Category: Miscellaneous – Page 4
2022 In Review
Top Ten Posts of 2022 I always enjoy taking this look at the data at the end of the year from a pure statistical point of view. Here’s the most popular posts of 2022 as we get ready to soar (badum tish!) into 2023. 10 The Sad Story of the Seawind 3000 N8UU My favourite…
Read more… 6 Jan 23
Sliding into 2023
A quick hello from Germany to say that I hope you have, as the Germans say, a good slide into the New Year. I’m also excited to tell you that my next book will be coming out in March. I’ll tell you more about it soon but today I want to offer you a sneak…
Read more… 30 Dec 22
Happy Holidays!
Another year has come and gone. I’ll be honest, it’s not been the greatest but I am glad that I’m still here and that you are still here with me. I tried to use one of these newfangled AI art generator to create a Christmas card especially for us but in retrospect maybe Fear of…
Read more… 23 Dec 22
My Most Difficult Landing Taught Me Why Pilots Are Natural Leaders
I’m thrilled to bring you a special guest post this week by Steven Myers, a two-time US Air Force veteran with twelve jet-type ratings. In 2020, the FAA awarded him the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 years of accident-free flying. Myers has chronicled his adventures in his book Cross Winds: Adventure and Entrepreneurship…
Read more… 16 Dec 22
Who can resist a compilation with kittens and spitfires?
I hope you are sitting comfortably because this week I have some extraordinary articles to fill your weekend. These are my favourite aviation-related pieces that I’ve read lately. I found them all fascinating and I’m sure you will too. This man went to the scene of a Boeing crash in 1959 but didn’t think to…
Read more… 11 Nov 22
When Everything Changes
My first aviation publication went something like this: “You don’t need a real license,” Tom said. The stern-faced ex-RAF instructor had already chided me for dressing inappropriately in my short skirt and open-toed sandals. Now I realized he wanted to get rid of me. He continued. “You want a wife’s license. Forget the technical mumbo-jumbo.…
Read more… 25 Feb 22
Accident Reports
Ferry Tank Failure: Successful SR22 Ditching in the Pacific
In 2015, I shared a video of an SR22 whose pilot successfully deployed his Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) off of the coast of Maui, Hawai’i. I wrote at the time…
The Man in the Right Seat at Prestwick
On the 23rd of April 2024, a Piper Archer II crashed in South Ayrshire, Scotland, after losing power. There were two on board. Both suffered serious injuries and the light…
Demystifying
The Pilots, the Probes, and the AF447 Verdict
On the 21st of May 2026, the Paris Court of Appeal convicted Airbus and Air France of involuntary manslaughter for their roles in the crash of Air France flight 447,…
Meowing on Guard (an attempt at an explanation)
Last week a video went viral and it’s been fun to see the mainstream media coverage try to cover two pilots who were heard making animal noises on the radio. …
History
The First Jet to Land on an Aircraft Carrier (Deliberately)
“The Vampire was the first jet to land on a moving aircraft carrier deliberately.” This quote from Airshow Luke, our MC at the Legacy of Liberty airshow, made me almost…
Four Point Two Stars Where You Only Stop If You Have To
I always look up airports when I’m writing about them, partly out of habit and partly because I’m afraid I’ll miss an important detail. When I was writing Any Landing…
Fun Stuff
Aviation Stories You Might Have Missed
I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season. This week, I’ve put together a compilation of interesting items in the press that you might have missed while enjoying…
Nathan Pyle Strange Worlds
Thank you so much for all the kind words. I don’t quite have the wherewithal to respond to each of you individually but I very much appreciate all of you…
