This past November, right at the end of my vacation time, I got to take the Stearman for one last ride.  I flew nearly 10 hours during my couple weeks off, which doesn’t seem like much now that I write this but it sure felt like a lot of flying.  At least a lot of…

Using The Tools You Have The landing gear on the Stearman is big. Big oleo struts and tires with big springs and lots of hydraulic fluid. Every once in a while though these struts can stick and though I’ve seen some creative ways to measure if they work or not when you go flying it’s…

What’s the deal with that prop? What´s the deal with that prop? You may remember when it took me forever to fly home I figured out the propeller was set to a climb setting, not a cruise setting.  Most props are fixed pitch or constant speed.  Either the blades are fixed and that’s what you…

So what’s it like getting checked out in a Stearman?  Well, when it’s your Stearman, it’s a little terrifying. The aircraft is a taildragger so you have those attributes to contend with and the Stearman has a reputation that precedes it, and deservedly so.  Add to that the fact that this was going to be…

But I thought it was a Stearman?  Yes, but no not really.   It’s definitely a Boeing, but listen up.   Lloyd Stearman, born 1898, worked as an architect after WWI before becoming a mechanic at Laird Aircraft in 1919.  Laird sold the company to some of its employees in 1923 and became Swallow Aircraft Company…

Going down the rabbit hole, in my boxers, in the hotel room.     So I am on a 7 day trip right now, sitting in my upgraded suite at the Hilton in Naples. It was a pretty easy day of flying.  Followed by some good seafood and a few craft brews, overall not a…

My friend Jack was flying under the hood, my wife Theresa was in the back with Stella, and I was about to begin a what-if scenario of IFR emergencies for Jack’s instrument training on our cross country.  I was going to discuss an inflight fire, engine trouble, or maybe electrical loss as the “what if”…

Thanks to guest poster Sam Stoddart for this excellent writeup and video sharing the flight of the Spitfires – great history with a great artist! ——————— On the 18th of August, thousands of spectators gathered at Biggin Hall to watch the World War 2 Spitfires take flight once more to commemorate the 75th anniversary of…

Flight Report: Phenom 300 Business Jet The Phenom 300 Business Jet is Embraer’s latest production aircraft (Legacy 450 just passed certification and sales should begin soon), and has shown great success in both aircraft sales, and aircraft performance. Both the Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 are part 23, single pilot certified, jet aircraft. I am not…

A Guy I Know Better Than Myself.  After switching frequencies, I heard a new voice come across my headset.  “Four Uniform Foxtrot.  Your are number two behind a Citation Sovereign on short final.  Cleared for the option” We had just hit our Comm Transfer button, changing our radio from Chicago Approach to Tower at Chicago…