First Flights

An Invitation To Fly

Because you are reading this special issue of Flying, you’re probably considering taking flying lessons. As someone who has been in your shoes, permit me to give you an invitation… and a warning. Fifty years ago, Flying gave me an invitation that completely changed my life. On a September evening at a drugstore newsstand after […]

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A Visit to My First Airport

I coasted the rental car into the parking lot of what remained of Camillus Airport (NY25) in New York and attempted to transport myself back in time. The view before me was disorienting. Surrounding structures and driveways had been added. The FBO office and hangar locations appeared to have been relocated. I knew that the […]

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Maiden Flights in Homebuilt Aircraft

My friend Longbridge has been working for years—these things always take far longer than you think they will—on a Lancair 320 with a lot of airframe mods, the most conspicuous of which are a double-slotted Fowler flap, enlarged empennage surfaces, and leading-edge cuffs on the outer panels of the wings. And then there are the […]

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Technicalities: I Sing the Airplane Electric

As I taxi out, a crisp shadow follows on the taxiway beside me. I give a little burst of power, then pull the throttle lever back to idle. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the shadow of the prop stop. “Uh-oh,” I think. “The engine quit.” But no. The airplane is a […]

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