Flying Stories


Fun Trips

Trip to Alaska, including a stop for Chilliwack pie
Starts in Seattle, in a Luscombe.

Alaskan Journal
Another trip to Alaska, this one by an American flight instructor who explains everything so students can understand.

Lucky Escapes

Night flight in a C172 wiith a rough-running engine
This one is chilling. Notice the rescue equipment that the hovercraft crew brought with them.

C172 Hijacking
This story is serious, but hilariously told. There are no casualties.

The Gimli Glider
After a chain of oversights, an Air Canada 767 on a scheduled flight ran out of fuel. The luck comes because of the combination of skills and local knowledge that the crew possessed.

In-Flight Helicopter Repair
According to this story, a passenger used a Leatherman tool to allow the pilot to regain control of the collective of a helicopter in flight.

DC-10 in Sioux City
The centre engine in a DC-10 exploded, taking out all the aircraft hydraulics, meaning all control of elevator, rudder and ailerons. Using power only, the crew managed to crash land the aircraft in a crosswind. Of 296 on board the airplane, 184 survived the crash.

"Don't Worry, I Know What I'm Doing"
A B707 pilot ignored the tower controller's warning to pull up and landed in a lake.  A remarkable demonstration of how well an airplane (and those on board) can survive ditching.

Student Pilot Stories

Persistance through adversity
An account by a German student of some of the difficulties of learning to fly. Despite imperfect English, she beautifully communicates the frustration and the triumph.

Don's Flying Journal
I am adding this to the site after Don's first flying lesson, but he describes that lesson very well.  I hope he continues with the flying lessons and the journal right to the end.

Westminster College Student Blogs
Journals of students training at an aviation college in Utah.

Tom Unger's Flight Lessons
A US pilot's record of learning to fly.

Robyn's Flying Start Home

This page written 24 May 2003 by Robyn Stewart. Updated 2 February 2005.
Copyright 2003 Flying Start Initiatives