Pelican’s Perch

I Made It to Sixty! Well friends, the idiotic “Age Sixty” rule finally hit home in a verypersonal way a couple of weeks ago, when the calendar rolled around to my own 60th. I knewit was coming, and I’m really delighted to have survived to this point, but I guess I wasable to somehow make […]

I hate what seems to be the officialFAA-approved way of handling short and soft fields, and it’s past time I yelled about it.There seems to be a good deal of confusion in the pilot ranks, and even among some CFIs,over the differences between short-field and soft-field technique, and I’dlike to comment on that, too. A […]

Every pilot out there is going to hate mefor this, but I cannot help but tell this story. To brag. To flaunt my pleasureshamelessly. Please, cut me a little slack, for this has been one of the most wonderfulachievements of my flying career. I cannot stop grinning, every time I think of it. Adream has […]

Now that previous columns have littered the runway with theory and attempted to explain manifold pressure, propeller RPM, and mixture, I’d like to present some suggestions for in-flight techniques to extract better performance from these engines. Some of it will be a little repetitive from prior columns in an attempt to make this column more […]

There are few things in airplanes as misunderstood and misused as the mixture control. Old Wives’ Tales (OWTs) abound, many of them spread by POHs, the FAA, and even the engine manufacturers! Not much of what you’ve read and heard about mixture management makes sense – much of it is out of context, and most […]

First, a little housekeeping. Inmy previous column, I mentioned a neat little booklet by HamiltonStandard that I said I might get duplicated if there was sufficient interest. Wow, wasthere ever: I received over 50 serious inquiries! I have placed the order for 100 of them.My final cost will be something over $20 each. I’m not […]

Like manifold pressure (see my previous column, “Manifold Pressure Sucks!“), propeller systems are often not well understood by those who depend on them. But there is no part of the airplane more critical, or that endures more stress and abuse. We really ought to know more about our props in order to get the best […]

The manifold pressure (MP) gauge is a very simple instrument, but what it does is a mystery to many pilots. Simply put, if you do not fully understand what that instrument is telling you, you cannot possibly understand the engine, engine management, power settings, or troubleshooting. Quiz Time First, allow me to pose a few […]

Let’s take a little time off from the hardcore technical stuff, and have a little fun. One of my favorite stories involves a pig, but first, allow me to set the stage, jump up and down on my soapbox, rave a little, then tell the story. From 1963 through 1968, I had the incredible honor […]

Can’t breathe welder’soxygen? Aw, horsefeathers, as my dad used to say! Show me the rule! Oxygen is oxygen. It is the substance that matters, not the intended purpose. Thesedays, welding, medical, and aviation oxygen are exactly the same. All three come from thesame tank of liquid oxygen (LOX). The liquified form is the cleanest, purest, […]