Category: Fun Stuff –  Page 8

Top Ten Posts of 2015

It’s that time of year again! A moment of retrospection as we look at the most popular posts on Fear of Landing in 2015. Number 10: The teenager who flew to Moscow 28 years ago, on the 28th May 1987, a 19-year old German flew a Cessna 172 to Moscow, taxi-ing straight into the Red…

Read more… 8 Jan 16

Crazy about Drones

I got a drone for Christmas after reading an Inspire 2 review! I haven’t had a chance to play with it yet but, in view of the bad reputation drones have in the aviation world, I thought I would post some positive drone links to balance it out a bit. Drone’s World This video shows…

Read more… 1 Jan 16

Jeppesen Commemorative Charts Special Edition: Santa’s Charts

Jeppesen has updated the RNAV charts for Santa in the North Pole, which includes a caution for supersonic heavy departures and for flights conducted under the influence of eggnog. The chart, marked as for Reindeer Navigation Only, includes straight-in landings and circle-to-land, which is authorised only when Rudolph is available. The 2015 changes are cited…

Read more… 25 Dec 15

The Flying, Driving Automobile

Are you stuck for the perfect gift for the pilot in your life? I’ve got a guest post for you this week which may help! Aria Wrigley takes a look at the latest innovations in fly-drive vehicles. Aria is my daughter and I am delighted to have a guest post from her. And Santa, if…

Read more… 27 Nov 15

Amazing MD-80 Departure from Princess Juliana

I admit, I have a soft spot for island runways. And one of the most famous island runways is runway 10 at Princess Juliana International Airport on Sint Maarten, with low-altittude final approaches happening very close to Maho Beach. Princess Juliana airport is regularly the subject of viral videos showing aircraft coming in low over…

Read more… 30 Oct 15

The Man Who Ate a Cessna

It’s clear by now that I’m obsessively rather interested in planes but not in a weird way. I usually limit myself to considering how they fly, how they look while they are flying, and how they sound when they pass overhead. I’ve never actually considered how they taste. One man did, however. Michel Lotito, a…

Read more… 18 Sep 15

Accident Reports

Bomber 139's Third Run: What the Investigation Found

In order to follow this analysis, you’ll need to have the details of the flight and the crash from last week’s article about the flight. When we last saw Bomber…

Bomber 139's Third Run: Downhill to Disaster

On the 6th of February 2023, a Boeing 737-3H4 Large Air Tanker crashed into a ridge line of 222 feet elevation in Fitzgerald River National Park in Western Australia. There…

Demystifying

Another quick round of questions and answers

It’s time for another Questions and Answers session. I started this series a few years back, when a reader asked if there was a way to pose aviation questions outside…

Durga Puja Pandal Shows Air India Flight 171 Crash

The following video from a religious festival in West Bengal, India, has caught a lot of social media attention. It shows a detailed representation of an Air India Boeing Dreamliner…

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

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…

Nathan Pyle Strange Worlds

Thank you so much for all the kind words. I don’t quite have the wherewithal to respond to each of you individually but I very much appreciate all of you…