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Happy Christmas!

I’ve been meaning to post, I swear it! And I’ll make a specific New Year’s Resolution to do with this very website — it needs a redesign and a better focus. So expect to hear more from me in the new year. And yes, Mom, I know I tell you that every year! In the…

Read more… 24 Dec 07

Picture the Scene

As the plane begins its descent, you react to the pinging sound and put your seatbelt on, quickly finishing off your gin and tonic as the stewardess comes around to take your empty glass. An announcement comes through the speakers asking everyone to put their seatback upright and turn all electronic equipment off. You look…

Read more… 18 Dec 07

We’re Coming In

I didn’t do the flight to Blackpool this time so I got to take photographs. The sun was just starting to come down and we got gorgeous views of the coast and the tower and the Pleasure Beach. It is a bit odd to see a roller coaster on final approach. As we turned from…

Read more… 4 Dec 07

Fly Me

On days like this I want to have flown more than I want to fly. A single take-off and landing will bring me to a total of three this week, which means I can remain current until February with no further action on my part — useful over the winter months. I keep putting it…

Read more… 28 Nov 07

Things I’ve Learned

I have really learned a lot from doing the articles for the small mag that’s been taking my aviation pieces on a monthly basis. “Don’t describe the article in content and length before you’ve actually written it” is a biggie, who would have thought I would so often get it wrong? And not even in…

Read more… 3 Nov 07

If It’s Not One Thing

Today I received my first fan mail from a Piper Flyer reader, as it finally occurred to me that I could include my email address in my by-line. It was very exciting. I opened the email and read it slowly, trying to savour the moment. He wrote that he had read my article in the…

Read more… 30 Oct 07

Accident Reports

A Perfect Day to Fly: The Tragic Story of the EAA AirVenture 2023 Midair Collision

In 2023, the annual EAA AirVenture airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin was marred by a tragic mid-air collision. The EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) is an aviation organisation which has hosted fly-ins…

The Fenestron Factor: Cabri G2 Crash in Gruyéres

The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) has released the final report for the Cabri G2 light helicopter crash in Gruyères, Switzerland in 2022. I wrote about it at the…

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…