Charles Stites

The long closed runway at the once-active Horace Williams Airport. Owned by the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the airport was home to a fleet of planes that delivered doctors throughout the state every week.

This airport, minutes from UNC Chapel Hill, provided a runway from which doctors daily traveled the state to clinics from the mountains to the coast; a port in the best sense of the word where aviators and their passengers could come and go. Bowing to pressure, the university closed it years ago.

Wind farm along a Sunday morning flight in the Midwest.

Able Flight at SIU YouTube video by SIUFoundation1942

youtu.be/Nd2qZqIrA9I

Congratulations!

A small school outside of Casper, Wyoming with a most unusual name displayed on a large sign just above the front door. Poison Spider School.

Came across this small school just outside Casper, Wyoming while exploring the Oregon Trail in May. Perhaps they could be warning strangers who don’t possess necessary local knowledge, or maybe just constantly frightening the kids. The first would be a service; the second would just be cruel.

Prepare for a great time, Ken. I’ll be there, and I invite everyone at AirVenture to the Able Flight Wings Pinning Ceremony Tuesday at 10 am at Theater In The Woods. #ableflight ableflight.org

Sometimes it’s hard to ignore fools, but in the end it can feel so good to have done so. BTW, by coincidence I
just changed the oil in my Cherokee 180 this past weekend during a break in a long cross country (thanks to a friend for the loan of his hangar for a few hours).

Well, it’s not going to just fly itself. Actually, with a few decisions and a few buttons pushed, it can. #aviation

A flight information display in a small plane shows the flight is level at 5500 feet, and is flying at an impressive speed of 160 mph over the ground for a plane of its size.

Not often enough that you’ll see a ground speed of 139 knots (159.9 mph) in a Piper Cherokee 180. Moments after this photo the ground speed was 142 knots (163.4 mph) as the result of a nice push from a tailwind much stronger than forecast. Even better, power was set at well under max. #aviation

Below the left wing of the Piper with a layer of clouds hiding the “Fire Swamp” below (AKA the Okefenokee). Camera pans for the same view on the right, but below the clouds are highways and farm fields. Skirting the swamp seems the better choice if an unplanned landing is required. #aviation

A red and white Piper Cherokee on the ramp at Baxley, GA. Behind it is the airport building beneath a blue sky with streaks of thin white clouds.

My Piper resting between flights at Baxley, GA, a welcoming waypoint when heading South. The next leg over North Central Florida is over the Okefenokee Swamp, AKA the “Fire Swamp” & 30 minutes of asking myself why not fly the East Coast of FL with more airports and open fields than can be counted?

The four cooling towers at the Savannah River nuclear power plant southeast of Augusta, GA venting steam as seen from a small plane on a very clear day.

Even a couple of miles away, you can get a nice bump from the warm air rising from the cooling towers of the Savannah River Nuclear Plant on a cold winter day.

Time for an intro!

#aviation #flying #womeninaviation #femalepilot #vintageaircraft #stinson108

From IFR Magazine reader David Brown: In 1994, my wife and I flew from Virginia to Daytona, Florida. This was our first flight together in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). Several times, the controller called out traffic for us, and on most occasions, I responded with “16 Romeo is IMC.” When we landed at Daytona Beach, my wife asked me what “IFC” meant. I corrected her that it was “IMC,” which meant we were in the clouds and unable to spot traffic, so we were flying in instrument flight conditions. After a brief pause, she said, “OK, I knew that, but I thought that maybe ‘IFC’ was some sort of secret pilot/controller lingo that meant we’re ‘in the f’ing clouds.’”

Gonna start using this term now

A man in a wheelchair in front of a plane that he owns is being congratulated by another man who has just certified that the man in the chair is now qualified to fly as an Instrument Rated pilot. They are shaking hands as the pilot in the chair receives the FAA document recording that he passed the checkride exam.

Congratulations to Chris Sullivan who just passed his checkride to become an Instrument Rated pilot! An Able Flight pilot (quadriplegic) steadily advancing through ratings and certificates, Chris owns the specially-adapted Piper Arrow seen here. ableflight.org #peoplewithdisabilities #aviation

Five people, one woman and four men, are in front of an adapted training airplane at Southern Illinois University in May 2024. They are all recipients of an Able Flight Scholarship for people with physical disabilities to train to become pilots. They face the challenges of paralysis, amputation or a life long illness, and all five are now licensed pilots.

Able Flight is busy reviewing scholarship applications for the “Class of 2025”, and like this group from 2024, they will become licensed pilots. They face the challenges of physical disability, but with adapted planes and excellent instruction, they will succeed. #ableflight #aviation ableflight.org

The St. John’s River southwest of Jacksonville, Fl off in the distance with a Piper wing in the foreground.

Yesterday, a singular moment in over four decades of flying. Not this ordinary view of passing southwest of Jacksonville and the St. John’s River to the left. It was when the JAX controller told me he couldn’t handle my request info so fast; that it was too much for him at one time. Sweet. #aviation

Airborne traffic is displayed on a device in a small plane cockpit, showing congestion on both sides of the course, but a clear path ahead.

It was as if the seas parted, or was it simply a good choice of route? #aviation

A layout with a strong emphasis on coordinated flight.

Two Garmin G5 instruments show heading, grounspeed and numerous other indications during a cross country flight.

The mental math it takes to nail a 15 degree correction angle…oh wait, the GPS and autopilot did that for me, and did it perfectly. But I’m sure I still could if needed. Just don’t need to…#aviation

It’s a flying day 😃✈️ Alfie helping with the checks ☺️ #avgeek

Looking into the distance, an Australian Shepherd sits in the left seat of a small plane. Her friend sits in the right seat.

Fly long enough and you’ll have a favorite passenger or two. In this role reversal, I’d like to think that I was her’s. For years she was a natural flyer, most often napping in the back and waking just before landing. #pilots #aviation #aussie #dogsinplanes

Purely anecdotal, but over the years I have met many pilots who are also musicians, especially those who are serious about playing guitar. In fact, a surprising number. Coincidence or something about how the pilot brain is wired? #pilots #aviation

Same here. Mike gave me my first writing assignment before he was hired by AOPA, and then opened the door for me there. Great editor and good friend.

The wing of a Boeing 777 with the sun rising out of the dark ocean as the flight approaches Sydney, Australia.

For everyone flying off to the holidays this week, here’s a #WingWednesday to celebrate!
#avgeeks #aviation

The wing of a small plane, mostly white, but with a red leading edge backed by narrow gold stripes. There are solid clouds below with thin clouds and some blue sky above.

For Wing Wednesday, a decade old memory of a Navion wing above a solid cloud layer with thin clouds above. Most likely over the Appalachians. #WingWednesday #aviation #avgeeks

Recently did the same with my Piper. Installed the Garmin 275 EIS. Very pleased with that unit and the choice to eliminate all of those old instruments.

A red and white small plane on the ground with a perfectly cloudless blue sky above.

After having flown a “larger” plane for many years and never having named it, I’ll call this one “Little Wing” (credit goes to my wife), and retroactively name my earlier plane (with little creativity), “Big Bird”. Little Wing awaits an early Friday the 13th flight. #Fridayflight #aviation

A gift certificate for $49.99 worth of avgas.

A view across a jetliner cockpit, with the light of dawn emerging on the horizon

People love seeing the sunrise. People are fools. If you’re watching the sun rise in December, you’ve been up WAY too long. 😴