Latest Posts – Page 113

Landing on the Beach – Destination Barra

One of my Things to Do Before I Die is to fly to every possible island in the British Isles. I have identified 38 islands with usable runways within the geographical British Isles, from Jersey off the coast of France to the icy Faroes, located halfway between Iceland and Norway. Ireland and the Aran Islands…

Clyde Cessna: Changing the World of Aviation

This week’s post is an account of Clyde Cessna and the early days of the Cessna Aircraft Company which was written by Dana Rasmussen, a friend of mine who works for Jet Charters. It’s a fascinating story which I’m sure you will enjoy. Before the turn of the 20th century, a young boy living on…

Lost Hydraulics, Fuselage Collapse, Aircraft Falling to the Ground

Lots of interesting plane incidents in the news this week so rather than pick just one subject, I’ve created a selection for you to view. AVweb have posted the audio and flight path information for JetBlue flight 194 which lost hydraulic systems and declared an emergency last week. JetBlue Flight 194: “We’ve Lost Two Hydraulic…

Do You Listen to ATC if They Tell You the Weather Ahead is Bad?

One of my pleasures on a Friday morning is to read the posts in Professional Pilots Rumour Network (known as PPRuNe for short) and this morning was no exception. I was intrigued by a post by a Scottish controller asking a question of the Private Flying forum. I recognised the name as a regular poster;…

“A Unique Occurrence” – Turning an Incident into a Crisis

In the evening of 6 June 2010 a Boeing 737-4B6 of Royal Air Maroc was en route from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to its destination of Nador International Airport in Morocco. Flight AT-685 had 156 passengers and four crew members on board. The captain was Pilot Flying, first officer was Pilot Monitoring. Timestamps and actions are…

Pat Flannigan Looks at Manoeuvring Speed

Pat Flannigan over at Aviation Chatter has created an interesting series of posts on manoeuvring speed and weight. Why Does Maneuvering Speed Increase With Weight? Aircraft maneuvering speed, increases as the airplane gets heavier. It’s a simple fact that most pilots are either blissfully unaware or simply take for granted, and I’ve honestly never given…

Accident Reports

No Masks, No Oxygen, No Chance

On the 4th of June 2023, a Cessna Citation 560 aircraft crashed in Montebello, Virginia, killing the pilot and three passengers. The NTSB released their report on the 14th of…

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…

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…