Latest Posts – Page 147
All I Need is the Air that I Breathe
One question I didn’t deal with in my Frequently Asked Questions was whether the Saratoga has oxygen. The plane does have an oxygen tank and you can plug masks in on the ceiling to take it in directly. We’ve never used the supplemental oxygen other than to test to make sure it’s really there. The…
Read more… 6 Nov 09
I Think I Came Down With A Viral
Hello there! It seems I wasn’t the only one who thought that the bear-attack-and-repair photographs were pretty cool. Traffic to that one page over the past three days has been as much as I usually get to the site over three months. Neat! And even better, you guys seem to be the chatty type. I…
Read more… 2 Nov 09
FAA Approved?
If you like reading about plane crashes and investigations, why not take a look at my ebook series, Why Planes Crash. It’s full of explanations and photographs of 21st century aviation incidents. I think you’ll find it interesting. I found this on an aviation forum and I just can’t stop staring at the photographs. N9368D…
Read more… 30 Oct 09
Frequently Asked Questions
Not all of these questions are really all that frequent, if I’m honest with you. Most of them are more like occasionally asked questions. Or in the case of the last question: asked once, by my mother. Nevertheless, I will endeavour to answer them all. How many people can you fit into your plane? The…
Read more… 23 Oct 09
Security
Today’s xkcd made me break out with a smile before I’d even finished my first coffee: As with all of the xkcd comics, be sure to hover your mouse over the image for a further comment from the author. For more intriguing views of the world we live in, visit xkcd.com.
Read more… 19 Oct 09
Short Circuit
It’s been a while since the day I missed the runway at Oxford Airport. I’ve done a lot more flying and I’m a lot more competent. But my first near-miss (no damage was done except the loss of a runway light) is not an incident I’m likely to forget in a hurry. The Saratoga is…
Read more… 16 Oct 09
Accident Analysis
KLM 1673 Veers Off the Runway with Full Right Rudder
On the 28th of November 2004, a Boeing B737 ran off the runway at Barcelona Airport. The weather had been good at Barcelona that evening. The flight crew agreed to land…
Social Media Influencers Weigh Down Aircraft
The fatal crash at Scottsdale Arizona took place directly after take-off. The passengers were a self-proclaimed crowd of social media influencers. The jet-setting influencer who had organised the flight, had…
Demystifying
Someone has to write the TAF
It turns out that there a person sitting there deciding what the weather is going to do. Which seems obvious, except that I had somehow never asked msyelf who “someone”…
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,…
History
The CIA's Shark Screen
Today we have a guest post from the CIA! In their archives, researching something completely different, I found the answer to a question I never thought to ask. I immediately…
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…
Fun Stuff
Petrified, Petrified, Petrified
There’s been some interesting reporting in the UK media about a “near disaster” over Canary Wharf involving the captain having to intervene (the horror!) after air data systems failed on…
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…
