Recent Posts
Flight and Trip Reports
Aircraft Operation, Troubleshooting, and Repair
Engineering Questions You Never Thought To Ask
Flight Training
Navigation Methods
Engineering Poetry
Personal Stuff
Using Home Flight Simulators for Flight Training and Proficiency -- First of all, the FAA will not allow you to log simulator time flown on your home computer flight simulator. However, you can still learn stuff and build skills. Stormy tells us about his experiences using Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane, including using Virtual Reality goggles. (February 2026)
Battery? What Battery? My Indoctrination as an Experimental Avionics Hardware Technician -- It turns out that my Garmin GNS 480 had a battery in it, even though none of the pilot-facing documentation mentioned that. Since this unit is no longer supported by Garmin, when that battery died, my avionics technician encouraged me to try replacing it myself. (February 2026)
Mr. Bearhawks' Wild Ride -- my article as published in KITPLANES about a harrowing encounter with extreme turbulence (September 2020)
A Bearhawk Time Machine -- Using the Bearhawk to take me back in time by flying over a remote test site that my Dad told me about multiple times as a place where he had been a Flight Test Engineer (FTE) six years before I was born. It was a weird yet wonderful way to connect with a part of my Dad's past, even after he was no longer with us. (April 2022)
Flying a Piece of History -- C-53D Skytrooper -- a report on my chance to fly a militarized DC-3 that was a bona fide World War II D-Day veteran. I also totally geek out over the extremely early technology of retractable landing gear. (May 2022)
Fulfilling a Childhood Dream -- Operating a GM EMD E-8A Locomotive -- Besides being a long time airplane geek, I'm also a long time train geek. I stumbled across a program at the Southern Califonia Railway Museum where you could "rent" a locomotive and instructor for an hour for about $350. I couldn't pass up this chance to operate a 340,300 pound horizontal yo-yo. (July 2022)
Flight Test of a Replica Lilienthal Glider -- Link to a wonderful YouTube video program about constructing and testing a replica Lilienthal glider, with buildup through wind tunnel to flight test. Also a link to see Lilienthal's glider test hill. (March 2023)
Bearhawk 20 Minute Flight Test -- Report from a "20 Minute Flight Test" done for a University of Missouri Kansas City professor visiting TPS. (March 2023)
Bearhawk In-Flight Flap Measurement -- The Bearhawk uses a Piper style cable system to deploy the flaps. Because of cable stretch, the flaps don't actually deflect as much in flight as on the ground. This test quantifies the difference. (August 2023)
Oshkosh 2023 Flight Notes -- Notes to myself to remember what happened on the flights to and from Oshkosh. Also recommendations to myself on how to plan differently the next time. (August 2023)
Oshkosh 2023 Photo Essay -- Photos and captions that tell part of the story of attending AirVenture 2023. Includes my favorite feature - "Weird Things You See at Oshkosh". (August 2023)
Ford Trimotor Pax Qual -- I step into a time warp back to 1928 to experience early airline flight. There's no TSA to deal with, but the noise level is just as bad! (August 2023)
Qualitative Evaluation of a Gyroplane -- Ever wonder what it would be like to fly a Gyroplane? No better way to find out than getting an introductory flight. Until you do that, read about Karl's and my experience at Adventure Air in Chino CA. Highly recommended! (October 2023)
Notes on being a Tow Pilot -- Notes for those interested in learning to tow gliders based on my limited experience with a focus on operations at Mountain Valley Gliderport (L94) (December 2023)
Evektor Harmony Flight Report -- Kanard hatches and executes a plan to fly a new type of airplane and justifies it as a way to satisfy his Flight Review requirement. In the process he turns the tables on a young Flight Instructor by briefing him on the plan for the day. (July 2024)
What Was It Like To Fly Cargo Gliders? Modern Sailplanes vs Waco CG-4A -- A forensic Pilot Report all about what it was like to fly the Waco CG-4A cargo glider, using every source we could find, short of actually flying it ourselves (September 2024)
Flying to Santa Catalina Island -- A discussion of techniques and considerations for flying over miles and miles of open ocean to the Airport in the Sky (KAVX) on Santa Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles. Includes instructions on working with ATC, how to cross KLAX airport through Class B airspace, required altitude variations, and KAVX's disappearing runway. Don't miss the exciting discussion of Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs) and why the requirements are different in aircraft from what you learned in your Boy Scout canoe. Also includes opportunities to be charged by an annoyed bison weighing at least 9 times your body weight. Why is the bison annoyed? Because you had the Buffalo Burger at the Airport In The Sky Restaurant. (September 2025)
Survival Rations Taste Test -- In 1981 I was a survival instructor for the Air Force SERE program as a cadet at the USAF Academy. I've been carrying survival rations and water flex packs in my Bearhawk survival kit for years, and some of them were expiring. I bought replacements, and used the expiring supplies to finally find out what I was in for if I ever needed to consume them "in anger". (June 2022)
Bearhawk Auxiliary Flap Handle -- Planting your face into the instrument panel is a less than desirable way to operate any primary control on an aircraft. After years of noodling I finally came up with a way to adress some of the undesirable features of operating the flaps. As a bonus, I finally got to use that T-38 parachute D-ring I had been carrying around since my days as a survival instructor 40 years previous. (October 2022)
Dealing with Unclean Power (Voltage Spikes) -- A hardware and software solution to debounce an input to stop the rain of simulated bombs all over the Antelope Valley. (March 2023)
Over-Voltage Ignition Woes -- Gary Aldrich told me his tale of woe trying to troubleshoot why his Skywagon engine would randomly quit in flight for a few seconds. I asked his permission to publish it to the Trailing Edge audience in hopes that it would help someone else who might run into a similar issue. (January 2023)
Why You May Want to Use Supplemental Oxygen at Lower Altitudes Than Required -- A discussion of Altitude Induced Fatigue, or how using supplemental oxygen at altitudes below the FAA mandated altitudes may help you arrive not feeling so tired. Also discusses pulse oximeters, portable oxygen systems, setting up your own oxygen filling station, and why Aviators Breathing Oxygen, Medical Oxygen, and Welder's Oxygen are really all the same stuff with different labels. (April 2023)
Bearhawk Starter Replacement -- During a condition inspection, bumping the Skytec 122-NL starter showed parts moving that shouldn't. Sky-Tec replaced this starter under warranty even though the starter was well out of warranty because the problem had been identified as an engineering weakness five years earlier. (April 2023)
A Weird FCF and Some Recreational Maths -- A post-condition inspection Functional Check Flight with a large number of unexpected events. Managing changes to the plan and breaking the safety chain. (May 2023)
A Near Tale of Woe, or "The Fracture Mechanic Strikes Again!" -- An observant pilot breaks the safety chain and stops a propeller from parting company with its engine and airplane. (June 2023)
EAA SportAir Sheet Metal Workshop -- A guest blog from Glenn Nicholson who attended a workshop at Flabob International Airport and came away confident that he had the ability to build his dream RV-8A. (November 2023)
I Have an Electromagnetic Interference Problem -- Please Schedule the BAF -- So you plug your computer in to charge and the VHF radio becomes unusable? How does that happen? (June 2024)
Being Advanced Isn't Always A Good Thing -- Diagnosing the recent overheating problem in the Bearhawk required calling in outside help and questioning my own assumptions. "It ain't what you don't know that gets you in trouble. It's what you know that ain't so." (December 2024)
Crankshaft Oil Seal -- A discussion of how crankshaft bearings are lubricated and how that oil is kept inside the engine. This article was inspired by the third time I had to install a crankshaft oil seal on the Lycoming O-540 in the Bearhawk. It requires using a funny tool to stretch the seal around the propeller flange. Another leftover article intended for but written too late for the EAA Chapter 1000 newsletter. (February 2025)
Techniques for Working with Acrylic It's easy to learn how to work with wood, steel, or aluminum, but how do you learn to work with plastics such as Plexiglas? This should get you started, with information on things like how to cut it, how to heat form over a mold, and how to make it transparent again after you've worked with it. (April 2025)
Building an Acrylic Display Box How I built the display boxes to cover my models. (April 2025)
Bearhawk Ground Handling and Published Buffoonery Description of the Lead Rope that I use for moving my Bearhawk around on the ground, the story of how an interruption to my routine resulted in flying with the lead rope on the outside of the aircraft, and how this buffoonery was documented in a major aerospace industry publication. (May 2025)
Bearhawk "Three Sigma" Paint Scheme Design and Naming The story of how I came up with the paint scheme on my Bearhawk "Three Sigma" and along the way, the airplane accumulated several names. (June 2025)
Bearhawk Alternator Field Replacement We were on our way to AirVenture 2009 when the Bearhawk alternator that had about 40 hours of operation suffered a structural failure at KRAP. This is the story of how we got the injured airplane to KOSH and replaced the alternator with a much better one on the display line. (June 2025)
Weapon Systems for Your Homebuilt -- With a four-year history of testing aircraft weapons and building my own homebuilt airplane, weird things come about when my brain starts running without my permission. See how I keep our local airspace and land mass safe for democracy as well as Walter Mitty ever could. (October 2025)
Battery? What Battery? My Indoctrination as an Experimental Avionics Hardware Technician -- It turns out that my Garmin GNS 480 had a battery in it, even though none of the pilot-facing documentation mentioned that. Since this unit is no longer supported by Garmin, when that battery died, my avionics technician encouraged me to try replacing it myself. (February 2026)
USAF Thunderbirds Smoke Oil -- During an opportunity to observe a practice session of the USAF Thunderbirds (briefing, flight, debriefing) I noticed that they use a lot of smoke oil. A lot, like 330 gallons per show... (February 2023)
Measuring the Aerotow Box -- Budding glider pilots learn to fly a maneuver called "Boxing the Wash" or "Boxing the Wake". Having done this maneuver hundreds of times, I always wondered just how big it was. I finally figured out a way to measure it. Spoiler: It's smaller than it looks. (March 2023)
Why Thunderstorms Form in the Summer and Why You Have to Drain Your Air Compressor -- You may know that humidity is affected by temperature, but did you realize that pressure can be used to remove water vapor from the air? (July 2023)
These Are A Few of My Favorite Motions -- From guest contributer Mujahid Abdulrahim of the University of Missouri Kansas City, we get an insight into why these three visceral motions are his favorite to experience. (August 2023)
Why Is There Oil All Over My (Airplane) Belly? -- A discussion of the purpose of the crankcase breather and the ins and outs of engine lubrication, complete with some gratuitous trigonometry (April 2024)
My Teetertotter is Broken -- Stormy attacks the myth that aircraft weight and balance is just like a teetertotter. Yes, there is some usefulness in that metaphor, but like all models, the analogy eventually breaks down. (May 2024)
Straighten Up and Fly Right -- Did you know you've been lied too? Stormy debunks a common but wrong explanation of lateral stability, then explains to you how Dihedral Effect actually works. (August 2024)
Gust Loading, Airspeed, and Wing Loading -- an article many years in the making addressing why I hate getting bounced around in turbulence (October 2024)
ATC Communications and Instrument Flying in 1962 versus 2024 -- A discussion of how flying under IFR has changed from 1962 to 2024. Find out how the procedures were driven by the limitations of the available avionics. Find out why you would transmit on one frequency and listen on a different frequency. Another leftover article intended for but written too late for the EAA Chapter 1000 newsletter. (December 2024)
The Hazards of Switching Fuel Tanks How long does it take after moving the fuel selector before you know if the selected tank is feeding? (May 2025)
O Solo Me! -- An inspirational tale of Glenn Nicholson's first solo (December 2023)
My First Cross-Country Solo Adventure...with a Twist -- Glenn Nicholson sets out on his first solo cross country but doesn't get there, and learns about dealing with unexpected changing conditions (March 2024)
The State of Surreality -- I can't believe I just did that! -- Glenn Nicholson tries his first solo cross country again, this time with better weather, and actually makes it to Bakersfield and back (April 2024)
Alone and Unafraid in Unfamiliar Territory -- Glenn Nicholson continues his quest for a Private Pilot License, this time flying his "Long Cross Country". (June 2024)
A Lifetime Journey of Learning to Fly -- A history of my experiences learning to fly. This was written for my primary flight instructor's widow as a tribute to him. Posted here with her permission. (November 2024)
Better Late than Never! A Dream Realized! -- In this installment, we look at both ends of Glenn "Grits" Nicholson's quest to become a licensed aviator. After a quick look at his aviation origin story, we get a detailed rundown of his Private Pilot Practical Test. SPOILER: He passed on the first try, though it took several attempts to get to that flight thanks to weather. (January 2025)
Check Me Out! My Journey to RV-12iS Proficiency -- Glenn Nicholson exercises his Private Pilot "License to Learn" and gets checked out in a flying club RV-12iS. Along the way, he confirms that just because you know how to fly a Cessna 172 does not mean that you automatically know how to fly all airplanes. Not to mention maintenance induced schedule delays. (December 2025)
Using Home Flight Simulators for Flight Training and Proficiency -- First of all, the FAA will not allow you to log simulator time flown on your home computer flight simulator. However, you can still learn stuff and build skills. Stormy tells us about his experiences using Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane, including using Virtual Reality goggles. (February 2026)
What Happened To My Navigator? -- Part of Stormy's therapy as a recovering navigator is to look back at why navigators, once very common in aircraft, have mostly gone the way of the A - N radio range (February 2024)
Celestial Navigation in Theory and Practice -- Stormy was good enough to write up this explanation of how celestial navigation works so that I could better remember what I did one time back in 1982 (February 2024)
An Introduction To Grid Navigation -- What do you mean I need to fly south to go to the North Pole? Navigating at extreme north and south latitudes requires using a different navigation paradigm (April 2024)
An Ode To Friction -- My good friend "Stormy" Weathers went nuts one day and wrote a poem about friction. It was so wonderful I just had to share it. (March 2023)
The Fracture Mechanic -- Stormy has been at it again, even though he says that "Engineer Poetry" probably won't catch on like "Cowboy Poetry". This time the subject is cracks, fatigue, and structural strength. (March 2023)
Little Yeastie -- Stormy Weathers has been communing with his muse again, and his inspiration this time is a poem celebrating monocellular yeast organisms. Enjoy! (August 2023)
Little Ball -- Once again, Stormy has let his brain run without his permission. This time he presents a wonderful verse about every Aero Major's favorite little dimpled spherical projectile. (July 2024)
Lee Erb, A Eulogy -- I finally got around to committing to text an approximation of the Eulogy I delivered for my Father on 28 February 2020. Written from the original note cards. (October 2023)
A Bearhawk Time Machine -- Using the Bearhawk to take me back in time by flying over a remote test site that my Dad told me about multiple times as a place where he had been a Flight Test Engineer (FTE) six years before I was born. It was a weird yet wonderful way to connect with a part of my Dad's past, even after he was no longer with us. (April 2022)
The Origins of Evil Editor Zurg -- So how exactly does one go from reigning terror and destruction across the galaxy and being the singular nemesis of Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger, to being the editor of an EAA Chapter newsletter? The story of a 20 year inside joke of EAA Chapter 1000 and the editor of this web site. (March 2024)
The History of My Christmas Tree -- With all of the choices available of live trees and large artificial Christmas trees, find out why a little two foot artificial tree continues to have a special place in my heart (November 2024)
Three of My Favorite Models -- The back story of three of my favorite models, two airplanes and one car. These models are symbolic of three significant parts of my life journey, and all occupy a position of honor above my desk. (March 2025)
E-Mail: Contact Evil Editor Zurg at eez@pobox.com