Search Results for: Ercoupe

Learning how to fly is really enjoyable, but it will challenge you physically, mentally, and especially emotionally. When I started my flight training, I was determined to overcome my fear. But it takes a bit more than just courage to face your fears. In a previous column, I mentioned how the first time I touched […]

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: I was born without arms. I live my life by using my feet as my hands, and that’s precisely how I fly my Ercoupe. But I’m just one person with a disability who’s flown or aspired to be a pilot. Using my feet is natural to me. […]

Jessica Cox, a pilot born without arms, will partner with Van’s Aircraft to design an airplane that can be operated using only your feet, it was announced last week. “We are going to design a custom, retrofitted RV-10 to be flown with feet,” Cox said. Greg Hughes, Van’s vice president and COO, says his company […]

I have heard it many times: “I have always wanted to learn to fly, but I don’t have perfect vision.” The idea that pilots need 20/20 vision is truly a misconception. And while there are some medical conditions that would disqualify you from becoming a pilot, most can be overcome. Only one eye? No problem. […]

December 2, 2020, Lufkin, Texas Cessna 551 Citation II/SP At 0843 Central time, the airplane was substantially damaged when it departed the runway while landing. The airline transport pilot sustained minor injuries; two passengers were not injured. Instrument conditions prevailed; the flight was arriving on an IFR flight plan. After an uneventful flight and approach, […]

November 1, 2020, Fernandina Beach, Fla. Raytheon 400A BeechJet The airplane was substantially damaged at about 1400 Eastern time when it failed to stop on the landing runway and rolled off the departure end. The pilot, copilot and four passengers were not injured. Visual conditions prevailed for the FAR Part 135 on-demand air taxi flight. […]

When people are madly in love, they usually want to share their joy and passion. When those people happen to be pilots and their passion is an airplane, they join a type club—in which others share their love for the Bonanza or a Cirrus or a Cessna 120 and also to soak up the latest […]

Pride is hurt, though not the airplane…this time.

I had just finished washing and drying Windbird’s hull and was just about to begin applying her annual coat of wax when my cellphone rang, startling me. I checked the number—my airline’s crew scheduling department—and my heart made a little leap of joy. This is not my normal reaction to a call from crew sked, […]

Throughout its history, aviation has generated some of the most remarkable figures that ever lived, including those brave pilots who made the first forays into the air and who courageously pushed the bounds of flight in ways previously unimaginable. At the same time, aviation has produced a number of people whose heroism rises above the […]