Probable Cause

In December, 2001, the ATSB (Australian Transport Safety Bureau, similar to the U.S.’s NTSB) published one of the worst accident reports I can remember reading. In my opinion, the ATSB has taken junk science, pure speculation and profound ignorance to levels seldom before seen. They have not only perpetuated “Old Wives’ Tales,” but they have […]

I was with a woman who wasn’t my wife. I had my shoes off, my belt off, and my pants undone, and she was rubbing my tummy just above my “daddy parts.” Was I flirting with divorce court? Hell no … I was simply going through security at Columbus Ohio International. Friendly enough as security […]

Folks, I love being positive and cheerful. I’d much rather write about pleasant things, good memories, good products, good people, and fun things. I didn’t enjoy doing the Whyalla column, and I’m not going to enjoy this one. But Flying (July 2002, page 73, “Can your engine run too lean?“) missed the boat so badly, […]

First, some old business … I’m pleased to report that my previous column has had a good response, almost entirely by private email. There are now about 25 people signed up for the C-131 ground school. Many are “crew chiefs” and non-pilot volunteers, some are obviously well-qualified to be SICs, and several are qualified to […]

One of the more occasional visitors to the Loungestopped in and brightened our day recently. Kirby was here for a while; hecracked a few jokes, talked about old airplanes a little, chatted with some ofthe regulars and then left, driving slowly away in his beat-up pickup truck. Hisage is starting to show and it aggravates […]

Oneof the regulars here at the Pilot’s Lounge went through an interesting processrecently. Armando made the decision to obtain his flight instructor certificate.He has a full time job that pays reasonably well so he probably isn’t going tochange careers. Some of the other regulars thought he was crazy to spend themoney to get what is […]

Things have started to quietdown here in the Pilot’s Lounge since the FAA came out with its nutty interpretive rule stating that pilots are perse negligent if they do not hear an air traffic control clearance accurately. There isa deep-seated anger at some portions of the FAA among pilots, but the shouting andarm-waving has stopped […]

Depart “Depart” is test pilot slang for “Departure from controlled flight.” It can refer to something as mild as a wing drop during a stall to a high-altitude “upset” that results in the airplane literally falling out of the sky. Enrichment Virtually all engines have some mechanism or device to enrich the mixture at high […]