features_old

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 […]

How frustrating this could be, my mind kept musing. Not three hours earlier the magnificent Three Sisters mountain peaks reached upward through clear skies toward the window seat of a Southwest 737 flying me to Portland International (PDX). No overcast blocked my view until we flew to about 40 miles south of PDX. But the […]

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 […]

Okay, so far, you’ve followed our advice in Part One of this series: You found a lawyer, used the “Duct Tape Defense,” and managed to keep from incriminating yourself. You’re only getting started, though. At some point you’ll need to rip the tape from your mouth and tell your story. When that time comes you’ll […]

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 […]

What’s the most critical part, the indispensable portion of any airplane? The wings, of course. There have been tail-less designs and flying wings without fuselages, and gliders without engines, but you really don’t have an airplane without a wing. Given the central importance of the wing to any airplane, why would I choose to build […]

One Saturday after I walked back into the house from my shop reeking of varnish, my wife said I must be high on the fumes. I wasn’t; I wear a good filter mask when I’m varnishing or doping, but I was on a natural high. I’d just finished putting the second coat of epoxy varnish […]