For those of us who fly, the appeal of being airborne energizes us and primes the pump that pushes us through ground school, flight training, and testing. Should you make a career out of what most people think of as a rich man’s hobby, that education and testing never stops. My interest in aviation started […]
Peeling back the layers of an aeronautical onion
Last week one of my kids jumped on a transport category aircraft and flew more than a thousand miles north, to New York City. She ate dinner in central Florida, but found herself on the island of Manhattan before midnight. While she was en route, I monitored her flight using an app on my phone. […]
Rewiring the machinery
As a species, human beings are dissatisfied with the status quo. Thank goodness. Virtually all the great developments in technology, the massive leaps in scientific achievement, have come about because someone was fed up with their perceived limitations. They rebelled. They overcame. Often in the face of real physical and financial peril, they improved the […]
Big iron, spam cans, and pilots in command
At the very top of the pilot pyramid is the Airline Transport Pilot certificate. It takes time to earn that ticket. A lot of time, a lot of effort, a deep understanding of the nuances of flight, and the ability to truly take command of an aircraft large enough to require a crew to keep […]
Fit for flight
As I write this column I am just a bit uncomfortable. I have a strip of flexible blue tape wrapped around my left elbow, holding a small gauze pad in place, which in turn covers a hole in my skin where blood was drained out, about an hour ago. I go through this three times […]
The problem with procrastination
Although it’s not a normal component of my nature, I spent the bulk of last week procrastinating on an industrial scale. I did almost nothing — nothing productive at least. I ate, as I tend to do. I visited a bar or two and sampled the local wares. I ate again. And I’ll say it here […]
How to haggle for the holidays, and beyond
At the coffee shop this morning my friend John raised a few eyebrows with this comment: “I don’t know of a single high school or college that offers a course in negotiation.” John’s a very successful businessman who knows a thing or two about negotiation. His concern is well placed. Let that hang there for […]
I quit
Here’s an unsettling statistic. Of the thousands upon thousands of prospective pilots who begin flight training each year, approximately 80% give up before reaching their goal. Yep, eight in 10 flight students throw in the towel, give up on their dream, and settle for living something less than the life they’d dreamed. Now imagine that you run […]
The torch will be passed…Who will pick it up?
Tom Davis is a force of nature. If you are fortunate enough to ever wander through the doors of the FBO at Crystal River Airport-Tom Davis Field (yes, the airport is named for the man who runs it), you’ll see a bright, clean, well appointed facility that’s festooned with model airplanes. They are everywhere. Plastic […]