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Destination: Oban

I’m surprised to find out that I haven’t written a destination piece on Oban, one of my favourite airfields. In fact, I’ve only mentioned it once. Update from Abroad, March 2008 We used Oban airfield instead which has recently undergone renovations and has a new 1,264m runway. It is a great airfield, easy to spot…

Read more… 16 Jan 09

Falling Out of the Sky

I found myself with a week clear in Southern Spain; free time spanning in front of me and not a single claim to my time. Add to that a Piper Saratoga parked in Málaga gathering dust and it was clear: it was time to go flying. After months of bad weather followed by hectic schedules…

Read more… 9 Jan 09

Fly by Night: Part 2

Be sure to read Fly by Night: Part 1 first! This article was originally published in Piper Flyer Magazine. A major issue when planning lessons is the timing. The weather in the winter is prohibitive for VFR flying and the sunsets in the main flying months are after the majority of airfields have shut for…

Read more… 19 Dec 08

Fly By Night

Part One of Two – originally published in Piper Flyer Flying feels different in the dark. Sitting in a commercial plane, looking at the black outside the window, the viewpoint strikes me as so completely different. This isn’t an issue during the day, I look out at cities and farmland and lakes and railway lines:…

Read more… 12 Dec 08

Sex and the Long Haul Pilot

“A layover in Singapore,” he wrote in his blog. “A dream come true!” He is a commercial pilot working for a major airline and has just started doing the major international routes. What surprised me was the deluge of comments he received, asking him about the after-hours fun, how many air hostesses he’d slept with…

Read more… 5 Dec 08

November 666 Echo X-ray, Do You Read?

Air/Ground Radio Airfields with A/G Radio offer an information service with a radio operator who are not licensed and not under close CAA supervision. They identify themselves by saying the airfield name followed by the word radio. It could just be a guy on a mobile radio with no other support. They will offer a…

Read more… 28 Nov 08

Accident Reports

The Unstallable Plane That Stalled

The Cessna 185 Skywagon is a high wing, single engine aircraft: basically a Cessna 180 with six seats, a strengthened fuselage and a slightly more powerful engine. It’s a popular…

Unbolted in Fairfield (Update on the 2022 Bell 407 GXP Crash)

On the 4th of June 2022, a Bell 407 GXP helicopter crashed in a field near Fairfield, New Jersey. I wrote about it at the time. The final report and…

Demystifying

Training an AI Copilot To Spot Gliders

My friend Maria at Daedalean wrote this article about how they are using AI to help pilots detect gliders. I thought it was fascinating and Daedalean gave me permission to…

The Missing Bolts from Alaska Airlines flight 1282

On the 5th of January 2024, Alaska Airlines flight 1282 had just taken off when it lost a door plug, leaving a gaping hole on the left side of row…

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

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…

Flying Fails and Airshow Considerations

Long-term readings of Fear of Landing know that my favourite aerobatics show of all time is Kyle Franklin’s Ben Whabnoski Comedy act. Just in case some of you haven’t seen…