Category: Miscellaneous –  Page 21

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

Destination: Oban

I’m surprised to find out that I haven’t written a destination piece on Oban, one of my favourite airfields. In fact, I’ve only mentioned it once. Update from Abroad, March 2008 We used Oban airfield instead which has recently undergone renovations and has a new 1,264m runway. It is a great airfield, easy to spot…

Read more… 16 Jan 09

Accident Reports

Hand on Thrust, Brain on Autopilot

On the 28th of June 2024 a Boeing 777-236, registered in the UK as G-VIIT, rejected a take-off after reaching V1 during the take-off roll on 26L at London Gatwick…

Challenger 300 Fatal Upset Wasn't Turbulence

On the 3rd of March 2023, a passenger in a private jet died after severe injuries in the cabin, which were originally reported as caused by severe turbulence. This was…

Demystifying

How to tell a Russian Su-27 from a British Typhoon

This is not an article that I ever thought I would feel compelled to write! However, given the confusion over a photograph chosen in a regional English paper, apparently it’s…

How to tell an F-16 Fighting Falcon from a Eurofighter Typhoon

There are a number of reasons why you might need to quickly point out the differences between a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and a Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon. You might…

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

Friday Lightness: A Short Respite from Crash Reports

It seems a good time for something a bit more lighthearted. After weeks of analyzing serious incidents and technical failures, I thought I could a moment to appreciate aviation humuor…

Flights of Fantasy: Aviation April Fools Worth Celebrating

I’m going to admit that I’m not a great fan of April Fools’ pranks, especially not attempts to trick people into believing something and then pulling the rug out from…