Category: Miscellaneous –  Page 9

Crosswind Landings at Birmingham Airport

It started with this video of an amazing crosswind landing at Birmingham Airport (formerly Birmingham International Airport). Birmingham Airport is 5.5 nautical miles (10 km, 6 miles) southeast of the city with a runway that runs north-west/south-east, which means that aircraft either take off or land directly over Birmingham. What happens when 120 tonnes of…

Read more… 11 Apr 14

Ten Things You Should Know Before Flying to Morocco

It’s my birthday today! So I’m going to take the day off and sit in the sun and do absolutely nothing for the first time in what seems like forever. I’ve pulled these posts out of the archives for you. A few years back, Cliff gave me the most wonderful surprise for my 40th birthday.…

Read more… 7 Mar 14

2013 In Review

Hard to believe another twelve months and fifty-two blog posts have gone past. One of my favourite things to do every year is to go over the statistics and see what the top posts were. I laughed a little bit to see that FAA Approved? is in the top ten again for the fifth year…

Read more… 27 Dec 13

Top Five Gifts for Pilots and Aviation Enthusiasts

It’s that time of year again and many of us are frantically starting to search for the perfect gift to give. I’m not fond of shopping but I do like browsing online for interesting items for myself. So this year, I thought I’d take advantage of my window-shopping and offer up some ideas for interesting…

Read more… 29 Nov 13

Eight Reasons Why I Need an Espresso Machine on my Desk

This morning, I wasn’t feeling very awake and thought I’d read through my aviation links and news while I woke up gently. Somehow today, though, the entire world seemed full of WTF… 1) I was reading this report and made it on to the next paragraph before my brain caught up and said Wait, what?…

Read more… 15 Nov 13

Non-Stop to Havana: Better to be Lucky than Smart

Captain Dick Blizzard spent seven years as an aviator in the US Navy and a further 33 years as an airline pilot. I’m thrilled to have the chance to share one of his pieces with you. Non-Stop to Havana! Better to Be Lucky Than Smart by Dick Blizzard The airlines only put enough fuel on…

Read more… 18 Oct 13

Accident Reports

Low Altitude, High Risks: Fifteen minute flight turns fatal

It was an overcast day on the morning of the 8th of September 2011 when people in West Liberty, Ohio, heard the sounds of a low-flying aircraft approaching. The Cirrus…

Aircraft Collides with Lorry on Henstridge Approach

On the 2nd of March, 2023, a Vans RV-9A struck a vehicle while coming into land at Henstridge Airfield. The Vans RV-9A is a Van’s Aircraft kit plane, a kit…

Demystifying

Sharing a Runway: Fed Ex vs Southwest at Austin

On Monday, two commercial aircraft had a near-miss on the runway at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas. The airport at Austin has two parallel concrete runways which run north-to-south: 18L/36R…

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…

History

The Wright brothers and the dream of flying

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.…

The Tragic Story of Submarine M-200 Myest

On the 21st of November 1956, the M-200 Myest (Месть, meaning vengeance or revenge) collided with a Russian destroyer and sunk to the bottom of the Baltic. The M-200 Myest…

Fun Stuff

A Few Good Stories

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…

Flying Fails and Airshow Considerations

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…