Category: Flying

Fate is the Hunter, part two

The introduction to this Post was published yesterday. The rest of this Post is Lex’s words and published with his written permission.

Fri – January 9, 2004 (post date)
The worst day ever

I don’t tell this story very often. Although the events inside it happened almost 12 years ago, the memory is still fresh, and still painful.

Over the years I’ve told it to two ready rooms, both by way of instruction – a kind of “been there, seen that,” in order to prevent anything like it from ever happening again. But it’s not one of those sea stories you tell over a beer, among friends. It’s a sad story. Maybe I post this one. Maybe I don’t.

Read more about Lex’s powerful story

Fate is the Hunter, part one

A theme about flying, pilots and fate.

Many, many pilots whether civil or military or private, have read the book by Ernest K. Gann entitled Fate is the Hunter.  Ernest Gann was born a little under a hundred years ago, on October 13th 1910 and died, aged 81, in 1991.  HeGann is known, in the main, as an aviation writer and airline pilot pioneer but achieved much more besides.

Fate is the Hunter is a book about the workings of fate. And this Post is more than a reminder of Ernest Gann’s book and the message it carries, it is also about fate, as Part Two published tomorrow reveals.

Fate or serendipity has happened along to cause a number of recent Posts to be about flying.  We had the Post about low-level RAF flight training in North Wales – Mach Loop.  Then we had three Posts about air carrier operations prompted by the PBS Series, the first one being published on the 2nd October.  Today, circumstance brought me to the Blog  of another naval aviator, published by Neptunus Lex.  More about him and links to the Blog later.

I want to set the scene by using the words of Ernest K Gann as he starts the preface to his book.

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Carrier landings: “A perishable skill” Part 2

Carrier pilots learn about pitching decks, in the dark!

Yesterday we published the first of two 10 minute videos on YouTube about carrier operations on the USS Nimitz.  Here’s the second video.  Warning: Once you start watching you won’t be able to stop until the very end!

By Paul Handover

Carrier landings: “A perishable skill!” Part 1

Carrier pilots learn about pitching decks

A fellow author of this Blog, John Lewis, was chatting to me about a whole variety of items surrounding the Blog and future topics, etc.  Our conversation strayed into flying and John asked if I had seen the YouTube extracts from the PBS Film about the USS Nimitz.  I had not.  They are gripping.  Here is the first of the 10 minute videos.  The second one is here.

A perishable skill? Watch and all will become clear.

By Paul Handover

Barnstorming, the Film – update

When the original Post on Barnstorming was published on this Blog on September, 18th, we had an enormous response from viewers and the Post had one of the highest ever figures.

Anyway, the producers have just announced,

Announcing the Houston Premier of Barnstorming October 17! We will be screening the film at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum, Hobby Airport, Houston, Texas. Showtimes are 11:00 am and for the fundraising “Hobby Hangar Hop” in the evening. For more information visit the museum website!

Cool building, by the way.

Houston Air Museum
Houston Air Museum

Mach Loop, North Wales, Great Britain

High speed military aircraft at low level – all in a day’s work.

Most private pilots love to watch the professionals at work, whether it’s in the cockpit of an airliner or fast military jets.

Does this not get the blood stirring?

Read more about fast jets!

Barnstorming

As the film says, Friends can really drop out of the sky.

Copyright 2009, Barnstorming Productions, LLC
Paul Glenshaw, Copyright 2009, Barnstorming Productions, LLC

Read about the film Barnstorming

M’mmmm – Let me think about this!

The pluses and minuses of skydiving.

This looks great. Cameraman is Paul Lewis.

And here’s that Paul Lewis again.  Having a really, really lucky day!

Funny, there is a saying amongst us (amateur) pilots.  Why would anyone want to throw themselves out of a perfectly serviceable aeroplane!

Exactly!

By Paul Handover

Air Sports

World Aerobatic Championships, Silverstone, England

Yesterday was the last of the three days of the WAC, the World Aerobatic Championships, held, this time, in England.  Had I known earlier then this Post would have been published before the event had finished.

Anyway, guess what has been found on the web?  Airsports TV.  So all those that hanker after this sort of thing, here is your very own TV station.  Want to know more about Airsports TV?  Watch the video below:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Want more?
Now hang on to your seats!

STS 128 is away!

Shuttle Discovery launches without a hitch.

At 23.59 EDT, Shuttle Discovery lifts off from launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Centre.

sts 128 launch

America frequently gets a bad press around the world but events like this are a reminder of the pioneering spirit of the American people. Long may that continue.

By the way, ever wondered what it is like to be inside the Shuttle during a launch?

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