[sc:Top-of-Post ] Short Sortie: A Normal Flight in the RV-8 Since the last time I flew the -8 was four weeks ago, I was looking for any excuse to go flying yesterday. My home airport doesn’t have fuel so I have to go to other airports to top-off. So the mission today was to top-off…
[sc:Top-of-Post ] As a contributor for Air Facts Journal I penned an article for them on mentorship as it relates to aviation. You can find it here: http://airfactsjournal.com/2012/11/aviation-mentorship Hopefully you will find it useful, whether you are a potential or current mentor or a mentoree. If you have experience or ideas in this area, I’d love…
[sc:Top-of-Post ] 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…
[sc:Top-of-Post ] 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,…
[sc:Top-of-Post ] 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…
[sc:Top-of-Post ] 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….
[sc:Top-of-Post ] 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…
[sc:Top-of-Post ] 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…
[sc:Top-of-Post ] 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…
[sc:Top-of-Post ] 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.