Learning Experiences

As a student pilot, it amazed me how many nooks and crannies there were on the training airplanes I flew, plus the number of openings, doors, covers and access panels. I don’t know what I was expecting, but the fact all this is designed to be opened up for inspection and put back together took […]

One of my fondest memories in aviation was the first flight I took in a Skyhawk. Even though my parents kept a kindergarten assignment where I said my goal in life was to be a pilot (after my career as an astronaut and a monster truck driver), I did not pursue aviation until after my […]

Thanks to personal and professional responsibilities, I had been out of the cockpit for a few years. Eventually, the time and cash-flow limitations lessened and I found myself at the local FBO signing up to participate in their “rusty pilot” training program. The airplanes were in good shape and I was happy with the instruction, […]

My buddy in his Warrior and me in a rented Skyhawk met up somewhere over southeastern Virginia, on our way to a fly-in beach for the day. We both had people aboard our planes, eager to put their feet in the Atlantic Ocean and catch some rays before flying back home that night. We had […]

I founded a 501(c)(3) charity to combine my love of aviation and rescuing animals—dogs, cats, wolves, sea turtles, medical flights, discovery flights, angel flights…you name it. It’s similar to Pilots N Paws but open to all types of public benefit, not just saving animals. The charity owns and operates a 1982 Piper Turbo Saratoga SP, and […]

I’m part of a pilot’s breakfast group that flies from the airport in Big Bear City, Calif., elevation 6700 feet, to lower-elevation airports in the Los Angeles Basin airspace. On this day, we were headed to the Corona (Calif.) Municipal Airport (KAJO) and its good restaurant. Upon departing our home airport, we request VFR flight […]

It was a beautiful day over South Florida, perfect for my flight instructor’s mission of racking up some practice approaches. I was in the right seat, acting as her safety pilot. We had chosen some non-towered airports for this practice, and were acutely aware we weren’t the only people out flying this fine day. In […]

Although I had practiced go-arounds during my primary training, it was a few years after earning my private certificate before I had to perform one in anger. I was on final for a small, non-towered suburban airport, having made my radio calls all the way around the pattern. About a half mile from the runway […]

I was tootling along at low speed in my little experimental, leaning out the Marvel-Schebler carburetor one nice day, when the engine suddenly stopped. I immediately went through the restart procedures, but to no avail. Realizing that I had run out of options, I turned my little Sonex into the wind and landed on a hillside […]

At the time I experienced this tale, I had maybe 400 hours total time, along with an instrument rating. I had been renting airplanes from FBOs but was finding my choices—mainly trainers—plus scheduling and weekend minimums weren’t aligned with my growing desires. I needed something faster, with longer legs and fewer hassles. So I anted […]