Features

The Twentieth Air Force and the B-29s it used to bomb Japan shortened the warby months, perhaps years, and saved, it has been estimated, a million or more U.S. casualties by ending the war before a planned invasion of the heavilydefended Japanese homeland was undertaken — an invasion that was scheduled tobegin November 1, 1945, […]

Robert M. Robbins was born May 15,1916, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. He learned how to fly during the summer beforecollege, earned a bachelors degree in aeronautical engineering from MIT in 1938,and went to work for Pan Am as a flight engineer on Boeing 314s. Three yearslater, with only 361 hours as PIC in single-engine aircraft, a […]

A bit over 25 years ago, the FAA selected a General Aviation Operations Inspector in each of two District Offices (Detroit and Grand Rapids, Mich.), designated them Accident Prevention Specialists, and charged them with the responsibility of establishing a safety program on a test basis. Each of these two inspectors selected several flight instructors in […]

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Problem? What Problem? Last summer, I flew 43 cross-country flights, traveling over 20,000 miles. I didn’t have one cancelled flight, I experienced no delays and my wife’s baggage never got lost. My Aerostar and the air traffic control (ATC) system performed flawlessly. The airlines and their passengers weren’t so lucky. True, I never got closer […]

Jumpseating — the practice of bumming a ride aboard a human mailing tube headed somewhere you need to go — is one of the time-honored institutions of the airline industry. Some use their privileges to commute, others to move around on company business. But, in the right hands, it’s really more of an art. Come […]

Okay, let’s tie the ribbons on this series by discussing the right way to manage our turbocharged powerplant at the end of our flight when it’s time to get our airplane down from altitude and back on terra firma. (We’ve been airborne for five months now, and frankly I’m ready to stretch my legs and […]

I have to admit to a fondness for the colors of autumn. I find that I look for excuses to go flying when the trees put on their all-too-brief displays before the iron of winter clamps down. I find that I’m not alone in my compulsion, as the virtual airport has been busy the last […]

Charles Perriguey, Jr. was born inGlendale, Calif. and grew up in nearby San Gabriel. He had only flown once on anairliner when he enlisted in the Marines after high school. He trained at NASPensacola in fixed-wing aircraft, then the Marines offered him the chance to flyhelicopters and he took it. In Vietnam he flew Sea […]

Captains are not born; they are made, mostly from the school of hard knocks and with a copious amount of seasoning. As part of this process, being in the right place at the right time is as important as avoiding the wrong places. Along the way, the people, planes and places encountered all help give […]