Golf Hotel Whiskey

Golf Hotel Whiskey: for pilots and aviation enthusiasts

Videos

Argentinean pilot videos: Showing bravery or plain stupidity?

David Cenciotti recently posted some videos on his blog in Italy of a crazy flyover by an Argentine Air Force IA-63 Pampa pilot. In the videos, it looked as though the pilot flew his jet just one meter above the ground in front of a group of guys watching and filming the maneuver.

Commenting about the videos, David  himself wrote that the stunt was a sign of poor airmanship in the wake of the leader of the Blue Angels stepping down after a near crash but his views have sparked a debate on his site – often pitting Argentine aviators and readers who feel their pilots are behaving bravely against readers from other countries who feel as David does and that such stunts are a sign of poor airmanship.

David has since written another post where he noted that he has been receiving plenty of links to other videos showing impromptu air shows or stunts – most of them involving Argentinian pilots. One video also showed a 2001 accident involving a T-34 Mentor at the Escuela de Aviación Militar de la Fuerza Aérea Argentina of Cordoba where the formation leader misjudged the position of the left wingman – who ended up hitting the control tower and crashing.

Hence, we want to ask you our readers what you think about these pilots performing these types of stunts or maneuvers: Are they being brave or is this just plain stupid behavior on the part of macho pilots?

If you could do flight training all over again, what would you do different?

Jason Schappert of the MzeroA blog has created a great video where he talked about some of the things he would have done differently if he were to do flight training all over again. Specifically, Jason pointed out that he would have:

  1. Gotten the FAA medical first. He also added that if you are under 40, its now good for 5 years.
  2. Enrolled in some type of ground school so that he would not have wasted both his money and his time (as well as the time of his instructor).
  3. Shopped around for a flight school and a flight instructor rather than sign up at the first flight school he visited.

Hence, we want to ask you our readers, especially any pilots based in the UK or Europe: What would you do differently if you could do flight training all over again?

ATC to pilots: “Please only listen to women!”

Hat tip to Sylvia, the blogger behind the Fear of Landing blog, who recently mentioned a bizarre incident in Turkey where a man started to give random vectors to pilots flying into Istanbul. ATC (consisting of two female controllers) valiantly tried to sort out the mess by giving advice that any wife of a male pilot would love to hear: “Do not listen to any man!” and “Please only listen to women!”


fake atc by iststatus

Learning to fly video series

If you have been thinking of getting a pilot’s license but you don’t know where to begin, FlightSchoolList.com has posted the short Learning to Fly video series from Sporty’s. In the series, the importance of picking the right flying instructor was emphasized as your flight instructor will shape and impact your flying long after your training ends. In addition, it was pointed out that there really is no such thing as failure in flight training as you simply train until you are able to master a particular skill and then move on.

The entire short video series is well worth watching if you do not know where to begin with learning how to fly.

Learning to Fly: Why Learn to Fly

Learning to Fly: How Do You Learn to Fly

Learning to Fly: Your First Flight

Learning to Fly: Choosing a Flight School

Airbus’s proposed plane of 2050: A see-through airliner

Airbus has unveiled a proposed see-through airliner complete with a holographic game course for passengers. Specifically, Airbus’s cabin of the future design will include an "intelligent" wall membrane that will become transparent at the wave of a hand as well as change according to outside light conditions.

In addition, the aircraft’s structure will mimic the bone structure of birds while new seats will be sensitive to the body shape of passengers and their specific needs. In fact, the seats themselves will offer massages, drinks as well as even a sea breeze or the aroma of a forest.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has posted this video showing the proposed Airbus aircraft:

At the end of the day though, the real question will be whether or not airliners will buy a see through Airbus airliner with a holographic golf course and just how much such a proposed design will end up costing them to purchase and to fly. Nevertheless, Airbus’s proposed see-through design could definitely work for a much smaller business jet designed to be a billionaire’s toy!

Crazy flyover by an Argentine Air Force IA-63 Pampa pilot video

Hat tip to David Cenciotti’s and his blog in Italy his for pointing out a short Gizmodo article that included two videos of a crazy flyover by an Argentine Air Force IA-63 Pampa pilot. In the videos, it looks like he flew his jet just one meter above the ground in front of a group of guys watching and filming the maneuver.

Certainly no one can argue with the skills of this particular pilot but nevertheless, this was a particularly dangerous stunt where something could have easily gone wrong. David Cenciotti himself wrote that the stunt was a sign of poor airmanship in the wake of the leader of the Blue Angels stepping down after a near crash.

Hence, any information that could identify the pilot was blacked out in the second video which was taken from the aircraft cockpit itself. No word on whether any disciplinary action was taken by the Argentine Air Force against the pilot for performing this stunt.