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Let’s Talk About the Weather

Slight reorganisation of plans, flying to Elstree (London) on Thursday, picking up Cliff’s mum who thought it would be fun to go with us (pretty daring for a woman of 81!) and flying to Guernsey first thing in the morning on Friday, arriving in time for a lunch date with a local who has offered…

Read more… 2 May 06

Ominous

“Thank God men cannot as yet fly and lay waste the sky as well as the earth!” — Henry David Thoreau Is it really only a week before I’m off? I am so not ready…

Read more… 26 Apr 06

Revised Itinerary

I’m slipping the dates for the Channel Islands by 2 days, which fits in better and also means I get to spend Liberation Day on Jersey. The final plan is: 4 May: arrive Guernsey (evening) 5 May: Guernsey 6 May: Guernsey (Ale and Food festival, yum) 7 May: Alderney (Milk-a-Punch Sunday, thanks to SI for…

Read more… 12 Apr 06

Not an auspicious start

Ben, who was going to be flying with me, contacted me on Sunday to say that he was stuck in Copenhagen with a jet whose wheels would not retract. A nice young man named Alistair agreed to adopt me for a few days, so we flew out to Shobdon yesterday where we got stuck on…

Read more… 4 Apr 06

Oxford

I spoke to Ben yesterday and so my trip to the “British Mainland” is now confirmed. I’ll start in Oxford and do circuits there until I’m dizzy (circuit: take off, fly in a circle, “touch” the run way and “go” again, ad infinitum) and then head off to local airfields and do the same there.…

Read more… 25 Feb 06

More things to do in Alderney…

… lest you think I’m only going there for the alcohol. A meal in St Anne in view of St Anne’s church. Hike out to the neolithic burial site, followed by a visit to the Alderney Museum. A trip on the only running railway in the Channel Islands. Find out about the Elizabethan wreck which…

Read more… 14 Feb 06

Accident Reports

CRJ 200 ferry flight crash with 19 on board at Kathmandu

Last week, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission, formed by the Government of Nepal to investigate the accident of 9N-AME on the 24th of July 2024, released their final report. There’s…

Air India 171 Crash Triggered by Fuel Cutoff

On the 12th of June 2025, a Boeing 787-8, registered in India as VT-ANB, was operating as flight Air India 171 for a passenger flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick.…

Demystifying

How to tell a Russian Su-27 from a British Typhoon

This is not an article that I ever thought I would feel compelled to write! However, given the confusion over a photograph chosen in a regional English paper, apparently it’s…

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…

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

How the B-52 Lands in Crosswinds

I’m here, defeated but not yet horizontal, the victim of a relentless summer cold that feels like the universe’s revenge for something I can’t even remember. If I don’t make…

Friday Lightness: A Short Respite from Crash Reports

It seems a good time for something a bit more lighthearted. After weeks of analyzing serious incidents and technical failures, I thought I could a moment to appreciate aviation humuor…