training

1955 safety film: What’s changed and what’s not

By Dave English

Youtube has a great AOPA safety film for GA pilots called The Flight Decision. It’s a little dated. Like sixty years dated. (Yep, 1955.) It’s fun to see what has changed—and what has not. Flight line fashion has changed. But the planes in this film (remember film?) are probably still flying. Some of the safety stuff is simplistic. But many of the human issues we are still trying to solve today. Take a look, and share what you think about sixty years of change.

Ball flying and baseball

By Dave English

This was sent to me by an Art of Airmanship reader, who is an active USN F/A-18 pilot. It was written sometime in the 90’s, and is credited to Lieutenant Commander James Winnefeld, Jr. He was a US Navy pilot, a real TOPGUN instructor, and worked on the movie Top Gun. He is currently an Admiral, serving as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It’s on the reading list at LSO school, and is a fascinating deep dive into the practical mental aspects of high performance flying. Most of us don’t “call the ball” to land on an aircraft carrier. But … Continue reading Ball flying and baseball