Tag Archives: web

New OurAirports feature: pilot, passenger, or both

Posted on July 27, 2007 by

The most requested feature for OurAirports has been an ability to distinguish the airports you’ve visited as a pilot from the airports you’ve visited as a passenger. It turned out to be fairly easy to implement. If you’re logged in … Continue reading →

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IFR flight test; OurAirports passes 100 members

Posted on July 23, 2007 by

Some time today, while I was in the air over Ottawa taking my 24-month IFR renewal flight test (passed), OurAirports ticked past 100 registered members. People are leaving so many comments that I can barely keep up with reading all … Continue reading →

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OurAirports takes off

Posted on July 18, 2007 by

It’s not exactly crazy, but enough people have signed up for OurAirports that I’ve had to do a large amount of emergency coding to keep the site running at an acceptable speed — it’s hosted on a shared cluster (Mosso), … Continue reading →

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Make a web map of the airports you've visited

Posted on July 17, 2007 by

I’ve written a web site called OurAirports that lets you make a map of the airports you’ve visited (either as a pilot or as a passenger, your choice). Here’s my personal map — note that you can share your maps … Continue reading →

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A Victorian British artilleryman blogs

Posted on June 29, 2007 by

Gunner William Henry Ranson (born 1843) has started a blog about his life in the ranks of Royal Artillery and as a civilian in Canada right after Confederation: http://whranson.blogspot.com/ Gunner Ranson was my great-great-grandfather. After serving in the Royal Artillery … Continue reading →

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Up a tree

Posted on January 16, 2007 by

[Update: see below.] According to Snopes, this photo is legit — it’s a Cherokee 180 N6487J that crashed into a tree during a forced approach near Meadowlake Airport in Colorado last month after the engine lost power (the pilot, who … Continue reading →

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Canadian airspace disappears overnight! (casualties of the DAFIF)

Posted on November 1, 2006 by

[Update 2006-11-20: it looks like they've pulled even the small amount of Canadian data that they can get from the FAA database — there's nothing but US airports and navaids in there now.] Well, the DAFIF — the free database … Continue reading →

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Physical limitations

Posted on August 23, 2006 by

Update: Aviatrix is not a quitter — see below. Update #2: I think the comments are better than my posting, so you might want to skip ahead and read them first (especially the third one). Update #3: She got back … Continue reading →

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3D airnav data: Google Earth/DAFIF mashup

Posted on June 26, 2006 by

Google Earth is a 3D geographical visualization program available for Windows, MacOS X, and Linux. DAFIF is a free (soon-to-be-closed) database of major airports, airways, airspace, etc. around the world. Now, the Russian Academy of Science has created a mashup … Continue reading →

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Excess of thrust

Posted on May 29, 2006 by

A big engine can cause problems: it burns lots more gas, resulting in higher operating costs and a shorter range (relative to a smaller engine on the same plane); it weighs more, reducing your useful load and complicating weight and … Continue reading →

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