After years of requiring applicants to operate a complex aircraft in order to earn a commercial pilot certificate (single-engine airplane) or a flight instructor certificate, the FAA recently reversed its own standards to allow commercial applicants and CFI applicants to take the practical test in an aircraft that isn’t complex. No retractable gear, no constant […]
Politics for Pilots
Should vision testing be required for city officials?
After a fire in the Apollo 1 capsule took the lives of Gus Grisson, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, NASA undertook an investigation. Not so much to lay blame as to understand why the fire happened. With a clear understanding of why, it would be plausible to assume similar tragedies could be prevented in the […]
It’s not the dollars, it’s the imagination
For the past few months I’ve been shopping for a house. Not a particularly big house. Or an impressive one. Just a house that my family and I can move to where we’ll be dry when it rains, warm when it gets cold, and comfortable when the Florida sun beats down in August. If I […]
Is this flying?
Under normal circumstances I’d be writing this column from the comfort of my home office. I probably wouldn’t be wearing closed toe shoes, or long pants, and I sure wouldn’t be wearing a sports jacket. Instead I’m putting this little missive together at Gate 42 among a mass of random people gathered at Orlando International […]
Making connections that count
Generally speaking, most people are pretty decent. Given the chance to offer help to others, they will. Or at least they’ll try. Unfortunately, we often mistake that willingness to assist for the ability to be helpful. Unfortunately, things don’t always work that way. When my middle child was about seven years old, she decided she […]
Photographs, but few memories
The human mind is an intriguing piece of biological equipment. It can conceive of amazing inventions. Machines, devices, and processes that have never existed come to being first in the mind of someone not significantly different from you or me. Ideas can be incredibly powerful or they can be absolutely idiotic. In the case of […]
Dream a little dream and see where it takes you
There is a magical spot in Washington, D.C. I’ve just recently discovered. The spot has been there for years. Eons, in fact. But the inspirational quality of it has only become apparent relatively recently. Thank goodness I was fortunate enough to happen upon it and reflect on its power. The spot I’m so enthralled by […]
Spring forth with confidence
Yay, it’s springtime in the Americas. The northern Americas anyway. We set our clocks ahead last week to prove it. Those much loved golden rays of sunlight linger well into the evening hours now. We await the day, not far off, when temperatures warm, and lush, green grass will tickle our toes once again. It’s […]
Embracing the transition tango
We like to say that education is a life-long pursuit. Yet many of us simultaneously limit education in our discussions and our thought processes to those years we spend in the confines of a traditional institution of learning. Is it a life-long pursuit, or an extended stay in an institutional environment? Both perspectives cannot co-exist […]