Category Archives: Single Ship

If the title of this post is black and/or you see the fighter-pilot header, click on the title to view the featured-image header and continue reading. (Header image credit: sim-outhouse.com) Almost two years ago, I received this comment from a visitor on my series “Beautiful Aviation Art”: My watchcap is off to these gallant airmen and their crews, however, once again the crews of the lowly PBY Black Cats are left out of the story. Those men flew into the teeth of the Japanese war machine with a lumbering flying boat painted black as their main defense. They sunk millions … Continue reading →

If the title of this post is black and/or you see the fighter-pilot header, click on the title to view the featured-image header and continue reading. You can click on any image for a larger view and use the back button on your browser to return here. My original intent was to publish this series in six parts, but my good friend and fellow ex-fighter pilot Yago F. de Bobadilla, Maj. Gen. SAF (ret), sent me additional examples of aviation art that deserve to be included. Here they are: Ploesti, Romania, August 1, 1943–”Hell’s Wench,” a B-24 badly damaged by … Continue reading →

One of my key objectives in this blog is to honor the legacy of WWII military aviators in whatever small way I can, and it’s a special thrill to receive comments from visitors with personal connections to the people and events in the posts. The first of these relates to “Koga’s Zero,” by Jim Reardon. A visitor had evidence to support the contention that a family member had been the captain of the ship that transported the aircraft to California for flight testing, not the individual named in Reardon’s book. The second arrived a few days ago in relation to … Continue reading →

We complete the six-part series to showcase some of the finest examples of art depicting events of the WWII air war. I discovered the original images in a gorgeous slide show created by a good friend and fellow fighter pilot, Yago F. de Bobadilla, who rose to the rank of Major General in the Spanish Air Force. January 1st 1945. All across western Europe airfields are thrown into chaos as the Luftwaffe unleashes a desperate surprise offensive to destroy allied air power on the ground. “Operation Bodenplatte” would instead result in the death knell for the once formidable German Air … Continue reading →

If the title of this post is black, click it to view the featured-image header. As a professional aviator for over four decades, especially during my career as a fighter pilot, I considered myself to be living in a domain far removed from that of “normal” folks. This feeling intensified during visits to my childhood home in Dallas, Texas, where five of my closest friends had returned after going off to college. The visits had a surreal quality, never more apparent than shortly after returning to the States following my two combat tours in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam conflict. … Continue reading →

Note: If the title of this post is black, click on it to view the featured-image header. I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that most women think of men as needing close supervision in many areas of life. Not with lawnmowers, tools, and cars, usually, but almost certainly with food choices and other health-related issues, like scheduling regular physical exams, dental appointments, and not being afraid to show weakness by taking medicines. A family friend sent us these photos of his first retirement project, that of building a new medicine cabinet to replace the one his wife has been … Continue reading →

Photo credit: Vixie79 @ fanpop.com Note: Featured Image Header photo credit: fltsim.com. If post title is black, click to view. All pilots, regardless of qualifications and amount of flight experience, know that Mother Nature rules the skies and has a nasty temper. She snarls at us in the form of wind, clouds, fog, rain, hail, snow and ice, turbulence, and lightning. Each of these weather hazards can ruin a pilot’s day in a heartbeat, and we are taught that whenever possible, avoidance is always the best tactic in dealing with them. Absent an instrument rating and an airplane equipped to … Continue reading →

Featured Header Background Image Credit: mymindfullnessjourney.wordpress.com. If post title is black, click to view. Finally, research confirms that drinking offers the same benefits as yoga. Don’t believe it? Here’s the proof: Savanna position of total relaxation Balasana position that brings the sensation of peace and calm Setu Bandha Sarvangasana position calms the brain and heals tired legs Marjayasana position stimulates the midriff and spinal column Halasana position excellent for back pain and insomnia Dolphin position excellent for the shoulders, thorax, legs and arms Salambhasana position to stimulate the lumbar area, legs, and arms Ananda Balasana position for massaging the hip … Continue reading →

Pilots: People who drive airplanes for other people who can’t fly. Fighter Pilots: Cold, steely eyed, weapons systems managers who kill bad people and break things. However, they can also be very charming and personable. The average Fighter Pilot, despite sometimes having a swaggering exterior, is very much capable of such feelings as love, affection, intimacy and caring. These feelings generally just don’t involve anyone else. Words of Wisdom From Aviators: Flying is a hard way to earn an easy living. Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the airplane; the pessimist, the parachute. If helicopters are … Continue reading →

I live on a cul-de-sac, an arrangement of homes that in my experience tends to concentrate interactions with neighbors. Within a few weeks of publishing my first novel, I jokingly mentioned to a friend (not a neighbor) that I was considering a sign in the front yard advertising the book as being for sale online, at BookPeople in Austin, Texas, and from the front door of this house with the author’s signature at no extra charge. I didn’t give in to that marketing temptation, but even without it, the word got out that I had published a book. I’m not … Continue reading →