First of all Merry Christmas!
Here are some of the aviation-related articles that I found this week. Enjoy.
A really nice article on the DC-3
This is a nice, long blog post with several good, historical photos of the DC-3 in action. It covers everything from the first flight to the Basler turbine conversion. Worth the read.
Holiday passenger disruptions
This is a newspaper article recounting some of the things that stressed-out passengers are doing this time of year as they face TSA delays, weather cancellations and full flights in their quest to get to their holiday destinations.
John’s Student Pilot Blog
This is a blog that I hadn’t seen before. John is a student pilot in Oregon who is writing about this learning experiences. the blog started with his first flight lesson in October 2010. He posted a 20-minute video summary of that first flight on YouTube – the link is in his first blog post.
The FAA is behind in their inspections of airline operations
This is a Dallas newspaper article describing the FAA’s continued lack of oversight of airline operations. I’m not sure why this seems to be such a surprise. We’ve known for years that the FAA doesn’t have enough people or expertise to get the job done. They can’t seem to keep track of general aviation aircraft, either…
A new flying experiences book
This is an article on the release of a new book by Larry Houghton titled Flight Log. In the book he recounts his life-long passion for aviation. I have not yet read this book, but it sounds interesting. You can buy the book, and just about anything else you would want to buy, from Amazon.com.
Accident findings in the 2009 crash of a Cessna 177RG in Maine.
This is a newspaper article listing the NTSB accident investigation findings in a 2009 fatal accident. It is another of those accident scenarios where you sit there asking yourself ‘What were all these people thinking?.’ Maintenance practices and procedures and pilot and mechanic human factors all played a part.
A flight training blog following the delivery of a new Cirrus.
This is the first of a series of blog entries on the Coast Flight Training and Management School (San Diego) blog. The school president and one if it’s instructors have traveled to Duluth, MN to pick up a brand new Cirrus SR-22 Turbo Perspective to fly it back to San Diego for delivery to one of the schools customers. The entries will follow their progress – which is currently stalled in the snow in northern Minnesota. December? Who’d have thought? I have seen a couple more articles about the trip – by now they should have arrived in San Diego. Merry Christmas to them…
As if we don’t have enough to worry about when traveling – Airplane Germ Zones.
This is a 2-page article about the most likely places that you can pick up germs when traveling on an airplane this holiday season. One recommendation is to avoid using the water and ice offered on airplanes. Hmmm. If the water is offered from a bottle, what is the problem? No, I wouldn’t use the water out of the tap in the bathroom. The ice is brought to the plane by the catering company, not made onboard – but if it’s blue I’d pass.
More reasons to attend AirVenture 2011
This is a link to the AirVenture website page showing the list of ‘special’ aircraft that have confirmed that they will be in attendance in 2011. The list is impressive, to say the least.
Enthusiastic about aviation – that’s an understatement.
This is a newspaper article about how a song played on a piano traded for a ride in an airplane changed the life of a 12-year-old girl in the coastal area of Northern California. Read this and renew your aviation enthusiasm.