Flying airplanes in conditions of zero visibility is doable. Due to Instrument capability, navigation aids, and ground-controlled coordination, flights in such conditions are being routinely practiced by commercial and military aircraft. However, it is the physiological human factors that conflict with instrument precision that so often result in the deaths of non-professional pilots. “Flying by […]

The Kirby Risk Electrical Supply Company was founded in 1926, by my former father-in-law, Mr. Kirby Risk. I joined the company in 1971 after his son, Jim Risk, became president. The company at that time was small, having 35 long-time employees, doing three million in sales. Jim had interest in aggressive growth and needed some […]

A number of years ago when thinking about once again doing some stunt flying, I thought it would be prudent to brush up on my Navy aerobatic flying skills. I found a flight instructor in Madison, Indiana, who had a Super Decathlon and offered aerobatic training. The Decathlon, stressed for aerobatics, was a small aircraft […]

Fort Sumter, a Union garrison in Charleston Harbor was fired upon by Confederate forces in 1861, announcing the opening salvo of the Civil War. Union forces retaliated by forming a blockade of ships in the harbor and bombarding Charleston with constant artillery fire. The southern forces in Charleston, starving and woefully short of supplies because […]

The following is the stirring email I received from my eldest son, Eric Stark: Dear friends, I followed up on an invitation by International Violin Competition President Glen Kwok for live musicians from Butler University to consider traveling to Camp Atterbury (near Columbus, IN) to perform a bit of music for the approximately 6,000 Afghans […]