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Published: 16 January 2021

  Greetings, As I sit on the cusp of the new year and look forward to not repeating many of the things 2020 brought us, I see some dismal warnings surrounding the aviation industry. Throughout history, fear and compassion have sold papers, and they now get hits or clicks online. Once you get past the dreadful headlines and look into the data, I see a much brighter road

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Published: 15 January 2021

  I hope all of you have safely survived the Christmas and New Year celebrations and have settled down into the new year’s routine. This new year, 2021, has to be better than 2020 was. With several vaccines now coming into play, I hope we will soon be able to get rid of the masks and settle back into something similar to our old normal routine. At least, here’s hoping we

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Published: 16 December 2020

  Greetings, As I sit here recovering from a turkey coma, I’ll reflect on what a remarkably different year we've had. Politics, health, politics in health.... it’s all been thrown at us in one year. Not all has been bad, but it certainly hasn't all been good. I'm simply thankful for the opportunity to enjoy aviation and to share it with those I love. Circumstances

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Published: 15 December 2020

  December is here, and it started out a bit warm, but has finally settled into the normal cool days and evenings, fortunately. Just the right formula for enjoying some pleasant flying conditions. I wish I could take advantage of it. I’m still waiting for my engine to come back from its overhaul, which should be anytime now. I’m eager to get it broken in and going flying

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Published: 16 November 2020

  Greetings, It appears that summer has finally lost its grip on Arizona. Snow has fallen up north and down south, closed toed shoes and sleeves are needed in Phoenix, and the sound of reciprocating engines overhead is back! It's a glorious time to be a pilot in Arizona. Now if we could get some rainfall in the Valley, we'd be talking! The extremely dry weather

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Published: 15 November 2020

  I can’t believe it; suddenly, we went from the hot summer weather straight into winter. I made my last flight in the hot summer temps and started pulling the engine out of my airplane to have it top overhauled and have numerous upgrades incorporated. When I get it back in a few weeks I should have some cool mornings to break it in again. At least I’m sure counting on

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Published: 16 October 2020

  Greetings, This year has flown by faster than most, pun intended. March seemed like it was about 18 years ago, but at the same time seems like yesterday. While this year’s aviation gatherings were definitely not what event planners, organizers, vendors, and attendees had in mind, this year gave rise to grassroots events. Though not nearly as grandiose as Sun ‘n’ Fun

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Published: 15 October 2020

  On the last few flights, I haven’t seen many bugs on the airplane. In fact, last week’s flight didn’t produce a single bug on the windshield, it’s amazing. Apparently, fall must be trying to arrive because when the early morning flights end, it’s still comfortable out, and except for the wind the other weekend, flying has been smooth and very comfortable. I

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Published: 16 September 2020

  Greetings fellow pilots, Monsoon Season! Fire Season! Monsoon Season! Fire Season! It’s a classic argument, or so it seems. Monsoons dictate that we need to fly earlier in the day. Fires dictate where we can, or more accurately, can’t fly. Let’s focus on fire season first. This is a banner year for some abnormally large fires. Many of these fires are near the busiest

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Published: 15 September 2020

  Talk about a long, hot summer… this has really been one to remember. Fortunately, with the coming of September, perhaps we will start to see the temperatures begin to come down. I don’t particularly care to have to get up well before dawn to go flying so it can be halfway tolerable. The type of flying I now do has undergone some rather significant changes. Because of