Mutual friends may have already heard the news, but for those who haven’t…It breaks our hearts to have to tell you that Tom Dietrich – our friend for half-a-century – passed away yesterday afternoon.We are truly, completely & utterly devastated (though we’ve known this day must be coming for quite…
On January 1st, 1967, I woke up with the worst hangover of my young life and realized I was well on my way to alcoholism – unless I came up with a goal … a dream … an impossible quest, if you like. The only problem was, I couldn’t think…
We’ve been trying to find a moment in time to get this badly-neglected web site up and running again (and many thanks to Francois Dumas for keeping it alive), but with so many projects on the go, achieving that has been near-impossible. However, recent events demand that we get WhyFly…
…. aka The Return of WhyFly – Again Glenn asked me to post these NEW articles for you, so I’ll shut up from here and leave the stage to him. Enjoy ! I can’t believe it’s been ten months since the last episode of “Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear.” Michelle…
In Episode #24: Richard Bach’s “Invitational Cross Country Adventure” creeps on across Pennsylvania, and Glenn finally gets to fulfill a dream he’s had since starting to fly.
Okay, folks. Don’t faint, but – yes – that is a new episode of “Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear” you see posted here today. As I stated back on Christmas Eve – WhyFly is far from dead, and the only reason for the sudden dearth of new material was/is an…
In Episode #23: Richard Bach’s “Invitational Cross Country Adventure” is quickly turning into an exercise in survival. Glenn & Michelle appear to be out of the trip due to a failed brake cable, but Bach has an old barnstormers’ trick up his sleeve.
Happy Holidays to all our loyal, Why Fly visitors from Michelle Goodeve and me. Right off the top, our sincere thanks to Francois Dumas for keeping Why Fly alive (both technically and content-wise). And right after that – sincere apologies for the overly-long delay in getting Why Fly really moving…
Regular visitors to Why Fly will no doubt have noticed a dearth of new content in recent weeks.
Does this mean Why Fly is dead? By no means.
“Post Hack-Attack” update from Why Fly Editor, Glenn Norman.
As some of you will have noticed, there appears to have been a dearth of new material during the past week.
Sincere apologies. Our I.T. Director (C.O.O. & Co-Pilot) François Dumas is on vacation in Italy, and the briefings he gave before departing don’t appear to have sunk in.
I can say this with some confidence after spending 3 hours trying to post my latest “Fearless” column and about the same time attempting to update the “Update!” box on the right.
Nevertheless:
a) François got in touch from Italy and straightened out my column. (Click on the “Columns” tab above, then slide right from “Fearless” to “Virtually Flying” {a tribute to our Flight Sim Members}.)
b) François should be back at his summer home in France Sunday evening, so we should be “returning to normal” in the early part of next week.
Meanwhile, as I have learned how to “Post,” I’ll take this opportunity to let you know what’s been recently updated, what’s about to be posted, and what’s “Coming Soon.”
In Episode #16: Originally planned as “Enter Richard Bach,” Glenn changed the title to “The Winter Wonderland Flying Circus” for reasons which will soon become obvious. The original title will now apply to a later Episode, when Richard really did enter Glenn & Michelle’s lives in a most unusual way. But right now – let’s go Barnstorming … in the Canadian winter!
About as close to a “pilot report” as you’re likely to read on Why Fly. Our Editor waxes euphoric on his three personal choices for best taildragger.
When we Launched Why Fly, I wrote an article titled, “Under the ‘B’.” And while that piece certainly tells the tale of how I learned to fly, I still don’t feel it truly answers the question, “Why?” And if I can’t elucidate that answer myself, how can I possibly ask…
For first-time visitors unfamiliar with our site – Why Fly is a unique, multi-media, Aviation Journal, which takes an unashamedly romantic look at the world of Aviation and celebrates the passion for flight.
Thanks to transition-assistance from our new partner & sponsor – Francois Dumas’ Silver Cloud Publishing – effective immediately, whyfly.aero is switching from paid membership to all free content.
(Please click on the title to read the entire article}
Right from the start, we knew what we wanted Why Fly to be – an unashamedly romantic take on the world of Aviation.
We believe that an examination of the content Why Fly has posted to date shows we have made a good start re all of the above.
And we have many more exciting plans in the offing.
But … there was one question we couldn’t answer until Why Fly went live.
Is it possible to support a venture like Why Fly by membership alone? Or would we have to follow the example of others on the Internet and fund our Journal by more standard methods (advertising, third party sales, etc.)?
You might think that finding an airplane of your own to buy is a logical matter of prioritizing needs and wants, then looking through online listings. But in Glenn Norman’s experience, seller and buyer are often brought together in a decidedly more mystical manner.
Are you planning on buying your own airplane soon? If not … why not? No matter what your particular excuse, you may just begin to think about aircraft ownership a little differently after reading this motivating piece by Glenn Norman. It’s not as hard as you think, he explains. And owning your own airplane will transform your flying experiences forever!
When Glenn Norman bought a steal of a 1955 Piper Tri-Pacer in 1994, he intended to fix it up to resell at a profit. It took a few years for this pilot with an “extreme tailwheel bias” to admit he actually liked flying “the best-kept secret in aviation.” His epiphany came during an uncharacteristically utilitarian trip from point A to point B, in which he learned that while a Tri-Pacer is no jet … speed is relative.
In Part Two of Glenn Norman’s cautionary tale of an ultralight crash, what goes up finally comes down … and it isn’t pretty. After a disorienting inverted journey back to earth (and a trip to the hospital) our hero finds himself wondering, “What now?” The surprising answer comes two days later aloft in a borrowed Cessna 150. Sometimes, he learns, it takes almost losing everything to realize what matters most.
