Blog Posts

Listen to the Podcast  Welcome to another episode of Stories about Flying I’m Rob Mark Air Traffic Control 45-Years After the PATCO Strike Giving credit where it’s due, Sean Duffy’s leadership of the Department of Transportation, over the past…

Last year we updated the look of the Jetwhine page with some dandy new graphics. This fall, Jetwhine the blog - if anyone even remembers the term blog - will be 20 years old. It's almost of legal drinking age. Seriously though, next in line is s…

(Click to listen to audio) My wife Nancy and I are.  We had a chance last month to listen to Eileen Collins, a retired Air Force colonel and a NASA space shuttle commander, answer questions after the Chicago premier of her new documentary film, …

There’s More to Flight Instructing Than Simply Logging Hours No individual can enhance aviation safety as much as a flight instructor. Here’s why I’ve held my flight instructor certificate for more than 50 years. After earning my private pi…

Before 2009, pilots who wanted a career as an airline pilot could easily be hired with as little as 300 hours total time in their logbooks. That all changed after the crash of a Continental Express Bombardier Q400 turboprop with the loss of all…

I wonder if you remember what you were doing back in November 2006? Here’s a quick refresher of some of the top stories. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were getting hitched. The first hearings were taking place on The Hill to find a replacement for Se…

The 2026 Singapore Airshow About this time of the year, journalists from around the globe pack a couple of bags and head for Singapore to attend the annual international air show. I’ve actually never made it to Singapore and I won’t this year. But I…

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Raytheon-Hawker-850XPi/1976827/L If you follow business aviation stories, you’ve probably read about the loss of two Hawker jets – an 800XP and a 900XP – in the past two years. Both accidents evolved from similar circu…

When we record episodes of the Airplane Geeks the format is usually the same. We introduce our guest, when we have one, and then run through the four or five major aviation stories of the past week. Max and Micah and David and I offer up our opinio…

Listen to this show Between a Rock and a Hard Spot: Demands on air traffic controllers I’ve lost track of how many government shutdowns I’ve experienced during my life. Some under Democrat presidents, others under Republicans. During a shutdown, a s…

An airport’s airside, where multi-million dollar aircraft park, is an unpredictable and potentially hazardous workspace for employees with a variety of jobs, regardless of the weather conditions.  Approximately 27,000 ramp accidents occur each year,…

Wait a second. “You want me to analyze the crash landings in a half dozen movies? And then tell you if they’re realistic?” I asked the Vanity Fair producer. Her response was quick. “Yes.”  I’ve had a few whacky assignments over the…

My memory of September 11, 2001, is, at best, a blur except for the images. The scenes, however, are indelibly etched in my mind. It was a sunny morning with temperatures in the low 70s and not a cloud in the sky. A perfect day, I thought. I’d just …

The Airplane Geeks are off this week for the Labor Day holiday here in the States, but we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled show of news and zaniness next week. At least, I hope we will. But since Max Flite asked us all to try and produce a shor…

NTSB Hearing Room It’s understandable that even the geekiest of airplane geeks didn’t have enough time in their week to listen to the more than 30 hours of testimony created when the NTSB began its recent public investigation of the events surroundi…

Pilots get rusty when they don’t fly often. No matter whether they hold a private pilot certificate or an ATP. Even a professional pilot with thousands of hours in their logbook can easily find themselves behind the power curve in an airplane. Stayi…

NTSB News Talk logo A few months ago, my buddy Max Trescott and I realized we were speaking to each other three or four times a week about recent aircraft accidents. We’ve both been flying for more than 50 years and have both hold multiple CFI ratin…

A single never-changing question follows every aircraft accident … “What happened?” Most expected the recently published preliminary report by India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of last month’s Air India 787 8…

Although this date is a bit-ah, well, dated – I remember the pre-flight walk around like it was yesterday.  She had the clean, sleek lines of a speed demon. It was to be love at first flight. _____________________________ When it comes to buying an …

by Cappy McHat My first memory was being taken out of a big box with a lot of my friends after we had all been stitched with McFarlane emblems on our fronts. I learned as the days went on that McFarlane is a famous provider of almost anything gre…

Case Studies in Aviation Leadership Visibility By Paula Williams In aviation, where trust, precision, and safety are the currencies of credibility, the visibility of a company’s leadership is more than just a PR play — it’s a brand asset. Or it coul…

“The performance of the system depends on how the parts fit, not how they act taken separately.” Doctor Russell Ackoff – American organizational theorist, consultant, a pioneer in the field of operations research, systems thinking and management sci…

Why Business Aviation Needs Better Storytelling By Paula Williams, ABCI “Those who tell the stories rule the world.”  – Native American proverb. In February 2025, Senator Edward Markey reintroduced his “Fat Cat” tax bill—officially known as the F…

I enjoyed Pam Leblanc’s story when I read it in another magazine. I asked, and she graciously allowed us to reprint it here. Enjoy – RM ______________________________ By Pam LeBlanc They had to cinch up the waistbands of their oversized, hand-me-dow…