Search Results for: Lockheed

When I earned my private ticket in 1960, jet aircraft were still rather rare, even in the San Fernando Valley. My home field, Whiteman Air Park in Pacoima, California, was near Van Nuys and Lockheed airports, both of which were busy commercial fields. The local landing and departing traffic was mainly at piston-engine airspeeds, which […]

When Boeing tweeted an eight-second clip of a mysterious aircraft last week with the idea that it might be “changing future air power,” speculation ran wild that this was either some sort of space airplane or perhaps a new VTOL aircraft with a “hairdryer-type engine.” Close, but no cigar. Instead, as Boeing revealed this week, […]

There have been recent reports in aviation-related media suggesting that Chino, California-based Planes of Fame Air Museum is considering moving its stellar fleet of airworthy historical artifacts to the Lincoln Regional/Karl Harder Field in Lincoln, California, just north of Sacramento. And with the difficulties the museum has had with its neighbors at the Chino Airport […]

August 1, 2017, Phoenix, Ariz.Grumman AA-1B TrainerAt about 1300 Mountain time, the airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain shortly after takeoff. Both the flight instructor and student pilot sustained serious injuries. Visual conditions prevailed.According to witnesses, after the airplane lifted off and was in its initial climb to the west, the wings started to rock back and forth. The airplane began to descend, struck the airport’s western perimeter fence and collided with terrain before coming to rest on a road bordering the airport.

It was once believed that all swans were white. No one considered the possibility of black swans until a Dutch explorer discovered them in Australia in 1697. That is the nature of a Black Swan event: Its rare, has an extreme impact and is predictable in retrospect.

On a cold night in ­early spring, I took off from Lunken Airport in 72B, my beloved (I think) Cessna 180. I came back to climb power at 500 feet agl and the engine began running rough, missing and losing power — which sort of caught my attention. So, I pulled on the carburetor heat […]

Recently a friend sent me a blurb from another aviation magazine about the restoration of a Beech Staggerwing — arguably the ultimate classic airplane — by the Kansas Aviation Museum. He knew I’d be interested in this particular D17S because it belonged at one time to my ex- and late husband, Ebby Lunken. Unfortunately, when […]

I submitted a PIREP yesterday that didnt get disseminated properly. Not only did it not show up during the 1.7 hours left in the flight, it wasnt listed when I checked after landing on the aviationweather.gov/adds web site for PIREPs in the previous eight hours. However, after submitting an inquiry about this to Lockheed Martin, it showed up the next morning (about 20 hours after the flight).

Ive always enjoyed flying at night. Theres usually a lot less traffic, the ATC frequency is quieter and its rare to be delayed for an approach, landing or takeoff. Sunsets can be quite amazing from a personal airplane, and Ive been fortunate enough to witness a few sunrises, too. Owing to day-job schedules and airplane availability, most of my instrument training happened at night and, even with all that going on, Im by no means an expert on flying in the dark.

Which came first: the chicken or the Federal Egg Administration? Impossible to say. Physics teaches us that when Bernoulli found lift, his nemesis, Newton, said there must be an opposing reaction. So, when the Wright brothers flew, government pondered how to keep them from impacting all those other aeronauts. Little happened because of Newtons Law of Administrative Inertia: An agency at rest remains at rest until acted upon by an un-ignorable force. …