Pelican’s Perch

As a result of my AVweb columns and some of the groundschools I’m teaching, I have several old books available in reprinted form. They might seem expensive, but they are in full color, just like the originals. Color duplication is expensive, but schematics and diagrams lose a great deal without color. I sell these at […]

A few of my very nice readers have commented that I’ve missed a column or two recently. Thanks for noticing!With all the wonderful things going on in my life, I’ve had a lot of trouble of making my AVweb deadlines. Most of my columns take a fair amount of time to write, and the load […]

I’m pleased to announce that — after decades of prodding — I have written a book. It is a compendium of some of my writings on Compuserve’s AVSIG Forum for well over 20 years, some of the AVweb tales in my columns, and others, old and new (see sidebar to the right).There is a second […]

I think I’m seeing the rapid growth of yet another OWT (Old Wives’ Tale). Some pilots are going to extraordinary lengths to prevent this badly misunderstood phenomenon, and a few are creating far more danger for themselves and their airplanes as they try to avoid a problem that probably doesn’t exist.I believe the Commemorative Air […]

Let’s take a few pot shots at some of the more common errors in the seemingly simple procedures of starting an engine and doing the runup, and also cover some new techniques with engine monitors. I’ve written a little about some of these procedures elsewhere, but I’ve never pulled all of them together. For Starters […]

In reviewing Part 1 of this column last month, I remembered another story that illustrates “cockpit culture.” Remember the story of the Flight Engineer (FE) and “backing up” the thrust levers, as a carry-over from the props days? Levers And Fingers Well, one late night in the DC-8 simulator at Japan Airlines (JAL), I was […]

“And the Lord spoke again unto Moses from the burning bush, and said, “Get thee up the slopes of Mount Sinai yet again, and there I shall cause to be written in stone a whole host of tablets. These tablets shall each bear a name that will be strange unto you, such as Piper, Beech, […]

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part series on flying the Hurricane. Read Part 1 first. First, there is excellent news. The main electrical panel for the Zero has been repaired after my little smoke and fire event, and I should be able to test hop it today (10/7/03). The Hurry has been […]

No, not the windstorm after which it is named, but the Hawker Hurricane, the airplane credited with winning the Battle of Britain (although the Spitfire got more publicity). Most reports show the Hurricane with more kills than all other aircraft combined.As one British friend mournfully told me, “John, old boy, if you’re going to fly […]

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part series on flying the Zero. Read Part One first. Revisiting the very interesting aileron tabs, I have updated information. Thanks again to historian Alan Gaynor, who dug up further details on those strange devices. I got it almost right last month, but some documents he found […]