The Latest and Such!

Hi Readers: The current pilot shortage is having an effect on airline operations. It has been reported that American Eagle, subsidiary of American Airlines, and others, have eliminated flights from their winter schedule because of the shortage. American Eagle had previously reduced the minimum experience requirements to 500 hours to attract pilots. New training standards, recently adopted by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), and the increased use of simulators is expected to qualify more First Officers. This news is well worth investigating for new pilots, but remember, more experience, better the chances. Your heading for the big airplanes.



Now it's time for a little trivia (so I can get my act together and before the November NTSB Accident count). Did you know that we now have computer concepts beyond the planning stage that will replace our current computers? More 'search engines', more information, etc. Do we need more and more? How many hours are we spending on the computer to find something that we really don't need or can't use? Okay, then, we'll accept the future computers and get on with it!



Now for the amateur poetry section: I composed this one sleepless night.

Alone

Yes, I am alone, I'm glad you asked,

Not my choice, too often not happy,

Am I up to the task?

To myself, I say, is this really living?

I wonder, little better than dead.

Relatives few, not a wife, yet considerable

Strife,

A friend or two, no one to please or command,

That's my life.

I never thought I'd reach this far,

Now maybe too far, maybe best to go,

I don't know.

Still, each day arrives, I begin, then hesitate,

The face of it, often hard, seems not to end,

Somehow I continue on, and try again.

A choice you say, I think not,

When I look at others, oh so slow,

I think not for me, fast forward, let me go.

Some say busy is best, later you can rest.

A project, perhaps, a friend in need,

Anyway a good deed.

Better you feel, the sadness gone,

Life is worth living.

A way yet to go, with GOD and grace, and giving,

Still, I don't know.

Robert Shaw

If you are reading this, you are probably looking for more and current information on aviation subjects. This I will provide in the future. If there is something special that I can help you with, E-mail me at roberthshaw@sbcglobal.net. And, don't forget, I need your feedback, too.

Thanks for listening. R.S.

In Between

Hi Readers: I came across this Nonsense Poetry (?) in searching my voluminous files for my next subject.
Every Now and Then

Every now and then, a story unfolds,
a story never to be told,
To good to keep, it finds its way,
to ears of utter dismay.
Its secrecy is sworn, but not well-worn,
and the story passes along its way.
As it came to me, I could easily see,
this story must not further be.

The Flapping Machine

The dreams of men are often extreme,
some pleasurable, some mean,
Yet, always leading to progress.
Such was the case of E. Van Cleeve,
who invented the flapping machine.
Extreme it was, highly useful, one and the same,
that flapping machine became the helicopter.