Legacy Blog
Blogs in this branch appeared on my original website that went live in 2016.
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Always Sound Cool on the Radio
“Always Sound Cool on the Radio” UXBRIDGE, MA – March 20, 2019 – IYAAP Blog – As a student pilot in the Air Force, I learned that one of the three rules of flying was to always sound cool on the radio. The sky could be crumbling around me. Flames could be shooting from my
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Gravity and Granite Walls
Gravity and Granite Walls UXBRIDGE, MA – May 25, 2018 – IYAAP Blog – Gravity culled a training jet from the skies above Columbus Air Force Base this week. Fortunately, both pilots ejected and rode their parachutes to safety as their T-38C Talon II was pulled to an uncontrolled impact with Earth. No one on
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Descent Planning
Descent Planning UXBRIDGE, MA – Sep 19, 2017 – IYAAP Blog – Being of Italian descent, I wear an undershirt beneath my dress shirts as a comfort for myself and as a courtesy to others. For me, wiry hairs rubbing against medium-starched garments are way too itchy. For others, my nipple-and-fiber tribute to Michael Faraday’s
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Hearing Protection
Hearing Protection UXBRIDGE, MA – Apr 9, 2017 – IYAAP Blog – Prolonged exposure to jet engine noise can cause long-term hearing damage. That’s why pilots wear hearing protection on the flight line. Years after hanging up my flying gear for the last time, I still have trouble understanding what people say in a crowded
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Jumpseat Etiquette
Jumpseat Etiquette UXBRIDGE, MA – Feb 23, 2017 – IYAAP Blog – Three Ritalin-starved ninjas practiced their punching and kicking techniques on the back of my seat, 27B, during the climb out of Boston en route to Chicago. Across the aisle behind me, the father ducked fatherhood by shielding his face with the in-flight magazine, conveniently
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Kenny’s Wall of Fame
UXBRIDGE, MA – August 17, 2016 – IYAAP Blog – Long before sharing pictures on a wall and commenting on them became possible digitally, my pilot training roommate, Kenny, perfected this practice the old fashioned way, snapping pictures of everyone and everything and taping them to a wall in our rental house. Kenny took pictures
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Assignment Night
UXBRIDGE, MA – July 16, 2016 – IYAAP Blog – For Air Force student pilots, the hype and anticipation building up to Assignment Night approached the excitement of the big game for sports fans, Christmas morning for little kids, and prom night for anxious teens. Potential. Expectations. The prospect of fulfillment. But not everyone’s favorite
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The FAIP Mafia Party
The FAIP Mafia Party UXBRIDGE, MA – June 17, 2016 – IYAAP Blog – Student pilots and instructor pilots were not supposed to be friends. Even though we were all Air Force officers, and some of us were the same rank, we were supposed to keep our distance. But at the FAIP Mafia Party, a
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Nekkid Parts
Nekkid Parts Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 88-07 Columbus Air Force Base, MS August 1987 UXBRIDGE, MA – June 4, 2016 – IYAAP Blog – Even for a simple Air Force student pilot, like me, the rules of flight school patch design seemed like common sense. But our class commander told us anyway. “If y’all get
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New Book Release
New book release by Ray Wright: “If You Ain’t a Pilot…” New book release date is August 13, 2016. IF YOU AIN’T A PILOT… UXBRIDGE, MA – May 27, 2016 – IYAAP Blog – Cockpit chaos and classroom camaraderie fuel the entropic adventures of Second Lieutenant Ray Wright and his fellow classmates of UPT Class