The Ace of Sewanee

Kershner was the Ace of Ace Aerobatic School—and he had the bona fides to back it up. Bill had soloed at fifteen and, by nineteen, was teaching aerobatics. Before he turned twenty-five, he was flying an F4U Corsair off the USS Philippine Sea in the early 1950s. Later, he worked as a corporate pilot, a test pilot, and an author. He penned five flight manuals (one of which sold over a million copies).

Flight Lessons from Komati to Stegi

Now, when a fuel-injected motor starts dying of thirst, it doesn’t just peacefully expire—it has several false stops interspersed with bursts of power. As an engine gives up, the aircraft swings violently toward it. This is counteracted by a bootful of opposite rudder, which generally coincides with its recovery, causing an even more violent swing in the other direction. When both motors quit simultaneously, the bursts of power, swinging, and kicking of rudder present an unusual spectacle to the casual observer on the ground—and a frightening demonstration of chaos to the less casual spectator aboard.

A First Time for Everything

,
I flew my first combat mission in Southeast Asia. I was in the back seat of an OV-10 Bronco on an orientation flight out of Nakhon Phanom (NKP) Air Base in Thailand, flying with an experienced Forward Air Controller (FAC) over Laos. It was an introduction to the combat environment, local procedures, and the terrain I’d soon be navigating on my own.

I Almost Hit the Trees: A Lesson in IFR Vertigo

I considered calling a missed approach. But how could I safely fly it? If the controller told me to climb to 8,000 feet and turn to 300°, how was I supposed to comply if I couldn’t read the altimeter or the RMI? I feared that turning aggressively might cause a complete loss of control.

Storms, Strangers, and a Near Miss in Miles City

I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting them. My tailwheel lifted—I was about to tip onto my back. I released the brakes just long enough for the tail to drop, then had to brake again immediately. The tail came up a second time, but this time I held the brakes and prayed.

Crash a Day—What It Was Like to Learn Jets at Nellis

,
On my third flight, my instructor had to abort, so I went up solo in a clean bird. I climbed to about 35,000 feet over Lake Mead with the ADF tuned to a Vegas music station—and they played The Sabre Dance. I went nuts in the airplane, doing crazy rolls, and with full power, dove straight down through the Mach. (We didn’t have TACAN in those days, just an old WWII-era ADF that tuned from 520 to 1600 kc.)

A Cardinal Problem

At that point, it became clear John was going to have to land without the nose wheel. That’s when things got interesting. He asked me to call the local fire department to be on standby. This wasn’t a big city airport, so no foamed runway. But the police arrived, along with fire trucks and an ambulance. Before long, they closed off the roads near the airport, and half the town turned up to watch.

The Day I Learned to Trust My Instruments

I tuned the Manila VOR to confirm my position and set up the next waypoint. About halfway to Bohol, I noticed a thin layer of clouds forming ahead. They were scattered at first, wispy and benign. But as I flew closer, they began to thicken. I considered descending beneath them, but the buildup appeared to extend lower than expected.

A Different Kind of Pilot Decision—Choosing Not to Fly

,
In my airplane, I am the source of reliability—or unreliability. The flight doesn’t leave without me. If I don’t like the weather, I don’t go. If I need to divert, I can. I choose my departure time. I build in margins. And most importantly, I have the authority—and practice—to say “no.”

Throttle Mismanagement: A T-38 Lesson That Stuck

Our Talon accelerated as it climbed toward pattern altitude—1,500 feet AGL. When I turned onto the outside downwind, about two miles west of the inside downwind, the jet slowed its acceleration but continued climbing. At pattern altitude, I leveled off, and our airspeed stabilized at 300 KIAS. During each turn, we lost about 10–15 knots, but once wings-level again, the jet quickly accelerated back to 300. After each turn, I asked the student to confirm the throttles hadn’t moved. Each time, he replied, “No sir.”

No Power, No Time: A Glide Toward Shore

Instinctively I had started a left turn towards the shoreline and quickly ran through the memorized emergency engine procedures: carb heat (that lever was jammed), mixture, mags, fuel pump on, and switched fuel tanks. Nothing helped.  I found a throttle setting, somewhere between half open and idle, that reduced the vibration. Unfortunately, less vibration did not create any more power, the plane kept descending.

Experience in the Chair: Guiding a Twin Beech Home

The pilot’s navigation capability was falling off with the ice buildup on his antennas, but I was able to receive a strong bearing from his voice transmissions. The centre controller advised the pilot it was time to contact me in the control tower. From then, I was able to begin the process of guiding him to the airport following headings I provided. He was at full power but slow and unsure what would happen if he pulled power back.

Trial by Ice

,
The most valuable lesson I learned from the “School of Hard Knocks” had nothing to do with weather or instrument flying. The “trial by ice” was a lesson in the awesome responsibility that comes from occupying the left seat of an airplane, regardless of its size. It also taught me to recognize those rare and unusual emergency situations when going by the book is not safe, and when deviating from standard operating procedures or the Federal Air Regulations is not only warranted, but imperative.
stearman

A Stearman, a POW, and the World’s Busiest Airport

Every year, for the past 13 years, Delta Airlines hosts their annual Veterans Appreciation event at their huge Technical Operations Center. I had alerted the Atlanta Air Traffic Control facilities that our slow flying airplanes were going to be coming to visit them so they were expecting us, but trying to sequence us into their operation must have caused a lot of clenched jaws and tense moments with Atlanta Approach Control and the Atlanta Hartsfield Tower.

A Love Affair with Aviation from CAP to Piper Cubs

For the first time in my life, I experienced a feeling and sensation that I had never felt. I wasn't nervous anymore, my knees stopped knocking, my heart calmed down, and a powerful feeling of security, well-being and confidence took over me. This confirmed my boyhood love affair with aviation.

A Winter Flight That Sparked a Family Legacy in Aviation

It seems to me there are almost limitless ways to learn about flying, and not all fall under one or more of the above adjectives; yet those lessons are there, and they are free for the taking. In fact, some happened even before we held a license to do the deed ourselves, or for that matter even before we might have considered it.

Buffalo Hunting With Airplanes

The most likely threat I would face was 23MM and 37MM Triple-A, which would be fired in streams of 25-50 rounds at a time. If the gunners were harassing you, they might fire only 25 rounds. If they were intent on you not destroying something of value (like themselves!), you could expect hundreds of rounds to be fired at you.

2025 Richard Collins Writing Prize Runner-Up: Tailstrikes and Tiedowns

,
As I banked into my final approach, my heart sank. I had fully cut power and had flaps at twenty, but I was still far too high. Because I had let my airspeed get so low, I hadn’t lost enough altitude on downwind. I knew I should go-around, but panic gripped me. I did the worst thing possible and tried to lose altitude by steepening my approach.

Teaching International Student Pilots

After busting a major milestone in their training (the initial solo or any of the three checkrides they had to pass in the T-38 syllabus), students would get one or two extra flights with an experienced IP.  They would then fly an “Initial Progress” check with a squadron supervisor.  If they passed that check, they continued with the program.  Failing the Initial Progress check meant they got additional flights with another experienced IP and then flew a “Final Progress” check.  If they failed that flight, they would be eliminated from the program.

A Great Flying Experience on the Ground

The B-17 is said to be one of the most recognizable warplanes of its era, known to people who can’t identify any other airplane by name. This one came with a bonus, a wartime B -17 pilot who was there promoting a book.