Category: Miscellaneous

2022 In Review

Top Ten Posts of 2022 I always enjoy taking this look at the data at the end of the year from a pure statistical point of view. Here’s the most popular posts of 2022 as we get ready to soar (badum tish!) into 2023. 10 The Sad Story of the Seawind 3000 N8UU My favourite…

Read more… 6 Jan 23

Sliding into 2023

A quick hello from Germany to say that I hope you have, as the Germans say, a good slide into the New Year. I’m also excited to tell you that my next book will be coming out in March. I’ll tell you more about it soon but today I want to offer you a sneak…

Read more… 30 Dec 22

Happy Holidays!

Another year has come and gone. I’ll be honest, it’s not been the greatest but I am glad that I’m still here and that you are still here with me. I tried to use one of these newfangled AI art generator to create a Christmas card especially for us but in retrospect maybe Fear of…

Read more… 23 Dec 22

My Most Difficult Landing Taught Me Why Pilots Are Natural Leaders

I’m thrilled to bring you a special guest post this week by Steven Myers, a two-time US Air Force veteran with twelve jet-type ratings. In 2020, the FAA awarded him the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 years of accident-free flying. Myers has chronicled his adventures in his book Cross Winds: Adventure and Entrepreneurship…

Read more… 16 Dec 22

Who can resist a compilation with kittens and spitfires?

I hope you are sitting comfortably because this week I have some extraordinary articles to fill your weekend. These are my favourite aviation-related pieces that I’ve read lately. I found them all fascinating and I’m sure you will too. This man went to the scene of a Boeing crash in 1959 but didn’t think to…

Read more… 11 Nov 22

When Everything Changes

My first aviation publication went something like this: “You don’t need a real license,” Tom said. The stern-faced ex-RAF instructor had already chided me for dressing inappropriately in my short skirt and open-toed sandals. Now I realized he wanted to get rid of me. He continued. “You want a wife’s license. Forget the technical mumbo-jumbo.…

Read more… 25 Feb 22

Accident Reports

The faulty AOA sensor on Ethiopian flight 302

The NTSB report submitted in response to the third draft covers two areas: Airframe/Systems and Operational and Human Factors. Today, I’m going to focus on the airframes and systems. The…

No one noticed it was missing: 1971 Super Cub crash

Lasham Aerodrome in Hampshire, England, was built in 1942 and used as a base for the RAF Fighter Command. After the war, it became the home of the Army Gliding…

Demystifying

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…

Post-Pandemic Mystery at Heathrow

In June 2021, the British Air Accident Investigative Branch (AAIB) initiated a fascinating investigation after they noticed three similar incidents at London Heathrow over a three-day period. Soon, they realised…

History

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…

Twin Pioneer Down in Libya: Structural Failure in 1956

On the 7th of December 1957, a Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer 1, registration G-AOEO, departed an airstrip at Anshan in Libya for a routine flight to Tripoli-Idris Airport. There were…

Fun Stuff

Aviation Videos and Articles for August

I always collect videos and links that I think you might enjoy but apparently, I have been neglecting to actually share them with you! So here’s a “best of the…

Funniest Thing You've Heard On the Radio

I’ve been struggling this week and was just panicking that I would not have a post finished in time for you for today when I discovered that Reddit had saved…