THE OTHER DAY I ENTERED the name of Betty Faux, and up popped this capsule reference (among various irrelevancies, including a different Betty’s “faux-artless smile”) in a long exchange of reminiscences about a new-defunct airport, Meadowlark:
Took my private check ride with Betty Faux (I think she has passed away)…
B. Faux is the signature on all but half a dozen of the entries in the opening pages of my first logbook. The very first entry, dated 11/26/62, when I was 19, records that one of the items studied was “gear procedures.” Actually, we both got more gear procedures on that first flight that we had bargained for. I was learning to fly in a Comanche 250, N8012P, which, like most aeroplanes with electric gear, had the kind of gear switch that you pull outward before raising or lowering. I had never been in a private plane with retractable gear before, and wasn’t familiar with this style of gadget.
“Raise the landing gear,” said Betty Faux after we had become airborne. I gave the switch an upward tug. It didn’t budge. I tugged harder. Nothing. I gave it a good yank, and it broke off in my hand.
My father had a little red scooter that folded up to stow in the Comanche’s baggage compartment. I drove it to Santa Monica Airport for my almost-daily lessons at Claire Walters Flight Academy. (The few log entries that weren’t signed by Betty bear Claire’s name instead.)
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2023-Ausgabe von SA Flyer Magazine.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2023-Ausgabe von SA Flyer Magazine.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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SACRIFICE
John continues his anecdotes about the sacrifices he has had to make in the course of his helicopter bush flying career.
KENYA - SAA PARTNERSHIP DELAY
KENYA AIRWAYS AND South African Airways announced the establishment of a highly anticipated Pan-African Airline Group three years ago.
TO PARIS FOR LUNCH
One morning I arrived back at Lanseria from a two day charter to a dreary Northern Cape iron mine. Entering the terminal, I removed my wings and epaulets, thrust them into my flight bag, and headed for the restaurant.
ASCA'S MPUMI MPOFU: READY FOR TAKE-OFF
Ms Mpumi Mpofu has occupied the hot seat as Chief Executive of ACSA, the Airports Company of South Africa for a tumultuous past four years.
HYDROGEN POWERED PLANE TESTED
WORLD’S LARGEST liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft, using a 1 MW fuel cell engine, has been tested.
CAMEROON - BLAMES BOEING
BOEING JUST CANNOT STAY out of trouble. It has become the whipping boy for endless absurd claims.
IRIS GOES TO SOMALIA
Having spent the last couple of years flying to a rota, I was thoroughly enjoying the freedom and randomness of flying charters at Sunbird Aviation.
TELEPORTATION
One of the best clients for whom I ever flew was BP, the British oil giant. I was with them in Algeria for about seven years, from the very start of their large gas projects, right in the heart of the Sahara Desert, near the small towns of In Amenas and In Salah.
FEBRUARY 2023
February has shown steady growth in the number of aircraft registered. Four fixed wing and one helicopter were added while the non-type certified (NTCA) register grew by seven.
RIGHT SEAT RULES NO. 16 FUEL SYSTEMS WHY SO COMPLICATED?
You know those aggranoying people who say, “Oh I wouldn't fly in one of those little things - you can't just pull over and fix it if something goes wrong\"? What makes this particularly irritating is that the bastards are right.
