Category: Miscellaneous –  Page 21

Knowing Your ABCs

I was speaking to a friend about flying and she asked about language issues when flying around mainland Europe. These are thankfully few and far between as English is generally accepted or even required for speaking on the radio. I’ve written before about struggling to understand a French controller with a strong accent but generally…

Read more… 22 May 09

There Appears to Be A Plane Flying Upside Down – Right Over My Head

We were flying into North Weald, I was in the left seat with Lee coming along for the ride as a passenger. The plan was to pick up Cliff who had been in London for meetings before taking Lee to Newcastle. Lee is a commercial pilot and ex-CFI. He was flattering, in a backhanded manner,…

Read more… 15 May 09

Newcastle Upon Tyne

When this post appears on my website, I should hopefully be on my way for exploring new places! We’ll be flying into Newcastle (EGNT) on Friday. It’s the international airport for the North East of England and a very busy place. I can’t help but feel a little bit nervous. Newcastle Airport has offered offered…

Read more… 17 Apr 09

On the Road Again

We’ll be taking the Saratoga out for a spin after a long winter parked at Málaga airport. Unfortunately, the lack of practice means I can’t take passengers and I’m feeling rather edgy about my abilities, so Cliff will be doing the initial flying until I get a chance to meet up with an instructor next…

Read more… 10 Apr 09

Travel Snob

Mark Twain said: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” Sometimes, reading travel blogs on the web, it seems like the converse is true. If I see one more article about how obnoxious holiday makers are and how popular resorts are ruining travel for real adventurers who want to truly experience foreign countries, I…

Read more… 20 Mar 09

He Knows I’m in a Plane, Right?

I’ve not been flying so this week I’ll leave you with an excerpt from a Piper Flyer article, where I recount one of my first experiences with flying into military airspace in France. You can’t fly very far in Europe without flying through military airspace. In the UK, in fact, it’s something to aim for,…

Read more… 30 Jan 09

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

The Mystery of the Caged Tyres and the Porcupine Who Flew Home

This photograph was posted to r/shittyaskflying, a subreddit dedicated to asking silly questions and giving silly answers. In this case, the photograph is enough to make one wonder what’s going…

Songs About Failed Spacecraft and Space Disasters

This week, I’m handing over Fear of Landing to my friend Jack Keller who promised me a playlist of music relating to my interests. All of the titles except one…