Having fond memories of your own solo flight is one of the unique gifts of learning to fly. Like all pilots, it’s a seminal point in your journey. It’s akin to walking through a door into a new world. A world in which you alone control your destiny. You have crossed a threshold; you are…

Would you believe me if I stated I have a cure for the declining pilot population? And would you also believe me if I said YOU have the cure too?    It’s true. We have the power to manage this problem right now. It won’t take cheaper fuel, less government regulations, cheaper airplanes, more airports,…

This series will draw metaphors from the famous Greek mythological story of Icarus.   If you are unfamiliar; Icarus’ father (Daedalus) was an amazing craftsman who built his son a pair of wings made of wax and feathers. Against his father’s guidance he flew too close to the sun and melted his wings, crashing to his…

I have never been much on New Year’s Resolutions. I’m pretty much the kind of person that gets something in his head and goes for it at that moment. Since my buddy Eric logically came up with this month’s Blogging in Formation subject, how could I resist the opportunity to throw down some goals for 2014….

This series will draw metaphors from the famous Greek mythological story of Icarus.   If you are unfamiliar; Icarus’ father (Daedalus) was an amazing craftsman who built his son a pair of wings made of wax and feathers. Against his father’s guidance he flew too close to the sun and melted his wings, crashing to his…

In this editorial I will attempt to juxtapose two different genre of aviators. Both are similar, yet different. Let me also say there is no right answer.   Many would think that pilots are a very structured species that goes out to the same kinds of airports and flies similar types of aircraft on comparable…

There are some interesting phenomena that occur when pilots of similar types of aircraft coalesce into a group. Some of it is really good and some of it is not so good. But let’s examine an often taboo subject and see where it leads us.   I’ll use the term type club because that’s how…

In the spirit of the Holidays this month’s Blogging in Formation (#blogformation) series will cover What We Want Under our Christmas Tree. Based on the picture above, you might get the impression I want to give up our airplanes for flying saucers, not really.   What I do want is a revolutionary, game-changing, paradigm-shifting, alternative to…

You might note that I have written about UAVs on several occasions, usually in vain. Let me say for the record that UAVs (or Remotely Piloted Aircraft – RPAs) are great use of technology, particularly in the military.  But…   Ok, I was listening to an interview recently and they were talking about UAVs/RPAs and…

Are we letting the computers fly too much? I believe so, I know many of my blogging colleagues would also agree.  We seem to be going backward – better technology, but crappier pilots. I have noticed that training vendors for professional pilots tend to assume that you know how to fly the airplane and they…