Jamie Beckett

1 month ago | generalaviationnews.com | Jamie Beckett

In the spring of 1994 my wife and I took our new baby daughter to the ballpark in Winter Haven, Florida. The former spring training home of the Boston Red Sox, the Chain of Lakes Park became a last-minute shelter for the Cleveland Indians. Hurricane Andrew literally blew away any hopes of playing ball in Homestead that year. Spring training puts an interesting blend of veteran players and new hopefuls on the field.

2 months ago | generalaviationnews.com | Jamie Beckett

Being airborne isn’t an experience everyone dreams of. That seems peculiar to me, but it’s true. My flight training adventure started at MacArthur Airport in Islip, Long Island, New York. Like so many flight students I was excited, a bit nervous, and completely over my head. While I’d taken a formal ground school course and passed my initial private pilot knowledge test with a blistering score of 72, I didn’t have all that solid an idea of what was happening. Still I was motivated.

2 months ago | generalaviationnews.com | Jamie Beckett

Due to a series of highly publicized aircraft accidents in recent weeks, many people have become wary of the aviation industry. These accidents happened hundreds of miles apart, had no common factor other than involving aircraft and, in at least one spectacular example that was caught on film in Toronto, every passenger and crew member survived. Aviation is a much better transportation deal than the news might have the casual observer believe. Go with me on this for a minute.

2 months ago | generalaviationnews.com | Jamie Beckett

Anyone who delves into the art and science of flight will learn fairly early on how rule-intensive the industry is. Even at the entry level pilot trainees for any certificate from sport pilot on up will be encouraged to review the five hazardous attitudes the FAA has identified. They are, in no particular order, antiauthority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation. Each has its own indicators of an attitude or behavior that resides in each and every one of us to some degree.

Feb 11, 2025 | generalaviationnews.com | Jamie Beckett

Many years ago, an elderly woman named Terry lived across the street from my family. Terry was a lovely, grandmotherly type to my young daughters. The sort of woman who every year came by to let my girls know Santa had dropped off gifts for them at her house by accident. She was a peach. One sunny afternoon, while sitting on her back porch enjoying the sound of the birds in the trees, Terry confided in me that she’d held membership in that remarkable club known as Rosie the Riveter.