Search Results for: Lear 45

(November 2011) Opening scene: Inside a B777 cockpit approximately 250 miles off the eastern coastline of Japan. The first officer is massaging the right touch pad of the display unit with his index finger. The cursor arrow hovers in the vicinity of the emergency checklist page now shown on the lower EICAS (engine instrument and […]

Flexjet’s fractional jet ownership program recently announced it will become the launch customer for the Bombardier Learjet 85 currently under development. The initial order is for seven airplanes. “Flexjet is thrilled to offer its owners the first opportunity to experience private aviation at its very best aboard the all-new Learjet 85 aircraft,” Fred Reid, Flexjet’s […]

__You may be one of many people with a passion for flying who think that learning to fly is unachievable. But before you hang up your dream, you need to explore all your options. The number of ways to learn is limited, and for most people, it requires some financial resources. But there are other […]

(June 2011) For an 80-something-hour pilot, the Sacramento Valley was like a giant flying playpen for me. The foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains border the eastern side while the Coastal Range separates the valley from the Pacific Ocean on the west. The Cascades, including 14,000-foot Mount Shasta, form the northern boundary of the valley. […]

I climbed a few thousand feet and completed my tests. When it was time to land, I reduced the throttle to idle. “That’s when we experienced a huge explosion. I was jolted in my seat. I saw both of the bomb-bay doors blow away. We were completely engulfed in flames. I could see the flames […]

(March 2011) — THERE WERE TWO HUDSON River accidents in 2009. In January, Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and copilot Jeff Skiles did an excellent job of ditching US Airways Flight 1549. There was also a tragic event in August, when a sightseeing helicopter and a Piper Lance collided and nine people perished. For me, these […]

Christmas Eve 2002 should have been a happy time. It was my first Christmas with my new wife in our new home in Miami. I was a commercial pilot for a small, domestic freight airline. Pilots who do this type of flying are referred to as “freight dogs” because sometimes a day for us can […]

When I became a first lieutenant aircraft commander in the B-47 Strato-Jet, the most beautiful airplane ever built, I had many lessons to be learned. As to emergency situations, our instructors always advised us to maintain control of the airplane and then handle the emergency. I, however, had another type of control to learn. In […]

Reports poured in from as far away as Australia, declaring the May 15, first ever International Learn to Fly Day a huge success. Across North America, close to 450 events focused on the mission of exposing non-pilots to the joys and usefulness of general aviation. The primary goal was to conduct as many demonstration flights […]

Embraer recently revealed a number of intriguing new details on the Legacy 450 and 500, the midsize jets that it officially launched 18 months ago. The jets are still a couple of years away from first deliveries, but Embraer has already defined them in great detail. At face value, it might seem that Embraer picked […]