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From the Archives: Travel Snob

I am trading in my single-engine aircraft obsession for space ships this weekend at the Illustrious Eastercon 2011. Unfortunately, I don’t have a new post for you; however, I found this piece in my archives discussing “authentic” travel and expectations of foreign resorts. I still feel the same as when I wrote it two years…

Read more… 22 Apr 11

A Close Encounter with an Emu

A few weeks ago, I posted a video of a near-miss “bird strike” when a frightened emu ran onto the landing strip as the aircraft touched down. Warning: Entirely Justified Coarse Language is Used in this Video When I found out the pilot had posted to the Professional Pilots’ Rumour Network, I couldn’t resist getting…

Read more… 15 Apr 11

Nothing is so Beautiful as Spring

I have in the past complained about the snow in the UK and that my flying was unnecessarily curtailed as a result of the weather. UK Snow Day on Webcams Snow on the Runway, Ice on the Wings So on a glorious day like today, it seemed only fair to show the other side of…

Read more… 8 Apr 11

The Stories of an Adventurer

I “met” Joe Colletto through my aunt. He was a pilot, a sailor, a Marine during World War II and an excellent story teller. She worked with him for 25 years and loved to hear about his adventures. When I started posting essays about flying, she told him about Fear of Landing. He said that…

Read more… 1 Apr 11

Asleep in the Tower

Everyone seems to be talking about ATC asleep at the wheel today. On Wednesday, 23 March, the air traffic controller at the tower of DCA (Ronald Reagan National Airport which services Washington DC) stopped responding and two flights landed without establishing contact. I’m starting to hear some interesting rumours and guesses already, so I put…

Read more… 25 Mar 11

Stunt Pilots Survive Crash at Air Fiesta

A few years ago, Kyle Franklin allowed me to put up a video of his Drunken Pilot act as a part of the Franklin’s Flying Circus & Airshow. At the time, the video was only available as a download, so I was proud to have the chance to offer it as streaming video on my…

Read more… 18 Mar 11

Accident Reports

Wings Over Dallas: How Poor Systems Led to Mid-Air Collision

On the 12th of November 2022, a Bell P-63F Kingcobra fighter flew into a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress bomber during the Wings Over Dallas airshow. All six crew members in…

"Totally a visibility issue."

On Sunday, the 27th of November 2022, a single-engine aircraft made national US news when it crashed through power lines in Gaithersburg, Maryland, coming to rest on a lattice tower.…

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…