Leading Edge

Before GPS, when Rand McNally’s paper maps ruled the day, pulling over on a country road in a small town to ask for directions never felt like failure to me. I saw it as a chance to meet someone new, maybe find out where to get lunch. Likewise, when flying, I am not a man […]

I wasn’t looking for nice. I was a 14-year-old, eagerly flipping through a vintage Playboy magazine I found in a thrift store in upstate New York while my parents looked at an old rug in the next room. But still, the illustration—a carefree blonde, a man in uniform, both astride a Honda motorcycle carrying them […]

I have been hearing about the $100 hamburger since long before I had a pilot certificate. The phrase itself is meant to conjure up the absurdity/passion surrounding aviation, but it always made perfect sense to me. The dream of becoming a pilot was not about access to remote and exotic locations, but rather to visit […]

In late October, Garmin introduced an emergency autoland system that will fly an airplane to a suitable airport taking into consideration enroute weather and obstacle clearance, extend gear and flaps on final, control throttle position to a safe landing and even an engine shutdown; all the while communicating with ATC, and I imagine at least […]

You’re not a pilot unless you are flying. Maybe you once were a pilot, or are one in spirit, or perhaps continue to be a pilot on paper (compliant in satisfying regulatory definitions). But in my eyes, until you pull back on the yoke and defy gravity’s ancient pull, you aren’t one. I did not […]

In 1984, when I was 12 years old, Ferrari built a car called the 288 GTO. I had a poster of it on my bedroom wall. I knew everything about that car like it was my job. I knew its origins, lineage, performance capabilities. I was obsessed. It was the first machine I had ever […]

“Care that is patient-centered and includes the positive attributes of bedside manner has been shown to improve recovery from illness, revealing a link between provider behavior and effective disease management.” This passage was written by Linda Finch, a registered nurse and associate professor at the University of Memphis, in her paper on the effects of […]

A couple of years ago, I restored a 17th-century barn in upstate New York. I acted as the general contractor. I was working from home, writing a screenplay, and figured I would keep costs down by not hiring a GC. And I did. The screenplay, though, did not get written. Between researching and ­buying materials, […]

Like many before me, as a child I wedged a baseball card (that’s what doubles were for) into the spokes on my bike to make it sound like a motorcycle. The result, from what I am told by those that had to listen to it, was expertly annoying. But it was an auspicious moment in […]

Kevin O’Halloran is a dentist who rebuilds Beechcraft landing gear motors in his spare time. Well, that’s not exactly true. He does so for Bonanzas. Not Barons. And only if that motor is a Lamb, not an Electromech. Oh, and 12V electrical systems, not 24V. Before I dropped my 1973 Bonanza off in Greeley, Colorado, […]