It’s Christmas for airplane geeks: the wrapping has finally come off the shiny new multi-million dollar toys from those aerodynamic elves at Gulfstream! Here are my thoughts about today’s big reveal of the G500 and G600 business jets. Read more →
Tag: Gulfstream
P42: The Mystery Ship
Something new is brewing on the eastern shore of Georgia, and it’s going to make a big splash in the aerospace industry soon. Thousands of people on the inside know what it is, but for years the vault door has remained firmly — and admirably — closed. It’s known only by the code name “P42”. Read more →
We Don’t Train For That
Corporate & charter flying is already pretty safe, but I believe we can do even better. Perhaps instead of focusing primarily engine failures, we ought to look at the things that are causing accidents for a particular aircraft type and add them to a database of training scenarios which can be enacted in the simulator without prior notice. In other words, more teaching and less testing. Read more →
Back to the (Supersonic) Future
While supersonic airliners were all the rage in the 1960s, they never panned out economically because commercial airliners have to turn a profit. But business aircraft do not. They’re simply tools for allowing business to be conducted. In addition, recent technological developments are bringing us closer to mitigating the sonic boom’s impact. It’s clear we’re headed back to that supersonic future to pick up where we left off half a century ago. Read more →
The Contract Pilot
As much as one may love flying, it can be a tough career choice. Many pilots struggle through the food chain only to end up discouraged, if not downright hating their job. We’re all aware of the reasons: low pay, long days, little respect, too much time away from home, difficult working conditions, commuting, regulatory hassles, bankruptcies, furloughs, and ruinously expensive training. Quite a list, isn’t it?
On the other hand, life is often what we make of it. From bush flying to firefighting, there are many different gigs out there for those willing to take Frost’s road-less-traveled. For the past three years, for example, I’ve been flying as a “contract pilot” and truly enjoy it. Read more →
Stockholm
Saint Augustine once declared that the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page. While I’m fairly familiar with the tome, one glaring omission in my scholarship had been the the chapter on Scandinavia. Thankfully, the wonderful world of on-demand jet charter provided a northerly flight opportunity last month, so I packed my bag and headed for LAX. The assignment? Airline to Stockholm, hang out for a couple of days, and then fly a Gulfstream to New York. Read more →
Passengers: Keeping Things Interesting
When it comes to cataloging the intriguing travelers one has encountered over the years, few people can rival the improbably tall tales spun by pilots. Obviously it’s important to maintain confidentiality in this business, but by removing all identifying information and changing some details, a few entertaining stories can be related. Here are a few of my favorite passenger interactions. Read more →
Crappy Sunglasses
I manage to lose sunglasses in the most creative ways possible. I can give you several examples… but there’s one story which really takes the proverbial cake. Read more →
A Starship in the Wild
When I was a kid in the 1980s, Beech represented some of the most exciting and cutting-edge stuff in the world of flying. For example, the much anticipated — and highly unsuccessful — Starship. We came across one recently in the mountains of Colorado, and to my eyes it still looks as sweet as the day I first saw a picture of one on the pages of Flying magazine. Read more →
Motoart Under the Tree
The Christmas season is upon us, and while it’s doubtful I deserve much more than a lump of coal, that hasn’t stopped me from salivating over a piece of aviation art from a Torrance-based company called Motoart. Read more →