Page 23 - Volume 18 Number 6

flying in and out of the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds and beyond, with much of the information and knowledge we possess at their fingertips, or, more likely, a neural interface. The weapons of choice of course: particle guns and energy weapons.
Other than reading about planes, people and places in the periodicals, I enjoy dreaming about these potential technologies that are perpetually just around the corner. While some technologies in our flying world have been slowed to a crawl by bureaucracy, legalese, regulation, economics and the inconvenient realities of physics, others are progressing at a most respectable pace – the collection and presentation of information most notably. Whether from the aircraft and its systems, weather, communication or navigation, we are supplied with more timely and accurate information than ever before. And to us, as PICs, that data and its timeliness has great value.
f (x)
While we would love to witness leaps in engine technology, see drag coefficients diminish to irrelevance, and the laws of inertia and gravity beaten into submission, our dreams have always outpaced our reality. If this were not so, why bother to dream? Today, however, the time between having the dream and seeing the reality is often compressed to a single generation or less. If this concept- to-completion time was a math function, it would be an exciting formula indeed.
Isaac Asimov once said “from science fiction comes science fact.” Indeed it does. We owe much to science fiction dreamers who became engineers and inventors. We now use data from satellites orbiting the planet to navigate with an accuracy measured in feet. You can communicate, navigate, investigate and research any subject, presented
digitally, graphically, pictorially or verbally, to any person, computer or data storage device on earth – from your airplane. You can see real-time radar and weather reports for most of the world. The reliability of your powerplant, avionics and airframe are the highest they have ever been in history. And you can now fly your own airplane as fast as an airliner— and often higher. We first learned of these concepts and innovations on the pages of magazines, then followed them on those pages through failures, development and, finally, to implementation.
Your Time
Magazines get us excited and keep us informed, so as to make our aviation pursuits relevant, efficient and not..... trivial. Owning and flying an airplane can eat up a bushel of time and money, and this writer is just as caught in the web as anyone. But are we really entangled, or are we simply fortunate enough to chase, capture and live our dreams? In order to justify the expenditure of your most valuable asset, time, I humbly offer this magazine article: a reminder to read what you enjoy (including the advertisements), as often as you can. The stories, presented as a monthly compilation of the hopes and dreams of flight, drift within the currents of aviation fiction and folklore, to arrive serendipitously onto your consciousness as aviation fact. Can’t you just see Rod Serling (Twilight Zone) in his black-and- white suit, smoking a cigarette and reading that line? Don’t try to adjust your TV set.
Everyone has an opinion; oh-boy, do we pilots have opinions. As the P-51 article demonstrated, multiple sources of information are often necessary to get the details, dispel the mistruths and obtain a balanced perspective. I still hold on to an interest in the AirCam, often seen in other magazines; until some writer crushes it, that is. As with any genre, when multiple published
sources cover a subject, the truth is out there to be discovered. Whether we like it or not.
Page One
A handful of readers have told
me that their flying days were
at, or nearing, an end, yet they
continue to benefit from reading
the magazines. Like all of us, they
enjoy them because the articles
showcase new technologies, allow
them to live flying adventures
vicariously, and remember their own
escapades. Dragons live forever; but
not so little boys (or girls) though.
Chances are, your airplane will
out-live you and go on to share
the skies with another owner. No
amount of medication, meditation
or monetization will change that.
As George Bailey discovered at the
Bailey Building and Loan in Bedford
Falls, sometimes we don’t realize
what we have until it’s gone, like
our airplanes – and our magazines.
meet you there. T&T •
Now, go to page one and enjoy; I’ll
Kevin Dingman has been flying for 40 years. He’s an ATP typed in the B737 and DC9 with 20,000 hours. A retired Air Force Major, he flew the F-16 then performed as a USAF Civil Air Patrol Liaison Officer. He flies volunteer missions for the Christian organiza- tion Wings of Mercy, is employed by a major airline, and owns and oper- ates a Beechcraft Duke. Contact Kevin at.Dinger10d@gmail.com.
JUNE 2014 TWIN & TURBINE • 21