The new year is starting off right at work. My boss just had a front page article published about him in the Orange County Register. The Register is the largest newspaper in Orange County, with a daily circulation of about one million copies. Unfortunately, the Register requires online users to register before reading the article, but you might be able… Read more →
Category: Aviation
Duck, Duck, Goose
Here’s another gem I found on the Cessna Pilots Association forum. I’ve seen the darndest things discussed, uploaded, admitted to, and debated over there. The CPA forums are a favorite haunt of mine because everyone who posts is a paid member of the association, which tends to keep out the rabble one finds in newsgroups and other ‘free’ message boards. Anyway,… Read more →
LAX Class B Airspace
It’s been about four months since the FAA finalized the long-awaited changes to the Los Angeles class bravo airspace. Though the new airspace configuration has been ready for publication, nothing has changed on the charts as yet. That’s about to change. With the December 22nd editions of the VFR Terminal Area and Sectional charts, the new airspace will be in… Read more →
Southwest Airlines Midway Overrun Photos
Photos of the Southwest Airlines overrun incident at Midway Airport, along with an interesting story about political restrictions on Chicago airspace that came about as a result. Read more →
Randy “Duke” Cunningham
I flew into Montgomery Field in San Diego yesterday with a student pilot who’s preparing for his checkride. We shutdown the SR22 and decided to debrief the flight over lunch at Casa Machado. On our way out, I was perusing the wall-to-wall photos in the lobby and noticed a black and white picture of two guys sitting in an F-4… Read more →
Aircraft Ownership: Good Times
The results from the 2005 California aerobatic season are in. I finished 3rd in the California points series, and probably also finished 3rd in the southwest regional points series. Not bad. Looking toward next season, however, I realize that a) it’s time to move up to a higher category, and b) I can’t do it in the Super Decathlon. It… Read more →
Runway Incursions
An Associated Press story entitled “LAX ranks at top for dangerous runways” caught my eye today, not because of the headline, but because of the smaller sub-title below it which stated, “Two nearby Southern California airports share distinction”. Surprise, surprise. Which airport tops the list? John Wayne. Southern California has long been the nation’s runway incursion epicenter. Among the country’s… Read more →
Death by Control Lock
Why is it that so many pilots seem to neglect to remove the control lock before takeoff? I just don’t get it. This is the one thing that’s 100% guaranteed to kill you in an aircraft. Take, for example, this DeHavilland DH4 Caribou. In 1992, this aircraft was being used as a testbed for the Pratt & Whitney PT-6 turboprop… Read more →
Skill vs. Judgement
If there’s one thing aviation will never run out of, it’s ‘old sayings’ (it will also never run out of abbreviations, but that’s another story). “The best way to make a small fortune in aviation is to start out with a large one”. Or how about “Takeoffs are optional; landings are mandatory”. These aphorisms are bandied about in emails and… Read more →
Washington ADIZ Proposal
If you’re an aviator, aviation enthusiast, or are connected in any way with the aerospace community, then this should be of interest to you. The Federal government is proposing a permanent ban on general aviation flying in the Washington, D.C. area. The crippling Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) would cover approximately 3,000 square miles and set a precedent almost sure… Read more →