Aviation Career Spans Fifty Years
Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to talk with many American Flyers’ students, both current and former. Especially enjoyable has been the time spent with pilots who trained with or instructed for American Flyers before continuing on with a long flying career. I admit to spending far too much time luring these pilots to tell me their stories, and then excitedly recounting their experiences to everyone I know as though my own stature could be increased by repeating the adventures they themselves lived!

I’ve recently come across such a pilot. Larry Daniel spent most of his early years on the prairie lands of North Texas watching military airplanes pass over his house. At age seventeen, he joined the US Navy and earned his Private Pilot License while stationed at NAS Kingsville. After an honorable discharge from the military, he attended American Flyers School of Aeronautics where he obtained his Commercial, Multi-Engine, and Instruments Ratings. Over a span of five decades, he flew numerous different types of airplanes engaged in a wide variety of different types of flying that took him all over the world.

I don’t imagine when Larry took his first flight lesson he ever considered that he would spend half a century as a working pilot. He just knew that flying an airplane was what he had to do. While there is no limit to the various kinds of jobs that people “love to do”, flying is one of the very special ones. The freedom of escaping the restrictions of the ground combined with the satisfaction of maneuvering a machine through space fuel the common passion of aviators past, present, and future. Larry lived his passion and enjoys sharing his stories for whatever inspiration or entertainment they provide.

I will leave you with the following words Larry sent me describing a memorable moment I hope you will enjoy:

“I have an especially fond memory of one particular early morning flight in the airplane along the Texas Gulf Coast. It was an hour or so into the flight with the air still clear and smooth and visibility almost unlimited that I poured myself a cup of coffee from the thermos, then looked down to consult the WAC chart. I don’t know why I bothered, I knew the area intimately and besides it’s almost impossible to get lost if you keep the Gulf on your left going south and on your right going north. When I looked up again there was a white puffy cloud only a few hundred feet below me. It had not been there a minute before, in fact there had not been a cloud in the sky anywhere. As I watched in awe another just suddenly appeared, and then another, and another like popcorn popping in the morning sun. I was mesmerized by the event as the clouds continued to appear, like ghostly cotton sentinels stepping out from behind an invisible wall, until they covered the entire coastline for as far as I could see. Like all aviators I knew how clouds formed but I guess I had never thought about when they form.

been there a minute before, in fact there had not been a cloud in the sky anywhere. As I watched in awe another just suddenly appeared, and then another, and another like popcorn popping in the morning sun. I was mesmerized by the event as the clouds continued to appear, like ghostly cotton sentinels stepping out from behind an invisible wall, until they covered the entire coastline for as far as I could see. Like all aviators I knew how clouds formed but I guess I had never thought about when they form.

You can read more about Larry’s fifty years as a working pilot in his book They Gave Me Wings. Larry currently lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. When he is not writing or traveling, he likes to spend time on his sailboat.

Aviation Destinations
The New Year is here! What better way to kick-start your resolutions and expand your aviation knowledge than at one of our countries’ many aviation institutions and museums?

On a mission to “Celebrate, Educate, and Inspire,” the San Diego Air and Space Museum has been welcoming visitors and enthusiasts since 1980, now it’s your turn.

With its desire to educate the curious on the history of flight and to give a glimpse of what the future may hold, the museum is home to almost sixty aircraft from every era of flight reaching as far back as the Da Vinci Orinthopter and the Montgolfier balloon to the Apollo space capsules and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

At the Gillespie Field Annex is an extensive aircraft restoration facility, and over 20,000 square feet of exhibition space can be found in the Pavilion of Flight, which houses a PBY-5A Catalina and a Ford Tri-Motor.

Also offered are a variety of group and individual activities and educational programs as well as guided tours of the museum. For your visitor’s guide or to get reservation or ticket information, you can visit www.aerospacemuseum.org.

Did You Know…the shortest scheduled airline flight in the world is made between the islands of Westray and Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands of Scotland? The flight lasts just 2 minutes.

The larger island of Westray, has a population of around 700 people. With an area of eighteen square miles, it is the sixth largest of the Orkney Islands. While tourism is important to the island’s economy, Westray’s main industries are fishing, fish farming and cattle farming.

Seventy people live on the 3-1/2 square mile island of Papa Westray, also known as Papay. The island’s rich history dates back 6000 years. The oldest preserved house in northern Europe, the Knap of Howar Neolithic farmstead, was built around 3500 BC.

And Did You Also Know…
The first person selected as the Time Magazine Man of the Year – Charles Lindbergh, in 1927.

The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

Ask the Professor’s Desk
By Dr. Michael Bliss

Q: What do the regulations say regarding flying in possible icing conditions?

A: There are two regulations that come into play when contemplating flight in areas of possible icing conditions. FAR 91.9(a) prohibits the operation of an aircraft contrary to the aircraft's operating limitations. FAR 91.13 prohibits careless and reckless operation of an aircraft.

Unless an aircraft is properly equipped, it is not approved for flight into known icing conditions. The FAA complicates matters by not providing a clear definition of what known icing entails. In the past, known icing had been understood to mean flight in areas where PIREPS have reported actual encounters with structural icing. However, in a recent FAA legal opinion (not an FAR) known icing was defined, in part, as flying through a cloud when the temperature is near or below freezing.
This definition drastically broadens the definition of known icing. It remains to be seen if such a broad definition will actually be adopted. The current FAA policy seems to be silence if nothing goes wrong, but if trouble occurs, the pilot may be cited for careless and reckless operation of an aircraft by flying into known icing.

Where does that leave us when it comes to conducting such flights? There are no simple answers. Certainly forecasts for any kind of icing deserve our respect, but should not automatically cause the cancellation of a flight. Each case has to be evaluated and decisions reached on its own merits. Pilots must exercise good judgment and act prudently under such situations. This will be determined in part based on the pilot's experience and the aircraft being used.

It is important to learn everything possible about structural icing in general as well as the specifics of the weather conditions along the intended route of flight. Most importantly, flight into areas of possible icing should never be attempted unless there is a sure way of escape should conditions deteriorate. In addition, it is vitally important to keep updated on changing weather conditions en route and constantly be prepared to change your plans as the conditions warrant.

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