The Buzz Posts

As the Comedic Cuban troubadour Ricky Ricardo would often say to Lucille Ball, “it looks to me like someone has some splaining to do.” For months I’ve been sitting here defending the air traffic controller workforce against FAA’s penal-colony work t…

Following close on the heels of Scott’s Monday post about a serious lack of stick and rudder skills comes this video of a BAE 146 landing at London City Airport.  Attaching the word “hard,” to the word “landing” here almost seems an understatement. …

Talking recently with Michael Maya Charles, author of Artful Flying, our conversation turned a pilot’s passion for flight, for deft stick-and-rudder skills. Why, we wondered, does a pilot’s ardor wane from the student high as flight hours grow? Whil…

I apologize if what I’m about to say causes anyone to cough up their lunch, but I’m going to completely agree with something that former FAA Administrator and now current Aerospace Industries CEO Marion Blakey said a few months ago. Yes, agree … at …

If you’ve been a regular Jetwhine reader, you know we seldom cover breaking news. Today is an exception for a number of reasons. Just a few minutes after Cessna’s vice president of marketing Tom Aniello briefed his sales force with the just released…

Do you know this fellow? Scott Spangler and I recently met for the first time at a Starbucks in Oshkosh, land of each summer’s AirVenture . Although this was our first meeting in person, Scott and I have corresponded by letter, e-mail and phone call…

We’ve all been following a truly interesting flying story the past few days here at Jetwhine, simply because a 6,500 NM flight in a Cessna 400 – most of it out over the open waters of the Pacific – is hardly routine. Ferry pilot Garry Mitchell has b…

We’ve all been talking about the looming pilot shortage – as well as a shortage of aviation mechanics. Some airlines have already begun feeling the pinch as the requirements for future cockpit members have begun to plummet in a simple supply and dem…

Hello Jetwhine readers. Today we’re going to light up those little capillaries inside your cranium. You all think you’re so smart don’t you? Well, here’s your chance to prove how much you know about aviation, general aviation specifically today. Jay…

As you read this, the ugly weather should have departed California headed east and Garry Mitchell should be taking off for another day’s flying. Mitchell’s office is often a bit of a moving target, so this week he’ll spend most of his time on board …

For those readers who may not follow everything aviation all the time, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was taken to task a few months ago for suppressing huge amounts of safety data related to the aviation industry. The info…

First I can tell you that I don’t have any idea what the Sam Hill happened in London the other day when the crew of that British Airways Boeing 777 crashed their airplane on the end of the runway during landing. There are plenty of rumors flying abo…

Another editor for a world-famous aviation magazine told me not long ago that he actually read my Jetwhine piece about the classic airline menus from a few decades back. Actually I think they harkened back to another lifetime in this industry. Besid…

To most people, the word deal implies something too good to miss … think, “Let’s Make a Deal,” or “No Big Deal.” But in aviation, and air traffic control specifically, a deal is an ugly gremlin of a phrase that implies a problem – a big problem – to…

I remember early on in the computer revolution when laptops first moved to the forefront of mobile computing. They were much heavier than today’s models, but they certainly made connecting on the road a valuable option for many of us road warriors.…

A Piper Navajo Chieftain crashed just after takeoff Saturday into the icy waters off Kodiak Island Airport about 250 miles southwest of Anchorage. Initial reports indicate the left nose baggage door on the aircraft opened up right after liftoff. Six…

I was having a luncheon chat a few weeks ago with a lady pilot from Wichita when she mentioned she owned a Cessna 170 – that’s an airplane with the extra wheel on the wrong end of the airplane to some. When I realized she was a serious taildragger p…

You have to love the fact that the GOP supports business, even if it is mostly the Fortune 100s. The Minneapolis Star Tribune today reported that the Grand Old Party announced Northwest Airlines as their choice to be the official airline for this s…

As Friday’s Jetwhine posts proves yet again, I simply love to tweak the nose of practically every airline in the U.S. They just give us so bloggers so much ammunition. I can’t seem to help myself. It’s always been tough to say anything ugly about S…

Sunday, December 23, 2007 The Night Before Christmas ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp, Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ. The aircraft were fastened to tiedowns with care, In hopes that come morning, they all woul…

While Kate Hanni’s name may not ring a bell in everyone’s head immediately, it certainly should for anyone who flies aboard a commercial airliner this holiday travel season … or any other time of the year actually. Hanni was recently named one of t…

One of the huge benefits to being listed on Jetwhine’s blogroll is the personal attention we try to bring each and every member. Here’s a case in point. Today is the 85th birthday of retired US Airways Captain Brian Power-Waters. He told me yester…

It was snowing the other night when I arrived back at Chicago Midway from Washington DC on AirTran. The cabin was about as noisy as you might expect for a 9 PM arrival, people talking, a few reading lights blazing through the darkness. I knew somet…

Nice lunch those AIA folks throw every year, great food and good company from all around the industry. This year there was simply no way to avoid the sheer giddiness about the sales numbers. Incoming CEO and former FAA Administrator Marion Blakey –…