anyone they feel could be a worthy victim.
Does building or restoring an airplane make you smarter? For the sake of the argument lets consider “smarter” as a tangible enhancement in problem-solving skills. After building my RV-8 I pondered this very subjective question. Part of me felt like the almost 5 years of daily construction have translated into better logic and reasoning skills,…
Paying it forward: aviation style This year Indiana resident and pilot , Nancy Warren, did an amazing thing. Nancy is a member of the United Flying Octogenarians. That membership requirement is to be actively flying past 80 years of age. At 84 years young, Nancy has been going strong flying her trusty Cardinal. A few…
Each month I will feature an aviation book that I would recommend you add to your collection. I recently finished this book and it was an outstanding read – I couldn’t put it down! If you love books that are written by the person who was there and did the real stuff, you’ll love this…
What will general aviation look like in 40 years? The year is 2053. I drive to my small general aviation airport in my electric vehicle and pull right up to my hangar. There is no need to gain access via gates due to the virtual barrier placed around the perimeter. Any breach will quickly dispatch…
The Instrument rating demystified The instrument rating is really a graduate level course that many undergrads quiver at the thought of undergoing. Lets examine it in detail and discover some common mistakes and misconceptions. What is an instrument rating? We should all understand the basic idea behind being instrument rated, but you might be surprised…