The first stage of this has been quite a learning process. As I’ve worked through the Channel Islands, I’ve realised that I’m trying to do a final draft which is effectively doubling the time spent per section. Now there are big benefits to this, including being able to show people the work in progress, but…
Read more… 26 Jul 06
I’m quietly ignoring the fact that I stupidly have not booked a hotel and as it’s Cowes week the entire trip may get a rapid cancellation. Wish me luck whilst phoning around frantically this afternoon! Assuming it goes ahead, I’m planning on doing the following: Whitecliff Bay Dimbola Lodge Osborne House The Needles (chair lift?)…
Read more… 24 Jul 06
…plans are afoot for the Isle of Wight and the Scilly Isles for the first week of August. Time to dive into those guide books again. As always, any must-see recommendations are greatly appreciated.
Read more… 12 Jul 06
I’ve failed utterly to find out anything about the history of the Madonna Stone. Ditto La Roc
Read more… 20 Jun 06
My favourite photographs from Guernsey and relevant notes are now on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvia/tags/guernsey/ I have sooo much information and I’ve not yet read about my shipwrecks nor the book I picked up at the occupation museum. And that’s just one little island! I still have 37 to go…
Read more… 22 May 06
The weather was really quite good, the only real rain we had was on Sunday as we traipsed from pub to pub. As a result, we only tried five different versions of Milk Punch but that was probably plenty. :) I found not one but two wonderful lighthouses which I adore and I could happily…
Read more… 14 May 06
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…
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”…
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…
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…