The Velocity, by all accounts, is one sexy airplane.  A "pusher" in aviation parlance, the rear-mounted engine helps to balance the design, and makes for a quieter cockpit too.  The "XL" is for extra large, in that the rear passenger compartment is a bit bigger than the original version, and the "RG" is for retractable gear.

Colonel Jill Long was initially a KC-10 aerial refueling tanker pilot in the US Air Force.  Later, she became a decorated A-10 Thunderbolt pilot who flew over 50 combat missions in Afghanistan.  She then moved on to become a squadron commander in Germany, and is a recent graduate of the US Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Joe Shepherd is "the man".  A retired Northwest Airlines Captain with over 30 years experience, his aviation roots began in General Aviation, where they remain.  He was a CFI for a while before signing on with Northwest.  After retiring, he quickly returned to General Aviation.  I'm told this is a bit of an anomaly, as many retired airline pilots hang it up altogether, preferring not to go back to the little airplanes.  Not so with Joe...

In a short period of time, the Lockheed 12A Electra Junior has become one of my favorite aircraft to photograph.  The elegant lines with a subtle yet distinctive touch of "art deco" renders it irresistible in my eyes.  I believe "eye candy" is the current phrase that sums up my feelings about this aircraft...it just seems "right".

Ron Alexander is well-known in aviation circles, and he loves the DC-3.  He's owned an original DC-3 for over twenty years now.  According to Ron, there were only about 300 aircraft built as true DC-3's.  The other 10,000+ aircraft were built as C-47's, the military version.  His was built as a passenger liner, and has remained so to this day.

Recently we had the opportunity to appear as a guest on the simpleflight.net internet radio program, hosted by Al Waterloo and Marc Epner. The archive version of the show is available below, in case you missed it.  I come in at about the 28 minute mark, and the interview lasts for almost an hour.  Enjoy!

Underneath the tail assembly of the enormous Airbus A-380. AirVenture 2009, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

We are pleased to report that we had the cover image to the 4 March issue of GA News, as well as a full page spread on page 14.

Recently had an image posted to the "Snapshot" section of the Smithsonian Air & Space magazine website.  It is a "portrait" of a yellow WACO, owned by Atlanta's Steve Collins.  He the proprietor of Biplane Rides Over Atlanta, and uses the WACO to introduce many to the joys of open cockpit flying.  The image below was shot a week later while doing some details of the same aircraft.

Upon seeing these images, a friend asked how long I had waited for that light. My response was "Yea, sure...waited for days!"  Well, we did in a way, because this was just after the torrential rains that we had this fall in Atlanta. The Chattahoochee River is just behind the far trees in the background, and was still very much above flood stage.

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the Women in Aviation International (WAI) Conference, held here in Atlanta. To say it was an “eye-opening” experience would be an understatement. Not only was it a good chance to network for the attendees, but it was a celebration of everything positive in aviation. One thing that I noticed right off was the fact that probably a third of the attendees were military flyers. While this is no surprise to me, having been in the military in the 70’s and 80’s, the ratio to the overall number of attendees (about a third...) was a bit of a surprise. It is obvious that the military has come a long way in offering positions of leadership and responsibility to women, and it was also obvious that they have more than met these challenges.. Rarely have I seen a more intelligent, competent, and motivated group.