Learning Experiences

The morning’s mission was to pop down to a non-towered airport on the Gulf of Mexico to meet some friends for lunch. Naturally, I got a late start, so I stayed high as I neared the destination until tucking the nose down and keeping the power up in an attempt to make up a minute […]

After the couple of years it took for me to get through the private pilot checkride, I flew as much as my meager budget and family responsibilities allowed. I took a few friends aloft, and flew the family, including trips to visit relatives. After a couple of cancellations for weather, I decided I needed to […]

Aviation presents ongoing and ever-changing hazards that must be considered at all times. Often overlooked is the airport ramp and the non-movement area. This is especially important at night when personal/commercial vehicles have access.  This came together a recent, adrenaline-pumping scene I witnessed on the ramp at the North Las Vegas, Nev., airport waiting for […]

The evening’s mission was to fly myself and a colleague to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to attend a meeting the following morning. It was winter, with early sunsets, and we didn’t get airborne until well after dark, but I was night current, thanks to doing my instrument training at night, after work. I was close, but not […]

As a student pilot, I did a lot of reading when I couldn’t fly, including the popular aviation magazines and whatever else I could find laying around the FBO. A little knowledge can be a bad thing, of course, and so it was with my understanding of something called a “missed approach.” The relevant article […]

After an extended period at the paint shop, during which my 1976 Cessna 210L Centurion sat outside in the central Florida weather awaiting additional work for a few weeks, the airplane was finally finished. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised that the plane looked so great and I was eager to take it […]

I’m a retired airline captain, with some 25 years of line operations under my belt. After leaving behind the airline world, I bought a Beech Baron 55 to use on personal and business missions throughout the central U.S. Like so many during this pandemic, I stayed home and out of the cockpit earlier in 2020 […]

It was a good day for flying, and I had agreed to fly a fellow pilot/neighbor and his wife an hour or so away so he could conduct some personal business. The destination airport was a non-towered facility southwest of and outside a nearby piece of Class B airspace. Our flight down was uneventful and […]

Owing to work and family responsibilities, as well as weather and scheduled maintenance, I hadn’t flown my trusty Cessna 210 for a couple of months. When I finally found the time and energy, I picked a nice, clear day to go renew my relationship with the airplane. The flight was restorative and long overdue. It […]

In the mid-1990s, I worked at McDonnell-Douglas in Southern California and would rent a Cessna 152 every Wednesday at 5:00 pm to fly out of Long Beach airport for pleasure and to keep current. Co-workers knew of my flying routine and one day, a young woman asked if she could get a ride with me. […]