Features

Another Airbus story…There is a certain airline that flies Airbus A319s out of Lindberg. The following was overheard there recently… Controller: Roger [A319], turn left heading 140. A319: (No answer) Controller: [A319], Left turn, please. Now make the heading 120. Good rate, please. A319: Ah, Departure, the airplane won’t let us do that. (pause) Controller: […]

Poor Flight Instructors At the age of 79 and some 61 years of flying and 40 years of instructing before open-heart surgery and two heart attacks years later finally made me stop flying, now I see that the poorly paid flight instructor has to make a logbook entry certifying the pilot he’s flying with is […]

The discussions here in the Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport range from prosaic to fairly intense. Last Sunday evening some of the regulars returned from their annual mid-October color tour on a particularly windy day and got into it over speeds to fly on the approach. The group had “ooh”-ed and “aahh”-ed at the […]

While flying IFR between Indianapolis, IN and Columbia, MO my wife and I encountered some mild turbulence at 6000. She’s a nervous flier, so I decided it would be a good idea to find some smoother air. Cessna N12345: Center, Cessna 12345 would like to climb to 8 for smoother air. Center: 345, climb approved. […]

Bushmaster Accident This aircraft was one of only two Bushmaster 2000s built (NewsWire, Sep. 30). I had the pleasure of riding as a passenger on this airplane a few years ago thanks to the kindness of the owner, an airline pilot. It was with considerable sorrow that I viewed the video sequence of the crash. […]

Eager Flyer… A student pilot was on a cross country solo flight to Santa Barbara. Eager to fly “heavy metal” he contacts approach at 5,500 feet for flight following… N12345: …approach, Cessna 12345 checking in at flight level 550. Approach (after a long pause): Roger, Cessna 12345 … you can contact NASA at 368.2 for […]

I don’t get DCA layovers as often as I used to when I flew the MD-88. The 767 doesn’t get to our nation’s capital that often — at least from our base — and I haven’t been in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum for quite a few years.There usually isn’t enough time during a […]