The latest AVweb contains a very disturbing article which, while aviation-related, has implications reaching far beyond our quirky corner of the world. Indeed, this thing comprises a serious erosion of basic constitutional rights that should concern every American whether they fly or not. …the California Department of Health Services, Radiologic Health Branch, came to the warehouse expressing concern about radium-dial instruments on the premises. This… Read more →
Irvine World News
Ah, the poor old Irvine World News. This is the Rodney Dangerfield of newsprint, a hometown paper which is printed once a week. It gets little respect, probably because they give it away for free.  “You get what you pay for” and all that. Plus, it really does confine itself to the world of Irvine. That fact alone makes the paper worthless to most of Orange… Read more →
Plastic Airliners
A post over at Cockpit Conversation got me thinking about the 787 Dreamliner, a new all-composite airliner from Boeing. That post referenced a British newspaper article whose title was a bit sensationalistic. “Passenger aircraft rivals clash over safety of fuselage built from plastic”. Airplanes are not built out of plastic, they’re made of carbon fiber. The two are both composite materials, yet interchanging them… Read more →
Mother Nature 1, Cirrus 0
When William Congreve wrote that “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, the woman he had in mind was probably Mother Nature. Despite the fact that nearly a quarter of a million people are in the air at any given minute of the day, the rarified heights we pilots traverse are Her domain. And every now and then she reminds of that… Read more →
Freaky Friday
Did you know there’s a name for those who fear Friday the 13th? Paraskevidekatriaphobics. Try saying that three times fast. Some sources say it may be the most widespread superstition in the United States. Some people won’t go to work on Friday the 13th; some won’t eat in restaurants; many wouldn’t think of setting a wedding on the date. Just how many… Read more →
Go Sell Crazy Somewhere Else
I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. I was on my way to work a few days ago – cruising down Alton Boulevard at about 45 mph – when a small geriatric Asian woman suddenly jumped out in front of my car.  Her left hand went up, palm out, making the universal symbol for “stop” as though she was a traffic cop managing a… Read more →
Going to Church
The new year is starting off right at work. My boss just had a front page article published about him in the Orange County Register. The Register is the largest newspaper in Orange County, with a daily circulation of about one million copies. Unfortunately, the Register requires online users to register before reading the article, but you might be able… Read more →
Duck, Duck, Goose
Here’s another gem I found on the Cessna Pilots Association forum. I’ve seen the darndest things discussed, uploaded, admitted to, and debated over there. The CPA forums are a favorite haunt of mine because everyone who posts is a paid member of the association, which tends to keep out the rabble one finds in newsgroups and other ‘free’ message boards. Anyway,… Read more →
LAX Class B Airspace
It’s been about four months since the FAA finalized the long-awaited changes to the Los Angeles class bravo airspace. Though the new airspace configuration has been ready for publication, nothing has changed on the charts as yet. That’s about to change. With the December 22nd editions of the VFR Terminal Area and Sectional charts, the new airspace will be in… Read more →
Southwest Airlines Midway Overrun Photos
Photos of the Southwest Airlines overrun incident at Midway Airport, along with an interesting story about political restrictions on Chicago airspace that came about as a result. Read more →