I “met” Joe Colletto through my aunt. He was a pilot, a sailor, a Marine during World War II and an excellent story teller. She worked with him for 25 years and loved to hear about his adventures. When I started posting essays about flying, she told him about Fear of Landing. He said that…
Read more… 1 Apr 11
Everyone seems to be talking about ATC asleep at the wheel today. On Wednesday, 23 March, the air traffic controller at the tower of DCA (Ronald Reagan National Airport which services Washington DC) stopped responding and two flights landed without establishing contact. I’m starting to hear some interesting rumours and guesses already, so I put…
Read more… 25 Mar 11
A few years ago, Kyle Franklin allowed me to put up a video of his Drunken Pilot act as a part of the Franklin’s Flying Circus & Airshow. At the time, the video was only available as a download, so I was proud to have the chance to offer it as streaming video on my…
Read more… 18 Mar 11
As I am not flying at the moment, I am feeding my obsession with exploring new locations: virtual flights into airfields off the beaten track. Would you like to join me? This week, we’re exploring Vatra Dornei in the historical region of Moldavia, in the north of Romania. The Aerodrom Floreni website is currently only…
Read more… 11 Mar 11
This week, a round-up of questions: What do you do if your wheel falls off in mid-air? This lovely classic video posted on the PPRuNe Forums shows Gladys Ingle of the 13 Black Cats – clearly an amazing woman – changing plane mid-air to replace a lost wheel for a stunt film. What was the…
Read more… 4 Mar 11
It might sound silly to highlight lighthouses on an aviation blog but pilots who fly on the coast know why they are important. Lighthouses make for unmistakeable landmarks and are often used as Visual Reporting Points. Also, they tend to be on the most scenic of locations (why is that?) and so I know I’m…
Read more… 25 Feb 11
The Manchester Airport Group Plc owns and operates three airports: Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands. Manchester Airport is the third busiest airport in Britain. Their website says Manchester Airport…
On the 27th of July 2018, an experienced pilot departed with ten parachutists on board for a routine drop mission. It was the pilot’s fourth flight of the day in…
My friend Maria at Daedalean wrote this article about how they are using AI to help pilots detect gliders. I thought it was fascinating and Daedalean gave me permission to…
On the 5th of January 2024, Alaska Airlines flight 1282 had just taken off when it lost a door plug, leaving a gaping hole on the left side of row…
Aviation in Iceland started with an airline, not an aircraft. Flugfélag Íslands, the first Icelandic airline, was founded in Reykjavík on the 22nd of March 1919. They did not (yet)…
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.…
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…
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…