Podcasts about Seaplane

We speak with a KC-135 pilot and licensed airframe and powerplant mechanic who runs a business specializing in aircraft maintenance, avionics upgrades, and aircraft management. In the news, budget cuts at NOAA's Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Office, a ruling in the so-called “toxic uniform” lawsuit against American Airlines, wildlife hazards, the Swiss Global 7500 aircraft, ATC retirement age, and Air Force restrictions on pregnant pilots. A KC-135R Stratotanker taxis down the flight line in an alert response during a Nuclear Operational Readiness Exercise (NORE) at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tennessee, April 6, 2025.(U.S. Air National Guard Photo by Staff Sgt. Jesse Hanson) Guest James Spearman is an aviation entrepreneur who owns James Spearman Aircraft LLC, an FAA Part 145 Repair Station specializing in aircraft maintenance, avionics upgrades, and aircraft management. He is also an active KC-135 Stratotanker pilot with the Tennessee Air National Guard who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in December 2024. James holds a CFI, A&P with Inspection Authorization (IA), and Seaplane ratings (ASES, AMEL, ASEL). He has over 1,000 flight hours in a range of aircraft, from the KC-135 Stratotanker to a Cessna 140, and holds type ratings in the Boeing 707, Boeing 720, Beechjet 400, and Mitsubishi MU-300. James graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Maintenance Management. In our conversation, James describes flying the KC-135 Stratotanker in a night-time combat mission and experiencing a loss of electrical power. He and his crew managed to compensate and return safely to base.  We also look at how he started his aircraft maintenance business, the type of work performed, and his commitment to a high-level white-glove service. James' aircraft maintenance company works primarily on Cirrus airplanes, and he is also a Diamond Aircraft authorized service center, an Epic service center, and a Garmin avionics dealer. Seaplane discovery rides and ICON A5 training are offered through Iconic Air & Sea Adventures. James also produces the The James Spearman Show podcast. Eleven Airmen from the 134th Air Refueling Wing receive the Distinguished Flying Cross on December 7, 2024 at a ceremony on McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Knoxville, Tennessee. The ceremony highlighted the critical role played by the recipients during a coordinated defense effort in response to one of the largest missile and drone attacks in history, when Iran launched a massive assault on Israel involving over 300 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial systems. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Ben Cash) Aviation News Stand Up for NOAA Research – The Time to Act is Now A Statement from the American Meteorological Society, in partnership with the National Weather Association, says “The administration's 2026 budget passback plan, currently under consideration, eliminates NOAA's Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Office and its 10 research laboratories and 16 affiliated Cooperative Institutes, and moves the few remaining research efforts to different NOAA departments. If enacted, the passback would close all of NOAA's weather, climate, and ocean Laboratories and Cooperative Institutes.” The organizations are asking concerned citizens to reach out elected representatives and share concerns. Find Your Representative Find Your Senator Judge Throws Out ‘Toxic Uniform' Lawsuit Against American Airlines After Nearly Eight Years Of Litigation The class action lawsuit, first filed in 2017, alleged that uniforms given by American Airlines to pilots, flight attendants, and other employees caused rashes, hives, breathing difficulties, and headaches. After nearly eight years, the federal judge threw out the lawsuit against American Airlines and former uniform manufacturer Twin Hill in a summary judgment,

Road trip from Montreal to Québec City along the historic Chemin du Roy or King's Road with travel expert Darley Newman. Tune in to the second episode of this three-part road trip as we go in depth with the locals and explore eco-friendly escapes and off-the-beaten-path experiences. Dive into a historic walking tour of Trois-Rivières with tour guide Jean-Philippe Marcotte and get the scoop on where to eat pizza and poutine. Discover Distillerie Mariana, where you can savor gin crafted from local products in a repurposed building that's over a hundred years old. Soar above the vibrant fall foliage of La Mauricie National Park in a seaplane with Hydravion Aventure. Buckle up for an unforgettable journey through Québec's rich history, local flavors, and stunning nature.

Max gives and update on the Learjet crash in Scottsdale and the crash of a Cirrus SR22 in Santa Barbara. He also analyzes the crash of N2UZ, a Bonanza B35B, which suffered an engine failure at 7,500 feet while flying over Virginia. The well-trained pilot attempted to glide to Charlottesville Airport (KCHO) but crashed in a wooded area just beyond a 3,000-foot-long field. ADS-B data shows that the aircraft's10.2:1 glide ratio was insufficient to reach the airport from its initial altitude. He discusses factors that could have altered the outcome, including diverting to Snow Hill, a private 2,200-foot grass strip within possible gliding range, or choosing a higher cruising altitude to increase the glide distance. The episode emphasizes the importance of proactive flight planning, including staying within glide range of an airport, using avionics tools like glide range rings, and making early decisions when faced with an emergency. Suggestions for improved safety include better route planning, considering altitude selection, and advocating for EFB applications to incorporate flight planning tools that maintain energy cones. If you're getting value from this show, please support the show via PayPal, Venmo, Zelle or Patreon. Support the Show by buying a Lightspeed ANR Headsets Max has been using only Lightspeed headsets for nearly 25 years! I love their tradeup program that let's you trade in an older Lightspeed headset for a newer model. Start with one of the links below, and Lightspeed will pay a referral fee to support Aviation News Talk. Lightspeed Delta Zulu Headset $1199 Lightspeed Zulu 3 Headset $899Lightspeed Sierra Headset $699 My Review on the Lightspeed Delta Zulu Send us your feedback or comments via email If you have a question you'd like answered on the show, let listeners hear you ask the question, by recording your listener question using your phone. News Stories Runway incursion at Chicago Midway Airport DOT Secretary says pilot error played a role in recent plane crashes ATC hiring supercharged Administration Considering Pay Hike For Air Traffic Controllers Repeated attempts to start engine end in fire Lack of brake fluid leads to plane crashing into hangar Pilot continues takeoff after wing hits runway Bonanza crashes at Seaplane base Mentioned on the Show Buy Max Trescott's G1000 Book Call 800-247-6553 Buy Max Trescott's G3000 Book Call 800-247-6553 Video of the Week: Bonanza crashes at Seaplane baseLearjet N81VN Scottsdale Crash Preliminary NTSB ReportCirrus SR22 Crash at Santa Barbara Free Index to the first 282 episodes of Aviation New Talk So You Want To Learn to Fly or Buy a Cirrus seminars Online Version of the Seminar Coming Soon – Register for Notification Check out our recommended ADS-B receivers, and order one for yourself. Yes, we'll make a couple of dollars if you do. Get the Free Aviation News Talk app for iOS or Android. Check out Max's Online Courses: G1000 VFR, G1000 IFR, and Flying WAAS & GPS Approaches. Find them all at: https://www.pilotlearning.com/ Social Media Like Aviation News Talk podcast on Facebook Follow Max on Instagram Follow Max on Twitter Listen to all Aviation News Talk podcasts on YouTube or YouTube Premium "Go Around" song used by permission of Ken Dravis; you can buy his music at kendravis.com If you purchase a product through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.

Today's headlines include: A sea plane crash off the coast of Western Australia has killed three people, WA Premier Roger Cook has confirmed. Meta has announced major changes to its social media moderation policies, including removing independent fact-checking moderators. Fire Crews in the U.S. are bracing for worsening conditions as a powerful windstorm threatens large parts of Southern California. And today’s good news: Researchers in the UK have made a breakthrough discovery that could improve the efficacy of some cancer treatments. Hosts: Emma Gillespie and Zara Seidler Producer: Elliot Lawry Want to support The Daily Aus? That's so kind! The best way to do that is to click ‘follow’ on Spotify or Apple and to leave us a five-star review. We would be so grateful. The Daily Aus is a media company focused on delivering accessible and digestible news to young people. We are completely independent. Want more from TDA?Subscribe to The Daily Aus newsletterSubscribe to The Daily Aus’ YouTube Channel Have feedback for us?We’re always looking for new ways to improve what we do. If you’ve got feedback, we’re all ears. Tell us here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A sad update on that seaplane crash from WA, Justin Trudeau slaps down a wild suggestion from Donald Trump, and a Ch 7 star reveals how much she gets paid.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A desperate search continues for three people missing after a seaplane crash on Rottnest Island Bushfire burning at Cape Otway in Victoria downgraded to a Watch and Act Police in Queensland issue an amber alert for a toddler missing in Beaudesert Members of Congress pay tribute to former US President Jimmy Carter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the 9News podcast. A snapshot of the latest stories from the 9News team including: A deadly seaplane crash, groceries going up, and social media censorship changes. The biggest news stories in less than 10 minutes delivered three times a day, with reports from the 9News team across Australia and overseas. Subscribe now to make it part of your daily news diet.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A desperate search continues for three people missing after a seaplane crash on Rottnest Island Bushfire burning at Cape Otway in Victoria downgraded to a Watch and Act Police in Queensland issue an amber alert for a toddler missing in Beaudesert Members of Congress pay tribute to former US President Jimmy Carter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian correspondent Murray Olds says the privately owned plane was trying to take off from the water near Rottnest Island, around 4pm local time. Police were told the aircraft took off, clipped a rocky outcrop, and went down into the ocean. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since 1901, the Nordstrom family name has epitomized luxury retail shopping, and for much of that time John Nils Nordstrom was at the helm, carrying on the family tradition. What you may not know, is that he is also an accomplished seaplane pilot with 33 yrs and over 3,700 hours of flying under his belt. He flies the legendary DeHavilland Beaver, two of them, in fact, making practical use of a classic general aviation in a world where newer isn't always better. “SocialFlight Live!” is a live broadcast dedicated to supporting General Aviation pilots and enthusiasts during these challenging times. Register at SocialFlightLive.com to join the live broadcast every Tuesday evening at 8pm ET (be sure to join early because attendance is limited for the live broadcasts). Aspen Avionics www.aspenavionics.com Avemco Insurance www.avemco.com/socialflight Avidyne www.avidyne.com Continental Aerospace Technologies www.continental.aero EarthX Batteries www.earthxbatteries.com Lightspeed Aviation www.lightspeedaviation.com McFarlane Aviation www.mcfarlane-aviation.com Phillips 66 Lubricants https://phillips66lubricants.com/industries/aviation/ Tempest Aero www.tempestaero.com Titan Aircraft www.titanaircraft.com Trio Avionics www.trioavionics.com uAvionix www.uavionix.com Wipaire www.wipaire.com

What happens when an airline pilot, air racer, and social media powerhouse collide? Meet Tommy Suell, a man whose passion for flight takes him from the cockpit of United Airlines planes to the thrill of the Reno Air Races. In this episode, he opens up about how his aviation journey began, his family's deep ties to flying, and the rush of low-altitude air racing. Tune in and catch all the action!   WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE How Tommy Suell transformed from a self-described shy kid to a social media sensation, using his passion for aviation to build an Instagram following of tens of thousands. Explore how obtaining a seaplane rating has unlocked new possibilities for Tommy, allowing him to land on beaches and fly over water, adding a whole new dimension to his aviation pursuits. How homeschooling his four daughters has created the flexibility for spontaneous international travel, hands-on learning, and a lifestyle of freedom that blends adventure with education. How Tommy transformed his flying passion into a thriving social media presence, inspiring thousands with his adventurous aviation posts. Inside look at the intense world of air racing, from pylon schools to racing at 50 feet off the ground.     RESOURCES/LINKS MENTIONED Pylon Racing Seminar at the National Championship Air Races      ABOUT TOMMY SEULL Tommy is a passionate aviator and commercial airline pilot who showcases his love for aviation through his popular Instagram account, @planejunkies. Growing up in a military family, Tommy was immersed in the world of flight from an early age, and he now shares his thrilling experiences in aerobatics, air racing, and seaplane flying. With a deep-rooted commitment to aviation, he has cultivated a dynamic social media presence that inspires fellow pilots and aviation enthusiasts. Beyond the cockpit, Tommy involves his family in his flying adventures, creating unforgettable moments that reflect his lifelong passion for the skies.     CONNECT WITH TOMMY Instagram: @planejunkies     CONNECT WITH US Are you ready to take your preparation to the next level? Don't wait until it's too late. Use the promo code “R4P” and save 10% on all our services. Check us out at www.spitfireelite.com!   If you want to recommend someone to guest on the show, email Nik at podcast@spitfireelite.com, and if you need a professional pilot resume, go to www.spitfireelite.com/podcast/ for FREE templates!   SPONSOR Are you a pilot just coming out of the military and looking for the perfect second home for your family? Look no further! Reach out to Marty and his team by visiting www.tridenthomeloans.com to get the best VA loans available anywhere in the US. If you're a professional pilot looking for a great financial planning partner for your retirement, tax, and investment, go to www.tpope.ceterainvestors.com/contact or call ‭704-717-8900 x120‬ to schedule a consultation appointment with Timothy P. Pope, CFP®. Be ready for takeoff anytime with 3D-stretch, stain-repellent, and wrinkle-free aviation uniforms by Flight Uniforms. Just go to www.flightuniform.com and type the code SPITFIREPOD20 to get a special 20% discount on your first order.  

Mit Dennis Keller (Seaplane Asia) Staffel #11 Folge #1 | #Marketing_021 Der Podcast über Marketing, Vertrieb, Entrepreneurship und Startups *** Link zum YouTube-Video: https://youtu.be/DfKKz1gAfj0 Sirius Minds: www.sirius-minds.com *** https://www.seaplaneasia.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siamseaplane & https://www.instagram.com/denniskell *** Im Marketing From Zero To One Interview spricht Dennis Keller, CEO & Gründer von Seaplane Asia Limited, über den Start und die Entwicklung seines Wasserflugzeug-Startups in Thailand. Er spricht über den Business Case, das Geschäftsmodell, die regulatorischen Herausforderungen und die Besonderheiten des Marktes in Südostasien. Dennis beschreibt außerdem die innovative Technik und das Ziel, schwer zugängliche Reiseziele durch Wasserflugezeuge besser erreichbar zu machen. Ferner gibt er Einblicke in kulturelle Unterschiede und die Wichtigkeit von Vertrauen beim Aufbau eines Unternehmens, das noch dazu essenziell für das Geschäft und die Kultur in Thailand ist. *** 03:13 – Wer ist Seaplane Asia Limited? 06:01 – Mitarbeiterstruktur und aktuelle Entwicklung der Flotte 12:09 – Entstehungsidee für das Wasserflugzeug-Startup 19:51 – Diskussion über Herausforderungen, vor allem regulatorische Hürden in Thailand 24:32 – Gründe, warum Wasserflugzeuge bisher in Thailand kaum verbreitet waren 28:38 – Festlegung von Routen und Vermarktung von Strecken 35:32 – Rolle der App und des digitalen Ansatzes im Geschäftsmodell 39:09 – Preisgestaltung und Partnernetzwerk für Charterflüge 44:47 – Marketingstrategien und Vertrauen im Premium-Dienstleistungsbereich 50:30 – Besonderheiten beim Gründungsprozess und kulturelle Unterschiede in Thailand 56:46 – Tipps für ausländische Gründer, die nach Thailand kommen 57:07 – Herausforderungen und Flexibilität beim Aufbau eines Unternehmens in Thailand 01:00:56 – Kulturelle Herausforderungen und die Bedeutung von Wertschätzung 01:04:18 – Beschreibung der Customer Experience bei einem Flug *** Die Zeitangaben können leicht abweichen.

Mike Macray has a story-telling gift carefully honed in the bars of Sanibel, Florida. Listen as we reminisce about his adventures on Sanibel, the Bahamas, Africa, Yemen & Kuwait! Find Mike's book - Adventures in Disaster: https://amzn.to/3TaVGPT --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nick-adams19/support

Seaplane and Aero Adventures owner Aaron Singer's job is envious. Learn what it's like to fly over the San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and other Bay Area standouts. Plus, Ian and David comment on AOPA's pushback against ADS-B landing fees in Florida, a coalition to protect avgas in California, a Virginia flight school's abrupt closure, and an aviation insurance reality check.

Join us as we recap and chat about Bob's Burgers Season 4 Episode 3 Seaplane! and Season 4 Episode 4 My Big Fat Greek Bob! Did you know the title is an allusion to the 1980 comedy film Airplane!. Wiki page for the episode: https://bobs-burgers.fandom.com/wiki/Seaplane! https://bobs-burgers.fandom.com/wiki/My_Big_Fat_Greek_Bob Links, articles, and videos mentioned in this episode: Join our Book Club on Patreon Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Tiktok --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/obdykpod/support

Holidays, work trips, cargo, freight and parcels; we rely on aviation personally and for business. But aviation's carbon footprint is huge, so what are some of the sustainable technology changes taking it into the future? A handful of manufacturers are looking at reviving the production of seaplanes for a new age in aviation, including Amphibian Aerospace Industries in Darwin. Professor of Aviation at Brisbane's Griffith University Tim Ryley weighs in on the future of seaplanes.

Responding to an advert on Facebook, Cathy Babis is joining David Geers on a journey around Australia in his Searey amphibian, taking around 60 days with many incredible stops along the way! Follow their journey with the link below!https://www.100asa.com.auBuy my kids book Marty the Mallard from me directly!https://forms.gle/BaR42kZAq7SPWiXPAFollow me on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/thatmallardguy/Check out my YouTube Channel!https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk6O4NEHd-Q5StSNLLfbjuw?view_as=subscriber

On this day in 1910, French amateur pilot Henri Fabre made the first successful seaplane flight.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

St. Louis resident and pilot Cathy Babis has been flying for more than 50 years. Starting this Saturday, she'll attempt to do something that no woman has done before — circumnavigate mainland Australia in a seaplane. The journey marks the 100th anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force's circumnavigation of the continent. Babis talks with producer Alex Heuer about the trip and its goals of encouraging people from diverse backgrounds in STEM fields and raising awareness around suicide prevention.

Kenny G is a household name and the best-selling instrumental artist of all time, known for his innovative smooth jazz and iconic soprano saxophone. As a composer, producer and performer, Kenny G has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. What you may NOT know, is that Kenny is also an avid and passionate pilot. For the past 35 years, he has been a GA pilot, transitioning from a Glasair III to his current de Havilland DHC–2 Beaver that brings his aviation passion directly to his lakefront home. His love of flying has taken him across the USA as a leisurely 98 knots, serenely taking in the view along the way. Sponsored by Bose Aviation - https://boseaviation.com/ “SocialFlight Live!” is a live broadcast dedicated to supporting General Aviation pilots and enthusiasts during these challenging times. Register at SocialFlightLive.com to join the live broadcast every Tuesday evening at 8pm ET (be sure to join early because attendance is limited for the live broadcasts).

Eric Lithun is a successful software entrepreneur from Norway, who, after selling the company he had co-founded, focused his efforts on the development of an electric seaplane.Elfly is a startup developing a new generation battery-powered seaplane.Electric aviation is tough: energy density is not yet there for most use cases, but this is not the case, Eric thinks, of the many of the missions seaplanes operate nowadays.In areas like the Norwegian fjords or the Maldives, seaplanes can play an important role linking communities that, while not distant as the crow (or the seaplane!) flies, are separated by some stretch of water that make air transport a desirable and efficient option.An aircraft that can operate those short distances economically, sustainably and with little need for infrastructure can open up numerous opportunities in this type of places. This is why Elfly plans not only to develop a new generation of electric seaplanes that can be upgraded progressively as new battery technology becomes available, but also to become an operator on its very own, showing to the world the operational and financial feasibility of the concept.Eric is a fantastic conversationalist that lays out very clearly what. are the the key factors that will make possible for the seaplanes to experience a renaissance of sorts in the coming decades.Tune in for a fascinating conversation about Elfly and the future of electric seaplanes! Download this episode from:Apple Podcasts / iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts Things we talk about in this episode Eric's professional background and how he got into aviationThe Elfly story, background and current statusWhy electric seaplanes have a compelling business case in NorwayHow Elfly plans to avoid some of the issues that have prevented a more widespread use of seaplanesThe NoEmi seaplane, features and charateristicsEric's plan to serially-produce the NoEmi seaplane ResourcesElflyThe previous podcast with Tomas BrødreskiftThe announcement of a cooperation agreement between Elfly and the Lofoten Islands of northern Norway, including the vintage-style poster we talk about during our conversation with Eric.A report by the Nordic Network for Electric Aviation (NEA) about opportunities for electric aviation in Scandinavia The NoEmi in flight (as you may see it one day in the Norwegian fjords) Podcast Music: Five Armies by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3762-five-armiesLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Interview Transcript:(please note that, although we strive to make it as close as possible to the original recording, the transcript may not be 100% accurate)

Read this week: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, The Seaplane on Final Approach by Rebecca Rukeseyer, Wellness by Nathan Hill, and Ghost Music by An Yu. 2023 favs: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, In Memoriam by Alice Winn, Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang, In Ascension by Martin MacInnes, The Glutton by A K Blakemore, Julia by Sandra Newman, Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, Dying of Politeness (A Memoir) by Geena Davis, The Darkness Manifesto: Why The World Needs The Night by Johan Eklöf, North Woods by Daniel Mason.Christmas reads: The End of Alice by A.M. Homes, Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis, The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela. Blackouts by Justin Torres, Closer by Dennis Cooper, I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai. Recommendations: Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, My Name Is Why by Lemn Sissay, Chavs by Owen Jones, The End of Eddy by Édouard Louis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Manice, co-founder and executive vice president of Tailwind Air, talks with Alan Fine of Insider Travel Report about his small airilne's history, its routes in the Northeast, including New York to Boston, and the advantages of flying by seaplane. With Tailwind, your clients can  avoid airports and at 10,000 feet they have continuous internet and cell phone service throughout the flight. Manis also covers travel advisor commissions and the availability of fares ranging from $395 to $895 one way in the GDS. For more  information, email VIP@FlyTailwind.com or visit www.FlyTailwind.com. If interested, the original video of this podcast can be found on the Insider Travel Report Youtube channel or by searching for the podcast's title on Youtube.

REGIONS: Commercial seaplane flight from Manila to Pangasinan eyed | November 20, 2023Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net Follow us: Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital Check out our Podcasts: Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcherTune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein #TheManilaTimes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you want to set your foundation for success in aviation? Then start your career on the right note with luxury seaplane provider Tropic Ocean Airways! Learn about what you need to become a part of their crew, plus other career advancement opportunities with Erik Turasz. Keep tuning in for more information.   WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE  Tropic Ocean Airways: What it is and their mission Exciting job openings for pilots at Tropic Ocean Airways Importance of constant vigilance and evaluation for seaplane flying How Tropic Ocean Airways pilots get hired, trained, and grow their careers Leadership style and its impact on a company culture   RESOURCE/LINK MENTIONED FAA Standards   ABOUT ERIK TURASZ Erik Turasz is the Director of safety, training, and standardization. He is an executive leader and veteran Special Operations officer (Colonel, retired, USAF) with extensive experience and a career highlighted by achieving results in the most dynamic and challenging environments.   Eric is a first-generation American from Pahokee, FL, a small, poverty-stricken town rich in culture and athletics. He decided at an early age that he wanted to serve our nation. Eric was determined to have a career as an Air Force pilot and focused on leading in combat.   CONNECT WITH ERIK TURASZ Website: Tropic Ocean Airways LinkedIn: Erik Turasz    CONNECT WITH US  Are you ready to take your relationship to the next level? Don't wait until it's too late. Use the promo code “PODCAST” and save 10% on all our services. Check us out at www.spitfireelite.com!   If you want to recommend someone to guest on the show, email Nik at podcast@spitfireelite.com, and if you need a professional pilot resume, go to www.spitfireelite.com/podcast/ for FREE templates!    SPONSOR If you're a professional pilot looking for a great financial planning partner for your retirement, tax, and investment, go to www.tpope.ceterainvestors.com/contact or call 704-717-8900 ext 120 to schedule a consultation appointment with Timothy P. Pope, CFP® 

Last year in the month of April, I embarked on what would end up being one of the most exciting weeks of my aviation career, training 7 highly experienced pilots how to fly the floating hull aircraft on a 75-year-old Republic Seebee. I had always dreamt of flying the seebee, but never before had I even seen one until I was in formation with the one I was about to instruct on, sitting in a Gazelle helicopter with the great man and my guest today, Jim Whalley at the controls. 

It's a Live Imaging Tuesday! Morales is in and what's this?! Allen is back! After Corporate Greg asked about 'heavy petting' yesterday, the guys needed some context, so he drops in. Sli shares a story from his vacation - he took a SeaPlane and gives his take on the experience. Producer Emily likes sour beer, and the Beer Wars have officially started. HEY DID YOU SEE? with Producer Tyler (filling in for Producer Jorge). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks for listening to the August 14, 2023, edition of the Pilot Briefing podcast. Here's what we talked about this week:  Tips for pattern entries Read all your ASA e-books on new app King Schools releases new test prep app Seaplane pilots: Raise gear on positive rate CAU receives Part 141 approval in Phoenix  Questions or comments about this podcast? Email jill.tallman@aopa.org.   

Last time we spoke about the allied offensive against Mubo and the naval battle of Kolombangara. The Australians and Americans were continuing the drive towards Salamaua and Lae, but in their way was the once heavily fortified area of Mubo. Because of intricate diversionary attacks in multiple places, the Japanese gradually lifting their defensive positions in Mubo, until the time was ripe for the allies to seize it. The Pimple, Green Hill and Observation hill, places that caused suffering and hardship were finally seized, Mubo was secured. Over in the Solomons, the New Georgia campaign was continuing, forcing the Japanese to make another daring Tokyo Express run like they did at the battle of Kula Gulf. Yet again Admiral Ainsworth went out to face the enemy, completely ignorant of their torpedo capabilities and he paid for it dearly. Today we are going to continue these stories. This episode is the Drive on Munda Point Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  Today we are starting with the main drive towards Munda. We are picking up from last time where General Wing had finally begun his main advance on Munda on July 9th. Now the landings had occurred on July 2nd, from then on the Americans were busy making another landings such as at Rice Anchorage, getting forces to assembly points and trying to hinder any efforts by the Japanese to reinforce Munda. If you were looking down upon a map it would basically look like multiple forces taking up positions that cut off trails and ports that extend towards Munda. Everyone had a unique task and a time table, but as we all know not everything goes according to plan. When General Wing ordered the main advance, two infantry regiments were greatly delayed, those being the 172nd who moved a grand total of 1100 yards and the 169th who made zero ground at all. The war planners had not considered how difficult it would be for ground forces to travel the single narrow tracks, dense jungles, mangroves, creeks, ridges and ravines. The men found navigation difficult and whenever the terrain seemed to narrow they found Japanese defenses. The 172nd were ordered by Major Genera Hester to carry out flanking maneuvers against a roadblock set up by the 9th company, 3rd battalion, 229th regiment while the 169th attacked them frontally. They were supported by heavy artillery, naval bombardment and aerial bombing. But General Sasaki correctly predicted the American commanders intentions and responded to them rather quickly with his own counter flanking maneuvers. His forward area was held by Japanese snipers, well concealed in baskets in trees whom employed rifles that gave little to no muzzle flashes, something that was turning into a real trait of the Japanese.  The 172nd progressed a few hundreds yards with its 1st battalion leading the way, the 2nd behind them and the 3rd following from a distance. They were assaulting a point where the Munda trail intersected another trail running southwest to a beach and southwest of this were the native villages of Ilangana and Laiana. The Japanese managed to keep them 1500 yards away with this defenses. The Artillery was not working to dislodge the Japanese from their roadblock and during the night the Japanese were reinforced with some units of the 11th company who took up some high ground later called Reincke Ridge. This made things ever worse for the inexperienced and pretty brutally shaken 169th who had the unfortunate job of meeting them in a front assault. Things were becoming even worse for General Wing. Despite the slow progress, the American forces had actually overstretched their logistics by July 10th. The 118th engineer battalion had been making some good progress building a jeep trail going from Zanana to the Barike River. They relied on information provided by native scouts, and the engineers built the trail over high dry ground, averaging around half a mile or so per day. But the 5 foot deep fast running stream east of the Barike caused a ton of soft mud, not  very engineer friendly. To get the ground firm enough for footbridges and such they were forces to swing the road northward parallel to the river for over 2 miles. This gap between the end and front of the road meant near half of the combat troops were forced to carry forward ammunition, food, water and other supplies and let us not forget everyone who gets sick or wounded needed to be carried back on the same roadways. Again, logistics are not as sexy as the combat and don't usually get much time of day, but its important for any war effort, hell look at Russia today. To solve his logistical headache, General Hester decided to divert the 172nd infantry regiment south towards Laiana, while the 169th would continue their miserable advance up the Munda trail. Now Laiana was just 500 yards east of the main Japanese defensive line at Ilangana, currently held by the 2nd and 3rd battalion of the 229th regiment and 2nd independent Quick-fire battalion all under the command of Colonel Hirata Genjiro. The 172nd would have the support of the 3rd battalion, 103rd regiment and 8 M3 Stuart tanks of the 9th defense battalion who were expected to land at Laiana by July 13th. On the morning of the 11th, the 172nd began turning south wading through knee deep mud and having the Japanese fire mortars upon them. By midway they had advanced 450 yards when they came across some Japanese bill boxes. While this was going on the 169th were pushing against the Japanese upon the high ground leading to a stalemate. Because of this Colonel Temple Holland replaced Colonel Eason as commander of the 169th and Colonel Frederick Reincke took command of its 3rd battalion which was being led by Major William Stebbins. On July 12th the Colonel Holland began a plan calling for the 1st battalion to attack frontally while the 2nd battalion enveloped the Japanese left flank. The 3rd battalion who were in reserve were released to engage the enemy, but the entire thing bogged down immediately as units became intermingled with the 172nd who were on their way to Laiana. Meanwhile Rear Admiral Aaron Merrill with task force 36 was ordered to depart Ironbottom Sounds and provide naval bombardment from the Blanche Channel in coordination with heavy artillery in Rendova and aerial bombing from AirSols. Merrill took 4 light cruisers Columbia, Cleveland, Denver and Montpelier into the narrow channel while his two destroyers Farenholt and Buchanen took up a position near the Munda Bar to shell the Kokenggolo Hill Area. Merrills force fired 8600 shells for 40 minutes, which did clear the jungle in front of the advancing troops, but ultimately did little else as they were forced to fire a mile in front of the American positions, but within that mile were the said Japanese defenses. As you can imagine, the boys on the ground were all too excited to now advance, only to find the same unhampered enemy facing them. The 1st battalion, 169th regiment managed to gain about 300 yards; the 2nd battalion received enfilading fire from a ridge to the north, unable to progress and the 3rd battalion assaulted the southern ridge for several hours enjoying some artillery and aerial support. To the south the 172nd were stuck in front of the pill boxes. These pill boxes were not made out of concrete, but instead coconut logs and coral, pretty ingenious stuff. They ranged from 10-12 feet square, with 3-4 layers of logs banked with 6-8 feet of weathered coral. Their ceilings were usually around 10 feet from the floor, dug into the earth so that 2-4 feet of the pill box projected above the ground. Each had several firing slits for riflemen or machine guns. Outside the pill boxes were foxholes, and trenches connected all positions. All of this was well camouflage using earth, grass, vines, palm fronds and such, leading Americans to stumble onto a pill box without even noticing it. One remark made by the 43rd division after coming across them was that they had an easier time smelling them than seeing them. So if you ever watched classic Pacific War films or the Pacific Series and wondered how some of these pill boxes were made, there you go.  On the morning of the 13th Colonel Holland requested some aerial support and he got some at 10am. 12 Dauntless dropped 1000 pound daisy cutters upon some smoke markers laid out by the 169th. The dive bombers manage to hit the target perfectly before Holland ordered the men to charge. The 2nd battalion went through the center, while the 1st battalion took the right and the 3rd battalion took the left. They hit the north and south ridges trying to envelop the Japanese. E and F companies of the 2nd battalion ran into heavy machine gun fire, causing a halt. The 1st battalion tried to climb the north ridge but were obstructed by a ton of felled trees and craters due to the bombing. The Japanese who survived the bombardments opened fire from their pillboxes keeping the Americans in check. The charging Americans now without artillery or mortar support tried to push forward with rifle and bayonet, seeing many killed upon the crest or wounded. Company B would lose 3 of its 4 officers alone. The 3rd battalion now led by Colonel Reincke fought for some hours managing to progress 500 yards into the Japanese lines securing the south ridge. They fought pillbox through pillbox, it was a terribly bloody affair, resulting in 100 casualties. When they took the ridge they held the position, beating back several counterattacks during the night, to which the men named the ridge Reincke. Soon the 1st and 2nd battalions took up positions on the 3rds flanks securing Reincke ridge, while the Japanese concentrated on the northern ridge and to the west they held a higher ground called Horseshoe hill. Meanwhile the 172nd had their lines of communication cut off in their rear by the Japanese forcing them to quicken up the pace as they were running low on food. They made it to Laiana beach in the late afternoon successfully securing the beach and organizing defensive positions. The following morning General Hester landed the 3rd battalion, 103rd regiment and the tanks to back them up at Laiana. This came also with some much needed supplies for the worn out men. Having supplied the men to the southern beach, now the men in the northern front required resupply. Reinckes men were tossing back more counterattacks. One morning Japanese artillery fired upon the ridge bursting a tree that killed 4 men and wounded 23. Alongside this 5 men were reported to have a case of shell shock, 7 others war neurosis. Machine gun fire claimed 2 men, wounded another 5. At 8pm artillery began again killing another 8 men and wounding 26. There were no medical officers with the battalion, leaving medics to do what they could. Despite the hardship the 3rd battalion held their ground, and gradually the Japanese evacuated the northern ridge which the 2nd battalion quickly seized. By July 15th, the 4rd divisions engineers had managed to complete the jeep trail from Laiana to the 169th area. Telephone lines crews began to lay underwater cables between Zanana, Laiana and General Barkers artillery teams. Engineers also finished a bridge over the Barike on the 12th and on the 14th had extended the trail within 500 yards of the 169th front lines. Supply lines were finally being secured, and more importantly the wounded would be able to be safely transported. By July 17th, the 43rd division had 90 deaths, 636 wounded in actions and over 1000 cases of sickness ranging from the ever present friend malaria, but also diarrhea, dysentery and such. As mentioned, cases of psychological problems were also very apparent. Half of the 43rd division were suffering war neurosis, which we call today Combat Stress Reaction “CSR”. This is an acute reaction from the stress of war that causes the combatant to feel fatigued, have slower reactions, be indecisive, and can become disconnected from one's surroundings. It's classic psychological trauma, kind of similar to what I assume many of you listeners would think of as PTSD, but it is not the same thing, PTSD can see durations lasting months if not even years, while CSR has a short duration. Small tidbit of info since my first degree is in neuroscience, a fairly recent study in the later 2000's was done to look at the issue of CSR, shellshock and such from a neurological point of view. The idea was to figure out if specific physical damage was being done to parts of the brain during blast trauma that caused combat stress reactions. The reason the study was done was because the symptoms from such maladies often overlap with things you see in traumatic brain injuries, anyways was interesting reading back in my uni days. As pointed out by historian Samuel Eliot Morison, it seemed General Hester's choice of sending the 172nd infantry regiment south, had greatly exposed the inexperienced 169th. In his words “This was perhaps the worst blunder in the most unintelligently waged land campaign of the Pacific war (with the possible exception of Okinawa). Laiana should have been chosen as the initial beachhead; if it was now required, the 172nd should have been withdrawn from Zanana and landed at Laiana under naval gunfire and air support. Or Hester might have made the landing with his reserves then waiting at Rendova. As it was, General Sasaki interpreted the move correctly and by nightfall had brought both advances to a standstill.” In order to break the deadlock that was occurring, some of the command structure would be reorganized. This coincided with half of the 4rd division being knocked out of commission, prompting General Hester to request reinforcements for the drive against Munda. General Harmon performed a inspection of the situation and reported back to Admiral Halsey on Guadalcanal. He advised sending forward General Oscar Griswold of the 14th corps with a forward echelon of staff so he could begin building up the administrative, supply and planning for the future New Georgia occupation force. Once Munda had fallen, this would allow General Hester to carry on against Vila. Harmon justified this by stating Hesters force was too small to do it, but there was another rationale. By doing this it would relegate Admiral Turner to a supporting role, whom the army and marines were resenting because of what they deemed to be his meddling of ground operations. Admiral Turner opposed the idea, and Halsey replied to Harmon he could simply increase Hester's staff. This prompted Harmon to fly back to COMSOPAC HQ on Noumea to personally talk to Halsey and force the issue. Griswold showed up at midnight on the 15th assuming command of the occupational force, leaving Hester to focus on the actions of his 43rd divisions offensive. Griswold began his new task by directing Major General Robert Beightler to the rest of the 37th division to New Georgia alongsideColonel Collins 161st regiment of his 25th division. Over at Zanana, the 1st battalion of the 145th regiment arrived at 5pm, which Colonel Holland tossed up to help reinforce the 169th.Now that Admiral Turner was relieved as commander of the South Pacific Amphibious force, his new orders were to take command of the central pacific offensives, replacing Admiral Wilkinson. Now General Hester was preparing for a corps level offensive, but it would take over 10 days to build up and in the meantime the Japanese began to prepare a major counter offensive. On July 16 and 17 some small attacks were performed against the Ilangana line, supported now by the newly arrived tanks, but a lack of coordination between the 172nd regiments infantry and tanks led to only a bit of gain. Nonetheless the tanks did help against the pillboxes. The tanks took up a wedge formation and used their 37mm guns with high explosive shells to dislodge the panicking Japanese trying to fight back with their machine guns from many of the forward pillboxes. However the Japanese were only phased by the arrival of the tanks for about a day as on July 18th they started to employ anti tank strategies to great effect. The Japanese defenders began tossing a mixture of mines, molotov cocktails and flame-throwers, forcing Griswold to withdraw the remaining tanks and ordered the transportation of the 10th defense battalions tanks to reinforce them.  Meanwhile the 169th regiment were advancing southwest towards Kelley Hill located 400 yards southwest of Reincke Ridge. They faced little opposition, but would soon see wave after wave of Japanese counterattacks to dislodge them. On the other side, the 1st and 3rd battalions of Colonel Tomonari's 13th regiment had arrived at the scene and managed to bypass Colonel Liversedge's roadblock. General Sasaki planned to toss Tomonari around the American's right flank near the east bridge over the Barike river. From there they could advance upon Zanana Beach. By July 14th, the 1th regiment were marching to the upper Barike, but the men lacked maps and were hacking their own trail. Tomonari said of this  “If we had to go round and round in circles in the jungle, not having been able to find the enemy, nor having been able to help the 229th Regiment and let them die, it would really hurt the reputation the 13th Infantry Regiment had had for a long time, since the Sino- and Russo-Japan War. That was why most soldiers were feeling the pressure. Finally meeting the enemy at that point was like meeting Buddha in hell.” It would take them  days to march through the thick jungle. On the night of July 17th, Tomonari and the men found a jeep trail heading towards General Hesters HQ on Zanana Beach. He ordered his men to attack the area which at this time was being guarded by a platoon of the 4rd reconnaissance troops and 70 Fijian commandos led by Captain David Williams. General Hester was not at the HQ at this time he was at Laiana, but Generals Wing and Barker were. The Japanese launched simultaneous raids against the engineer and medical bivouacs and 43rd divisional command post. At the same time Captain Kojima of the 229th regiment launched an attack against Kelley Hill on the 18th. At 10am Japanese machine guns north of Kelley opened fire as riflement charged the its western slope. The 1st battalion fired upon the charging Japanese as the 3rd battalion fired upon the machine gunners to the north. The Japanese assault was threatening to break the line. Many of the Japanese managed to crawl within grenade tossing distance of the northern line of the 1st battalion, but mortar fire forced them back. It was an extremely bloody attack and the 1st battalion reported finding 102 dead Japanse upon the slopes at daybreak. Another predawn attack was launched by the 2nd battalion 229th infantry against the 3rd battalion, 103rd infantry but they repulsed it. The attacks were done to prevent the American troops there from helping the Zanana defenders. If all went well, Sasaki could destroy the 43rd divisions rear installations cutting off major lines of communications to the surrounding front line forces. Tomonari's raids however were chaotic and disorderly. Rather than a organized assault, it fell into a series of separate smaller raids allowing the few reconnaissance and Fijian commandos to fend off the invaders. The reconnaissance forces repelled the attacks upon the engineer and medical bivouacs while the Fijian commandos manned a perimeter alongside Headquarters personnel such as drivers, medical orderlies, clerks, everyone grabbed a rifle despite many not even using one since basic training. The Fijians had better eyesight at night than anyone else and showcased their abilities to the Japanese who were certainly not used to being contested in this field of expertise. Tafa a Tongan, was firing from his foxhole when a Japanese officer wielding a katana and a grenade in the other hand charged at him. Tafa used his Owen gun to mow the man down killing him. The Japanese officer was found later to be carrying documents showcasing the full strength of the Japanese force and details of their mission. The Japanese were screaming as they charged from all directions as the close quarters melee raged on. The Japanese managed to infiltrate the perimeter multiple times, destroying communications equipment, but they could not reach the most important part of the area, General Barkers artillery. Barker unleashed a tight box barrage from extremely close range to devastating effect. The Japanese had no other option than to flee up the jeep trail they came from. Tomonari had his surviving forces erect some road blocks for the next 3 days, but Sasaki's hopes of knocking out the 43rd divisions HQ were thwarted. Having survived the major counter offensive, the 148th regiment was quickly landed at Zanana on the 18th and were soon sent over to Reincke Ridge to relieve the poor 169th regiment. Colonel Stuart Baxter of the 148th regiment was surprised by the roadblocks as Griswold never warned him about them. His advance parties were ambushed leading to 2 deaths and some wounded. During the night the Japanese were found drunk off looted whiskey they had taken from a rations dump near the bridge on the Barike. There was a clash where a platoon from the 169th were bringing wounded men down. The drunken Japanese managed to kill many of the wounded men being carried on litters alongside 2 medics. The bridge henceforth was called “Butchers bridge”. The next morning at 8am, Baxter sent his 1st battalion and his HQ up the jeep road to fight the Japanese, but as they went up it seemed the Japanese had withdrawn. Baxters men crossed the east bridge without incident, but as they went further up the road suddenly Japanese machine guns opened up on them. A company lost over a dozen men to this ambush and soon the Japanese were attacking his flanks forcing Baxter to dig in. By July 21st the Japanese would finally depart the area allowing the 148th regiment to relieve the 169th. As for the 169th, they were sent over to Rendova and General Beightler took command of the 37th division whom he reshuffled for an offensive. A 1300 yard line was formed north of Ilangana with Hester's 43rd division to the south and Beightler's 37th division to the north. By this point Hester moved his 43rd divisional command post from Zanana to Laiana where many trails were created to help with the supply lines. Griswold now planned to start an offensive on July 25th, opening up with a naval, artillery and aerial bombardment, before the infantry and tanks performed a frontal assault upon the Japanese line. The 43rd division would hit from the left to take Lambete plantation and its airfield while the 37th division would hit from the right against Bibilo Hill, thus enveloping the Japanese north of the airfield. Meanwhile, Colonel Currin's 4th Raiders had secured the Enogai inlet, allowing Liversedge to launch his attack against Bairoko. For the attack on Bairoko, Liversedge planned to use the 1st and 4th Raiders along the ENogai-Bairoko trail to hit the Japanese frontally, while the 3rd battalion, 148th regiment would take the Triri-Bairoko trail to hit their southern flank. Liversedge appeared to have expected aerial bombing support, but did not request or failed to request the air support in time. On the morning of the 20th, the forces began their advance. At 10:00am, Colonel Griffiths 1st Raiders ran into some Japanese outposts manned by just a handful of Japanese. They fired upon them sending them fleeing, as they continued their advance they soon came across a larger force. Eventually they were forced to a halt as they came upon the Japanese main defensive line at around Noon. Commander Okumura Saburo had created 4 successive lines of mutually supporting pillboxes on low parallel ridges running north to south. Meanwhile the 4th raiders advanced within 300 yards short of the shore of Bairoko harbor meeting the Japanese lines of defense. At 2:30pm, Griffiths D company managed to break into the first line of defense, but an hour later, Okumura ordered heavy mortar fire from the ridges pushing the Americans back and turning the area into a killing field. The 1st raiders were unable to move forward, now resting their hopes on the 4th raiders making a breakthrough in the south. The 4th raiders ran into the Japanese main line during the midday and were not making any progress. Liversedge called the forces at the front and consequently ordered the two raider battalions to take up defensive positions further east on some high ground. The raiders had suffered 200 casualties before they retired to the south shores of Leland Lagoon. The next day, reinforcements came over from Enogai along with air support. At 9:50am 24 Dauntless, 25 Avengers and 8 B-25's swooped in to bomb Bairoko. This was followed up at noon by 37 Avengers, 6 B-25s, then at 4pm 48 Dauntless and 25 Avengers. 130 tons of bombs his Bairoko alongside an estimated 24,000 rounds of machine gun bullets. Liversedge ordered the men to sit tight and hold their positions for now along a line stretching from Enogai, Triri and Rice Anchorage.  Meanwhile, after the victory during the battle of Kolombangara, Admiral Samejima formed a new Night battle unit, consisting of  Heavy cruisers Kumano, Suzuya and Chokai; light cruiser Sendai; and destroyers Yugure, Kiyonami, Yukikaze and Hamakaze, led by Admiral Nishimura. Their unit was given the task of harassing American transportation efforts. Rear Admiral Ijuin Matsuji was now commanding the reinforcement unit who were going to make a run on the 17th, but this was greatly hampered by an American air strike against Buin. On the 17th, 7 B-24s, 32 P-38's and P-40's, 37 Dauntless, 36 Avengers and 64 Wildcats and Corsairs hit Buin. 48 Zeros began to take off from Kahili, but they could not scramble fast enough as the Americans bombed the shipping, setting a cargo ship on fire, before the Hatsuyuki took a direct hit to her forward magazine sinking her and 3 other destroyers were damaged. 13 Zeros were shot down while the Americans lost 6 aircraft. Many of Ijuins transports received some minor damage delaying his departure. On July 19th, Nishimura attempted a reinforcement run to New Georgia, but his force was intercepted northwest of Kolombangara by a pack of Avengers. Nishimura's ships scattered at high speed upon seeing the enemy aircraft, but Yugure was successfully torpedoed and sank as a result. The Kiyonami stuck behind to grab survivors. Meanwhile cruisers Chokai and Kumano were also heavily damaged. The Kiyonami was later attacked by 8 B-25's who bombed her at masthead level, leaving her dead in the water. The B-25's also attacked the transports doing some minor damage to the Matsuzuki and Minazuki. 582 men, 102 tons of supplies and 60 drums of fuel were successfully delivered, but the terrible losses led to the newly formed Night Battle unit to be canned. On the 22nd another reinforcement convoy consisting of Seaplane tender Nishin and destroyers Arashi, Isokaze and Hagikaze made a run to Bougainville led by Rear Admiral Osugi Morkazu. They were carrying 630 men of the South Seas 4th guard unit, 22 tanks and 8 artillery pieces. They were intercepted by a huge force consisting of 12 B-24's, 16 Dauntless, 18 Avengers, escorted by 134 fighters flown by US army, Marine and New Zealanders. The Nisshin was devastated by bombs, torpedoes and strafing attacks leading her to sink within 14 minutes from the start of the interception. Of her 633 crewmen and 630 troops onboard, only 178 would be rescued later on by destroyers who faced considerable attacks from aircraft doing so. Despite the rather insane levels of allied aircraft attacks, General Imamura continued to commit more forces to the defense of the Central Solomons now assigning the elite 2nd battalion, 230th regiment “Yano Battalion” led by Lt COlonel Yano Keiji to reinforce Vila. They were sent aboard the destroyers Yukikaze, Mikazuki and Hamakaze on the night of the 23rd. Instead of sailing through the slot, they used the Wilson straight which was very fortunate as Admiral Merrill was coming up the slot with a large task force to supply Liversedge at Enogai. At Least the poor Japanese transports dodge one bullet. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The American drive upon Munda was seeing significant delays as the Japanese proved themselves very capable at defense, especially in pillboxes. However the battles to reinforce New Georgia were costing the Japanese defeats or pyrrhic victories. 

Jack Jacobson and Amy Fenwick from the Washington Seaplane Pilots Association join Steve McCaughey on this episode to provide a recap of the 2023 Tanglefoot Seaplane Splash-In on Priest Lake, Idaho.Perfectly calm, cool and clear weather welcomed over 30 seaplanes and their pilots. This amazing event which was hosted by the WSPA and Fenwick family at their amazing seaplane base nestled within the backcountry of Northern Idaho, just 40 miles from the Canadian border.

"I know you are in there. I wonder if you can hear my voice or feel my presence, my touch. You might not even look like a human being yet. I once saw pictures in a biology book and I know that a human fetus looks pretty much the same as a piglet for a long time. But those look cute when they come out. Nothing like a baby, with its big head, all blue and squishy, covered in yellowish paste. I have seen it before, a long time ago, and the images have never left me. You will most likely be even more ugly. Being evil leaves its marks..."In this episode, Erin O'Loughlin, Sharon Mertins and special guest Rebecca Rukeyser talk about dystopias, dark stories, and why we love  grim narratives so much!REBECCA RUKEYSER is the recipient of a 2018 Grant for Non-German Literature, awarded by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe. She holds an MFA (Fiction) from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and has taught creative writing at the University of Iowa and Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf. She's a member of the guest faculty at Bard College Berlin, where she teaches fiction writing. Her stories have appeared in such publications as ZYZZYVA, The Massachusetts Review, and Best American NonRequired Reading. Her debut novel 'The Seaplane on Final Approach' is forthcoming from Granta Books in the UK and Doubleday in the United States.

Every seaplane pilot has dreamt of doing this at one stage, packing their suitcase, requesting an upgrade to business but getting shafted in economy for 14 hours, ok maybe not that part, but all seaplane pilots look at flying in Alaska as one of the pinnacles in the industry, and Aussie pilot Ollie O'Halloran is doing just that. Support On the Step via Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/thatmallardguyFollow me on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/thatmallardguy/Check out my YouTube Channel!https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk6O4NEHd-Q5StSNLLfbjuw?view_as=subscriberSeaplane Pilots Association:On the Step is proudly sponsored by the Seaplane Pilots Association. Join today to support the association that is built to support their community. Membership benefits include:Nationwide AdvocacyProtection of Seaplane access to waterwaysWater Flying MagazineThe Water Landing Directory appThe Seaplane Flight Training DirectoryEvents and Splash-InsSafety SeminarsScholarship programs for Seaplane TrainingDiscounted Seaplane Insurance ProgramsNumerous other members only benefitsJOIN NOW!https://seaplanepilotsassociation.wufoo.com/forms/z1nfgg7k09exqp0/ https://seaplanes.org.au/join-us

SPA Board Member Harry Shannon joins Steve McCaughey to review our recent SPA advocacy tour through Alaska. During the trip SPA conducted numerous safety workshops, visited Alaska Seaplanes' amazing operation in Juneau and attended the Great Alaska Aviation Gathering. The crew traveled over 2,500 miles during the three week trip that included stops in Anchorage, Palmer, Talkeetna, Fairbanks and Juneau.

A self-confessed lucky bugger who answered a phone call back in the early 80's that changed the direction of his career forever, John Ramsden took that opportunity and has flown seaplanes around the world including both the radial and turbine mallard, the twin otter and continues flying today in the Cessna caravan amphibian. A true Aussie seaplane legend who doesn't mind a beer either.Support On the Step via Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/thatmallardguyFollow me on Instagram!https://www.instagram.com/thatmallardguy/Check out my YouTube Channel!https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk6O4NEHd-Q5StSNLLfbjuw?view_as=subscriberSeaplane Pilots Association:On the Step is proudly sponsored by the Seaplane Pilots Association. Join today to support the association that is built to support their community. Membership benefits include:• Nationwide Advocacy• Protection of Seaplane access to waterways• Water Flying Magazine• The Water Landing Directory app• The Seaplane Flight Training Directory• Events and Splash-Ins• Safety Seminars• Scholarship programs for Seaplane Training• Discounted Seaplane Insurance Programs• Numerous other members only benefitsJOIN NOW!https://seaplanepilotsassociation.wufoo.com/forms/z1nfgg7k09exqp0/ https://seaplanes.org.au/join-us 

On this episode of Between Two Wings we talk with Deon Mitton, a commercial seaplane pilot who shares his flights around the U.S. and other parts of the world with […] The post Between Two Wings with Deon Mitton – Commercial Seaplane Pilot appeared first on ForeFlight Blog.

Melissa Grabiec has had quite a journey since joining the Seaplane Pilots Association. As a traveling volunteer doing events across the country in her early 20's, to earning her ATP, and flying for a major airline, she is now starting her own seaplane service. Melissa started her seaplane journey, like many others, at Jack Brown's Seaplane Base in 2012. Eleven years later, she is flying for a major airline and launching Bel-Air Seaplane Service, which is operating off of Messalonskee Lake, in Maine.This a fun interview with a passionate Lifetime SPA member which is inspirational; especially, to young pilots looking for chase a career in aviation.https://belairseaplaneservice.com

Dan Dufault sits down with Steve McCaughey for this episode of the Water Flying podcast. As a former Maine Game Warden, Alaska lodge pilot and floatplane adventurer, Dan has a wealth of experience and and engineering background that has lead him to design innovative products such as the T3 Tailwheel, Paddle Pump and numerous other products used by passionate bush pilots.From stocking fisheries via float plane airdrops to monitoring wildlife populations Dan's experiences and flying skills provide a wealth of fascinating subject matter for us to explore in a way that we are sure you will enjoy.

Robert Grant joins us on this episode of the Water Flying podcast. Robert is a regular feature writer with WaterFlying magazine, he has logged over 20,000 of flight time, 6,000 hours of seaplane time - 3,000+ of which he did in the Turbo Beaver flying for the Ontario (Canada) Ministry of Natural Resources.Join us as Robert shares his experiences flying these amazing seaplanes in the Canadian bush supporting research, medical evacuations, and fire fighting missions among many others.This is a great episode to learn more about the De Havilland Turbo Beaver floatplane, and the real world missions that built their legendary status with aviation enthusiasts and pilots.

Last time we spoke about the battle of the Bismarck Sea. Though it was called a battle, what occurred at the Bismarck Sea was more of a catastrophic slaughter and a showcase of how the Japanese were no longer capable of performing offensives. The allies performed skip bombing and mast head bombing techniques against a convoy heading for Lae to deadly effect. 4 destroyers, 8 transports, 20 fighters were destroyed and nearly 3000 Japanese were killed. The allied pilots were ordered to give no mercy to the enemy and many reluctantly attacked the survivors of the shipwreck carnage. Their commanders justified the actions stating the men would have been landed and put right onto the front lines in New Guinea causing even more suffering. Yet as magnificent a victory as it was for the allies, it certainly was not the only one at this time for another major naval battle was occurring in the solomons This episode is the Battle of Blackett Strait  Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.    Yet before we can jump back into the turbulent seas of the south Pacific we will talk a bit more about the theater of the Pacific War that goes far, often too forgotten, that of China.  Its been quite sometime since we were last in China. Now stating the Second sino-Japanese war is complicated is an overstatement. To simplify it somewhat know this, there were 22 major engagements between the NRA and IJA during the war. One of these engagements is known as the Battle of West Hubei, which was one of four major battles that took place in Hubei. Now in July of 1938 the IJA Dai-Jyu-ichi gun “11th army” was formed under the Japanese central China area army. The purpose of such a formation was to conquer and occupy central provinces in China, specifically those between the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. The 11th army had played a crucial role during the battle of Wuhan and had seen quite a list of differing commanders. In December of 1942 Lt General Isamu Yokoyama took control of the 11th army and he set his sights on various targets. But before he could unleash his forces, Yokoyama was dealing with major sabotage operations against his main base. And these sabotage operations were not being performed by the NRA, no they were being performed by the CCP's New Fourth Army. Now the CCP had limited actions against the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese war. Although the press, such as the New York times had parroted some CCP propaganda insisting Mao and his forces were tying down 80 percent of Japanese forces in China, this is not at all true. The CCP did not have the means to do this, nor did they even want to. Mao Zedong himself was not an all-powerful leader at the offset of the Pacific War. The USSR favored his colleague, Wang Ming who was known as one of the 28 Bolsheviks, ie: moscow educated leaders. Mao referred to these people as “ the dogmatist faction”. Mao also had to deal with empiricist faction members such as the former party leader Zhou Enlai and other CCP military commanders such as Peng Dehuai and Chen Yi. In February of 1942 the CCP began the “rectification Movement” known as (Zhengfeng) and on February 1st Mao Zedong have a speech in Yanan calling for a study of the CCP's history and suggesting “the party not only needs democracy but needs centralization even more”. The roots of Zhengfeng indicate a Confucian philosophy emphasized the importance of ethical education “The cultivation of the person depends on rectifying the mind,” Confucius had instructed his followers”. Mao organized the Rectification Meetings expecting CCP members to indulge in self-criticism and confession. As you can imagine there were nefarious reasons for this. Mao alongside his close allie Kang SHen, the CCP's ruthless head of intelligence took charge of the Central General Study committee and began to get false confessions using psychological torture. Kang's methodology would define Mao's growing grip over the CCP and the future of it. Residents of Yanan would recount “the valleys and cave outside the town held victims of psychological bullying who produced screams and howls like wolves every night. Suicides occured often, one victim who survived swallowing glass was immediately forced to write self-criticism”. By 1943 the Rectification campaign had become a system of mass arrest, torture and execution. In essence it was a purge that carried on well into 1944 using false confessions from prisoners who were trying to save their own lives. It is estimated 10,000 CCP members, many of which were former inhabitants of KMT held areas were executed. Wang Ming, Mao's primary target at the time was spared, but he alongside the 28 Bolsheviks were forever sidelined, but hell better then being dead I guess? Meanwhile Zhou Enlai and the empiricists swung firmly behind Mao fearing for their lives. The Rectification movement was to be one of many themes played out by Mao Zedong. There was a cycle throughout his reign where intellectuals were invited to be open, then the party turned against them, they were destroyed by self-criticism, paraded as criminals, tortured until they revealed traitors real or not and executed. As Mao put it in August of 1943 “It is not good to correct too early or too late, Too early … the campaign cannot unfold properly; and too late … the damage [to torture victims] will be too profound.” One of the 28 Bolsheviks, Wang Shiwei who worked as a journalist for Liberation Daily wrote an article titled “Wild Lilies” in 1942, which criticized Mao Zedong for womanizing and enjoying too many luxuries. He spoke about how Mao took an ambulance sent as a gift by the Chinese New York Laundry workers to the CCP to carry wounded troops and instead used it as a private transport for himself as his 23 year old mistress, actress Jiang Qing. Mao would later marry her after leaving his third wife He Zizhen who he had 5 children with. Well Wang Shiwei was expelled from the CCP on Mao's orders in October 1942 having been found guilty of treason and would be executed in 1947 on Mao's orders. Anyways, enough sidelining about Mao, closer to the story at hand Mao had unleashed a propaganda campaign promoting the false image of the CCP's war effort against the Japanese. The KMT actually captured documents with orders from Mao which explained his thoughts on the war “The Sino-Japanese War affords our party an excellent opportunity for expansion. Our fixed policy should be 70 percent expansion, 20 percent dealing with the Kuomintang and 10 percent resisting Japan.” Between 1937-1940 the CCP grew its 8th army from 45,000 to 400,000. Meanwhile the 4th army increased from 15,000 to 100,000. The CCP's lionshare of war effort was aimed at the KMT but they did perform considerable actions against Japan. The Fourth Army was led by Commander Chen Yi and he had an irregular force known as the 15th brigade of the 5th division led by Commander Li Xiannian. Their arms and ammunition were self manufactured and though they had enough of them, the quality suffered heavily. Their main base was in Northern Jiangsu, but they also operated in central Jiangsu, northern and southern ANhui, northern Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces. They were all over the place specifically to thwart any efforts of the NRA from encircling and destroying them. They also clashed with the NRA much more than they did with the Japanese. Despite that, the 5th division of Li Xiannians forces had fought tenaciously during the 1942 battle of the Dwarf Mountain. The CCP forces defeated the forces of Wang Jinwei and captured Mienyang in the process. This success however drew the 11th army in who carried out attacks from the north to drive the CCP out, but the CCP troops dug in and would not budge. Yokoyama sought to surprise the CCP menace by attacking their positions rear from Yueyang and Jingzhou. The idea was to grab the CCP's attention while his 58th division launched an attack against Mienyang. In early february the 40th and 13th divisions began to raise their activity at Yeuyang and Jingzhou to deceive the CCP into believing a major offensive was about to be made against Changsha, which had been the crux of the IJA for a long time. On February 15th the 40th crossed the Yangtze river and began to attack Zhuhezhen, Jianli County and Hubei. Meanwhile the 13th division advanced east sneaking over the Yangtze river from Shashi and marched through a gap between the CCP positions in Jiangnan. The Chinese defenders were taken by complete surprise and it would be the 87th army garrison who would be first hit. The defenders were taking heavy losses and had to pull back to Mienyang. Soon the 40th and 13th divisions were closing in on Fengkow and Fuchang as the CCP resisted their advances killing 354 and wounded 890 Japanese. The final phase of the operation saw the 58th division begin a march south upon Mienyang, enjoying aerial support in the form of the 44th air regiment. The CCP's fortified positions were obliterating and the defenders were forced to disperse and escape before encirclements could be made. Many would manage to avoid capture by disguising themselves as civilians, but this only prompted Yokoyama to enact intense search and pursuit actions lasting into late march. The CCP leader Wang Haishan along with countless CCP troops were captured by these means. What was the battle of west hubei resulted in a mixed victory for either side. Many in the allied camp reported the Chinese had achieved a major strategic victory. However they paid a heavier price than the Japanese, it is estimated the CHinese had nearly 24,000 dead and 18,000 wounded while the Japanese had 25,000 casualties. Alongside this Historian Barbara Tuchmen states “the Japanese withdrew without pursuit from what appeared to have been a training and foraging offensive to collect rice and river shipping”. Thus it perhaps should be better called a tactical draw between the two forces.   Japan had just lost 4 destroyers, 8 transports and the lives of 3000 or so men. These figures did not even count the numerous sailors and irreplaceable pilots lost. The battle of the Bismarck Sea was strategically a defeat for Japan, second only to that of Coral Sea and it confirmed their inability to control the air in the region and ensured the continued isolation of their forces in New Guinea. In many ways New Guinea was facing the same fate that had befallen Guadalcanal. The Japanese logistics simply could not stretch that far and the allies were strangling their enemy the same way siege warfare had been done since ancient times. Japanese commanders would never again send transports or capital ships into the waters off Papua. From this point on the garrisons on New Guinea would only receive meager supplies brought via submarine or barges, completely inadequate to the task. Thousands of Japanese troops manning the defenses at Lae and Salamaua would basically be left on their own to face a growing allied advance. General Douglas MacArthur went on the recond to say “the battle of the Bismarck Sea was a decisive aerial engagement of the war and marked the end of the Japanese offensive in the Southwest Pacific”. For those Japanese survivors who did manage to land on friendly territory after the slaughter, they were finished as combatants. Lieutenant Masamichi Kitamoto observed survivors coming ashore at Tuluvu on the west of New Britain and had this to say “Their eyes were glassy and deeply sunk into their faces. All were jittery … as if they were seeing a horrible dream … a pitiful scene of a vanquished and defeated army.” Despite the amazing victory, MacArthur's forces could not capitalize on the success and perform a major offensive against Lae. The major reason for this was MacArthur lacked amphibious forces to support the overland march through New Guinea. Since mid 1943 MacArthur's forces had been advancing up the northern coast of New Guinea while a amphibious force was in the making. Rear Admiral Daniel Barbey took command of what would become the 7th amphibious force on january 10th of 1943. Barbey had immediately hit it off with MacArthur in a similar fashion to how General Kenney had hit it off with MacArthur. However Barbey had pretty much nothing to work with. There were no amphibious training facilities, therefore one of his first actions was to establish some at Toobul Bay near the mouth of the Brisbane river and point Stephens. Meanwhile MacArthur requested small craft and transports, as aside from his command everyone else was receiving such equipment en masse, obviously because Europe and the central pacific had been priorities. As Australian and American troops began to arrive to MacArthurs command he began to demand they train to debark from larger ships down cargo nets onto smaller craft. But Barbey did not have any attack transports (APA), which were key for these types of operations. The first Landing ship tanks (LST)s and Landing craft Tanks (LCT)s would not arrive until mid January. Until he received these he began training up the Landing craft infantry (LCI) by tossing nets over cliffs to replicate the debarkation from large ships. By march 15th of 1943 Admiral King signed off that the Southwest Pacific force was to be the 7th fleet, under the command of Admiral Arthur Carpender. This did not go over well with MacArthur who believed quote “much like his predecessor, Vice Admiral Leary, Carpenter seemed to be working more for the Navy rather than MacArthur”. All was not well in the court of camelot. PT Boats of the MacArthur fleet would once in awhile engage an enemy submarine, but they usually got away with ease. Bad weather, large coral reefs made it sort of a nightmare for the smaller ships and PT boats were very fragile, striking just a log could knock them out. But they were enough to scare the Japanese from using too many barges and thus were sort of a fleet in being. The PT boats would have something of a surface monopoly in the Solomon sea for 6 months, constantly looking for action and finding none. Admiral Carpender encouraged their use in his command as they had shown their effectiveness during the battle of the Bismarck Sea.  Now back over in Rabaul, Vice Admiral Jinichi Kusaka remained in command of naval forces at Rabaul and had the responsibility for the defense of the central solomons. He knew he could not expect much help from the combined fleet and definitely nothing from the Army so he set about strengthening the air defenses at Rabaul and rapidly tried to develop airfields at Munda and Vila-Stanmore. Alongside this he performed a survey of Santa Isabel island incase it could also provide an additional strip. With over 200 fighters and bombers under his thumb he hoped to hold the Central Solomons with air power alone, but he would be horribly overwhelmed. Against his command, Admiral Fitch had some 316 aircraft of various types on Guadalcanal and the Cactus air force could easily be reinforced from a pool of 200 more aircraft from Espiritu Santo and New Caledonia. And here we have another decisive advantage coming to the allies, that in technology. New aircraft were coming to the Pacific such as the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair which were significantly more advanced than the Zero fighter in terms of speed, armament, ceiling and rate of climb, the key parameters for a good fighter. The Hellcat was the next generation for carrier fighters and the Corsair was a gull-winged fighter bomber issued to marine fighters on Guadalcanal. Just for you tech geeks, the Hellcat was a very large aircraft for its type, weighing 1200 pounds unloaded, powered by a 2000 horsepower Pratt & Whitney engine that could climb 3500ft per minute. It held a flying range of 1000 miles, had a cockpit slickly faired into the fuselage and heavily armored. It carried 6 electrically charged .50 caliber guns and twice the ammunition to its predecessor the Wildcat. While the Wildcat lagged behind the Zero, the Hellcat outdid her in speed and dive. As Bill Davis said upon first encountering a Hellcat “the plan was a monster. From the moment I started the engine I was thrilled and amazed, there was a thunderous backfire as flames shot out of the exhaust pipe. A sailor with a fire extinguisher moved toward the plane, but the engine quickly caught and the flames disappeared as the engine started to purr with a mighty roar. I could feel the power through the throttle as well as my ears and every quaking fiber of my body”. In contrast, the Japanese continued to employ the same types of aircraft knowing full well their weaknesses and knowing full well the Americans were developing new models to counter them. The only advantage the Japanese still enjoyed was their airstrips laid out all over the South Pacific, with Munda base being a particularly important one to allow bombers from Rabaul or Bougainville to stop and refuel for striking missions.  Munda's airfield was attacked countless times by naval and aerial bombardment which filled her up with holes, but just as fast as they were maid her Japanese construction crews filled the craters with crushed coral and in a matter of minutes or hours the strip was made operational again. As Admiral Ainsworth said “The fact is inescapable that the Japs have gone right ahead and built two airfields in spite of constant bombing by aircraft and two bombardments by surface vessels. We may destroy large quantities of gasoline and stores, and we may render these fields unusable at critical times, but the only real answer is to take the fields away from them.” Regardless of the lack of success neutralizing the airstrip for good, Admiral Halsey had his eye on Munda from the offset of finding out the Japanese had begun constructing an airfield upon it. Halsey saw it as a very valuable new site offering terrain suitable for a large bomber field. In order to invade it simply needed to be pounded to dust and if Aerial bombarding was not enough to do the job he was willing to navally bombard it to hell if he must. The Japanese had become emboldened by the increasing failures of the allies to hit their airfields at Munda and Vila-Stanmore and allowed cargo and troopships to make runs between them and Rabaul more frequently. Thus far only piecemeal attacks had been made against either outpost, but Hasley was planning to send a larger force with considerably larger firepower. On february 27th, Halsey appointed Rear Admiral Aaron Merrill's Task Force 68 to smash Munda and Vila-Stanmore. Task force 68 consisted of 3 light cruisers: Montpelier, Cleveland and Denver and 7 destroyers: Waller, Cony, Conway, Fletcher, Radford, Nicholas and O'Bannon. Merrill divided his force into two groups, the first group of 4 destroyers led by Captain Robert Briscoe would hit Munda, while the rest led by Merrill himself would hit Vila-Stanmore. On March 4th Merrill departed Espíritu Santo heading for the new allied base at the Russell islands. Merrill intended to use the same tactics employed during the last two bombardment attempts back in January. Navigation was to be by SG Radar, gunfire to be continuous after the first ranging salvos were fired and he would use all ships in a column formation to fire simultaneously to limit the time period of time they had to stay in the enemy waters. By the afternoon of March 5th, Merrills force left the Russells en route to their departure point just 7 miles north of Daisen island. During the night the 4 destroyers detached to go hit Munda while Merrills group continued en course towards the Kula Gulf, believing they would manage to do so undetected. However that night the IJN destroyers Murasame and Minegumo were bringing supplies from their base at Vila to Kolombangara. These 2 ships were part of the 2nd fleets Destroyer squadron 4 under the command of Captain Masao Tachibana. They had taken their route through the Vella Gulf and Blackett Strait and were going to return to the Shortland Islands via the shorter route through the Kula Gulf. The Japanese destroyers were discovered by American aerial reconnaissance prompting Admiral Merrill to engage. The Americans estimated the Japanese destroyers were going to reach Blackett strait at about 11:30, while Merrill's schedule called for him to make a course change to enter Kula Gulf by 12:17. The distance from the mouth of Kula Gulf to the eastern entrance of Blackett strait was around 20 miles thus it seemed to Merrill to be senseless to change his plans and increase their speed, he did not think they could catch them in time. Thus he opted to simply carry out his original bombardment plan before the Munda group did their which would raise the alarm for the nearby Japanese vessels in the strait. But After Captain Tachibana delivered his supplies he had chosen to take the shorter route back through the Kula Gulf which would fatefully shove him into Merrills position. Just after midnight, Merrills 3 light cruisers were swinging into Kula Gulf while his destroyers detached to perform an advance sweep of the Gulf. Meanwhile the two Japanese destroyers were coming in from the opposite direction along the east coast of Kolombangara when at 12:53, the radar aboard Montpelier detached them northeast of Sasamboki Island. The ships all began to converge on the contact as they tracked the enemy, training their guns on the enemy. Now Radar controlled gunnery was still new to the US Navy and thus the first barrage tended to target the nearest and same target. This was actually a tactical deficiency that had given the IJN an advantage on multiple occasions. At a minute after 1am, the Montpelier broke the silence of the night and opened fire with her main batteries, followed by the Cleveland and Denver. The cruisers 6 inch guns were firing at a round of 11,000 yards battering her. Their fire was concentrated upon the Murasame and their radar controlled gunnery successfully straddled the destroyer. In just 5 minutes a salvo hit caused a large explosion on the Murasame with large fires erupting across her deck.  While this was going on the Waller launched a volley of 5 torpedoes and scored a hit on the Murasame causing a tremendous explosion breaking her in two as she quickly sank. Apparently the explosion from the torpedo hit was heard by Briscoes force around 25 miles away over at Munda. Merrill then directed fire upon the Minegumo as it tried to keep a northerly course while returning fire. After charging north for 4 miles under intense fire the Minegumo came to a stop suffering from heavy damage. The American destroyers tried to get into position to fire torpedoes, but by the time they did the Minegumo was sinking. Merrills cruisers likewise had begun firing starshells over the Blackett Strait and the illumination indicating there were no more enemy vessels. Merrill force began their bombardment of Vila-Stanmore at 1:25 targeting supply dumps, runways, bivouacs and the various aircraft they could see on the ground. Using aid from their aerial reconnaissance they were able to score many hits on emplacements such as shelter tents, barracks, ammunition dumps, grounded planes and such. It was very successful causing a lot of damage and they knocked out the shore batteries that tried to respond. By 1:40 Merrill ordered a withdrawal through the North Georgia Sound. 174 IJN personnel had been killed, of which 128 were aboard the Murasame. There was two submarines the USS Grayback and Grampus that had been assigned to support Merrills force and the Grampus would never return from her voyage. It is possible during the battle one of the IJN destroyers sunk her, but her wreckage has never been found. At the same time the battle was occurring, Captain Robert Briscoe's group proceeded unmolested to to their bombardment point. At 1:04 they group began to hear and saw the firing flashes from the battle and alongside this unidentified aircraft were coming over Rendova island prompting their caution. Nonetheless by 1:39 they began their bombardment striking the center of the landing strip. By 1:50 the bombardment ceased and they made their withdrawal. Although the airstrips were repaired quite easily, the loss of 2 destroyers in a fast fashion was a bad omen for the Japanese. During March of 1943 allied bombers would make sporadic attacks on the Japanese airfields over Ballalae, Kahili, Shortland Island and Munda. Alongside this allied photo reconnaissance got a good picture of Japanese movements between all their bases and this soon revealed a new Seaplane base being built off southern Bougainville prompted a dawn fighter attack on the 28th. Led by Captain Lanphier of the 70th fighter squadron, 6 P-38's destroyed 8 Japanese seaplanes. Every month brought the Japanese more losses, whether it be shipping, men or materials they simply could not afford, while the American production capabilities were only growing bigger. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Japanese had a mixed success in central China and a rather small, but terribly loss in the Solomons. They simply could not afford any more losses, for each one was drawing them ever closer to losing the war. 

Having conducted over 19,000 seaplane checkrides; more than anyone else in history - Jon Brown is a true seaplane legend. In this episode of Water Flying, Jon joins Steve McCaughey for a reflection on his 48 years as a seaplane examiner.Jon's father opened Jack Brown's Seaplane Base, the world's most active seaplane school in 1963. Now, 60 years later business is stronger than ever. This a must-hear and fascinating discussion with one of the highest time seaplane pilots in the world. Visit Brown's website at: https://brownsseaplane.com

Photos of seaplanes have a magical allure that attracts people to them like a magnet, and this is a well known secret among marketing agencies, movie & tv producers and aviation magazines like AOPA Pilot, EAA Sport Pilot and Flying among others.Mark Twombly, editor of "WaterFlying" magazine joins Steve McCaughey for an exploration of how to capture great seaplane photos. Whether you are shooting with an iPhone or professional camera there are some tips and tricks to capturing the allure of seaplanes in their environment, and we explore them in this episode of the Water Flying podcast.Support this podcast by donating at: https://seaplanefoundation.org/donate/

Charlie Hammonds joins Steve to discuss the little known history of the massive floatplane community that used to exist in Louisiana. Over 300 seaplanes worked the oil fields with extremely demanding conditions including weather, night operations, and risky dockings.Charlie was one of the pioneers of the floatplane community starting a commercial seaplane operation, base and flight school when he was only 21 years old. In addition to seaplanes, Charlie founded an airline at 26 years old , trained movie stunt pilots, broke the speed of sound in a F-15, and his son flew in the original "Top Gun."

Kaylab Verdin from Fire and Medical Training Centre in Houma, Louisiana joins Steve McCaughey to talk about the AUET (Aircraft Underwater Escape Training) for seaplanes that they provide in their Triton training system.Leading by example SPA's Board member's recently joined SPA staff members Steve McCaughey and Carter Clay for this invaluable training for seaplane pilots. This discussion explores the course, its value in a life threatening scenario like a gear down water landing and the challenges of doing so - even in a controlled environment.For more information on this course please reach out to the Seaplane Safety Institute at http://www.southernseaplane.com/seaplane-safety-instituteSeaplane Pilots Association members get a discount on our group programs.

December 19th, 2005. Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101, a 58 year old Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard seaplane with 20 people on board, is taking off from the Miami Seaplane Base, bound for a short 25 minute flight to Bimini in the Bahamas. The seaplane accelerates across the water and becomes airborne, but less than a minute after taking to the skies something goes wrong. Eyewitnesses on the beach report seeing the plane's right wing come apart from the plane and catch fire. The plane impacts the water, killing all on board. What happened to Chalk's Ocean Airways 101? Why did the wing separate from the fuselage? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down. Go to http://shadyrays.com and use code BLACKBOXDOWN to get 50% OFF 2 or more pairs of polarized sunglasses Go to http://joinhoney.com/BLACKBOXDOWN to get Honey for free. Go to http://lectricebikes.com to get $100 off any eBike purchase

Gustavo and Chris are joined by Brian Gaar from Ship Hits The Fan to learn about the history of seaplanes. Learn some fun facts in this bonus episode of Black Box Down.  Sponsored by HelloFresh (http://hellofresh.com/blackboxdown16 and use code BLACKBOXDOWN16) ExpressVPN (http://expressvpn.com/BLACKBOXDOWN) and HBOMax (Go to http://hbomax.com to discover all this and more!) Find us on social media and buy our merch here! https://linktr.ee/BlackBoxDownPod Go to blackboxdownpod.com to support us directly Black Box Down Crash Simulator: https://roosterteeth.com/watch/black-box-down-1  Ship Hits The Fan: https://chartable.com/podcasts/ship-hits-the-fan

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Avination, welcome back to episode 226 of the Pilot to Pilot podcast. Todays episode is with, Gulfstream and seaplane pilot, Chris Turner. Chris has an awesome story and one you won't want to miss.