When I start teaching aerobatics to a pilot, one of the first things we discuss is when and where aerobatics are allowed. Or, more accurately, where they are prohibited. As anyone who’s familiar with government regulation will attest, the Code of Federal Regulations doesn’t tell you what you can do. It only tells you what you cannot do. One of the places… Read more →
Category: Aviation
Angel Flight Crash
This is very sad. It seems that Angel Flight West has suffered the loss of one of its pilots while enroute to pick up a patient for transport to the UCLA Medical Center. SANTA MONICA, California (AP) — A former TV game show host and his wife were killed Monday morning when their small plane crashed into Santa Monica Bay,… Read more →
Fire!
I used to think that “smell” represented the least valuable sense when piloting an aircraft. On February 8th, however, it turned out to be just the opposite, because the crew of this UPS DC-8 did smell something about 23 minutes prior to their scheduled landing in Philadelphia: smoke. The crew immediately declared an emergency. Three minutes before landing, the smoke/fire warning… Read more →
Bob Hoover
A CPA member found a video I saw years ago and haven’t been able to find since. It’s a great clip from a BBC television program about Robert “Bob” Hoover, one of the world’s all time greatest pilots. Click on the photo at the right to view the video. It shows Hoover shutting down both engines and then performing an aileron… Read more →
Airbus A380 Fails Wing Loading Test
AVweb reports a setback in Airbus’ attempt to get the mammoth A380 certified:Â Airbus is downplaying test results in which an A380 wing undergoing static testing failed slightly before the required design limit. The wings are supposed to take 1.5 times the design load limit but this one failed at 1.45 times, about 3.3 percent shy of the certification requirement.… Read more →
Luck of the Irish
I’ve had a couple of eyebrow raising moments in the cockpit over the past year. What keeps me coming back for more — besides the fact that I just love to fly — is the notion that a fair number of aviators have been through far worse, often bizzare mechanical breakdowns like the one-in-a-billion United 232 hydraulic failure. Aside from their entertainment value, they teach a valuable lesson:… Read more →
737 Reef
I love flying and scuba diving, so it would seem only natural that I’d like this. It’s a cool idea, yet somehow still very sad. Of course, much like Homer crying as he eats the last buffalo, I’ll still dive the wreck. I don’t know how airliners are supposed to die. It sucks to see them cut up, parted out, melted down, sunk, or… Read more →
The Two Sides of Aerobatics
I just got home a few minutes ago, exhausted after spending two long days in an intensive class studying the finer points of judging competitive aerobatics. My employer sponsored this seminar, better know as a “judges school”, where those of us who are involved in the sport can satisfy one of the requirements for becoming an accredited IAC aerobatic judge.… Read more →
GlobalFlyer Return to Earth
Congratulations to the Virgin GlobalFlyer team! Aside from a couple of blown tires, they got the ship home in one piece. After surviving a major fuel loss, some turbulence that nearly ripped his plane apart, and blowing out two tires on the landing, American adventurer Steve Fossett Saturday broke the world’s flight distance record after traveling more than 26,000 miles (about… Read more →
Noise Abatement Absurdity
Glenn over at RantAir links to an interesting article on noise abatement problems at Denver International Airport. There’s not much I can add. The article speaks for itself. Read more →