There is an article in the Feb/March Air and Space called Falling with the Falcon by Tom Harpole. Unfortunatly, it is not available on the web, or at least I could not find it. This is an amazing story about Ken Franklin and his Peregrine Falcon, Frightful. Ken is a 17,000 hour pilot who has...

For about 25% of the cost of a new Skylane or Cirrus you can have a 1942 C-47 that saw combat in WWII. Of course, the maintenance and fuel prices might be a little steep - not to mention finding a hanger big enough to hold the plane. Still, wouldn't it be cool to land at some out of the way...

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2005/08/19/travel/escapes/19trip.html?ex=1125720000&en=d0e9f107a37ffefe&ei=5070

I've read that the shuttle pilots "only" experience about 3 g's during lift off to orbit - less than a big roller coaster ride, way less than a dragster or a fighter jet. But they do endure the g force for much longer - something like 10 minutes before they get into orbit. That would be the part...

I've done a number of these over the years, but prior to tomorrow's, I'm thinking about how the preflight routine changes. I'll check all the screws on all the inspection panels, pull off the engine cowlings and poke about, looking for anything obviously loose. Check that the seats are on the...

I have a tickler spreadsheet to remember dates and hours for the plane and for me. Includes due dates or hours, as appropriate, for: Annual ELT Battery Transponder Altimeter Engine Propeller Oil Change

I'm kind of curious - does anyone with more than 100 hours do a flight plan, with winds and all, before they fly cross country? Most of my planning is of the fuel stop, or occasionally detour for weather variety - but it is rare for me to include more than one or two waypoints in my "plan", and I...

I'm taking lessons next week. Anyone here try it? Is being a pilot any advantage at all? Michael

Something Dudley said in the Leaving Usenet thread got me thinking about flying a P51. I found www.stallion51.com as an option. Does anyone have any personal experience or know of any dual control Mustangs that offer a chance to fly them? Thanks, Michael

Is there a simple way to program the Garmin to handle in-flight route instructions such as : "Pass 10 miles N of XYZ at 10,000 ft" or "Continue inbound to ABC, then the 131 radial to DEF..." I can make user waypoints, but it seems a little slow and awkward, especially in hard IFR. Any...

I promise, promise, promise there is no political agenda here. I just think this is a great photo. Don't know how far the runway is from the stands, but the illusion is that the wings are practically over the race crowd. Michael http://makeashorterlink.com/?C43163D67

New to me, anyway... http://makeashorterlink.com/?Y17222D5A

Just an idea. Landed at Longmont 2V2 today and some jerk transitioned the pattern 100 feet above pattern altitude. Came up on my six o'clock - never saw him until he was filling my windshield. Just one more reminder to keep the head on a swivel... Michael

Is there any mechanical reason the BRS system could not be designed to allow the chute to deploy, stabilize/slow the plane and, optionally, allow the pilot to disconnect the chute to land normally? I'm thinking about floating down in a $400K Cirrus with chute deployed in a spin in IMC, then...

Anyone Have an Airplane Partnership Spreadsheet that they would be willing to share? TIA, Michael

Flew today for the first time in two months. I'm a 1000 hour pilot, so it's not as if I'm starting from scratch, but I really felt slow on every thinking step. Had to refer to checklists to remember all the preflight, startup, takeoff drills, which made me wonder what I had forgotten on emergency...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3606903.stm

If you have high bandwidth and flash, this is a pretty interesting site. If you happen to have 50 million or so, it is even relevant. http://www.gulfstream.com/index.html Examples of EVS (Enhanced Vision System) technology. Amazing technology. http://www.gulfstream.com/gulfstreamevs/ Michael

A thread in RAO referenced nice guys in aviation. Let's give them credit. Give an example when someone went above and beyond for you. I got to the airport around 4:00 on a summer morning in Indianapolis. During preflight I switched on the master to lower the flaps and check the fuel gauges....

I am getting my open-water certification. My brother (a less experienced pilot but a far more experienced diver) and I are looking for some some fly and dive trips. We are planning to go to Pennekamp in Key Largo. I assume MTH (Marathon) is the closest airport. Any other destinations...