Something happened over this past weekend that could be seen in one of two ways. It was either a perfectly ordinary event that is hardly worthy of notice to anyone but those directly involved, or it was a remarkable achievement deserving of applause. I’ll let you decide. The story involves my friend who, for the […]
Opinion
That’s a Standard, not a Jenny
Popular history has a way of making icons of some aircraft and almost ignoring others. In the case of American World War I biplane trainers, the Curtiss JN-4 and JN-6 Jenny series of biplanes are undisputed icons of their era. But there was another American trainer of 1917-18 that all too often gets lumped in […]
Aviation City rises and shines
Summer comes early in South Florida. Temperatures rise into the 80s and 90s while much of the north is still contending with melting snow, cold wind-driven rain, and yet one more oil delivery to keep the furnace running. It’s on such a day that I sit at a picnic table across from George Chase, president […]
One tricked out Maule
“We started with a stock M7-235,” said Maule Aircraft President Brent Maule. “The modifications were made using primarily STC’d products.”
Airspace has never been more valuable, and will never again be this cheap
Lately, I’ve had two images stuck in my head. The first is an Interstate highway overwhelmed by gridlock. The second is a graph of the population of the United States. As the population continues to climb, real estate continues to increase in value. Along with population increases come surface transportation challenges. Unless we annex Canada […]
The realization of a dream
When the idea of flying first became real to me, I became a voracious reader of aeronautical magazines. My imagination went wild with the idea of not just flying, but of actually owning an airplane. The reality of my situation was somewhat less optimistic than my imagination. For one thing, I was living in a […]
Trust but verify redux
I flew co-pilot on a 19-seat turboprop during my airline pilot rookie year. One hot summer day, we landed at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (KROA), deplaned our passengers, and loaded up 19 more. We didn’t take on any more fuel because we needed to be as light as possible for the windy, high, hot and humid […]
Pilot Perspectives: Randy Brooks
By DEREK ROBERTS. With more than 13,000 hours of flight time, Randall Brooks has had one of those varied and interesting careers that most aviators can only dream of. Gliders, biplanes, corporate aircraft, executive jets, retired Russian military trainers — if it has wings, Randy knows how to fly it. The son of an Air […]
Let’s get inappropriate
I’ve told the story before of my first attempt to get involved in aviation, and my absolutely dismal failure. It was sophomore year at Glastonbury High School in rural central Connecticut. A US Navy recruiter came to speak to students who were open to enlisting in the military. That may seem like no big deal today, but […]