“November seven three zero Juliet Alpha, will you need a runup at the end?” I was ready for the question from Love ground control (KDAL) but anxious about the flight. It wasn’t the weather. But after 14 years of exclusively flying jets, this would be my first solo flight in a King Air. “Negative, zero Read More
Who can forget Dickens’ primer from “The Tale of Two Cities” (modified here for relevance), or the iconic line from the 1985 blockbuster film “Back To The Future”? Christopher Lloyd, as Dr. Emmet Brown, delivers the classic 1.21 gigawatts line and its follow-on: “How could I have been so careless? 1.21 gigawatts; Tom, how am Read More
A seemingly simple Lear 31 trip turned into a journey fraught with frustration, inconveniences and unexpected risks. We were to pick up two of our regular passengers, one of them a teenager, the other his mother in her 40s. They were going to Palm Desert for three to four days to get some sun and Read More
If you’re anything like me, you’re probably shocked by the price of an aircraft paint job these days. Just 10 years ago, I remember getting paint quotes from a reputable shop on a mid-size jet for around $60,000 to $70,000. Those days are long gone, unfortunately. This got me wondering, “Why is painting an aircraft Read More
I recently added an FAA Part 135 Citation 525-series Captain position with Jet Methods (based at Palomar, California) to my aviation experiences. The process required an interesting combination of ground, online and flight training. Each charter certificate holder has a set of FAA-approved operating specifications known as “OpSpecs.” They detail everything from dispatching the airplane, maintenance, Read More