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When I was first recruited by AVweb to write a column coming fresh off my FLYING magazine column dealing with flight testing called “The Eye of the Examiner,” I was given the freedom to write whatever strikes my fancy (so long as it is in reasonably good taste). At that time, I informed the readers […]

This seems to be the month that I’m destined to “ride the rails” as a jumpseat squatter. First, I had to sit on the rather small jumpseat of a rather small airliner, and now I find myself ensconced on a 767 jumpseat, traveling back from Hawaii to the real world. My two cockpit buddies for […]

After moving to six different locations over 30 years, EAA’s Copperstate Regional Fly-In, the largest event of its kind in the Southwest, has found a home. A few months ago, the place was just a big, flat, cotton field with a dirt strip across it. Now Phoenix Regional Airport, about 25 miles south of the […]

Click any image to view a larger version. Before … … After … … and then the rains came(Actually, this is the pond for float planes.) Antonov AN-2 “Smells like they wear a lot of sunscreen in here.” Putting a cargo door on it doesn’t mean you get to call it an SUV Snug as […]

LEGEND: JT = Jim Tucker [Co-pilot] AC = Auburn Calloway [Jumpseat Passenger] AP = Andy Peterson [Flight Engineer] DS = David Sanders [Pilot] Center = Memphis ARTCC Tower = Memphis Air Traffic Control Tower UV = Unidentified Voice AW = Autowarning UA = Unidentified Aircraft UNIN = Unitelligible [UNIN] [Laughter] DS: I can’t believe it, […]

James Morgan Tucker, Jr. was bornSeptember 7, 1951, in Miami, Fla. He grew up two blocks from MIA with A&Psfor neighbors, and watched Eastern Airlines transition from props to jets. Hewent to college in Alabama looking at a law career, but a carrier aviationposter in the recruiter’s office caught his eye, and he became a […]

I‘ve been writing for AVweb just over a year now. It’s amazing the things I’ve been learning. One of the things that I’ve learned is that new people start reading this column all the time. And they don’t necessarily go back to where I started and “catch up,” as it were. So, at the risk […]

Click any image to view a larger version. “Didn’t you make a quilt that looked that, Mabel?” The TFR enforcer lifts off That WOULD be a great fall, Mr. Dumpty! “Wait … didn’t I see you hanging around Reno last month? “Can I get some fresh cream in my coffee?” An udder delight of a […]

Click any image to view a larger version. Gas balloons getting ready It’s loud, it’s boring, it’s inflation time for the gas balloons “Why do I always sound like a mouse when we inflate these helium balloons?” Much-needed sand for ballast — fortunately, New Mexico has a lot to spare Richard Abruzzo’s basket — ready […]

It sounds like a flat-out emergency. It’s the deafening din of helium gas, squeezing and squirming and squealing through hoses and valves and connectors, finding its way from a tank truck, across the launch field, and into the inflation port of a balloon. The noise is very alarming, and it’s nonstop. It whines and whooshes […]