Story & images – Laura McDermid On Saturday, 27 January, EAA Chapter 322 etched its name in history by hosting the inaugural Young Aviators initiative. This incredibly worthwhile initiative differs from the well-known EAA Young Eagles program, which is dedicated to introducing and inspiring children to aviation through free introductoryRead More →
Jeffery Kempston One warm December, evening I overheard a story in the Lanseria Airport bar. A private pilot from Salisbury, Rhodesia, had bought a new Cherokee Six from the factory and entrusted its delivery to a US airline pilot friend. This gentleman had wished to buy a new 300 hpRead More →
Peter Garrison I graduated from college in 1965. The Vietnam War was in full swing, and any able-bodied male who was not being educated was being drafted. I could have gone to graduate school, but instead decided to take my chances. I moved in with a couple of old friendsRead More →
It’s been a bleak year. As I write this in mid-December, the world seems to be lurching closer to apocalypse. The Israel-Hamas war is seen by many as a portend. Once again, evil activists conflate the violent actions of a small group of people with entire nations and religions, sparkingRead More →
Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McDermott in Rwanda. It was November 1978 and I had just flown John McCloy of JF McCloy Engineering, from Malindi to Nairobi. On my flight back to Malindi on the canary yellow Piper Cherokee, 5Y-AKS, a weariness crept over me, paired with anRead More →
Guy Leitch Pooleys Air Pilot Manual. Volume 4H The Helicopter – Technical British based Pooleys have become the industry standard for ab-initio flight training books in the UK and Europe. This month I look at Air Pilot Manual #4H: The Helicopter – Technical Despite the high costs of helicopter trainingRead More →
IRIS – HER EARLY YEARS. PART 7 Air Kenya Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McCallum in East Africa. From my veranda window in Watamu the serene Indian ocean stretched out to meet the horizon in an endless embrace. Without the puffy white clouds that dotted the azure sky,Read More →
One Friday afternoon, two venerable Douglas DC-3 airliners started their engines at Lanseria Airport and taxied out for takeoff. This was in the pre ‘bantustan’ era when legal gambling was prohibited in South Africa. Instead, local gamblers were obliged to journey to one of the neighbouring countries such as Botswana,Read More →
Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McCullum in Rwanda. There are certain years in a person’s life that remain emblazoned on one’s memory forever. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that they are imprinted on one’s soul. Those years define us and shape who we are.Read More →
The Step-Change Engine About every seventeen years the airline industry is expected to produce a 17% saving in fuel burn from step-change improvements in engine and, to a lesser extent, airframe technology. OUR CURRENT CROP OF super-efficient engines is the product of steady evolutionary development. The most recent happened aroundRead More →
