The Buzz Posts

I was reading a flyer that the editors at Professional Pilot magazine sent out recently asking reader opinions about the qualities needed to succeed as a professional pilot.  Now the battle begins … stick and rudder skills, versus more practical wea…

Was it Karma that Bob Richards called me yesterday right after I happen to catch a rerun of John Cusack’s excellent portrayal of an air traffic controller in “Pushing Tin?” Maybe. He called to see if I’d read his new book, which I had to admit I had…

America’s first reusable spacecraft is almost 30 years old and it is time to put these tired old machines where they belong … in a museum. Despite my love of that bright golden plume of fire behind every orbiter at takeoff, and a thundering rumble …

Now that American Airlines announced they’ll be testing an on-board Wi-Fi Internet service with AirCell beginning next year, can on-board cell phone usage be far behind? Imagine the fun as we all get to listen in on one more person who thinks they n…

The lesson Northwest Airlines management seems to have just re-learned is that no carrier can staff enough pilots to cope with flight-canceling job actions when cockpit crews think they’ve been wronged. Crew shortages at Northwest have forced hundre…

In a recent speech before a large group of teachers from around the nation, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey was waxing poetic about the importance of building solid educational foundations for our kids, a topic I actually she and I happen to agree. …

At the Paris Airshow and it’s counterpart in Farnborough England, the emphasis is clear … which company can announce more commercial airplane deals than another. That’s not bad by any means. But all aviation experiences are not created equal. At the…

When John Carr told me he had 3,000 election votes – more than anyone else – I thought he was kidding. He was referring to the poll run by AvWeb asking for replacement recommendations for outgoing FAA administrator Marion Blakey (and yes, Blakey has…

In advance of this week’s final report from the Brazilian House of Representatives about last year’s midair over the Amazon rainforest, Brazilian Representative, Marco Maia, author of the commission report, let it slip that the collision occurred be…

I was reading a superb story in Sunday’s Chicago Tribune by Jon Hilkevitch about the chaotic state of the airline industry from the passenger perspective. You can’t possibly read it and not come away feeling a sense of hopeless, helplessness on the …

Jethwhine’s man in Brazil, Marcelo Alves, said today´s edition of Folha de S. Paulo reported an important leak from the Brazilian Air Force investigation into last fall’s midair between a Gol Airlines Boeing 737 and a U.S. registered Embraer Legacy…

Oh what fun it is thinking of more interesting ways to get these brand new books out into the world. But this time, a free copy of a Professional Pilot Career Guide will be headed to the first person who guesses the name of the airport where this ne…

As an author, I pay pretty close attention to discussions about copyright and royalties. And aviation industry folks should be very afraid too since the Feds at the U.S. Copyright Office’s Copyright Royalty Board are trying to sink Internet Radio br…

A few months back, I mentioned that things were about to turn ugly for the summer travel season. Scott McCartney at the Wall Street Journal seems to agree. Now you all know how much delight I take at poking fun at Chicago’s hometown airline United w…

I was in Paris this year to attend the awards dinner for Aerospace Journalist of the Year in the Business Aviation category. Although I was not the ultimate winner in the category – that honor went to Fred George of Business and Commercial Aviation …

A week sure flies when you’re having fun. I just returned from the Paris Airshow where among other things, I had an opportunity to fly Dassault’s new Falcon 7X. More on that later. If you’ve never been to Paris, you might be thinking the Paris Airsh…

Most of the time I find myself constantly juggling a series of stories trying to decide which is the most important to write about here on Jetwhine.com. Today though, the decision was easy. About 10 this morning the DHL folks dropped off a box fill…

It really pains me to say something good about United Airlines when I look back at the history of lousy service I’ve had from them over the years, from canceled flights, to unexplained delays for mechanicals.  Probably too, it’s the indifference at …

When Joe LePore and Jan Paladino — the two U.S. Legacy pilots, where released from house arrest in Brazil late last year, everyone wondered if they’d ever be called back to testify. And let’s face it, we’ve all wondered what we’d do if we were in …

In all the years I’ve been regularly flying airplanes above 10,000 feet, I’ve never experienced high-altitude/hypoxia training beyond reading the section of the Flight Training Handbook and hearing a few lectures about the dangers of what might happ…

What a difference a letter makes. In yet another dose of infinite wisdom, the FAA recently transformed millions of dollars worth of avionics into window boxes when it released the updated “A” version of AC 90-100.  The Advisory Circular that outlin…

I am shocked – shocked mind you – that some unscrupulous reader had the audacity to send in this photo with a note about the administration. “Dear Jetwhine: In yet another example of the ineptitude of the government people who manage our aviation …

I remember sitting in the tower one morning at Milwaukee Mitchell Field probably 25 years ago looking at a pair of Falcon 20s sitting together on the ramp. At one point I watched a truck drive up and start loading box after box on board. “Whose Falc…

All this time I thought it was my problem for not understanding the ins and outs of the airline world that have wreaked such havoc on aviation. I never seemed to stop shaking my head every time I read the next chapter from the Northwest or Delta or …