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FrankPilot

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  1. FrankPilot
    In 2015 Michael Smith, an Australian businessman, fulfilled his dream of flying around the world. He did so in a SeaRey amphibious aircraft – the first solo seaplane circumnavigation of the world. With only a single engine, no autopilot, & limited flying experience, he was perhaps lucky to survive the experience. Come follow along in MSFS from Melbourne, Australia to London, UK. Hope you enjoy. Cheers.
  2. FrankPilot
    Lawrence Sperry (1892 - 1923), son of the famous inventor of the gyroscope, was an accomplished pilot who amazingly invented the 1st autopilot, artificial horizon, turn coordinator, safe parachute, sports aircraft, amphibious aircraft, drone, & lots more. He tragically died in an aircraft crash at age 31. Come learn more about him. Hope you like. Cheers.
  3. FrankPilot
    Jorge Chavez, a Peruvian Frenchman, was the first person to fly over the European Alps. He crossed the Simplon Pass from Switzerland to Italy in a primitive Bleriot aircraft in 1910. Unfortunately, while landing in Italy, he crashed & died a few days later. Come learn about his flight, & enjoy real-live footage of a Bleriot aircraft at the end. Hope you like. Cheers.
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  4. FrankPilot
    Patagonia is an ancient, beautiful area covering the southern part of South America. Like so much of the world, it has been fought over & divided, & its indigenous people, who have been there from before 10,000 BC, have been largely decimated. But at least its natural beauty & value is now recognised through a series of Biodiversity Reserves, National Parks, & UNESCO World Heritage Areas. It was first flown over & studied from the air by German Gunther Pluschow in 1928/29. Come see his story. Hope you enjoy.
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  5. FrankPilot
    Thanks. I think the 30 were classified as actual USAAF airfields, their main bases, or something like that. Cheers.
  6. FrankPilot
    During WW2, the USAAF had about 30 airfields in Australia to help protect Australia & to prosecute the war in the Pacific. Scores of USAAF aircraft crashed in Australia during the war, with consequential deaths & injuries. In this video we look at the top 8 deadliest crashes.
  7. FrankPilot
    Thanks Bernie for your Like. And thanks Moneybox for your comment - I think you hit the nail on the head about landing while still with some power/energy; better a controlled forced landing than an uncontrolled full-on crash. Cheers.
  8. FrankPilot
    In August 2025, a Piper PA-28 Cherokee, with a student & instructor on board, made a forced landing onto a golf course. The aircraft crashed heavily, but did not hit anyone or anything on the ground. There was no post-crash fire, & the occupants were very lucky to walk away largely uninjured. With the benefit of hindsight, they maybe lost valuable time communicating with ATC & initially aiming for another far-away golf course, which maybe prevented a safer landing in an open space or on one of the many beaches. What would you have done? Hope you like. Cheers.
  9. FrankPilot
    Rose Bay, in magnificent Sydney Harbour, Australia, was the world’s last flying-boat base. Come re-live this golden-age of aviation history, based on a new book produced with the present-day Sydney Seaplanes. Hope you enjoy.
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  10. FrankPilot
    In 1985 USA super-star Ricky Nelson’s WW2 DC-3 crashed & burned after blinding smoke filled the cockpit. The 2 pilots escaped, but all the passengers - Nelson, his fiancee & 5 band members - died in the burning aircraft. Nowadays there is an Emergency Vision Assurance System (EVAS) which allows pilots to see their basic instruments through the smoke. In this video we discuss both the crash & EVAS. Hope you find this interesting.
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  11. FrankPilot
    Yeah, follow is a good word. Solve? Yeah, guilt, liability, compensation etc etc. Cheers
  12. FrankPilot
    I have always thought the following. Rules for flying are serious because flying is so unforgiving. They are there to help prevent killing people in aircraft and on the ground, to penalise those who do not obey, and to help solve legal issues after accidents. Cheers.
  13. FrankPilot
    Note: In the video above, VMC on the 1st slide and IFR on the 2nd slide should both read VFR.
  14. FrankPilot
    On 15 Jul 2025 in Australia, a Beechcraft Debonair crashed & the pilot died, after flying VFR into IMC. This all too frequent situation was particularly shocking because the pilot was not qualified for cross-country or instrument flying, & in worsening weather & rising terrain he passed by 2 airports just moments before the crash.
  15. FrankPilot
    What on earth caused a Cessna Citation business jet to return to its departure airport 10 minutes later, & then crash & burn on late final, killing all on board, including a family of 4. We won’t know the answer until the NTSB investigates, but considering the possibilities provides some early useful re-inforcing of safety lessons.
  16. FrankPilot
    An Australian-built Bristol Beaufort fighter-bomber, with a crew of 4, disappeared in the jungle of Papua New Guinea in 1943 while on a bombing raid. It was not found until 2022 & finally identified in 2025. Come see how all this came about. Hope you like. Cheers.
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  17. FrankPilot
    Come see how British Beryl Markham, in 1936, became the 1st woman to fly the Atlantic east to west, & the 1st person to fly solo from the UK to North America. Enjoy a range of vintage aircraft in MSFS flown by her. Hope you like. Cheers.
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  18. FrankPilot
    Come challenge yourself to land & take-off from 8 bush strips, while enjoying the sights in between the strips, in the UNESCO World Heritage Area of Milford Sound, New Zealand. Hope you enjoy. Cheers.
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  19. FrankPilot
    The Australian Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) is probably the world’s greatest aeromedical service. Come learn a bit more about it, & its aircraft, & see some of the remarkable places it flies into & out of. Hope you enjoy. Cheers.
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  20. FrankPilot
    I was so taken with YouTuber steveo1kinevo’s recent real-life flight in a Pilatus PC-24 jet across the Swiss Alps (VFR under low clouds) I re-created it in MSFS 2020. Come see the outstanding scenery & learn a bit about Pilatus Aircraft. Hope you enjoy. Cheers. https://youtu.be/JVH0crs8luY?si=_xDHGR54bUfoI-25
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  21. FrankPilot
    On 17 October 2025, a Piper Aztec twin-engine, on a short flight, crashed in a mountainous, wilderness area of Montana, USA, in bad, freezing weather, killing all 3 on board. The NTSB investigation will shed more light on the circumstances, but in the meantime, it is useful to re-iterate the same old safety lessons yet again.
  22. FrankPilot
  23. FrankPilot
    The iconic Learjet started the business jet era in the 1960s. Learjets continued to be produced up to 2022. Come see Learjet historical highlights, including the man who started them, the companies that kept them going, the different models, the celebrities who loved them, & some notable crashes. Hope you enjoy. Cheers.
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  24. FrankPilot
    On 12 Sep 1943, in one of WW2’s greatest secret commando raids by air, Hitler rescued Mussolini from a high mountain top prison where Italy had incarcerated him after sacking him as its leader and swapping sides from the Axis to the Allies. Come see how this remarkable operation took place. Hope you enjoy. Cheers.
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  25. FrankPilot
    The longest ever spitfire raid was carried out on 27 Nov 1944, during WW2, on a Japanese Radar station on the Island of Timor, by a combined Australian/British/American force of aircraft from Darwin, Australia. There have been longer Spitfire flights, which we also cover in this video, but these were not actual raids. Hope you enjoy. Cheers.
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