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VE Day: 92-year-old Second World War veteran flies Spitfire for first time in 70 years
A 92-year-old Second World War veteran has flown a Spitfire aircraft for the first time in 70 years to mark VE Day. Obviously a tough lady. Posted to make Wayne feel young. (www.independent.co.uk) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I love stories like this. You go, gal! Gotta think the pilot that flew with her on this flight got as much joy and reward as she did.
EXCELLENT!!! Just what our youngsters need, a short, but good look at history.
Agree, Roger...you know she has more guts now at 92 than most of our overwrought, feminized, politically correct youth. I would love to have known her in 1943 and many of the women who ferried aircraft across the Atlantic via Newfoundland and Greenland following a single aircraft with navigation like ducklings following a mother. Brave is an understatement.
These were the times of real pilots -- not somebody sitting in a seat pushing all kinds of dials and buttons, watching the plane fly and land itself. Pretty soon the requirement for a pilot's license will include a degree in computer technology!! Sad.
Oh yea, cheers to that brave lady and her accomplishments during and since her participation in WWII!
"...will include a degree in computer technology!! Sad."
Really? Sad? The explosion of technology available to the GA pilot has brought with it huge advances in safety and convenience. As far as "...sitting in a seat pushing all kinds of dials and buttons..." goes, this is not now, nor will it soon be the reality of flying for someone with just a "pilot's license" (the GA pilot). I for one am very happy that the pilots I know who are beyond the training level of the GA pilot, know how to operate "computer technology". There's nothing "Sad" about this situation. Long live advances in technology!
Really? Sad? The explosion of technology available to the GA pilot has brought with it huge advances in safety and convenience. As far as "...sitting in a seat pushing all kinds of dials and buttons..." goes, this is not now, nor will it soon be the reality of flying for someone with just a "pilot's license" (the GA pilot). I for one am very happy that the pilots I know who are beyond the training level of the GA pilot, know how to operate "computer technology". There's nothing "Sad" about this situation. Long live advances in technology!
Huge advances in safety and convenience. As a flight instructor, I see actual pilot skills declining. As Preacher posted some time ago on another thread, technology is there to assist the pilot. He/she still needs good old stick and rudder ability.
Don't misunderstand my earlier post, David. I'm all in favor of ADSB but reprogramming your GPS with the revised clearance ATC just gave you while in IFR with turbulence can lead to trouble, especially if the turbulence is sufficient enough that you cannot use your a/p. Think NTSB uses the phrase "failure of the pilot to maintain control of the aircraft." Today's technology makes a good argument for having 2 in the cockpit -- one to fly the aircraft and the other to turn the dials.
Don't misunderstand my earlier post, David. I'm all in favor of ADSB but reprogramming your GPS with the revised clearance ATC just gave you while in IFR with turbulence can lead to trouble, especially if the turbulence is sufficient enough that you cannot use your a/p. Think NTSB uses the phrase "failure of the pilot to maintain control of the aircraft." Today's technology makes a good argument for having 2 in the cockpit -- one to fly the aircraft and the other to turn the dials.