On the last leg we let the horse run for the barn. Turning final at Austin airport; I dropped the gear and flaps, slowed to final approach speed, touched down and got on the brakes. We were on a mission: game two of the World Series was in the late innings and we had not [...]

After an aircraft departs controlled fight it enters a stage known as post stall gyrations. The procedure is to neutralize the controls (no input) and hold on. If the aircraft moves from PSG to the incipient stage of a spin the pilot still has time to neutralize and the aircraft will fly itself out of [...]

One month ago today I wrote a post on the AIG fiasco. In it I said: …but why does the US Fed care enough to cough up 85 billion dollars for a “small” bridge loan? Because the anti-trust laws of this country have been discarded. What does that have to do with the financial bail [...]

American Airlines announced today that it would buy forty two Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft for eight billion dollars. The 787 represents a new technological milestone; the extensive use of light weight composite parts. As I have written previously by contrast the Airbus A-380 represents the end of a technological era, the aluminium period. Historically not [...]

My novel is now available for pre-order from Pen and Swords Books LTD. Also available is Trailblazers, a collection of stories from Test Pilots, put together by Christopher Hounsfield. I have authored a chapter in Trailblazers and I think any aviation enthusiast will love both books. It is a tough time in aviation these days. [...]

In the aviation world the term broken arrow has always been bad. During the Vietnam War it meant an American unit was in danger of being over-run. All airborne assets were diverted, to support the unit under seige. On board USN aircraft carriers during the cold War, it meant a nuc weapon was damaged and [...]