I was supposed to be flying to Gatwick commercially today with a certain unhappy low-cost airline but as the country is currently gripped in the worst cold snap in 100 years my trip has been cancelled. This means that I am thrilled devasted to find that I’m stuck in sunny Spain with a free day.…
Read more… 8 Jan 10
The 13th of September was a Fly-In and Community Day at North Weald in Essex and I had the good fortune to be in the area. The airshow featured F16 Fighters of 132 Wing Royal Norwegian Air Force, who flew in from their base at Bodø, north of the Arctic Circle. They returned to the…
Read more… 18 Sep 09
When I was a little girl, we used to go on a lot of long car journeys. The adults were not as sympathetic as I felt perhaps they should be and my attempts to make conversation (“Where are we going again?” “Are we almost there yet?”) were largely scorned. I learned to occupy myself by…
Read more… 24 Jul 09
Our flight last weekend out of Málaga was very frustrating. I couldn’t fly the first leg because they won’t allow VFR traffic Thursday – Monday. The fuel bowser took forever to get to us at which point the driver told us that it wasn’t working right and that he needed to get someone to help…
Read more… 5 Jun 09
Did you miss me? I’m home! We did a lot of travelling but I had a great time. It was the kind of trip you can only really consider with a small plane as we zipped around all over. One of the great things about general aviation is the view – I took over 600…
Read more… 24 Apr 09
Ferry Tank Failure: Successful SR22 Ditching in the Pacific
In 2015, I shared a video of an SR22 whose pilot successfully deployed his Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) off of the coast of Maui, Hawai’i. I wrote at the time…
The Man in the Right Seat at Prestwick
On the 23rd of April 2024, a Piper Archer II crashed in South Ayrshire, Scotland, after losing power. There were two on board. Both suffered serious injuries and the light…
The Pilots, the Probes, and the AF447 Verdict
On the 21st of May 2026, the Paris Court of Appeal convicted Airbus and Air France of involuntary manslaughter for their roles in the crash of Air France flight 447,…
Meowing on Guard (an attempt at an explanation)
Last week a video went viral and it’s been fun to see the mainstream media coverage try to cover two pilots who were heard making animal noises on the radio. …
The First Jet to Land on an Aircraft Carrier (Deliberately)
“The Vampire was the first jet to land on a moving aircraft carrier deliberately.” This quote from Airshow Luke, our MC at the Legacy of Liberty airshow, made me almost…
Four Point Two Stars Where You Only Stop If You Have To
I always look up airports when I’m writing about them, partly out of habit and partly because I’m afraid I’ll miss an important detail. When I was writing Any Landing…
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…