Like any other industry, aviation has a lot of stuff that happens “behind the scenes” that the average Joe isn’t aware of. In fact, often people within that industry may not be aware of some of it either. After all, how often do you go to a restaurant and think about all the stuff that ...
Flying in “cabin class comfort?” Sometimes we are motivated as much by those people that say we can’t do something as by those that say we can! On my 2019-2020 Polar Circumnavigation the voices and comments of the naysayers were alive and well. One of these comments came from a retired 747 captain who said, ...
As we move into spring and summer, the airlines are heading into some of the busiest charter work that they do: basketball tournaments and Major League Baseball. Charters are not the money-makers that they used to be, but they still turn a guaranteed profit for the airlines, and they are an important part of the ...
As the long, cold and dark part of the year departs, break-up of Alaska’s rivers is getting underway. The National Weather Service expects this that year, it could trend toward more of a mechanical event, with ice jams and flooding being more likely in some parts of the state. NWS Hydrologist Crane Johnson presented the ...
As usual Mother Nature gave me some real-world experience which challenged my own personal minimums on a recent flight. I head to the Pacific Northwest monthly for business. Having my own personal time machine has allowed me to realize the dream of living and working in two very different states. Planning for a 4.5-hour trip ...
Deriving visibility information from weather cameras has been in the works for several years—and you may be in a position to help determine if it is ready for prime time. The Visibility Estimation through Image Analytics (VEIA) Program looks at FAA weather camera images and derives an estimate of the visibility using an automated comparison ...
A headline of late was of a pilot in the San Jose, California, area going on a rant that was broadcast on the radio. This is not the first time this has happened, and it probably won’t be the last. The usual culprit is a stuck mic switch. The FAA has announced an investigation into ...
About four months after the Citizen of the World returned to the United States from her record setting polar circumnavigation, she went in for new paint and interior at Art-Craft Paint, Inc. in Santa Maria, California. The Citizen had earned the major makeover after enduring some of the roughest treatment Mother Nature could throw her ...
The issue with airports in Europe has been a cumulative problem since my arrival. While I had an initial burst of enthusiasm (delusion) in Germany, the situation calcified in Spain with a near phobia of airport chaos, such that I didn’t land outside of my base airport for over six months. Eventually, I snapped out ...
As the pandemic appears to be winding down, travel is showing some signs of recovery. Flights for spring break saw some of the highest load factors seen since early 2020, and Americans are itching to avoid another summer of being stuck at home. Several airlines, including a couple of majors, are showing signs of growth ...
