I needed a photograph of me and the plane to go alongside an article I wrote for a US magazine. It was an amusing photoshoot at Elstree in the rain/snow: I was OK as I was in the cockpit smiling broadly, but poor Cliff was outside leaning on the wing (and the aileron, as you…
Read more… 2 Feb 07
I was watching my log book carefully as I waited for the weather to clear and then, most frustratingly, waited for the plane to be in good working order again. Although I have to admit I was relieved that someone else found the fault rather than leaving it to me. I then managed to get…
Read more… 30 Jan 07
I saw this photograph today and had to share. You can see the full story at Snopes at http://www.snopes.com/photos/airplane/flightschool.asp — what a landing, huh? Amazing that the pilot walked away, really.
Read more… 16 Jan 07
We sat on the terrace of the Chalet, gazing out at the water and Sark in the distance, while Peter and Mary put up with a torrent of questions about the island and the must-see places. “And while you are exploring the bays, you should go visit the towers, they’ve been put into quite good…
Read more… 11 Jan 07
Useful websites for the Channel Islands: http://www.jerseymet.gov.je/ with webcams of the runway and St Helier! http://www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey/ and http://www.bbc.co.uk/jersey/ but not Alderney. :( http://www.visitguernsey.com http://www.aboutjersey.net and http://www.jersey.com/ and http://www.jersey.co.uk/ (Have you guys ever thought about consolidating?) http://www.nationaltrustjersey.org.je http://www.flyalderney.com/ http://www.alderney.net – I especially liked the very brief history http://www.alderney.gov.gg
Read more… 10 Jan 07
Alderney Lighthouse Originally uploaded by fearoflanding. I’ve set up a separate flickr account for this blog, so I can add photographs quickly and not confuse people with a photostream full of my house in Spain. I’ll probably retroactively add stuff but more important at the moment is to go through all the images (some 200!)…
Read more… 2 Jan 07
Why KLM Cut the Steering Cables on Two Perfectly Functional Boeing 737s
Last month, we looked at the night of 28th of November 2004 at Barcelona Airport. KLM 1673 ran off the runway at high speed, stopping just short of a canal.…
KLM 1673 Veers Off the Runway with Full Right Rudder
On the 28th of November 2004, a Boeing B737 ran off the runway at Barcelona Airport. The weather had been good at Barcelona that evening. The flight crew agreed to land…
How Important is Having a Sterile Cockpit?
This question was posted to r/flying by a private pilot who wanted to know: do airline pilots ever engage in small talk about irrelevant things during taxiing, run-up, takeoff, and…
Someone has to write the TAF
It turns out that there a person sitting there deciding what the weather is going to do. Which seems obvious, except that I had somehow never asked msyelf who “someone”…
The CIA's Shark Screen
Today we have a guest post from the CIA! In their archives, researching something completely different, I found the answer to a question I never thought to ask. I immediately…
The First Jet to Land on an Aircraft Carrier (Deliberately)
“The Vampire was the first jet to land on a moving aircraft carrier deliberately.” This quote from Airshow Luke, our MC at the Legacy of Liberty airshow, made me almost…
Petrified, Petrified, Petrified
There’s been some interesting reporting in the UK media about a “near disaster” over Canary Wharf involving the captain having to intervene (the horror!) after air data systems failed on…
Aviation Stories You Might Have Missed
I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season. This week, I’ve put together a compilation of interesting items in the press that you might have missed while enjoying…