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Sources: Dreamlifter deal part of 747-8 compensation to Atlas
Boeing will shift control of its fleet of four modified 747-400 large cargo freighters or 'Dreamlifters' to Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings as part of a compensation deal in the wake of delays incurred by the airframer's 747-8 program, sources close......
A stowaway's view from a 747 flight over Africa
Sometime in the last three weeks a 747 departed Johannesburg, South Africa for Maputo, Mozambique with an camera strapped to the nose landing gear looking aft along the fuselage. The result is a stunning piece of HD video taken......
Boeing's NewGen 767 tanker to feature 787-style flight deck
Boeing has (unsurprisingly) announced that it will bid on the KC-X tanker contract to replace the KC-135 tanker. It's choice, dubbed the NewGen Tanker, is based on the 767, but aspects of the design may pull from multiple variants......
A340-300 in Darwin for testing. An Air France 447 connection? (Update1)
At Darwin Airport in Northern Territory, Australia an Airbus A340-300 has been undergoing flight testing since the February 21st. The curious arrival of the aircraft - MSN001 (F-WWAI) - was noted by the Northern Territory News under the headline A340......
Video: Complete Seattle Times interview with Jim Albaugh
Seattle Times aerospace reporter Dominic Gates sat down with Jim Albaugh, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO, in a wide-ranging discussion about the future of the company. The write-up of the interview provides a good overview of the topics covered, ranging......
I'm a big believer in anniversaries and birthdays, recognizing the accumulation of years, especially in aviation, is an important way to mark the passage of time and technological progress. Today is one of those days. Forty-one years ago, the Concorde......
IAGblog Podcasts
Tanker Wars - Round One of 2010
It our podcast Episode #303 - and we're amazed, we are still talking about tankers. This may be our sixth podcast on tankers. Meanwhile the USAF put out its latest request and the two pugilists are getting ready to face off again. Except there's a twist this time. One of the...
Airline Labor Unrest - Is This Catchy?
The picture says it all - unhappy crews again. This week it was Lufthansa, who knows which airline is next. Brett Snyder, airline blogger at Crankyflier, explains that while this week was Lufthansa's crews, there has been a lot of airline labor unrest across the EU. Moreover, another big...
Selling a non-hub airport - the example of Kansas City
Justin Meyer is KCI's (Kansas City Int'l) Manager of Air Service Development. That means gets to sell the airlines on serving his airport. And its a tough job when the industry is in the doldrums and consolidating to boot. Justin explains the types of challenges he faces in this...
What do you say to an entrepreneur who is starting an airline, ever? What do you say to him now? Despite the unfriendly environment, Kai Holmberg from Oslo, Norway is deep into starting an airline. Focused on leisure travel no less. His plans are to serve leisure travelers living in...
The rise of the Latin American and Caribbean Markets
The Latin American/Caribbean region's airline sector has had a pretty good recession. Unlike the North American situation, this region saw growth in 2009. Although Mexico was the source of the recent flu epidemic, the region saw good growth rates and things are looking up from there explains ALTA's Executive...
Its sad when an airline brand dies. First because it happens too often these days. But it also means the end of something people within the company invest themselves in. After all, what is a brand other than a vision a team buys into, executes and builds? The demise...
Greteman Group Blog
If you’re a Gmail user (or simply a reader of the Internet) you might have heard about Google’s latest foray into the social media space. Their new service, Buzz, is a Twitter/Facebook-Status-Update/Foursquare hybrid that lives inside their mail service. Even though Buzz is yet another service for people to keep updated,...
Marc’s Pick for Final Friday – January 2010
To cap off a dreary January, perk yourself up with some cheerful hues this Final Friday. Mary Werner and Brenda Jones at Steckline Gallery Mary Werner joined Newman University in 2003 as Director of Visual Arts, where she has been building a vital program by employing her wisdom, charm and dedication to...
Tragedy in Haiti Sparks Memories, and Raises the Question – How Best to Help? Vivid pictures keep flashing through my head. Images of the riotous ruin that was Port au Prince, Haiti, in what were relatively good times during my visit there 10 years ago. Mental portraits of the many good...
This morning, I had the opportunity to go on KNSS NewsRadio to talk with Steve McIntosh about Do the Deed. For four whole minutes, the Wichita airwaves filled with talk of acts of kindness. If you missed the interview, no worries. We’ve got it below. Have a listen and then head...
My husband and I attended the inaugural event at Wichita’s Intrust Bank Arena on Saturday evening – the Brad Paisley concert. For those of you who don’t live in Wichita, there was great debate several years ago about building the arena given its downtown location and potential parking issues. I’d...
This year, my colleagues gave me the best gift ever. Instead of buying me a present, GGers took our Do The Deed campaign as inspiration and pledged to do small acts of kindness on my behalf. Each team member wrote down his or her commitment and bound them together, creating a...
Light Flight
Last weekend I attended an EAA workshop. The EAA offers these hands-on workshops around the country at various times and places. There are two or three of the workshops I want to attend but, this weekend, there was only time... ...
ATTN: Due to the heavy rains, the EAA 347 Fly-In has been moved to October 17th. A great many fly-in's occur in the late summer or fall, so, oil up your lawn chair, clean out the cooler, and start planning!... ...
Mentone: the "Oshkosh" for gyro's and other rotorcraft
Those familiar with experimental aviation certainly know about "Oshkosh", the annual meeting of experimental aircraft in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The official name for it is "AirVenture," but the EAA folks that run it have been unsuccessful at dislodging the name Oshkosh... ...
A few people have taken umbrage at my use of the phrase "...the envelope for safe gyro flying is very narrow." First of all, just in general, "flight envelope" is a term that's hard to nail down. Wiktionary says that... ...
Gyrocopter transition training, day three
Today we wanted to start at 7am. Two other students showed up, so Steve had a lot of training to do. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't going to cooperate. When I looked out of The Barracks, it was obvious that it... ...
Gyrocopter transition training, day two
Starting early enough so that it wasn't blistering hot, Steve and I strapped into the Parson's trainer and proceeded to wring out the machine. There were quite a number of takeoffs and landings at first, but instead of the... ...
Golf Hotel Whiskey
Amazing near midair collision video
Here is segment from CNN that includes an amazing video taken by a German Pilot who was flying a small two-seater 1,000 feet above the French countryside when he had a near miss with another airplane. Unfortunately, his propeller got caught in the cable used by the other plane to...
How do I know if my flight training is on track?
Given the amount of time and money that flight training can take, it is important for would-be pilots to stay on track and to know whether or not they are on track. Hence, a short post by Jason Schappert is well worth reading. According to Jason, there are three ways...
Big in Japan: black-market stewardess uniforms
According to The Times, with Japan Airlines in bankruptcy, there is likely to be a glut of sought-after stewardess uniforms which, previously, went for up to $11,000 on the black market where they were bought by, ahem, aficionados. Share and enjoy: Related posts:Buyer’s market for recreational flyers The state of the business...
Cool video and photos of flight traffic over the USA
The AirlineReporter website has recently posted this really cool high definition vide of FAA flight traffic data for a 24 hour period over the United States. And if you think this video is cool, check out the website of its creator (Aaron Koblin) who has also posted additional pictures where...
How do I renew an old and expired pilot’s license?
Paul, one of the bloggers on AskaCFI.com, was recently asked a question by a reader that has no doubt crossed the mind of many one-time pilots: I stopped flying over 20 years ago and would like to start again. What do I need to do to get reissued my license? To begin...
How do I choose a flight school?
If you are planning to learn how to fly, choosing the right flight is critical. After all, learning how to fly is a huge investment in both time and money. Hence, both a video along with recent post (What do you mean by Part 61 or Part 141?) created by...
Max Trescott Aviation Trends Aloft
Product Review: Garmin Aera 560 Portable GPS
The entry-level unit, the Aera 500 lists for $799, giving Garmin a product with a price point close to the Bendix/King AV8OR, which also features a touch screen. Users can also switch between aviation and automotive functions with a single touch screen key, a major improvement over older units. The...
New Videos: Great Views of China from a Ramphos Trike Light Sport Aircraft
Photographer Kjartan Pétur Sigurðsson of Iceland just uploaded two new videos of flying a Light Sport Aircraft in China. The first video shows the assembly of a Ramphos Trike aircraft and the initial test flight. I can only imagine the surprise of the locals as it took off from a...
Product Review: SPOT 2 Satellite GPS Messenger
SPOT is an innovative, satellite-based system popular with hikers, boaters and pilots that lets others track your position via the Internet. A SPOT user can send two or three (depending upon the model) different pre-programmed messages via a commercial satellite that triggers emails or text messages to up to ten...
General Aviation Making a Difference in Haiti Disaster Relief Effort: How You Can Help
Three million Haitians were affected by last week's earthquake, but in the aftermath successes are measured one life at a time. This evening I was present when Missionary Flights International (MFI) President Dick Snook took a call by satellite phone......
Product Review: Husky A-1C and Garmin G500 and G600
Extensive Photos. The Husky is a good-looking airplane that can turn heads on any ramp. The Garmin G500 was announced in July at AirVenture as a slimmed down version of the Garmin G600. If you’re flying a single or twin-engine piston aircraft weighing less than 6,000 pounds, you can save...
Cockpit Conversation
I started this post when I ran into this quotation. "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." — Bruce Lee Commenter Frank Van Haste added this one. "...there's them that's flown a thousand hours, and there's them that's...
I probably blogged about this the first time I installed iTunes, but it makes me laugh every single time I see it. THE APPLE SOFTWARE IS NOT INTENDED FOR USE IN THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS, LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES OR OTHER EQUIPMENT...
Recently I learned an air traffic control code that hadn't known before. I saw some movement statistics for an airport that included the column "Runway 88." This looks as odd to a pilot as a reference to the 21st hole would to a golfer. (Cue eleven readers telling me that...
Sorry, no blog today. I'm busy watching the Olympics. For the hockey men, I predict Gold: USA, Silver: Canada, Bronze: Slovakia. I'm just watching the hockey women accept their medals. I hope Canada's men win the gold, but I also hope they will be as gracious as the Americans women in...
General aviation hassles. This time it's not security regulations, airspace restrictions, or exorbitant airport fees. It's just small town council that doesn't want to invest in public facilities. It's nothing that hasn't happened to small airports across Canada, and even one so large that it was a designated alternate landing...
Once upon a time at a job interview I was asked "What is the difference between a turbine engine and a piston engine?" This was before I understood that a question like that really means, "Demonstrate to the interview panel that you are a pilot who knows how things...
AviationChatter.com
Just about every pilot's operating handbook and airplane flying manual makes mention of the same property: "The fuselage is of a conventional semi monocoque construction..." And that's the last mention of semi monocoque construction anywhere in the book. I'm willing to bet that your training manuals make little to no...
The View From the Top – Cloudscapes
Enjoy these photos of some of the most wonderful cloudscapes I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing this year. From downright terrifying thunderstorms to surreal pictures evoking a sense of being on the edge of space, this is a snippet of the day-to-day life of a pilot. Yes, there’s a lot...
Online Documentary, Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag
Red Flag is an air combat mock-war fought between the best pilots from countries all over the world. Now you can watch the IMAX documentary in it’s entirety on the web – very cool!...
The Best Way to Study for the Private Pilot Written Exam
This is one question I hear echoed throughout flight schools, internet message boards, and anywhere else student pilots can be found, “how do I pass the private pilot written exam?” Here’s the deal: the written exam is a game. Plain and simple. Much like the ACT or SAT, it is...
Photo Friday – The Cessna 162 Skycatcher
The new Cessna Skycatcher marks Cessna’s first foray in to the light sport aircraft (LSA) market, and it’s making a big buzz at small airports around the country. Will the Skycatcher replace aging Cessna 150’s and 152’s at flight schools across the country? Can Cessna compete with other LSA manufacturers...
Two Easy Ways to Prevent Pilot Error
causes airplanes to overshoot runways, clip wingtips, and miss airports entirely? Two words: Pilot Error. The media is unfortunately very unforgiving when it comes to televising aircraft mishaps and the effects of the big airliners trickle down into the general aviation community. How can we learn from these mistakes....
Aviation Mentor
Keeping up with aviation apps for the iPhone is nearly a full-time job, but staying current on these app can definitely be worth it. A good example is the suite of reasonably-priced apps from CFI Tools. This suite consists of seven apps and each has the stated goal of doing...
I have a habit of talking to my dogs in complete sentences and even though I don't believe my dogs actually understand every word I say, it's a practice I've continued with our two latest Basenji, Taz and Rio. When I need to, say, use power tools and they are...
No, I wasn't at the big soirée in San Francisco and I have yet to actually handle an iPad, but after all the rumors I, like many others, was excited to see the actual device on display. As my readers know, what I'm primarily interested in is the iPad as...
I've never been a big fan of special VFR (or SVFR), a procedure that, simply put, allows pilots to operate without an instrument flight rules clearance in controlled airspace when the cloud ceiling and/or visibility are below basic visual flight rules minima. There are several reasons to be skeptical of...
Over the past months and years I've posted my thoughts on different products that I've found useful and interesting. In the process I've made the virtual acquaintance of a lot of hard-working folks who use their ingenuity to make flying easier and safer for the rest of us. So here...
The just announced Entourage eDGe™ is on sale now for shipment in February and looks like it could be a serviceable approach plate reader. I have yet to touch one, but they claim that you can annotate eBooks using something called e-Ink®. Files are said to be easily...
SimpliFlying || Aviation :: Branding :: Technology || Airline marketing, airline brand management, social media, Web 2.0
Five lessons from the most innovative loyalty programs in the world – Inspired from Loyalty 2010
Last week, I spent three days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, hanging out with Loyalty marketing professionals from around the world at the Loyalty 2010 conference. I met a number of very talented and interesting people, from airlines, hotels and even retails chain that are trying to drive loyalty. Also part of...
Gulf Air and Kuwait Airways up for sale – do the brands stand a chance?
This guest article is written by Oussama Salah, who is an aviation expert based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Being a Jordanian who flies around the region a lot and works in the sector, he shares his thoughts how the proposed sale of two Gulf carriers may or may note be...
Mishandled baggage: mission accomplished? 25 Feb’10 || MSNBC … In 2009, there were fewer passengers, fewer flights and, therefore, fewer checked bags to be mishandled. All those new checked-bag fees, according to SimpliFlying’s Shashank Nigam, caused “many passengers to stop checking-in [any] bags unless absolutely necessary … and frequent fliers to travel...
The day airlines’ Twitter accounts were hacked, and three steps to reverse the brand damage
Today, a number of airline accounts were hacked. First, NYC Aviation pointed out that United Airlines was sending out malicious tweets. Later, I received a Direct Message from Brussels Airlines, with exactly the same message, with the URL taking users to a sexual enhancement website. Staying true to the real-time nature...
Are location-based services a blessing for the airline brand?
If you’re already up and running on Twitter, Facebook or other social media tools, a great way to augment your social media efforts is by tapping on one of the hottest trends around, location based services (“LBS”). Location based social networking is something VERY well suited for airlines. Just...
The “Jetstar-isation” of Qantas is not over yet. Is the LCC taking over the legacy parent brand?
Last week, I wrote an article for CNBC, which talked about the agility of Qantas that keeps the airline in profitable territory. The article resulted in a lively debate with a number of Aussie aviation experts down under, and one of them kindly offered to write a detailed Guest Post...
How I Am Becoming An Astronaut
Space Coast - Society of Women Engineers Awards Banquet
Yesterday I attended the Space Coast's Society of Women Engineers Awards Banquet. I was nominated for the Distinguish New Woman Engineer award. We had guest speaker Dr. Cammy R. Abernathy (Dean, College of Engineering of University of Florida and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering) who gave a great insight...
Endeavour is back, and Discovery is in the VAB
What a day! Preps continue in getting Endeavour back to processing for its next flight (STS-134, November 2010)....and Discovery rolled over to the VAB!!!...
The International Space Station gets a room with a view like no other - many wish NASA had as clear a view of what is next in space. "This Week in Space" talks to the exiled president of the "Constellation Nation" – former NASA boss Mike Griffin – who equates...
Endeavour to land at KSC today.....maybe....
Although the skies don't look too bad right now at the Kennedy Space Center, the weather forecast for landing time continues to call for low cloud ceilings and showers in the area. A final decision whether to land on time will come around 9 p.m., leading to ignition of Endeavour's...
Some Awesome Shots from STS-130
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Lots happening here in the space world. Endeavour is scheduled to return to KSC on Sunday night at 10:25 EST. I haven’t seen a definite weather briefing, but low ceiling clouds may pose a threat to landing at KSC. The weather at Edwards Air Force base in CA. is not...
PlaneBuzz
There is once again electricity humming through the lines to the great outside world. Which means the computers are buzzing, the printers are printing, the washer is washing, the dryer is drying, the stove top is cooking, the television is yapping, and most importantly -- Holly got to take...
Day Two: Temperature 50 degrees
For those of you on the East Coast who contnue to dig out from record amounts of snow today -- I know that 12 inches of snow does not sound like a big deal. Unless that 12 inches of snow......
United Airlines Blows Doors Off With January RASM Estimate
I'm sitting here waiting for final edits to be done on this week's issue of PBB , and was just looking at the wild party going on with airline stocks today. In case some of you are wondering what is going on with the sector today -- which is...
PlaneBusiness Banter Posted Today
No, I am not still celebrating the Saints win Sunday night.... No, as most of you know, PlaneDad is camped out at the Worldwide Headquarters, as he recuperates from surgery to repair his broken hip. Things generally have been going well on that front, but this weekend was rough, (a...
Or then there is the video in my head of the Monday Night Football game I attended in the Dome when Kenny Stabler and the Oakland Raiders erased a 28 point half-time deficit to come back and beat the Saints.... After the return of our long-lost guest columnist Frank Arciuolo...
Who Dat Going To Disney World? Drew Brees - Dat's Who
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My Flying Career
Please forgive me, as it has been far too long since I have posted. I apologize to those of you who have been sitting at the edge of your seats waiting to hear what I have to say next (all one of you) So what the heck have I...
Wow, 2010 already? Time flies when you’re having fun (John, do not make a lame joke using this pun). I have yet to fly this year because have been studying diligently for my CFI-A Knowledge Test. I really want to get a good score on this test and even more,...
Wishing all my readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thank you all for the support and encouragement in 2009!...
This is the first of possibly more reviews I would like to start doing to promote some of my favorite aviation products. I have a plethora of products I like to use on both my PC and my iPhone that you need to know about, if you don’t already....
Paul Bukta of KATU Portland Channel 2 interviews me on the Charles Bishop suicide flight into the Bank of America building in Tampa Florida on January 5th, 2002....
Best knowledge test scores ever!
Today I took my FOI (Fundamentals of Instructing) knowledge test. I felt very confident as I have studied hard for a while. Not only did I pass, but I got a 100% test score! Funny little side story – recently the LaserGrade testing centers have been able to reveal what answers...
Jeremy Zawodny's blog
I haven't written much here recently. And that's really due to a lot of reason, not the last of which is being busy and that we have a wonderful new kitten named Bear: The other issue is that I've becoming increasingly unhappy with my blogging tools, the custom hacks I've...
Zip Line and Rappelling Adventure in Puerto Vallarta
A few weeks ago, Kathleen and I went on our first cruise together. It was her fifth and my first, so I got to experience a lot of new things. If time allows, I'll try to write about that in the future. But for now, I want...
I arrived at the Knoxville, TN airpot a bit ago for my slightly delayed flight back to San Jose via Dallas. Since I finished my book on the flight(s) out, I stopped by one of the shops to do something I rarely do: buy print media. Well, I...
Yesterday was a very sad day for us. Barnes, one of our four cats, had to be put to sleep after we took him to the pet hospital because he was having trouble breathing. A bit over a year ago, Barnes was diagnosed with Diabetes and he'd been getting regular...
Sphinx and Gearman: A Distributed Computing AH-HA! Moment
A week ago I decided to finally get serious about putting gearman to use for search indexing. I had been batting the idea around in my head for a long time (too long, really) but figured I should just write the code and see what happens. It took...
Marshall Kirkpatrick is reporting that Yahoo! will shut down MyBlogLog next year. Well, color me unsurprised. The service has languished for years. I removed it from my site a long time ago. It made me a little sad to do so, but it was just slowing things down and not...
Indy Transponder™
Indy Transponder 8-MAR-10 0300z
Tico Warbird Airshow Set For March 12-14 - Aero-News Network The Valiant Air Command annual TICO Warbird Airshow is coming 12-14 March, in Titusville, FL. Gates open at 0830, and the airshow starts around 1300 each day, but there is plenty to do in the morning. There will be a flightline...
Indy Transponder 7-MAR-10 0300z
2010 Florida International Air Show - everythingpuntagorda.com Aerial stunts, high-speed military jets, and acrobatic pilots are some of the thrills you can expect during the 30th Annual Florida International Air Show April 10-11, 2010 at the Charlotte County Airport in Punta Gorda, Fla. *Recently named a Top 20 Event in the...
Indy Transponder 06-MAR-10 1000z
Formation Flight Organizers Announce"Top Secret" 40th Entry is Rare DC-2! from Av8rdan's World of Flying by Dan Pimentel - The organizers of the massive and historic DC-3/C-47 formation flight into Airventure 2010's opening day have finally announced the details on that closely-guarded aircraft that is now signed up to...
Indy Transponder 6-MAR-10 0500z
TV Show Seeks Aerobatic Pilots & Freight Dogs from Pilots of America Message Board Emmy Award Winning Production Company Seeks Aerobatic Pilots, Race Pilots and Freight Dogs! We're looking for dedicated, passionate pilots with big personalities to star in an upcoming documentary TV series about the professional life and times of...
Indy Transponder 05-MAR-10 1130z
TEAM GOULIAN PHOTOSHOOT from Mike Goulian Airshows by Karin - Last week Team Goulian was honored to hire award-winning Boston photographer, Michael Indresano to photograph our ASB Air Show Team and our Red Bull Air Race Team 99. His work speaks for itself – as he has shot for...
Indy Transponder 5-MAR-10 0130z
Aerials returning to Thunder Over the Valley - Adobe Press ... of Flight celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2009 without the aerial demonstrations of modern and classic warbirds the event has become known for. ... Thrills found in air, on land, in water - Atlanta Journal Constitution James...
Thirty Thousand Feet Blog
DC-3 75th Anniversary at Oshkosh
This press release from the EAA:EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wis. - (March 4, 2010) - Possibly the largest gathering of DC-3 aircraft since the 1940s is committed to the aircraft's 75th anniversary commemoration during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, coming July 26-August 1 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.That celebration includes what...
Second Nick Grant adventure published
Jamie Dodson writes historical fiction novels set in the Pacific in the mid 1930s, and he's got an interesting background. From his website:He has over 25 years of experience in Counter Intelligence, Special Intelligence, Signals Intelligence and Intelligence Analysis for the US Military. He's served with Special Operations, Army...
Pilot and author, Pete Buffington, has published a 2nd edition of Squawk 7700. First Officer, Jeff Skiles from US Airways Flight 1549 writes the following:Squawk 7700 is a timely, eye opening, must read aviation autobiography. The author, Pete Buffington, tells us what it takes to become an airline pilot. Growing...
Passenger Bill of Rights, DOT Style
In response to consumer complaints about being stranded in airplanes for hours, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued new rules to "enhance airline passenger protections" in the following ways:By requiring air carriers to adopt contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays and to publish those plans on their websites.By...
Aviation "television" with ASB.TV
Every once in a while something new comes along that makes you sit back and say "wow!" This is one of those times. With ASB.TV, you get a wide variety of aviation content in a user interface that is like no other I have seen.First, the content: ASB.TV has a...
Received this press release:The Sport Air Racing League: Final Race in the 2009 National Championship SeriesTwenty eight aircraft are scheduled to vie for glory and prize in the Rocket 100 Air Race to be held on November 21, 2009. Aircraft will assemble in Taylor, Texas from Nevada, Utah, Louisiana,...
Ask a Flight Instructor
I can remember vividly my first flight in a Cessna 182. For me, it was the first step beyond the training airplanes of the Cessna 152, 172 and 172RG. The Sylane was a “real” airplane, equipped with a 230 horse power engine! If I’m not mistaken, my first flight in...
Not Quite as Good as I Thought
Takeoff… Weather not quite as good as I thought. It isn’t that bad though… It could get better. It should get better. It has to get beter. It isn’t getting better. It could be worse. It is getting worse… It’s BAD! It’s very bad – no horizon. It’s really bad – the ground is gone! I don’t believe I’m in this… I don’t...
Contract Pilot Invoice Template
One of the more exciting things about learning to fly is the day when people start paying you for your pilot services! I could dedicate an entire site to discussing ways you can get paid to fly, but one of easiest and most popular ways is by becoming a contract...
A good pilot is always learning right? Well, I have learned something recently about TAA approaches, procedure turns and how they are charted, especially on the Jeppesen charts. To begin, let’s take a look at this traditional RNAV / GPS approach: This is a standard “Basic T” approach that uses a...
If you follow my tweets very much, you might know by now how I am a huge fan of Fltplan.com. I think they easily have the best and slickest flight planning services available on the web. From aviation weather to NOTAMS to approach charts, this is really a one-stop...
As reported in this morning’s AvFlash news, the FAA is soon going to implement a change from “Position and Hold” to “Line Up and Wait” in order to conform with international phraseology standards. This change is expected to occur in mid-year 2010. In fact, if you fly in and out...
aroundthepattern.com
A few posts back I mentioned that my wife and I traveled down to the San Francisco Bay area to visit some friends and get to get a ride in one of their airplanes. Our involvement in aviation circles has allowed us to meet some fantastic people working in all...
My last couple of airline trips have been to Europe but this month the magic bidding machine gave me a 10-day Pacific trip. It started out really well – a deadhead (DH) leg to a layover. That rough day was followed by a flight to Honolulu for a 42-hour layover....
We successfully completed another two crossings of the North Atlantic to complete our six-day trip. Our flight back to Europe was with the same plane with the inoperative APU that had caused us all the problems on the previous crossing. This time, however, things went smoothly. One important factor was...
I’m half way through my first trip of the month, meaning I just finished my second Atlantic crossing. Once we get into the air the flights are usually fairly uneventful. The hard part, it seems, is getting away from and into the terminal. Our flight back to the U.S. yesterday left...
I finally was able to go flying in my plane a couple of days ago, the first time this year. It was just a short local flight for a little sightseeing and then six patterns to remind myself that I could still land the Swift.They were actually pretty good landings...
Sulako's Blog
Happy Valentines Day! I hope someone makes you feel loved today, tomorrow, and every day after that. This is a squishy post, you are forewarned...I have loved airplanes all my life. When I was a young boy in Tanzania, I'd sit on my parent's shoulders, point at...
..Confirm holding short of the runway......
I'm very grateful that I'm in a job where I don't have to put a price on safety, because sometimes safety is incredibly expensive. Allow me to elaborate...We flew west today for a whole long while, and on the way west we stopped in Omaha Nebraska to clear US...
Please donate what you can to relief efforts in Haiti. I can't get over the images I'm seeing on TV and the web.This link will take you to the Canadian Red Cross where you can donate online....
I respect icing, but it usually doesn't make me sweat in the jet.This turned out to be a long story, so you are forewarned...We flew up north to Timmins last night for a passenger pickup and return to Toronto. Kitsch was in New York with the Bravo so I...
We did a trip to Quebec a few weeks ago, and I found the instrument approach here interesting from a pilot-geek perspective. Instrument approaches are what we use to line up with the runway even if we can't see outside due to clouds etc. When I fly the jet,...