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Come Fly With Me — Herb Alpert

By Dave English

“I play it just about every day of my life–not because I have to, but because it’s something that gives me pleasure. That’s what I tell kids when they ask what’s the secret to being successful in the music industry. If you’re not really passionate about what you’re doing or if you’re doing it because there are some benefits like attracting chicks, forget it, man. While you’re sleeping someone else is practicing who wants the exact same thing you want.” Herb Alpert, interview for his (fantastic) album Come Fly With Me, by KC Ifeanyi in Fast Company, 2015. “You never … Continue reading Come Fly With Me — Herb Alpert

Your new job is to say

By Dave English

“Your new job is to say ‘no,’ when everyone else says ‘go’.” Happy New Year! Here’s to resolutions of flying more, flying better. This is from new Delta captain Jeremy King, his first trip as pilot-in-command of an airliner: https://wordsaloft.substack.com/p/managing-delays-gaining-time-without

81% of ERAU pilots bust IFR minimums

By Dave English

OK, this might be a bit of a ‘one weird trick nobody knows’ clickbait avgeek troll headline — but this is a real paper on real research in a real journal. It’s in Safety Science, titled ‘An analysis of a pilot’s adherence to their personal weather minimums’, written by Professor Scott Winter et al.. Full citation at the end of the post. They studied certificated instrument pilots (who were also ERAU students) and how they adhered to both personal and FAA minimums while flying an ILS approach. The results were quite astonishing: “The findings demonstrated 96.4% of participants descended below their … Continue reading 81% of ERAU pilots bust IFR minimums

Ed Dwight, almost astronaut

By Dave English

“You did not get ‘into’ a fighter, you strapped it onto your ass and it became an extension of your physical body.” Amazing life story of Ed Dwight, almost the first Black astronaut, who could have walked on the Moon: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/us/ed-dwight-was-set-to-be-the-first-black-astronaut-heres-why-that-never-happened.html

It can happen to you

By Dave English

In 2013 FAA Safety Briefing magazine published a seemingly unremarkable story about a mindless runway incursion in a light piston twin. Human error. Could have been bad, but like most incidents, no big deal. What’s interesting is the author. He was a master pilot. The byline is Gene Cernan, fighter pilot, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, astronaut, Moonwalker, and general aviation pilot. And I just heard the real story on how he got to write his confessional article. Listening to the Flight Safety Detectives podcast #56 the hosts, former NTSB investigators John Goglia and Greg Feith talk with former JetBlue safety … Continue reading It can happen to you