Photos

Four years ago, I added wingtip extensions to my homebuilt. Originally, I had built the wing 20 inches shorter than its intended span of 35 feet, intending to add the tips after flight tests. I hoped to be able to adjust the dihedral with those little bits at the ends of the wings. It worked; […]

Airframe by Cessna. Engines from Pratt & Whitney. Avionics by Collins. In a world where we all wonder what became of the blue chip companies, these three names are still rock-solid leaders in business aviation. So it is only natural that they would team up to make the Citation XLS, the bestselling business jet for […]

“May 2nd, 1972. Checkout in PA-28-180 Gene Van Meter 1919837 CFII 2-74.” So reads an entry on page 10 of my first logbook, one of those small, little ones, about the size of a business envelope. I had about 100 hours under my belt back then, accumulated over the five years since I started flying. […]

Uvalde, Texas, seems like a strange place for a world-class business jet re-engining company to call home. Located 70 miles west of San Antonio in a part of Texas better known for deer hunting and off-road racing than for high technology, Sierra Industries is way off the beaten path, unless you fly a bizjet, that […]

Picture this. I’m sitting in the right seat of Richard Collins’ Cessna 210 about to give him his flight review (née Biennial Flight Review, BFR). I’ll admit I’m a bit intimidated. I’d really like to be able to make the review have some value for Richard, but I know that the idea I can actually […]

In 1988, three years before Eastern Airlines ceased operations, one of its pilots began a small charter business on the side. Tom Cooper’s small company offered flights around South Florida, the Bahamas and Cuba in Cessna 402s. In short order, however, the charter company expanded, and by the mid-1990s, Gulfstream International Airlines was operating Part […]

My monthly check is similar to the process of writing. Initially, the schedule resembles more of a rough draft than a publishable piece of literature. Editing is part of the process. Some months involve more editing than others. In that regard, when I retrieved a voice mail message to call our lead flight standards coordinator, […]