FBOs

Here it is the first day of May. It’s hard to believe it’s here already. The daffodils are done. The azaleas are blooming and it’s time to put the tomato seedlings in the ground. What? You wanted me to write an article about emergencies? You meant “MAYDAY!” huh? It just goes to show you how […]

I just had a colonoscopy, my fourth.Folks, if you have read and enjoyed any of my writings, I would beg you to read this column. Even if you haven’t. For some of you, it may the most important column I’ve ever written, or that you’ll ever read.I have a very personal interest in this, for […]

The first terrorist attack on a national landmark after September 11, 2001, has occurred. Fortunately, no one was injured or killed, but the callousness of the act, perpetrated in the dark of night, by a ruthless, calculating, cold-blooded thug, was made more horrible by its far-reaching implications. The act, an assault on a place held […]

Charlie Summers jokes that it takes two medical examiners for his exam — each looks into one of his ears and if they can see one another he passes. Charlie flies a one-of-a-kind armor-plated T-28 into thunderstorms — on purpose, for a living — for the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Institute of […]

We were preparing to push back in Kansas City and we were heavy. The hot weather wasn’t helping the takeoff figures much either.Full up on passengers, cargo and fuel, the gate agent was in the passenger cabin counting babies. Your average passenger is calculated at about 170 pounds (if I remember my ATP written questions […]

“I dare you,” Jim said. How many crazy ideas have started with that line? “And I double-dare you to mention Delta chop.” I feel like I’m in the movie “The Christmas Story.” What’s next Jim? Are you going to triple-dead-dog-dare me?Jim is a friend of mine and fellow controller. He reads my column every month […]

I am really excited about our newfound capability to record extensive data from real, live, running engines in real airplanes. We’ve been doing this for several years, but the data is getting more and more sophisticated, and we’re learning to make better use of it. We can now take this recorded data, quickly plot it […]

It was, as I recall, a Sunday afternoon. The weather was superb and we were in the middle of Nigel’s semi-annual half day of recurrent training. He was, as usual, right on altitude, heading and speed, and way ahead of the airplane even though I’d covered instruments and he was doing it all partial panel. […]

AVweb had decided to Profile Col. Joe Kittinger long before current headlines had developed. But his trailblazing research on emergency escape and survival procedures for astronauts gives him a unique perspective on the Columbia disaster, and his 11 months in the Hanoi Hilton remind us what American pilots might face in the skies over Iraq. […]

Many people think they know all about the devil-may-care life-on-the-razor’s edge existence of an airline pilot’s existence. They have no idea.Movies such as “Catch Me If You Can” seem to show the public the truth about the flying life of a crew. The double-entendre sex talk with the flight attendants, the first-class hotel stays with […]