“We are trying to give pilots a reason to go flying,” said Rainier Flight Service founder Gordon Alvord. “This goes beyond the $100 hamburger or a flight lesson.” Using custom built flight scheduling software, the system takes advantage of the rise of social media to encourage pilots to earn profile badges on their Wall of Honor. To date, […]
Laser pointer sentenced to six months
Aaron Huffman repeatedly shined “a laser into the cockpit of a Washington State Patrol airplane,” over the Labor Day Holiday in 2014. On Tuesday, September 1 a judge sentenced Huffman to six months in jail. According to the The News Tribune story, this is not Huffman’s first run-in with the law. The judge went so far as […]
Did you know? 11 rules affecting airspace proposed in August
It is amazing how efficient the FAA can be at times. In August 2015, the FAA posted 11 proposed rules to the Federal Register regarding airspace. Did you know that? Until Sept. 1, I didn’t either. On each proposed rule is a 45-day comment period. After 45-days, with no comments received, the FAA is one […]
‘Higher, Orville, higher!’
Spoiler Alert: The final paragraph of The Wright Brothers is my favorite. “They took off, soaring over Huffman Prairie at about 350 feet for a good six minutes, during which the Bishop’s only words were, “Higher, Orville, higher!” “They” were Orville Wright and his father Bishop Milton Wright. The Bishop was eighty-two years old at the […]
Video: P-51, F-22 Heritage Flight with 360° view
The 2015 Abbotsford International Air Show featured a Heritage Flight with a P-51D Mustang and an F-22 Raptor. Inside the P-51 – “VAL-HALLA” – was a camera capable of shooting 360° images (courtesy Lyle Jansma of AeroCapture Images). https://youtu.be/-RFjROsovWs Adjust your view using the controller in the upper-left corner of the YouTube player.
Around the field at AirVenture Oshkosh
I’ve often found that AirVenture is like drinking from the proverbial firehose. Until I look back through my notebook, the show is a bit of a blur. We’ve reported many of the storylines from the show, but I found a few nuggets in my notebook I think are worth sharing: Epic Aircraft is fully on […]
Video: TF-X excites the masses
A Terrafugia video posted to YouTube on July 20, 2015 has garnered more than one million views in just two weeks. It is easy to see why. The TF-X is Terrafugia’s “vision for the future of personal transportation.” “The TF-X will be a four-seat, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) hybrid electric aircraft that makes flying easier and safer […]
Video: Mustang Heat Wave
As this razorback P-51C Mustang lands on a hot day, look closely at the wingtips. You’ll see the “wingtip vortices made visible by heat waves.” Video courtesy Airailimages.
You can help rekindle the magic of airplanes
I suggest you make plans to see Living in the Age of Airplanes. Better yet, take some non-pilot friends and go see it together. Then go out to dinner so you can talk about the movie. Living in the Age of Airplanes is from the director that made 2005’s One Six Right, Brian J. Terwilliger. […]









