Flight Safety

As blowouts go, it wasn’t bad at all. Most of us here at the pilot’s lounge survived the party to usher in the new millennium, century, decade, year, etc. About a week later a bunch of us were together at the airport to take care of some of the things one does in cold weather […]

Ray Dolby was born January 18,1933, in Portland, Ore. During 1949-52, he worked on various audio andinstrumentation projects at Ampex Corporation, and during 1952-57 he was mainlyresponsible for the development of the electronic aspects of the Ampex videotaperecording system. In 1957 he received a B.S. degree from Stanford University, and upon beingawarded a Marshall Scholarship […]

Many years ago when I was a whole lot younger than now, I was a championship athlete in a very competitive sport. When preparing for a competition, I always used to say, “Let my opponent have the skill, just let me be lucky!” When it comes down to a really tight situation in an airplane, […]

The Confederate Air Force (CAF) does the granddaddy of all warbird airshows every October, in an unlikely place called Midland, Texas. The airport is located between the towns of Odessa and Midland, and while it is a superb location to fly an airshow (flat, no obstructions, no noise complaints except from armadillos), it’s a million […]

Remember the last time you laughed so hard you wondered if you were going to be able to stop? We were lucky enough to have had one of those evenings in the pilot’s lounge very recently. A number of the regulars had gotten together to do some planning for the function we were going to […]

Preflight Briefing Photo Mission Prop Arc and Shutter Speeds Ground Shots Interiors Panels

Like aviation, photography can open up a new way of looking at the world around you. As in aviation, knowledge and experience are the best ingredients for a beautiful photograph. Knowing your equipment, surroundings, and techniques increases the chances for your intended results. These skills can only be acquired through practice. So be patient and […]

Michael Fizer was born February 14, 1959, in Phoenix, Ariz. Mike’s dad flew F-100s in the Air Force and Mike had his sights on the Air Force Academy to follow in his fathers footsteps. In 1974, at the age of 15, Mike received his first camera for his birthday. On his first photo shoot he […]

Ialways had enjoyed waking to find snow falling, although it had been a long time since I’d had the experience. Maybe this morning’s snow was prophetic, as a white blanket was never guaranteed in these parts this time of year. It made me feel particularly good in spite of the fact it would take while […]

Everybody knows about “buyer beware,” but how about seller beware? Much has been written on the subject of protecting oneself when purchasing an aircraft (see Rick Durden’s excellent AVweb column or Brian Jacobson’s comprehensive book on the subject, Purchasing & Evaluating Airplanes), but I have yet to see anything on the subject of protection for […]