About Joni M. Fisher

Joni M. Fisher, an 800-hour instrument-rated private pilot, lives in Central Florida and Western North Carolina. She shares a Cessna 210 with four other pilots. She can be reached at JoniMFisher.com.

Couple build World War I fighter

July 10, 2017 by Joni M. Fisher Leave a Comment

Retired USAF Colonels Blake and Sandy Thomas met at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. On their first date Blake took Sandy on a ride in a 1944 BT-13, a two-seat military trainer with a radial engine.

“It was love at first flight,” Sandy said.

In December 2017, they will celebrate their 23rd anniversary. Their shared love of aviation led to flying offspring. Their first-born homebuilt was an RV-7, their third, a Sopwith Schneider. This is the story of their middle offspring, a replica World War I fighter, the 1917 Nieuport-28. [Read more…]

Smoking fun Stearman

May 7, 2017 by Joni M. Fisher Leave a Comment

Gary Rower of Rower Airshows donated a flight in his Stearman to the SUN ‘n FUN Media pool drawing and on Friday morning, April 7, 2017, I won.

Abandoning dignity, I raised my arms in the air and gave a whoop of joy.

For the 24 hours leading up to the scheduled Saturday morning ride, I told everyone I encountered about it with evangelistic zeal. I was insufferable to friends, family, total strangers — you name it. [Read more…]

It’s all about the plane

May 3, 2017 by Joni M. Fisher Leave a Comment

Flying a P-51 Mustang is the dream of many pilots. Owning a Mustang, according to businessman and pilot Andrew McKenna, is a way of honoring those who flew them. [Read more…]

Chinese aviators honor the Flying Tigers

May 3, 2017 by Joni M. Fisher 1 Comment

During this year’s SUN ‘n FUN, a group of Chinese and Americans gathered beside the B-25J “Panchito,” an aircraft similar to the one used during the famous Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.

The Chinese came to honor American airmen who fought with the Chinese against the Japanese in World War II. In particular, they commemorated the Flying Tigers. [Read more…]

E.T. and his Seabee: Sharing the joy

April 27, 2017 by Joni M. Fisher 2 Comments

During a bright sunny day at this year’s SUN ‘n FUN, the people sheltered in the shade of the Seaplane Pilots Association (SPA) tent on Taxiway Echo all knew who owned the brightly-colored Seabee parked nearby.

Built in 1947, the Republic Seabee RC-3 (N713ET), is a four-place amphibious aircraft. A plush toy from the movie E.T. sat in the window.

“That belongs to E.T. He’s a party waiting for a place to happen,” Barb Bailey said. [Read more…]

Repo Man Mike Kennedy: Aircraft and adrenaline

April 20, 2017 by Joni M. Fisher 3 Comments

Do you need someone to steal a jet, catch a crocodile, or skydive in to extract venom from a King Cobra? Meet the Airplane Repo man with nerves of steel, Mike Kennedy.

A full-size action figure in his late 50s, Mike stars in Airplane Repo on the Discovery Channel. [Read more…]

Love at first flight

April 16, 2017 by Joni M. Fisher 1 Comment

Braylon Faulkner, 6, fell in love with airplanes on his first flight.

Traveling with his mother Michelle Faulkner and grandmother Carol Faulkner-Davis in September 2012 from Orlando to Providence, Rhode Island, his excitement came to the attention of the Southwest Airlines pilot who invited him to the cockpit before the flight. [Read more…]

Zen and the art of circumnavigation

January 16, 2017 by Joni M. Fisher Leave a Comment

What does it take to fly around the world?

Pilot Robert DeLaurentis recently took time to share what he learned during his historic 2015 solo circumnavigation of the world.

His new book, “Zen Pilot: Flight of Passion and the Journey Within,” details the historic 98-day, 26,000-mile ultimate cross-country. [Read more…]

Triple Tree Aerodrome’s new Learning Center debuts at fly-in

October 16, 2016 by Joni M. Fisher Leave a Comment

At the 10th Annual Triple Tree Fly-in at the Triple Tree Aerodrome (SC00) in South Carolina, held Sept. 6-10, volunteer instructor Rob Trayntham gave tours of the Robert Shaw Learning Center, a gleaming new building nestled behind the General Store and the Maintenance Shop. [Read more…]

Stearman flight raffled at Triple Tree Fly-In

October 16, 2016 by Joni M. Fisher Leave a Comment

At this year’s Triple Tree Fly-in near Greenville, South Carolina, 80 raffle tickets were offered at $20 each for a one-hour ride in the 1942 PT-17 Stearman (N851WM) owned by the Triple Tree Foundation. If the winner was a pilot, then dual instruction was included.

This pristine Stearman won awards at SUN ‘n FUN earlier in the year. It was restored by Jerry Stadtmiller, a regular volunteer and workshop instructor at Triple Tree. [Read more…]