Part of the explanation might be rooted in the fact that flying a new airplane type is like meeting a new person. Each has its own personality and can challenge the pilot in learning its individual characteristics so as to make friends with it. It’s unknown how many different types of airplanes there are out there, but, given that aviation is now well over 100 years old, the types to be flown are endless.
I know it’s an addiction because for most of my life I’ve been at its mercy. So many airplanes, so little time. The net result is that I’ve acted as PIC (pilot in command), doing both the takeoffs and the landings, unassisted, of around 320 totally different types. And I mean totally different types. Subvariants of a type don’t count. A Cherokee, for instance, is a Cherokee whether it’s a 140, 180, or 235.
This story is from the December 2019 edition of Flight Journal.
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This story is from the December 2019 edition of Flight Journal.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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Scourge of the Allied Fighters
IT HAD TO BE THE MOST HELPLESS FEELING in the world: you're at 25,000 feet over Europe knowing that your primary function is to drop bombs-or flying escort for the bombers while being a slow-moving target for some of the world's finest shooters. However, you have John Browning's marvelous .50 caliber invention to give some degree of protection. Unfortunately, you're absolutely helpless against flak. Piloting and gunnery skills play no role in a game where sheer chance makes life and death decisions. For that reason, the Krupp 88 mm Flak 18/36/37 AA cannon could be considered WW II's ultimate stealth fighter. You never saw it coming.
ZERO MYTH, MYSTERY, AND FACT
A test pilot compares the A6M5 Zero to U.S. fighters
Fw 190 STURMBÖCKE
The Luftwaffe's \"Battering Rams\" against the USAAF heavy bombers
American BEAUTY
\"Forgotten Fifteenth\" top-scoring Mustang ace John J. Voll
BANSHEE WAIL!
Flying Skulls over Burma
KILLER CORSAIR
Albert Wells, Death Rattlers Ace
BACKSTREET BRAWLER
A young man, his Hurricane and the Battle of Britain
Still Flying After All These Years
One of the oldest airworthy J-3 Cubs
NOORDUYN NORSEMAN
Canada's rugged, fabric-covered workhorse
A good landing is one you can walk away from
NO, THIS IS NOT A SCENE FROM A MOVIE where the hero staggers away from a \"good landing\" on Mindoro, Philippine Islands, after being shot down by a Japanese Zero.