Latest Posts – Page 172
I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore…
This trip, I learned how to tie down the plane after the housekeeper at our Bed and Breakfast warned us of an upcoming hurricane. “It’s really a hurricane?” I asked Lynne. “Yes, tail-end of one. Which one is it?” “Gordon,” piped up someone in the corner of the room. “No, not Gordon,” said Lynne. “That…
Read more… 30 Sep 06
Things to Do on St Mary’s
The Isles of Scilly are said to be the most isolated islands in Britain, which I have a hard time believing — in England maybe, but in Britain? It’s a total of 150 islands (five inhabited) but in line with my other destinations, I’m staying on the chunk of land with the airfield on it.…
Read more… 21 Sep 06
Scilly, how long it took…
Finally have confirmed the trip to St Mary’s and the Isles of Scilly for next week. Looking forward to this, especially as I did all the leg-work last month. The flight in looks a bit confusing; I might go a bit of a roundabout route. I was a bit amused by the local online news,…
Read more… 18 Sep 06
And suddenly I’m a reference…
I thought I’d do one last search on “alderney milk” to check for any theories as to where the tradition of Milk-o-Punch came from. Top hit was this site. Ooops. So for the next person who does that search and lands here, let me clarify that it is Milk-o-Punch, not with an “a” as I…
Read more… 4 Sep 06
Just a quick update
Isle of Wight was a lot more interesting than I think anyone expected. I’m not sure when the next trip is (or even where to!) but hopefully before the end of this month.
Read more… 8 Aug 06
Disorganisation
What chaos. Isle of Wight is happening as planned, but when it came to Isles of Scilly, we found a definite reluctance to let rooms for 2 nights during high season, when they could get people staying for a week. So we gave that up and looked at Anglesey instead. Seems there’s a sailing festival…
Read more… 27 Jul 06
Accident Analysis
Why KLM Cut the Steering Cables on Two Perfectly Functional Boeing 737s
Last month, we looked at the night of 28th of November 2004 at Barcelona Airport. KLM 1673 ran off the runway at high speed, stopping just short of a canal.…
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…
Demystifying
How Important is Having a Sterile Cockpit?
This question was posted to r/flying by a private pilot who wanted to know: do airline pilots ever engage in small talk about irrelevant things during taxiing, run-up, takeoff, and…
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”…
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…
