I’m going to Helsinki this weekend (sadly by ferry not by plane) but I have a guest post by Simon Rockman for you which is, I think, delightfully different. I worked with Simon in the previous century (!!!), way back when the Internet was a new and shiny thing. He was the go-to man for…
Read more… 1 Dec 17
It was a lazy evening in 1980 and I was bored at my dad’s house, when I put on his television and flicked through the 150 channels he had, looking for something to watch. I paused at a scene which showed a bunch of good looking guys in pilot gear playing baseball. They were arguing…
Read more… 14 Jul 17
This has been an amazing week for aviation news with unbelievable stories and videos seemingly coming from all directions. Anna and I have been posting every day to the Fear of Landing Facebook page but I wanted to share the best here. First off, the incredible crash landing in Everett, Washington. The pilot had just…
Read more… 5 May 17
The man in the video is Peter Powell, a British entrepreneur who famously developed steerable kites using dual lines in 1972. He started by selling the kites from the back of his car and then began selling them on Paignton sea front. He had no shop window, he sold them simply by flying the kites…
Read more… 28 Apr 17
How Aviation Became Firefighters’ Best Friend—And Then Their Worst Enemy This fire, now known as the Saddle Fire, raged across the state throughout summer 2016. Before it burned out it would see multiple instances of drone interference with firefighting efforts. On June 22, Herbert angrily tweeted about the incident and held a press conference denouncing…
Read more… 16 Dec 16
It’s the last weekend of November and time to get those Christmas gifts ready! I’ve collected ten great gifts here to give to your fellow aviation geeks… or pass this page on so that your special someone can get you the perfect gift. Certainly, I’d be happy with any of these under my tree! LampStore…
Read more… 25 Nov 16
The Manchester Airport Group Plc owns and operates three airports: Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands. Manchester Airport is the third busiest airport in Britain. Their website says Manchester Airport…
On the 27th of July 2018, an experienced pilot departed with ten parachutists on board for a routine drop mission. It was the pilot’s fourth flight of the day in…
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…
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…
Aviation in Iceland started with an airline, not an aircraft. Flugfélag Íslands, the first Icelandic airline, was founded in Reykjavík on the 22nd of March 1919. They did not (yet)…
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.…
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…
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…