Features

Polly Vacher was born January 13,1944, in Paignton, England, and spent her childhood in the rolling hills andsunny beaches of Devonshire. She trained as a physiotherapist, then as a musicteacher, married, and raised three sons. Her attraction to flying began in 1989when she skydived to raise money for a charity, and she subsequently logged 245jumps. […]

At a recent press conference, Hal Shevers, founder and “head guy” of Sporty’s Pilot Shop, mentioned a drastically different training technique that Sporty’s Academy has been employing in its ab initio program. Instead of doing things the “traditional” way – planning for the Private Pilot practical test from the beginning – they start all students […]

The ink is barely dry on my new temporary pilot certificate with “G-IV” appended as a type rating. This is, of course, the rating for the magnificent Gulfstream IV. This airplane, more than any other, has become the favorite of movie stars, “dot.com” billionaires, and those whose time is of very high value. If you’d […]

Summertime. Here at the virtual airport the talk in the pilot’s lounge is of aerobatics, airshows and performers; who is worth going to see and which ones the faithful can miss if a choice has to be made? The other day, a group of us in the lounge were, um, discussing – yes, that’s it, […]

When I was an aspiring young aviation cadet in the old Army Air Corps during World War II, we were told that anybody can learn to fly – some just take longer than others. It was probably true then, because that group was carefully selected for aptitude, but I have since learned that it is […]

The 16th Annual Piper Fly-in, known as “Sentimental Journey,” took place last week at the birthplace of thousands of Piper aircraft — Lock Haven, Pa. In spite of off-and-on rain throughout the four-day event, over 135 planes managed to arrive at the W.T. Piper Memorial Airport (LHV) from June 20-23, while another 500 or so […]

Without ever having touched one, my usual comment about the B-24 has always been something on the order of “Ugly as sin, flies like *&^%,” based on the words of Ernest K. Gann in “Fate Is the Hunter.” He hated them. Well, pass the salt … I’ve got to eat a little crow here. Maybe […]

Last month I told you I’d spent an evening here in the pilot’s lounge at the virtual airport writing two letters. I wrote them after returning from a trip where I had seen, talked to, and briefly flown with, an airport kid, a kid who wanted to fly more than anything in the world. The […]

Over the years I have been a sole airplane owner, been involved in a two-person partnership in owning an airplane, and been in another partnership of four people that owned two airplanes. I have also belonged to several airplane ownership clubs, and I’ve been an airplane renter. I think this probably qualifies me to speak […]

“Nobody runs a balloon meet like Brian Boland,” declares Norman Metivier, a white-haired gent who’s been to many a meet in his day. “There’s no structure to it – it’s a happening.” And so it is: spontaneous, unpredictable, capricious, even a bit bizarre. During one weekend every May, Post Mills, Vt., becomes the center of […]