FBOs

At 12:26 PM on the 18th day of February 1943, the fortunes of the B-29program disastrously hit rock bottom. At that instant, Boeing research testpilot Eddie Allen, his crew and the heavily instrumented #2 XB-29 were destroyedin a crash. That story is told in “Eddie Allen and the B-29.” This is the story about the […]

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 […]

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 […]

One of the frequently asked questions that instructors and flight school administrators hear quite often from the primary student is: “Once I acquire the Private Pilot Certificate, what then? What can I do with it?” Most often, this student is training to become a pilot just “because” – he or she doesn’t have a specific […]

Frankly, I never dreamed this series would last for five or six columns! It has been an incredible effort, and an interesting journey for me. Now that I’ve gotten you up to altitude (see “Pelican’s Perch #34“) – and left you there for a month – it’s time to set up for cruise. Mar 12, […]

It was one of those good evenings at AirVenture Oshkosh, the kind that reminds you why you return each year. The Pilot’s Lounge had moved bodily to a spot under the wing of Jay Apt’s Twin Beech. We had survived Doc Blue’s birthday party, including the part where he had surrounded the area where the […]