Grand Canyon

The first time I ever saw the Grand Canyon

Our four fighters, in arrowhead formation, skimmed the desert floor for another hundred miles or so until the sandy brown horizon turned to a brilliant blue in the waters behind Glen Canyon Dam. We were going to fly the Grand Canyon from Lake Powell to Boulder Dam. We would not fly over the Canyon; we would fly in it.
logbooks

The logbook: a generational connection

I opened up a Christmas present from my parents. It was a flat white box, approximately the dimensions of a regular sheet of paper and about an inch tall. Then I removed another layer of the paper and noticed that there were two logbooks in there, one of which had a pretty banged up spine. A possibility suddenly came to mind—could it be?
LTFH

An intro flight and shattered dreams

We started the engine, talked on the radio, and a few minutes later we taxied and sped up along the runway. Just then, the kid who wouldn’t stop asking technical questions went silent; the only noise out of him was his breathing over the headset. He turned pale and wiped his permanent smile off of his face. He leaned his head back and after a while could just mumble.
Mountains

Preparing for the trip of a lifetime to Alaska

There is a lot of preparation for any long cross-country journey, but this trip had two elements that I hadn’t had to include in any of my trips before. These are the specific items needed for flying from the US through Canada, and the preparations for survival, in case of a forced landing, potentially hundreds of miles from the nearest town or road, across a largely uninhabited and often rugged wilderness.

Friday Photo: sunrise over the St. John’s River

George Currie took this photo of sunrise over the St. John's River and Jacksonville, Florida, looking east toward the Atlantic Ocean, from his 1977 Piper Cherokee Warrior II. His mission was to start the day early with some socially distanced fun and adventure, before this typically crowded airspace gets busy.
182

Bam!

I performed a pre-flight on our Cessna 182 and all was well. Linda arrived, we loaded the groceries into the back seat and launched on an IFR plan to Page. We left Chino, California, at about 2 pm. Just as we pulled out of the LA Basin and leveled off at 10,000 feet, configured the mixture and prop and set the autopilot, BAM! I lost a cylinder.
Aeronca finished

Civilian Pilot Training in a pre-war Aeronca Chief

Initially, I was uncertain about acquiring another airplane. I had owned a Cessna 172 until financial circumstances forced me to give it up. But my spouse stated that I “needed a project” to get my mind off the challenges at work. So, in fall 2009, I committed without realizing how much time and effort would be required to restore an old Aeronca.
Muncho Lake

An Alaska Highway flight gone wrong

George was one of my most ardent fans. A pilot, we’d often rent planes and fly formation around Southern Alaska. We would take friends along and have some glorious times together. Over the months we dreamed of one day being able to fly the Alaska Highway. What an adventure that would be.
Collins

Ten years of Air Facts

Ten years is a long time on the internet, so the fact that Air Facts has survived is an achievement, but it’s done much more than that—it has thrived, and grown into its own bustling community. In fact, it has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams, with over 1 million visitors last year from all around the world. Even more satisfying are the 1,900 articles we have published since 2011, written by 760 different writers.

Friday Photo: golf and flying

In the old days at Shelter Cove, you could golf all day for $10 on the course that was all around the runway, then enjoy the ocean, some good food, and lodging.
Harriet Quimby

Overlooked pioneers in women’s aviation

While observing Women’s History Month this month, the names of Amelia Earhart, Pancho Barnes, and Bessie Colman come easily to mind, but the achievements of many less well-known women aviators are also worth celebrating. What follows is simply a place to start…
Beech 23

Engine hiccups: third time is the charm?

After eating and preflighting, we departed runway 34. At about 500 feet the engine did a quick hiccup. We both looked at each other and I said, "let's stay in the pattern for a few minutes and see if the incident happens again."

Go or No Go: home before the rain?

The goal today is to fly your club's Cessna 172 from Marathon (MTH) to Orlando (ORL), Florida. It should take about two hours, and with a proposed departure time of 4:15pm, you would be landing a little before sunset. But the weather you see on ForeFlight isn't exactly quiet. Since you do not have an instrument rating, this flight will have to be made VFR. Can you get to Orlando safely?
Together in cockpit

Hangar flying: you are qualified to fly like this

The pastime of many pilots is not necessarily piloting real, honest-to-goodness, airplanes. Rather, it is something known far and wide as “hangar flying.” We know that there have been times when we have had just as much fun and fellowship talking to other pilots about being a pilot than when we were actually piloting a plane toward that overpriced $100 hamburger.

Friday Photo: the fog rolls into Chicago

April 1, 2020. The fog rolls in off Lake Michigan... Normally a bustling metropolis, this evening finds Chicago’s streets deserted as the reality of COVID-19, like the fog itself, begins to shroud the city.
Pratt engine

“We was on fire; I could see the flames!”

A DC-3 is never quiet, but for late night departures, we sometimes would reduce the power a little earlier for noise abatement. Just as I trimmed the RPMs to 2300, the right engine cut loose with a cacophony of explosions that resembled a 10-gauge shotgun being fired right next to my ear. The engine was backfiring. Badly.
Stalag Luft IV

The story of a winged boot, and the men who wore it

We have a lot of memorabilia from both of our fathers, however, one unique item really grabbed our attention. It is a small patch featuring an embroidered boot with a single wing on it. Susan and I wondered what the significance of a winged boot was and why it was part of her father’s memorabilia. I searched the Internet and was stunned by what I learned.

A day in the life of a fledgling instructor

It was an anxious moment. With palms sweating and sweat rings around my armpits I was hoping that my first student was truly ready to slip the surly bonds of earth. Hopefully I didn’t forget to instill any critical kernels of knowledge. Mark was probably thinking along the same lines and was sweating every bit as badly as I was.
Cub on grass runway

Almost a ground loop

I started with the stick well back. The engine was producing full power. I pushed the stick forward. Right at the point of lift off there was an abrupt swerve to the right. I closed the throttle and held the stick firmly back, planted in my ribs.

Friday Photo: logging some actual

Flying in actual IMC is an invaluable experience for any pilot and even more so for one training for the next level certification. We knew there would be good IMC opportunity (without icing or convection) on this day for some valuable flying time. We took off early morning, climbed above the first layer and found a nice area for this picture.