Photos by Clint Goff Among the King Air aircraft my company manages is a King Air 350 for which our pilots fly missions and our maintenance shop turns the wrenches. It’s a wonderful situation as we have complete control of the overall management of that airplane. If a negative situation develops, it’s either our fault…
Photos by Clint Goff The idea of being king for a day is entertaining in just about any facet of life. You know the concept, right? You say you want to be king for a day and then list the changes you’d make if you had complete control. I live in Texas and we Texans…
What is arguably the most abused, mismanaged, forgotten, diminished yet important part of your King Air? It’s not the potty knife, not the copilot control yoke and not the baggage compartment floor. All of those are important – and almost certainly shoved aside in importance – but they do not win such inglorious distinction as…
I once flew with a CFI who pointed to a switch in the cockpit and said, “That’s a ‘dusty switch.’” I pondered that comment and then had to ask, “What’s a dusty switch?” He told me that a dusty switch is “a switch that is hardly ever touched, or a switch that you should not…
Photos by Clint Goff Of the five senses that humans possess, which one is most important when flying? Which is the least important? I’d argue that taste is the least important, unless we are including the cookies at the Wilson FBO at the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (KCHA). That leaves sight, hearing, smell and touch. Sight…
Photos by Clint Goff I’ll never forget flying Saab 340s with American Eagle Airlines many years ago. I flew as a first officer and sweated more than the law should have allowed, not from unrelenting stressful situations but because the Saab 340B was not designed for hot weather. The aircraft is designed and built in…
Photos by Clint Goff Type “stupid pet tricks” in your search engine and you’ll be inundated with videos of obsessively cute animals doing some of the dumbest acts that humans have dreamt up. Fortunately, these stupid tricks are entertaining and safe. No one gets hurt, so we smile and go on with life. Doing “stupid”…
Embracing the new, seeking quality initial training and practicing are keys It has been fun for me to be reintroduced into the world of pistols. As a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army, my assigned weapon was the Beretta M9 (9mm) for my entire 26-year military career. I was reasonably good at shooting it on…
Nope, we are not talking about George Clooney and his band of runaway felons in the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” In that movie the felons wore striped clothing and were easy to recognize. They ran across fields in chains, somehow found their way to a microphone to sing some really great music on…
Photos by Clint Goff Every King Air pilot has been there. We are on a stable approach, the gear is down, the flaps are down, the power is set perfectly and the approach speed is dialed in with a perfect torque setting. We then look at the Caution/Advisory Panel and see the RVS NOT RDY…