Aviation

And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. -Psalm 18:10





Lost your sense of in life?



LEARN TO FLY!

One sad, and four happy, North American AT-6s






I am a private pilot with an instrument rating. I have about 200 hours, which isn't much, I know, but I've managed to get the instrument rating, along with high performance and complex sign-offs, and a Ground Instructor's license! I've flown an Arrow at 175 knots through a driving rainstorm, taken my mom on a 2-hour night cross-country into Class B, flown from Panamá to Isla del Rey, done spins under the hood, and flown IFR into Meigs Field (one of the prettiest airports in the world). There are still quite a few things I want to do in aviation, but I'll take what I've got so far!

The Good...

While I was getting my license, I kept a journal. During my training (four and a half months from first flight to checkride!), we had some major air catastrophes: ValuJet, TWA flight 800, and Jessica Dubroff. These were in addition to the headlines I almost made myself a couple of times! Go here to read the journal I kept while being tamed and humiliated by the airplane.

Over the bay of Panamá in a 172

Isla del Rey

Chicago, from the cockpit of an Archer

At Meigs Field, in an Arrow

What page on Aviation would be complete without High Flight, that wonderful poem written by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.? He entered the Royal Canadian Air Force in September of 1940, instead of accepting a scholarship to Yale that he'd been offered. He was killed on December 11, 1941, in a dogfight while flying a Spitfire. He was 19. Go here  to see this beautiful (but these days, much clichéd) tribute to flight, as well as some other cool flying quotes.

The Bad...

I'll admit it -- it took me two tries to get my instrument ride out of the way. I do have an excuse, though (don't I always?) -- go here to read about it.

and the Ugly...

Here are some things I've picked up along the way. Some are dumb, some are funny, some are serious. But they're all about flying!

© 1998 Dan McGlaun