Flight Safety

This is the fourth in a series of excerpts that began with Chapter One. Chapter Six: Notes on Lesson Five — Basic Stalls The flying was going wonderfully well, as far as I was concerned. That the instructors were reduced to casting lots to see who would have to fly with me was not something […]

As I was casting about for something to write about this month I came across the Air Traffic Bulletin at the FAA’s Web site. The FAA issues these bulletins on a regular basis and controllers are supposed to read them (the hard copy versions) during our normal duties. Most of us do (sooner or later) […]

The discussions here in the Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport range from prosaic to fairly intense. Last Sunday evening some of the regulars returned from their annual mid-October color tour on a particularly windy day and got into it over speeds to fly on the approach. The group had “ooh”-ed and “aahh”-ed at the […]

I don’t get DCA layovers as often as I used to when I flew the MD-88. The 767 doesn’t get to our nation’s capital that often — at least from our base — and I haven’t been in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum for quite a few years.There usually isn’t enough time during a […]

This is the third in a series of excerpts that began with Chapter One. Chapter Four: Notes on Lesson Three — Climbing and Gliding/Power Descent Today I had a new instructor. His name was Mike. I found Mike to be a very pleasant young fellow with an air about him that lent immediate confidence. Well, […]

You’ve heard it since you were a little kid — we all have. The old saw “practice makes perfect” has been drummed into us by mothers, piano teachers and just about anyone else who was trying to teach us anything. I’d be willing to bet that at some time or another, a flight instructor has […]

Recently, while conducting yet another tour of Atlanta Center, I noticed a pilot’s fascination with the D-side. He just couldn’t quite figure out what the D-side was doing. We had walked over to a different Area than mine to take a look at his home airport. It just happened to be quite busy.As a matter […]

Old Hack was the instigator. Because of him the Pilot’s Lounge departed the virtual airport in mid-September, and headed for the National Air Races at Reno Stead Airport, north of Reno, Nev., for a serious fix of airplanes flying very fast and very low, while making noise that hits a person right in the gut […]

Pilot lounges are happy places containing the most entertaining bulletin boards available in the aviation world.You can tell a lot about the state of the world and what time of year it is by just looking over what is for sale on the wall of a lounge. When you see motorboats, airplanes, and expensive motorcycles […]

This is the second in a series of excerpts that began with Chapter One. Chapter 2: Notes on Lesson One — Effects of Controls This will be a short chapter because, unfortunately, I did not make full notes on the lesson. No doubt I was excited and over-exuberant, and possibly incoherent, after this flight. I […]