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Jerome C. Stannard was one of the “quiet heroes” to survive thesecond world war. He completed 76 combat missions flying the Jug (the RepublicP-47 Thunderbolt) in the U.S. Army Air Corps (predecessor to the United StatesAir Force). USAAC Cadet Stannard in 1943 When he returned home and separated from the Army – like manyothers – […]

Frankly, I hated the massive rewrite ofPart 61 that went into effect on August 4, 1997. No one asked me, but I didn’t think itneeded an overhaul. A few minor tweaks to clear up a few poor areas would have done verynicely. It changed rules and requirements that had been in effect for decades, from […]

It seems that a fire extinguisher cannon exploded last week. The nextday … well, see for yourself. Special thanks to Heath Buskirk for these images. Visit AVweb’s NewsWire for More

One of the more occasional visitors to the Loungestopped in and brightened our day recently. Kirby was here for a while; hecracked a few jokes, talked about old airplanes a little, chatted with some ofthe regulars and then left, driving slowly away in his beat-up pickup truck. Hisage is starting to show and it aggravates […]

The weeks after my first report seemed to blend into a mixture of rumor, hope, and picket duty. The controversy regarding our medical coverage was soon sorted out; the COBRA program would ensure continuation with no break. The weather stayed somewhat fair; while showers moved through during my picket shifts, more often than not the […]

Norman Lyle Prouse was born September 29,1938, in Wichita, Kan. He won his first airplane ride by writing an essay for his father’scompany, Beech Aircraft. After high school he joined the Marines, learned to fly, andstarted a family. In his 13-month tour in Vietnam he earned seven air medals. He resignedhis commission and took a […]

TheFreight Dogs When someone says, “commercialpilot,” the first thing the listener thinks of is an air carrier pilotwearing a blazer with stripes up to his/her elbow. But there are many moreoccupations for professional pilots than just flying a human mailing tube, notleast of which are the so-called “freight dogs” – the cargo haulersflying all kinds […]

Full Employment Is Only a Few New Fees Away December 28 1430 Z 9,500 msl V23, midway between Veracruz and Villahermosa VORs, Mexico Suddenly, it’s right there before of me and, ay, carumba, does it seem simple. Planemakers, our alphabet soup-group gurus and we pilots have it all wrong. We’ve mistakenly spent years of effort […]

Robert Jenkins had a system deviation today. He was workingMetropolis-highR-side and the sector was down the tubes. Busy, busy, busy. Somewhere in therehe ran a guy into Southwest Center’s Capital City-high’s airspace. Bad news. That’s ano-no in air traffic control, running a guy into someone else’s airspace withouta handoff. Southwest Center, at least the system […]

The 747 was nearing the end of the trans-Pacific flight from Tokyo to Anchorage, Alaska, and had begun a descent from Flight Level 370 about 120nm from the runway. The triple Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) had functioned perfectly, and the autopilot in INS mode still held the big bird on a flawless and perfectly straight […]