About 100 years ago the place we recognize as Tampa International Airport, one of the largest, busiest airports in Florida, was nothing more than a strip of grass on a farm.
Politics for Pilots
Why doesn’t somebody do something?
As pilots, aircraft mechanics, aviation business owners, and interested residents, it is in our best interest to offer ourselves for public service. Establish an airport advisory committee that puts effective and beneficial utilization of the field at the forefront of its agenda. Discuss development of the airport as an asset to the community — a place where learning, recreation, business, and personal fulfillment all converge for the betterment of the residents and visitors to your area.
Uncomfortable parallels deserve consideration
The question each of us must ask ourselves is this: Do I really want to be minimally qualified? Would my friends and family be comfortable flying with me if they knew I was actively avoiding situations where I would have to prove my worth as a pilot?
Living in era of technological breakthroughs
For all the fear, negativity, and derision we hear in the news and on social media, I continue to believe we live in amazing times. Our lives are immeasurably improved by access to increasingly inexpensive, more reliable, more capable technologies.
Avoiding self-induced emergencies
While we might like to believe we’re on top of things and fully competent, the truth is well over half of all general aviation accidents are caused by pilot-related issues. Nearly 70%. Which invites the question: Are we really aware of the risks we face?
The devil’s advocate
The devil’s advocate in me thinks the better lesson is: “You want to land and takeoff with a headwind whenever possible. However, there will be times when you find you have no choice but to land or takeoff with a tailwind. This is where your PIC judgment comes into play. It’s up to you to decide if you can make that landing or perform that takeoff safely, or whether you need to land somewhere else, or whether you should put off your trip to another day.”
One more add-on rating
It’s been decades since I took that first flight lesson, but my desire to test myself, to better myself, to experience something new and exciting has not dwindled one bit. There’s a new add-on rating in my future. There’s a new challenge to accept and a standard to meet.
Turnabout is fair play
The unintended consequence of providing sufficient facilities to one group naturally limited the availability of those facilities to another. This is how a woman entering aviation at any level may have found the industry treating her in the past. To some extent, they may find this lack of accommodation happening today, as well.
I’ll never make the front page
I’m not the best pilot in the world. Nobody who flies with me comes away thinking I’ll challenge the memory of Bob Hoover.