42 years ago I was sitting on my bedroom floor playing the game Careers with my girlfriends. This was a game where we spun the wheel to land on the career of our choice. Yes… we could become a stewardess, librarian, teacher, nurse, or model! A stewardess was the career of the times.    …

As a pilot I have an irresistible tendency to look up when I see an airplane over head. For some reason I don’t think this instinct exists in the non-aviation oriented population. This has been demonstrated to me dozens of times when I’m in public. I reflexively strain my neck to place my gaze upon…

Many of your will remember the anti-narcotics campaign launched in the late 1980s (If you haven’t seen it, click this link – it’s a classic). This popular ad really reminds me of how my brain seems to change when I’m under the influence of flying. Not sure how this happens, but when I fly there is…

Timing is everything When it comes to aviation, timing is certainly everything. I pondered this as my friend Bob and I worked on timing the magnetos on his yet to be born, RV-10. [br] You see, the mags have to be aligned and adjusted to precisely fire the spark plugs at just the right time…

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…

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…

Last week a good friend, Tom Webster, passed away. Tom was 76 and lived in Columbus, OH most of his life. He was an avid aviator and built an RV-7A that he flew right up to the end. He passed peacefully in his sleep. As you would imagine, he was a great family man and…

Editorial Is the romance gone from professional flying? Why do most of these pilots choose golf, boating, hunting, ad nauseam over a pleasure flying on their days off? (For our purposes, professional flying refers to the airline, charter, or corporate pilot.) I am going to throw out some harsh estimates; these are not based on any…

Ok, if you don’t know who Kermit Weeks is you need let me explain it in one sentence. He is what you or I would be if we were rich! He’s the creator of the Fantasy of Flight Theme Park in Polk City, Florida and he has the largest private collection of airplanes in the…

Buying an airplane is one of the biggest decisions you can make. Initially we start with some simple (or not) questions. In future segments we’ll decend down into the details of purchasing an aircraft. Before we can proceed you need to ask youself some fundamental questions: