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More Pilot Talk

Want more pilot stories? Our More Pilot Talk section is full of informative and entertaining flying tales from accomplished pilot authors.

June 22, 2017

Plane Facts: Disappearances

Scary facts about airplane disappearances

First reported missing aircraft: Hot air balloon Ville de Paris Pilot: Matias Perez, lost and presumed dead General location: Straits of Florida First missing airplane: December 22, 1910, Short S.27 Location: Somewhere over the English Channel Mission: Return to England Pilot: Cecil Grace; body recovered three months later Next three planes that disappeared: All Bleriot Model 11s  First military aircraft to go more »

June 16, 2017

A Special Father’s Day

A family of pilots celebrates Father's Day properly—in the air

Father’s Day is an amazing collection of contradicting clichés, when you get right down to it. I mean, how many dads actually enjoy wearing a tie? And who wants to be the one bogged down with grilling dinner on your holiday? Now, let’s have an imaginary show of hands if you’ve enjoyed an iconic Father’s more »

June 2, 2017

Sometimes Engineers And Designers Get It Right The First Time

A look at old technology and new ideas

It is a fascinating thing when we, especially in the aviation industry, attempt to improve upon performance and efficiency only to find that we are returning to old technology and ideas, some of which are nearly as old as aviation itself.  Let’s look at just three specific ideas, or technologies—two that are on the market more »

May 12, 2017

Plane Facts: Flying Cars

Fun facts about flying cars

First flying car patent issued: 1918, Felix Longobardi, never developed First flying car built: Curtiss Autoplane, 1917 Designer: Glenn Curtiss Patent issued: 1919 Debut: Pan-American Aeronautic Exposition, NYC, February 1917 Flight: Reported to have made a few straight-ahead hops Style: Aluminum automobile body with detachable wings and tail Seats: 3 Engine: 100 hp Curtiss OXX (water-cooled V8) Propeller: 4-blade, rear-mounted Dimensions (flight mode): 27 ft. x 40 ft. more »

April 20, 2017

Plane Facts: Thunderstorms

Fun and frightening facts about thunderstorms

Average yearly cost of severe TS damage, U.S.: $10 billion Number of TS worldwide/year: 16 million Average number of TS in progress at any given time, worldwide: 2,000 Number of TS U.S./year: ~100,000 Most likely time of year: Spring/Summer Most likely time of day, Gulf Coast, Southeastern and Western States: Afternoon Most likely time of day, Plains States: Late afternoon/Night State with more »

March 16, 2017

Plane Facts: Propellers

Fun facts about propellers

First manmade aerial propellers: China, c. 500 BCE, child’s toy Leonardo da Vinci airscrew designs: c. 1480  First coaxial helicopter blade design: Mikhail Lomonosov, 1754 Year of first airborne propeller use: 1784 Aircraft it was used in: a balloon Means of power: hand-cranking Early experimenter with metal prop blades: Sir George Cayley, c. 1790 First practical aircraft propeller design: Wright Brothers Their discovery: the more »

March 8, 2017

Flying The Presidential TFR

Aviate, navigate, communicate? Well, yes, but if you plan to penetrate a Presidential TFR, those happen only after find, phone, copy, file.

Find the NOTAM. Phone TSA at least 24 hours in advance. Copy your confirmation number. File a flight plan, possibly with an intermediate stop. The milk run for Mrs. Levinson and me is between KBED, in the Boston suburbs where we live most of the year, and KMVY on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, where more »

February 16, 2017

Plane Facts: Electric Aircraft

Fun facts about electric aircraft

First Electric-powered Flight, Tissandier Dirigible ‘Number 6’: 1883 Flight’s Origin: Auteuil, Paris, France Average Speed: 7 kts Cruising Altitude: 1,600 ft. Duration of Flight: About 1 hr.  Distance Travelled: 6 nm Manufacturer of Dirigible Powerplant: Siemens Horsepower: 1.5 Powerplant Weight, Number 6: 1,552 lbs. Power to Engine Weight Ratio: 1:100 First Manned, Electric, Fixed-wing Flight: October 21, 1973 Aircraft: Militky Brditschka MB-E1 Adapted From: Brditschka HB-3 single-seat more »

January 25, 2017

Plane Facts: Instrument Flying

Fun facts about instrument flying.

First instrument flight: September 24, 1929 Site: Mitchel Field, Long Island, N.Y. Pilot: Lt. James Doolittle Plane: Consolidated N-2 (biplane similar to Stearman) Altitude data: Kollsman Altimeter Altimeter feature: Barometric setting (a first) Attitude data: Sperry Artificial Horizon Directional information: Sperry Directional Gyro Instrument approach equipment: Audible Localizer  Method of simulated IFR: Hood covered entire front-seat position Outside conditions: Clear, visibility unlimited Length of flight: 15 minutes more »

December 9, 2016

Plane Facts: Highs And Lows

Fun facts about planes and pilots
plane facts

Best year for GA piston sales ever: 1946, 35,000 planes Estimated number delivered in ’46: Less than 10,000 Planes built five years later: 2,302 (down 93% from ’46) Worst year for GA piston sales: 1994, 495 planes Number delivered five years later: 1,748 Best year for piston sales in modern era: 1979, 16,129 delivered Singles more »

November 1, 2016

Plane Facts: Bizjets

Fun facts about business jets
Plane Facts Bizjets

Active business jets in the U.S. in 2014: Approximately 12,500 (on-demand charter included)* Number in 1980: 3,000* Number projected in 2035: 20,815* First bizjet: Lockheed JetStar Year introduced: 1957, to U.S. Air Force Number of engines: Four, fuselage-mounted, two per side, 14,800 lbs. thrust total Seating: 2 crew, plus 10 passengers Max weight/speed/range of JetStar: more »

October 19, 2016

Plane Facts: Seaplanes

Fun facts about seaplanes

First successful flight of a seaplane-like craft (towed kite): 1905 First actual seaplane flight: 1910, the Hydravion First flying boat flight: 1912 First amphibian flight: 1913, Glenn Curtiss, Model D First large-scale production seaplane: Felixstowe F.5 (100 produced during WWI) Number of Curtiss NC-4s that in 1919 attempted the first Atlantic crossing: 4 Number that more »

September 28, 2016

The Art Of Pilotspotting

It takes one to know one.

I enjoy freaking my friends out because I can see someone with a certain characteristic and suddenly my pilot radar activates. I quietly gather clues and enough information to conclude that my radar was correct: That’s a pilot. My friends are in awe when I’m usually correct, and then I’ll verify by asking the target, more »

August 2, 2016

Plane Facts: EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

Fun facts about the history of AirVenture Oshkosh

Founder of EAA airshow: EAA Founder Paul Poberezny Location of first EAA airshow: Milwaukee Timmerman Field Name of umbrella airshow that year: Milwaukee Air Pageant Number of airplanes, 1953: Around 40 (EAA says it was a “handful” of mostly homebuilt or modified models) Number of airshow attendees: Approximately 150 Year of first EAA airshow: 1953 more »

July 19, 2016

Plane Facts: Cubs

Year “Cub” name first used: 1930 Manufacturer: Taylor Aircraft Location of factory: Harri-Emery Field, Bradford, Pennsylvania Designation of first Cub: Taylor E-2 Cub First Taylor E-2 engine: Brownbach Tiger Kitten What young tiger offspring (kittens) are called: Cubs Animal featured in Cub logo: Bear Horsepower of Brownbach Tiger Kitten: 20 Length of cinder runway at more »

June 1, 2016

Plane Facts: Pilots

Without pilots, there would be no aviation (as we know it and like it, anyways). But what do you really know about these special aviation creatures? Here are 50 Facts about fly-boys and fly-girls that you probably didn’t know.

Population of the United States in 1903: 80.6 million Total number of pilots in 1903: 1 Percentage of population: 0.00000001 Population of the United States in 1929: 121.8 million Total number of pilots in the United States in 1929: 9,215 Percentage of population: 0.000075 Population of the United States in 1975: 216 million Number of more »

April 27, 2016

Battling Pro Wrestlers At FL350

The challenges and rewards of flying with sports superstars

I’d walk in the front door of my grandparents’ house with butterflies in my stomach and laughter held tight in the back of my throat, because I knew my Uncle Tom was waiting. My uncle was a professional wrestling fan, and his favorite wrestler at the moment was “The Claw” (aka Baron von Raschke). He’d more »

February 24, 2016

The 100UL Future

An Industry-FAA partnership sets course for an unleaded future

It’s supposed to power today’s and tomorrow’s high-performance piston aircraft, tomorrow.

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