If you are lucky enough to have a spouse that is in love with aviation then you can skip this post entirely. Unfortunately, not all of us enjoy such pleasantries of life. Some of us may find ourselves wedded to someone who would rather stick pins in their eyes than go to the airport and…
On the heels of the FAA’s certification of the first commercial drones, I’m compelled to take you down the rabbit hole with me regarding the implications of our skies littered with faceless, nameless machines. Like almost all powerful technology that has been developed in history, it can be used for good, and it can be…
Recency of experience is one of the major safety challenges that we face in general aviation. Although it doesn’t seem to get a lot of direct press, it’s lurking just under the surface in many accidents. It’s one of the less tangible causations which push investigators to dig deep for answers that almost never materialize,…
Disclaimer: the inspiration for this post comes from my minor obsession with coffee. It real doesn’t matter where you are in the spectrum of aviation, sometimes we just need a little jolt to remind us why we have embarked on this journey. Indulge me as I draw parallels between my other vice, Starbucks, and different ways to enliven…
Ten Simple things you can do to improve your airmanship. I thought it might be helpful to post up a few things that I have found useful, in terms of keeping the rust off and trying to continuously improve the craft. I’m sure you have some of your own methods and we’d love to hear…
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…
When you build an airplane, there are many times that you just need an extra hand. This is especially true with a metal airplane that needs to be riveted together. My son, Mitchel, was my right-hand man in that regard. Since it took almost 5 years to build it, Mitchel was just at the right…