Profiles

Studs Terkel: We’re seated here, two old gaffers. Me and Paul Tibbets, 89 years old, brigadier-general retired, in his home town of Columbus, Ohio, where he has lived for many years. Paul Tibbets: Hey, you’ve got to correct that. I’m only 87. You said 89. Studs Terkel: I know. See, I’m 90. So I got […]

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 […]

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. […]

For 35 years, Howard Fenton’s been telling airplane owners about the health of their engines by analyzing their oil. Howard has spotted everything from broken piston rings to excessive bearing wear to worn valve guides. Once he tracked down an airplane he was convinced was about to throw a jug — and it was. In […]

George F. “Rick” Adam Jr. was born June 29, 1946, in Pasadena, Calif. His father, a career Air Force officer, flew B-17s and -29s in World War II. Rick grew up on Air Force bases and wanted to follow his father into the cockpit, but a color vision deficiency kept him out of Colorado Springs. […]

Betty Darst was born November 11, 1939, in Gomer, Ohio. Like all Buckeyes — your author included — she got a healthy dose of Wright pride growing up. Then, in 1979 she moved to Dayton, just a few blocks from the Hawthorn Hill, the Wright home. She’s a lifelong educator, specializing in teacher training and […]

In 1958 Bill Kershner was a student looking for a project to blend his interests in aeronautical engineering and journalism. He took a look at the Civil Air Manual 105, decided it was poorly written, and decided to write his Student Pilot’s Flight Manual. It’s now in its ninth edition with over 800,000 copies sold. […]

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 […]

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, […]

Oh sure, pilots have the FARs and the AIM, and controllers have the 7110.65, to tell us what we must do and can’t do. But where do you go — besides AVweb — to find out how the ATC system really works out on the firing line — like VFR climbs and descents, approach gates […]