Recent content by wanttaja

Is that sort of data available? I know next to nothing about the program, is the FAA notified when a pilot switches to BasicMed? I'm flying on Sport Pilot, for instance, and all the FAA has is my expired 3rd class from nearly 20 years ago. Found an interesting FAA study on BasicMed...

Just for the heck of it, I extracted the accidents involving pilots on BasicMed from the 2018-2022 NTSB accident database. Odd how the percentage has been going down after peaking in 2020. Ron Wanttaja

Steely eyes, cleft chin, and whip-like reflexes.... :) Ron Wanttaja

...Not to mention that after a major EMP event, the distribution system for liquid fuels is likely to be significantly disrupted. Diesel trucks may not be affected (though the starters may be) but the pumps involved are likely to fail. Even if the motors survive, many pumps have computer...

The problem is expertise. We complain that the rank-and-file FAA guy doesn't understand small aircraft...imagine what it's like when the FAA tries to regulate space operations. A bit over a hundred years ago, a squadron commander in the Army Air Service demanded that pilots wear spurs while...

Interesting to consider the crewed flights. Blue Origin's New Shepard is off the ground for about 11 minutes. First paying passengers flew on the 16th flight. That means the vehicle took commercial passengers after less than THREE HOURS of flight test. The FAA doesn't let experimental...

IIRC, car I rented on Kodiak island about 20 years ago merely said the renter was required to clean out any blood before turning the car back in. Didn't know if it meant *mine* or other creatures'.... Ron Wanttaja

I always request a sub-compact when I travel. A lot of the times, they're out of sub-compacts and offer me a larger car at the same rate. On one trip, they gave me a Lincoln Continental instead of a sub-compact. Just last month, they offered me a behemoth Jeep Gladiator SUV instead of a...

In my long-ago Civil Air Patrol cadet days, our promotions were set on passing tests on ~six books. You'd get a ribbon and a stripe for each book, and eventually take the overall test that would make you a cadet officer. The final book was called "Operation Countdown," written by an Air Force...

Indeed, and much blood has been spilled arguing over whose code is right. Ron Wanttaja

To an overwhelming extent, such codes were limited to those in the higher social orders. A British gentleman in 1850 might be taught a code to live by, but what about his thousands of contemporaries in the slums of Glasgow? The gentleman might be taught to give his opponent a hand up if he's...

Been many things, but never a Boy Scout. Big brother was a Scout, and there was no way I was going to be a tenderfoot under him. Besides, I loathe camping. Joined CAP instead, went well, got my pilot's license through the program. Only had to camp a couple of times. We had girls in the...

"Our Germans are better than their Germans" - The Right Stuff Ron Wanttaja

Well, technically, ULA is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockmart. So maybe there's a dutch door somewhere.... :) (Admittedly, the Atlas is not a Boeing-heritage vehicle). Ron Wanttaja

If you scare the absolute bejesus out of yourself, it helps to take a little time before you try again. Ron Wanttaja