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Flight Instructor Stories That Will Make (Most) Student Pilots Feel Better

I have been sitting on this collection for some time now but I feel like we could use a bit of light humour today. I share these stories not to dissuade anyone from learning to fly but instead (I hope!) to encourage students; no matter how poorly you reacted to your first stall, I bet…

Read more… 30 Jun 23

The Tragic Story of Submarine M-200 Myest

On the 21st of November 1956, the M-200 Myest (Месть, meaning vengeance or revenge) collided with a Russian destroyer and sunk to the bottom of the Baltic. The M-200 Myest was a Malyutka-class small torpedo submarine of the XV series, built in Leningrad in 1940. The XV series was an extended version with six watertight…

Read more… 23 Jun 23

Patrouille Suisse Mid-Air Collision

Yesterday, two F-5 Tiger aircraft collided over Central Switzerland during a practice flight. The Patrouille Suisse is one of four Swiss Air Force aerobatic teams. Formed in 1964, the team has been flying F-5 Tigers since 1995. All of the team members are military pilots or air traffic controllers who perform with the Patrouille Suisse…

Read more… 16 Jun 23

Turning Back with Runway Ahead

The aircraft was a Grumman American AA-5, a four-seater light aircraft developed by American Aviation, which was bought out by Grumman shortly after production started. Registered in the UK as G-BBSA, the Traveler was forty-seven years old. This was one of the original AA-5 Travelers, which ceased production after only one year to be replaced…

Read more… 9 Jun 23

Be Nice to Your Drone

Last week was the RAeS Future Combat Air & Space Capabilities Summit. This was organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) to discuss the future of combat air and space capabilities. The summit centred around presentations and to discuss the future of air and space combat power. The summit took place in London with 70…

Read more… 2 Jun 23

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 the 2009 video that Kyle gave me permission to share, I’ll include it here (if you are reading from the mailing list, click through to…

Read more… 26 May 23

Accident Reports

Low Altitude, High Risks: Fifteen minute flight turns fatal

It was an overcast day on the morning of the 8th of September 2011 when people in West Liberty, Ohio, heard the sounds of a low-flying aircraft approaching. The Cirrus…

Aircraft Collides with Lorry on Henstridge Approach

On the 2nd of March, 2023, a Vans RV-9A struck a vehicle while coming into land at Henstridge Airfield. The Vans RV-9A is a Van’s Aircraft kit plane, a kit…

Demystifying

Sharing a Runway: Fed Ex vs Southwest at Austin

On Monday, two commercial aircraft had a near-miss on the runway at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas. The airport at Austin has two parallel concrete runways which run north-to-south: 18L/36R…

Flying Blind: The Importance of NOTAMs in Aviation

On the 11th of January 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US stopped all departing commercial flights, grounding aircraft all over the US. Hot on the heels of…

History

The Wright brothers and the dream of flying

I’ve lost most of the day to unexpected research and one of the fascinating items that I discovered was the Air Force Historical Research Agency and their amazing photo collection.…

The Oldest Footage of Flight

About a week ago, Marléne Aviation posted to Twitter in an attempt to find the oldest video footage of a flight. Marléne Aviation is run by a French aviation history…

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…

Messerschmitt Crash in Wernigerode

I didn’t expect to fall in love with the train. When I planned my trip to Germany, I expected that I would be able to keep up with my normal…