Flying

JIM BARRETT grew up in aviation in Orlando, Florida, mentored by his father to obtain his private pilot certificate and instrument rating at an early age, as well as sea and glider ratings. The family also owned a marina, and he parlayed his expertise in boating and aviation into a successful commercial photography business. Now based in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, and Orlando, he has supported efforts such as Challenge Air, bringing discovery flights to the differently abled. CLARE NICHOLAS is an illustrator based in the small town of Rugby, in the midlands of the U.K. She has been illustrating since 1988 when she graduated from the Royal College of Art in London with an MA in printmaking. Using digital software, she applies printed marks and textures to manipulated photographic material to create…

AS PILOTS, WE compartmentalize more than we know. We don’t know, that is, until we set off to cross an ocean. Inhospitable terrain lends an even firmer level of commitment than taking to the sky in the first place. As I look down at impossibly blue waters during our return flight from Hawai‘i on an Airbus A321neo, I think of my friend, Jim Barrett, who flew on the opposite track to ours, but in his 1962 Cessna 210, Elizabeth. Jim shot both the cover of this issue—the Daher TBM 960—and most of the images for the Bucket List feature on the Hawaiian Islands. All of that photo work took place over oceans, both the Atlantic near Pompano Beach, Florida, and the Pacific near Honolulu—but within gliding distance of land. Jim lives on O‘ahu now,…

What is the oldest active flying club in the country? While the Aero Club of Buffalo, New York, tracing its existence to 1879, might claim the distinction, it owned no flying machines but fostered interest in balloons, blimps, dirigibles, “sky cycles,” carrier pigeons, and gliders in its early days. This eventually included airplanes. Other organizations date from the early 1900s, such as the Aero Club of New England, and the Aero Club of America (later the National Aeronautic Association), of Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., respectively. Some members actually fly, but club activities are directed to fostering events, honoring significant aviators, and awarding scholarships. There are no “club airplanes.” If you define “flying club” as an organization that actually owns and operates aircraft for use by its members, the prize goes to the Reading…

PLANNING A LITTLE flying around Honolulu, Hawai‘i? Following along like the aviation dork I am on an airline flight, as you check out the approach plates the crew might be using; or just looking for a busy approach to test your knowledge? You might run across the LDA approach to Runway 26L at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (PHNL). It’s an approach plate with lots going on—but don’t forget to look ahead if you break out high enough, as you’ll be aimed at the historic grounds of Pearl Harbor, before you follow the flashing lights on in to Runway 26L. A LDA: AT AN ANGLE An LDA approach is a localizer-type directional aid that isn’t necessarily aligned with a specific runway. In this case, it’s designed to approach Runway 26L even though…

THE AVIATION INDUSTRY propels forward—driven by the lift created by innovation—that’s why FLYING honors the best in disruptive, creative effort each year as part of its awards program. We recognize outstanding contributions to GA, as well as those within the greater aerospace industry with our Editors’ Choice Awards. This year, for the first time, our readers had the chance to weigh in as well—and they gave the nod to a milestone flight in space—on another planet—for our inaugural Readers’ Choice Award for 2022. FLYING’S INNOVATION AWARD National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) For the association’s ability to guide a broad range of constituents to deliver and use a game-changing way to power our aircraft, we present this year’s Innovation Award to NBAA in acknowledgment of its efforts to lead the industry both vocally and…

IT WAS THE FIRST thing that ran through my mind: “Talk to me, Goose.” But this wasn’t the Hollywood thriller I grew up with—Top Gun—this was a real-life tragedy. I’d just lost my father, and now I had an in-flight emergency involving oil fumes in the cockpit and a vibrating engine. As we taxied out that morning, the tears started down my cheek. With a shaky voice, I asked for—and read back—my clearance. By the time the Piper Arrow reached rotation speed and lifted off the runway, my sobbing convulsions broke squelch and the tears in my eyes made it difficult for me to see. This was my departure from Leesburg International Airport (KLEE) in Florida after spending the last week of my father’s life by his side in the hospital…