Once in a while we all need some humor in our lives. Let’s have a laugh at ourselves and others in the aviation profession. Be careful not to view these at work, the laughter may be contagious.

Solar storms emit energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation that interfere with the Earth’s magnetic field. A once-a-century super solar storm is expected in 2012 and threatens to knock out major technological infrastructure, including electricity grids, radio communications and navigation satellites.

Steve Zerkowitz of BluSky Services Group explains the difference between aircraft and aeroplanes. It’s not about playing with words when writing, but getting it right in the context of which it is written and remove any room for ambiguity.

The danger of flying inside highly convective clouds is well documented, but flying outside and near these clouds poses another danger from unseen ice crystals.

In his autobiography, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger writes about US Air Flight 1549 landing in the Hudson River and what prepared him for that moment. According to Sully, his journey to the Hudson River on January 15th 2009 began decades ago in rural Texas where he first learned to fly at the age of sixteen.

One year following the start-up of Wayne Farley’s Aviation Blog, I pause to say thank you to the contributors, faithful followers and readers of my posts. In the course of the year, my posts were read more than 12,000 times with about half this number in the preceding two months. Here’s how it all went down:

Issuing an expected approach time and holding instruction to an IFR aircraft; then the automatic cancellation of the IFR flightplan. There must be some serious misconception that cancelling an IFR flightplan will magically result in no delay for landing. Let us examine the issue.

Here’s a collection of great aviation websites that are useful for aviation professionals, enthusiasts, and the flying public as well. From intriguing images to up-to-date aviation news, aircraft tracking to useful information, I repeadedly use these sites. These website are listed here in no particular order.

As Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano continues to erupt and cause havoc with air travel across Europe, it’s time to reminded of the danger it poses to aircraft operation. In short, volcanic ash is composed of very abrasive silica materials which can shut down engines among other things.

The Sport Flying revolution has just begun. In 2004, the FAA, working closely with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) created what has been called “The biggest change in aviation in 50 years.” They created an entirely new category of aircraft (Light Sport Aircraft) as well as a new category of pilot license (Sport Pilot), both aimed specifically at consumer recreational flying.