Pilots and Planes: Smithsonian on Capt. David McCampbell, World War II aviation and the Grumman Hellcat

| February 24, 2024

A few of the history oriented books I read in 2023 were about World War II Naval Aviation in the Pacific … after the previous years studying Navy and US Marine battles. As much as I enjoyed the books by several aviators who flew Corsairs (1, 2, 3, 4) … I really enjoyed reading last […]

Tuesday Filler: Interesting sizes of the Boeing aircraft family

| November 21, 2023

Books: “Baa Baa Black Sheep” by Gregory ‘Pappy’ Boyington

| August 1, 2023

There are plenty of books on my Kindle, in my “ebook pile” and “printed paper” book pile to read, but most of them are not particularly enjoyable “to me” to read. They either arouse political anger and frustration in the direction our country is being lead … or personal improvement books that “I interpret” as […]

Taylor now gets to fly drones as part of his planning job

| March 3, 2022

Admit it, you’re a bit envious of those who get to fly drones as a part of their job? Taking Taylor out for his birthday in 2021 As someone who has enjoy everything aviation their entire life, I’m a bit jealous my son is now a licensed commercial drone pilot … just a I am […]

Time Life Books: The Epic of Flight #TBT

| December 2, 2021

The Time-Life series books have never been something I’ve collected, but I’ve enjoyed looking at them as I would an old set of encyclopedias. There is something fascinating about the photos and history that can distract for hours. An aviation friend included a “poster” from the 1982 series earlier this week which did the same […]

WW2 Aviation History: Why are F4U-1 Corsairs so taped up?

| June 12, 2021

Well talking to Taylor at his birthday dinner, I mentioned someone posted a photo of a WW2 Vought F4U Corsair and asked about the “stripes” … or duct tape … on the cowl in front of the pilot. The answer from a HistoryNet.com researcher below is a great aviation tidbit for those with a curious […]

What is so appealing about the P-51 Mustang? #aviation

| April 18, 2020

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is one of the most celebrated Allied fighter planes of WW II. It continues to have wide-spread aviation enthusiasm to this day … and one look (and listen – volume up!) will have you understanding why it is so admired.

Watching the Boeing 777X first flight today

| January 25, 2020

EDIT – A Boeing 777X airliner lifts off for its first flight at Paine Field on January 25, 2020 in Everett, Washington. Getty images – Stephen Brashear The new Boeing 777X enters the next phase of its rigorous test program. Based on the most successful twin-aisle airplane ever, the Boeing 777, and with advanced technologies […]

Archive: Found a short Sonex airplane project video for #TBT

| December 26, 2019

While sifting through a few old .MP4 files, I found one of my first iPhone 5 test video clips from 2012 and it had a bit of footage of my Sonex airplane project (posted a few photos back then) that I was working on a year before selling it. It was shortly before I sold […]

So you want to be a aerospace engineer? Get inspired.

| August 28, 2019

How big is the Antonov An-225 Mriya? Total payload 559,580 lb.

| April 7, 2019

The Antonov An-225 is one big aircraft … a strategic airlifter built in the Soviet Union in 1985 with a first flight in 1988 with the designed purpose of airlifting Energia rocket’s boosters and the Buran orbiter for the Soviet space program in the 1980s.

Aviation progress is poised to take-off

| January 4, 2019

Aviation has bogged in the last few decades, but with computer assisted quadrotors, private space ventures and renewed supersonic travel … perhaps the next couple decades with be inspirational? Supersonic jets may be about to make a comeback – Reinventing Concorde

Just in case Kim Jong Un is misleading us again

| June 13, 2018

Just an impressive photo for North Korea to sleep on (and me to include on my blog) … and just in case Kim Jong Un is having second thoughts regarding his historic handshake and agreement with President Trump at the Singapore Summit. Let’s hope we are all on the same page and that hardliners in […]

The flight of MH17 – National Geographic #video

| February 22, 2018

Previously I’ve detailed a bit about the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and some of what I have learned … here is a National Geographic channel video that summarizes what we know in 44 minutes.

Red Stewart 20th Annual Airshow Labor Day Weekend 2017

| July 22, 2017

Along with the Red Stewart Airfield airshow and night airshow on Saturday September 2, 2017, my EAA284 Chapter will be serving up a pancake breakfast for those camping over or flying in on Sunday morning September 3rd. Always a great time.

Jerry Skinner talks about #MH17 with @MariaBartiromo

| June 8, 2016

As the second anniversary approaches of the downing of #MH17 by Russian missiles over the Ukraine, my brother-in-law Jerry Skinner is doing what he can to keep the tragedy in front of the public eye. Pressure on politicians for them to pursue justice, compensation and a admission from Russia and Putin (a long shot) is […]

Airline litigation lawyer Jerry Skinner explains the case – #MH17

| May 25, 2016

My brother-in-law Jerry Skinner has been busy working on the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 case in order to bring closure for the families of victims. It is hard to imagine that shooting down of a commercial airliner was anything but a mistake, but who should be held accountable for Buk missiles capable of this kind […]

Landing a Harrier jet aircraft on a stool

| July 1, 2014

The U.S. Marine Corps has some talented pilots, including Capt  William Mahoney landing his AV-8B Harrier aircraft, along with equally skilled U.S. Navy 6th Fleet support crews. What a landing. Thanks for protecting our country and keeping us safe!

Sunseeker Duo: a solar airplane for the summer skys

| June 2, 2014

The solar powered Sunseeker Duo airplane made it’s first two passenger test flight last month as Eric and Irena Raymond prepare for longer flights this summer. Gizmag.com posted a few more photos in their article … what an interesting aviation project. Solar Flight says that the Raymonds took off together in the company’s third powered […]

Duke Engines holds promise for low vibration and light weight

| May 8, 2014

While sorting and tossing some old “paper” magazines last weekend, I stumbled across an article about New Zealand’s Duke Engines in a September 2011 issue of Sport Aviation (PDF of article) that peaked my interest. I’ve posted on engine design ideas before as they relate to aviation and automotive, but thought this design has some […]

Twitter stream highlighting early SF Boeing 777 crash photos

| July 6, 2013

Twitty photo stream After seeing the photos from the air, the crash of Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 in San Francisco today looks to have touched down short of the runway 28L. Who knows why the impact was short, but the rock jetty looks to have been impacted by the landing gear and at least the […]

Hard to beat photos of aircraft landing in St. Maartin

| May 19, 2013

Great series of 13 photos from St. Maartin’s Princess Juliana International Airport on Weather.com this month where Maho Beach-goers get up close and personal with landing aircraft (one of many posted short videos below).

Terrafugia Flying Car development continues to move ahead

| January 23, 2013

Getting the testing done and appropriate governmental safety and FAA approvals takes time, but the Terrafugia experimental airplane/car is continuing to make progress. The company has over 100 orders and has had few setbacks considering their undertaking in their goal of producing the first commercially viable flying car. The video PR makes it all look […]

Selling my airplane project leaves me melancholy

| January 20, 2013

Selling a long term project like building an airplane leaves me with mixed feelings. In part, I’m glad to be lessening my hobby load of “things to do,” but sad to part with a project that has consumed so much of my time and been a focus this past decade. As family we took trips […]

Comedian/Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and helicopters

| August 31, 2012

Do you ever say to yourself, “why didn’t I know this before now?” Well that what I though when a friend of mine ask if I’ve seen Jeff Dunham videos about him building and flying helicopters. “Helicopters?“(old posts 1 & 2) Come to find out, he has built four of them and has been flying […]

Archive: History of aviation video

| February 28, 2012

My EAA friend Steve posted this aviation history video to his site and I wanted to share and archive it on my site too. Probably should make a copy in case it disappears from YouTube …hmm?

From Predator Drones to Swarms of Nano Quadrotors

| February 1, 2012

This content is restricted.

Video: Jetman Yves Rossy flies in formation

| December 1, 2011

I’ve posted on Yves Rossy  and the Breitling team since his original flights over the Swiss Alps and here’s his “new feat: Flying in formation at full throttle together with 2 jets from the Breitling Jet Team … at their minimum speed. Beautiful images for an outstanding achievement!”

A guide to creating flying videos

| November 5, 2011

Reposted from EAA284 … thanks Steve. One of our EAA284 members, Steve Dilullo, keeps a personal flying blog and posted a great article for those wanting to create videos of their flights. His  how-to article is a great starting point for those who might want to capture their flights on video and are looking for […]

The U.S. Navy’s Carrier F-14s have been retired for 5 years

| August 13, 2011

Every once in a while I look at the right hand column of my blog to see what interested me in previous years. I noticed The Navy catapults the last F-14 Tomcat post from back in the summer of 2006. Has it been 5 years?

Maiden Flight for SubSonex from EAA News

| August 11, 2011

Great news for aviation experimenters — the personal jet experimental protype known as the SubSonex made its first flight. Way to go! August 11, 2011 – A little yellow jet was spotted over Oshkosh Wednesday morning (August 10) and soon it was confirmed that John Monnett’s SubSonex had made its first flight. Jet sailplane pilot […]

Wright ‘B’ Flyer Silver Bird accident « EAA Chapter 284

| July 30, 2011

Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of Mitchell Cary and Don Gum who devoted so much to aviation. It is a difficult day for those of us who support efforts to keep history flying and the Wright B Flyer Museum. Crash kills 2 in plane based on Wright ‘B’ Flyer GREEN […]

Uniquely traveling over Indian Ocean reefs

| May 19, 2011

Who needs a dinghy … fly instead! Nice views … (Check out PercyMichael’s  YouTube clips of the Krucker amphib)

Fatigue cracking on Southwest planes is a problem

| April 3, 2011

Citizen journalism was alive and well (‘alive’ being the appropriate word) this weekend as an emergency landing was made by a Southwest jet in Yuma Arizona. Shawna MalviniRedden, a blogger at The Bluest Muse, ‘tweeted’ comments and photos. Shortly after take off the Boeing 737 had a hole 5 foot long and 1 foot wide […]

The Mikoyan MIG-29 Mach 2.3 – Private ownership Take 2

| January 30, 2011

For those who remember the last days of the cold war and paying attention to military aviation advancements, the Russian Mig-29 was a frightening aircraft … and it still is. It was put into service in 1983 and remains an “air superiority” jet fighter in my air forces around the world.  In December of 2010 […]

Can Carter Copter make the next leap in personal aviation?

| January 27, 2011

Although the dream of flying around like the Jetsons has been something many of us believed would be here by now, those at Carter Copters are a bit more serious in developing something that might move us closer to that reality. Their combination of aviation engineering using fuel sipping diesel engines, gyro-plane lift, airplane like […]

Gary Sinise & The Lt. Dan Band to return to EAA Airventure 2011

| January 14, 2011

Good news for those who enjoyed the music of the Lt. Dan Band last year at Airventure. The EAA Warbirds of America and Disabled American Veterans who sponsored the band in 2010 have decided to do it again in 2011. EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wis. — (Jan. 6, 2011) — Back by popular demand, actor […]

Wake up to the smell of jet fuel in the in the morning

| November 19, 2010

What a rush — just hold down your “Bile and Regurgitated Food” please – aka: BARF.

Another sunny day on the beach with B-17 Liberty Belle fly over

| October 31, 2010

The final day of our mini-vacation was spent in the sun and ocean. We relaxed on the beach and enjoyed the sunshine and warm wind. The waves were large enough to make the body surfing fun as Brenda and I soaked up the last few hours before getting ready to head for home. While I […]

“Burst of air” replacing control surfaces on UAVs

| October 23, 2010

DiscoveryNews had an article in MSNBC highlighting an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) call the DEMON which has fewer moving parts and uses “bursts of air” rather than traditional hinged control surfaces in order to control the aircraft. According to engineers and those working on the project, fewer moving parts will make it easier to maintain […]

King Schools owners John and Martha King mistakenly detained

| September 1, 2010

In keeping with yesterday’s post of how law enforcement deals with challenging situations, police in California seemed a bit too aggressive in the case below. Perhaps they followed procedure … but if innocent, an incident like this can be frightening. Should police have handled John and Martha King differently? John King shared his “guns drawn/detained […]

Stewart’s airshow & our Chapter’s Taildragger Fly-In

| August 7, 2010

With Airventure in Oshkosh Wisconsin recently ending and preparations for our EAA chapter’s Labor Day weekend Taildragger Fly-In/Pancake breakfast underway, this might be a good time to mention that Saturday, September 4th is also the Stewart’s annual airshow at 40I. If camping under the wing of your plane and pancakes on Sunday morning aren’t enough […]

Pilot and passenger of ‘crash’ at Airventure are ‘okay’

| July 28, 2010

Safety is always of concern for organizers of airshows, especially ones that attract 1000s of pilots, aviation enthusiasts and airplanes. The week long EAA airshow and fly-in at Oshkosh Wisconsin called Airventure is no exception — accidents can and do sometimes (rarely) happen. The routine at Airventure is for Wittman Regional Airport to open runways […]

PRA Chapter 34 rotorcraft fly to EAA Chapter 284 for a visit

| July 11, 2010

EAA Chapter 284 hosted Popular Rotorcraft Association Chapter 34 at Red Stewart Airfield (40I) in Waynesville Ohio on Sunday. I was a beautiful and warm day for grilling burgers and hotdogs at our EAA chapter hanger. The turnout was excellent and everyone enjoyed the comradely focused on promoting and enjoying recreational aviation. Besides a close […]

Daredevils with gliders and a chute

| April 25, 2010

  Austrian skydiver Paul Steiner reaches up to grab the tail fin of the upturned glider which he had been flying in only minutes before An EAA friend forwarded me this link … gulp … READ MORE or video after the split

Lt Dan Band to be at EAA Airventure 2010 in Oshkosh WI

| April 17, 2010

It’s hard not to appreciate Gary Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band and what they do for veterans as they travel around the country (and world) supporting causes that benefit our troops … and the children our soldiers find themselves protecting: Operation Iraqi Children both in Iraq and Afghanistan. For aviation advocates, and in particular […]

World War II aircraft, their aviators and our heroes

| March 1, 2010

While watching an aviation video online highlighting the P51 Mustang (30 min video below) and thinking about the ever dwindling number of WW II heroes from the greatest generation, I gave a bit more thought about an upcoming trip with my son. We’ll be spending a week with a World War II aviator from that […]

DOT changes may reduce pilot training cost

| February 2, 2010

According to an Experimental Aviation Association bulletin, the long awaited revisions on the docket in the Federal Register support the 22 FAA proposed changes affecting sport pilots. Changes include allowing Sport Pilots to fly higher and safer in mountainous regions and permit weight-shift control aircraft and powered parachute to gain experience in towered airport airspace. […]

NASA Puffin concept returns to the birth of aviation

| January 23, 2010

NASA’s Puffin electric-powered, super-quiet personal VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft concept is ideal for those wanting a quick commute to work on a traffic congested morning … particularly if you’ve got a charging station on your buildings helipad  … and who doesn’t? The USMC V-22 Osprey looking aircraft could offer a bit more promise […]

Operation Migration, Whooping Crane shot and C-182 engine out

| December 13, 2009

A couple areas of interest to me merge one state over in Indiana. In an effort to help the endangered whooping cranes migrate safely from Wisconsin to their wintering grounds in Florida, Operation Migration had two disappointing moments this past week. In Vermillion County, Indiana, a staff member for the International Crane Foundation (ICF) found […]

EAA284 reviewed video of Mark Dusenberry’s accident

| November 9, 2009

Enjoyed the nice afternoon weather and headed to the airport for our monthly EAA meeting. Today we reviewed the successful first flight (very impressive) and later accident of Mark Dusenberry’s 1905 Wright Flyer replica — NTSB preliminary report. Bob Luken reviewed his video of the flight and the accident (only the FAA has a copy […]

EAA284 hands on welding practice

| May 17, 2009

My Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter (EAA284) met at a new shop of one of our members today for our May meeting. We had a chance to both work on projects for our chapters ‘rentable kitchen’ and to learn a bit about welding. We enjoyed a beautiful day in Waynesville, Ohio while discussing the summer flying […]

Hybrid at Sun ‘n Fun: It’s a plane, it’s a car, it’s a Transition

| April 25, 2009

I’ve posted a couple times (1 & 2) before on Terrafugia’s Transition experimental airplane/car and wanted to include a little video from the Tampa Fox affiliate taken at the Sun ‘n Fun airshow in Landland Florida. A group of students from  M.I.T. developed a two-seat aircraft that can take off and land at small airports […]

Airventure2009: Get up close and personal with the Airbus 380

| April 15, 2009

EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wis. – (April 15, 2009) – With the announcement today that the Airbus A380 is coming to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009, EAA reinforced the reputation of its annual fly-in as a one-of-a-kind showcase of aviation’s innovations, unique accomplishments, and wide-ranging interests. For the first time in North America, AirVenture will provide […]

Terrafugia Transition runway test flight video

| March 21, 2009

As mentioned before, the Terrafugia Transition car-based airplane is being developed on the east coast this year and the above is a bit of video from the first runway based test flight on March 5th. Retired USAF test pilot Col. Phil Meteer comments that the test was “remarkable for being unremarkable.” Performance Cruise: 100 kts […]

Northeast Ohio based aviation site: storiesthatfly.com

| February 24, 2009

If you enjoy ‘grass roots’ aviation, you’ll enjoy the StoriesThatFly site based in the Northeastern part Ohio … or read a little bit about it here.

Inspirational Sport Pilot: Look mom, no hands!

| February 17, 2009

A friend of mine passed this along and I though a few here might enjoy the inspirational story and watching the video. Jessica Cox, born without arms, recently earned her sport pilot license at Ray Blair Airport in San Manuel, Arizona. She flies this Ercoupe plane the way she does most other things in her […]

Airplane crash kills 4, including my friend John

| January 13, 2008

It has a been a challenging weekend as I’ve just heard that a good friend John McCarter, his wife, and two friends lost their lives in an airplane accident probably on their way to lunch near Lake Erie. (something he would regularly do) In talking with John over the past few weeks, he was excited […]

Oshkosh Airventure 2005

| August 6, 2005

Wow … what an Airventure. According to EAA records, about 700,000 people made their way to the Greatest Aviation Celebration in Oshkosh, Wisconsin this year. That number is well above 2004 and is also reflected in the participants as well. More than 10,000 aircraft visited the Oshkosh area including showplanes over the seven-day convention of […]

Diesel power for Aviation – and my Sonex experimental airplane project

| May 20, 2005

I’ve been thinking about getting back to work on my Sonex project and have been ‘re-intrigued’ with the thought of diesel power. I came across a company, Advanced Propulsion Technologies, that is building extremely lightweight, high powered diesels, especially the 325HP engine. This one clutched to a second is being proposed and tested on light […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog