Latest Posts
“I kept my eyes closed”: Rudy’s adventures in aerobatic flying
Last month, we lost Chuck Coleman in Las Cruces during an advanced aerobatic manoeuvre. The tragedy has sparked many conversations in our community about limits, risk assessment and aerobatic flying. Our regular contributor Rudy sent me this thoughtful piece about his own journey with aerobatics, from a student who initially kept his eyes closed during…
Read more… 15 Nov 24
Catalina Night Departure: NTSB Preliminary Report Released
On the 8th of October 2024, a Beechcraft Baron crashed shortly after taking off from Catalina Airport at night, killing all five occupants. I wrote about it on the 18th: Night Flight from Catalina: Beechcraft Baron Incident but here’s a quick recap. Earlier that day, three people from a Santa Monica flight school had flown…
Read more… 8 Nov 24
Airbus A321 Landing Attempt in Typhoon
Yesterday, the 31st of October 2024, a Starlux Airlines flight bounced on the runway at Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei while attempting to land during the most severe typhoon that Taiwan has seen in thirty years. Typhoons are not uncommon in Taiwan, with a typhoon season spanning June to October. However, Typhoon Kong-rey arrived surprisingly…
Read more… 1 Nov 24
A Side-by-Side Analysis of the Fatal Extra E300L Crash at Las Cruces
A local pilot’s side-by-side video comparison shows the same aerobatic sequence performed at an airshow in New Mexico on two consecutive days: a successful performance on Saturday synchronised to Sunday’s fatal crash. The Las Cruces Air & Space Expo ended early on Sunday, the 20th of October, after a heartbreaking crash during a solo aerobatic…
Read more… 25 Oct 24
Night Flight from Catalina: Beechcraft Baron Incident
On the 8th of October 2024, a Piper Arrow departed from Santa Monica Airport in Southern California, landing at Catalina Airport, the small airport in the centre of Santa Catalina Island. Catalina Island is a small rocky island with rough terrain about 25 miles off of the coast of Los Angeles. The islands there are…
Read more… 18 Oct 24
Aviation Tales from the Fringes
This week, I have a collection of flying stories that aren’t really about the flying part of the flight. They are all stories that reminded me that aviation isn’t just about getting from A to B and I couldn’t resist sharing them. I hope you find them interesting as well! A Communication Breakdown at Oslo…
Read more… 11 Oct 24
Accident Reports
Overrun in Ireland
On the 19th of February 2023, a private pilot arranged to meet with a flight instructor at Birr Airfield to fly a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. That morning, the flight instructor…
Icing, Systems, and Human Factors: Preliminary Findings on Voepass flight 2283
On the 9th of August 2024 at 16:22, Voepass flight 2283, a scheduled flight from Cascavel, Paraná, to Guarulhos, São Paulo entered a flat spin and crashed into a residential…
Demystifying
How to tell an F-16 Fighting Falcon from a Eurofighter Typhoon
There are a number of reasons why you might need to quickly point out the differences between a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and a Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon. You might…
Extreme Turbulence in Singapore Airlines flight 321
A few days ago (21st of May 2024), Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 encountered heavy turbulence on a passenger flight from London-Heathrow to Singapore. There were 229 on board, including eighteen…
History
Gladys Ingle Inflight Wheel Change: Emergency Action or Stunt?
This video of a mid-air wheel exchange goes viral once a year or so, but I never get tired of watching it. Last week, it showed up on Reddit and…
The Disappearance of the Hawaii Clipper May Not Be as Mysterious as Was Thought
This week, we have a guest post by J.B. Rivard who wrote an article for the American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS) and used one of my articles as a reference.…
Fun Stuff
Terminally Early: The Berlin Viewing Platform
Mistakes were made. All of them were mine. Before I left for Dresden, I planned out my full itinerary. Berlin is a much busier airport than Tallinn, so I needed…
A Few Good Stories
I’m in Dresden at the moment and I’m afraid I haven’t had a free moment to write you a new article. Luckily, lots of other people are on the internet…
Glynda on How to tell an F-16 Fighting Falcon from a Eurofighter TyphoonTyphoons made 10 mile away from me. Can hear them take off to practise, nearly always low sky sadly. 
Bronwen Williams on “I kept my eyes closed”: Rudy’s adventures in aerobatic flyingAn excellent and interesting story, thanks for sharing. 
Pat Farrelly on “I kept my eyes closed”: Rudy’s adventures in aerobatic flyingSylvia, I have been a keen follower of your always interesting posts for years now and I am a fan…
Rudy Jakma on “I kept my eyes closed”: Rudy’s adventures in aerobatic flyingWell my friends, Bader was a WW II ace and a fighter pilot. Accidents were calculated risks, a certain percentage…
David Provan on “I kept my eyes closed”: Rudy’s adventures in aerobatic flyingI'm also impressed by Rudi's willingness to "disappoint many". A friend of mine, not very experienced, had a delightful little…
Harrow on “I kept my eyes closed”: Rudy’s adventures in aerobatic flying"I probably disappointed many, but I just did not feel comfortable." If Douglas Bader had been as willing as you…