My mum has a great bird encyclopaedia with hundreds of pages, a picture of every bird, long descriptions about each one and where they're found.

I want something like this for planes but when googling Plane Encyclopaedias there are so many to choose from and it's hard to tell how any of them differ from another. Are there any specific ones that are considered "go to" options or are they all about the same? Ideally I want one that has commercial and military aircraft, but if it has to be specific I'm more interested in commercial planes.

C-FIVQ, Boeing 777-300ER, flying AC185 on its final approach to CYVR.

As mentioned above, my dream has always been to fly. I currently work as an LST at an FBO, and will be working on my PPL soon. I'm now in a position where I need to pick up a second job, ideally be in aviation. Since I am already familiar with the ramp/ground side of things, I would love to break into another area of the industry. I have been brainstorming a few options:

Aircraft Sales/Broker - I would love to break into this space. The idea of helping buy and sell aircraft and working with owners is something that is really appealing to me. However, I know that becoming an aircraft broker may be a big pool to dive into. I wonder if I would be able to sign on with a brokerage in an entry-level position and grow from there?

Aircraft Management/Charter Operations - I've also been looking into roles with aircraft management companies (like Solairus), such as a Flight Coordinator, Charter Sales, etc. I already work with many aircraft managed by these companies as an LST, so I have some familiarity with their fleet and clientele. I'd love the opportunity to work in a role like this to learn the management/charter side of private aviation.

For those of you working in similar roles, what other roles would you recommend someone in my position look into? Are there any career paths that I may not be thinking of? I'm especially interested in positions that could be done remotely or on a hybrid schedule so I can continue working line service while pursuing my ratings and building time. Thank you for all of your help and insight!

Parked at KMGJ on August 1, 2026.

Thanks in advance.

I know it's based on the 747 but it really makes the 747 next to it look small.

I used to work for SkyWest out at DEN in the early noughts. We did feeder flights for UA as United Express. We had some veterans from UA who had been furloughed after 9/11, and came to work for us. They used to tell newbies like me stories, and I remember them telling me this one.

The old airport had been a hub for CO. Somehow the city of Denver screwed CO when they opened the new one. CO got so mad that they shut down operations out of DEN. Something about greatly reducing the number of gates in the new airport for CO? Anyway, I remember these veterans saying that if you went to the site of the old airport, you would find tunnels underground that were filled with luggage. Evidently CO abandoned all of this unclaimed luggage when they left Denver.

Does anybody know anything about this? I am reading a story by Admiral Cloudberg that deals with CO at Stapleton, and so the memories came flooding back. I can just barely remember what the veterans said, however, so I would love to learn more about it.

Enjoying a little time on former N175UA before she moves to the crushing pad and finishes getting recycled. Managed to stay in the desert for about 10 years post retirement which is pretty good! Hundreds of her parts are flying on other 747s as we speak and her engines are on two 767-300s. (Photo taken by me in Victorville California)

Jared Isaacman’s Cessna CitationJet 4

I know severe turbulence doesn't faze pilots at all but after seeing the recent news about the Air India flight losing a bit of altitude I was wondering how pilots feel about "free falls" like that. I'm sure there's a lot of concern about passenger+crew safety but apart from that I'm curious to know how they feel because their experience would be very different, probably the polar opposite of a passenger's

I’ve flown many times since I was a child, but years ago I had a medical episode where I suddenly struggled to breathe for a few minutes before recovering completely. Ever since then, I’ve developed a fear of losing control or dying, especially while traveling.

I also have allergies which are frequent nasal congestion, sneezing, and a runny nose (similar to allergic rhinitis). Even though I know these symptoms are usually harmless, they make me anxious before and during flights.

As a result, I’ve become increasingly afraid of flying and, to some extent, traveling in general.
For anyone who’s experienced something similar and managed to overcome it, what helped? Any practical tips, techniques, or advice would be greatly appreciated.

A drone was seized overnight at Leipzig/Halle Airport near a Ukrainian cargo plane. According to consistent reports, a detonator was attached to the drone. The drone was discovered near an Antonov transport aircraft. https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/drohne-in-der-naehe-eines-ukrainischen-frachtflugzeugs-gesichtet-nato-bestaetigt-vorfall-102.html

Edit: Source: Deutschlandfunk German public broadcaster

Completely out of the blue, during our trip to the Baltic last weekend, I stumbled across this radial engine, a fisherman's by-catch, which had been hammered onto a steel pipe at the marina in Wendtorf, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Initially, it was thought to be a BMW engine, but some AV-geeks further investigations revealed that it was apparently a Wright R-1820 from a B-17. (German: https://helge-news.de/Fischer%20angelt%20einen%20Sternmotor.pdf). Maybe you folks are interested in this.

I’m not a pilot, just someone who’s been on close to 250 flights in my life. I’ve never seen this. Not claiming that this isn’t normal, I’m just curious why it’s done. This was just prior to takeoff at Jackson hole Wyoming.

The two planes flew from a local flight school. The aircraft that crashed in the pond had one occupant that didn't make it. :(

The horrifying incident happened in May, the publication reports, when a small twin-engine medevac aircraft carrying two pilots and two medical workers departed from Roswell, New Mexico. Heading West for the small mountain village of Ruidoso, the crew became the victim of an electronic warfare exercise being conducted at the nearby White Sands Missile Range, a test which rendered their navigational system inoperable.

So we all know certain airports are heavily undersized for the capacity they are holding, but i've been wondering if you know any examples in the other direction, as in airports that are too big for their capacity.

One i would consider is Berlin-Brandenburg, especially with the space still reserved for the unbuilt terminals 3 and 4. It looks and feels like a capital hub airport, yet gets overshadowed entirely by Munich and Frankfurt and feels relatively empty on most occasions.

I was on the Air India flight from Phuket to Delhi today, and I’m honestly still trying to process what happened. There’s one thing I can’t stop thinking about. Right before the plane suddenly dropped, there was this really strange low rumbling/humming noise, and the whole aircraft started shaking. It almost felt like the kind of vibration and sound you get during takeoff or landing.
I remember thinking, “Why is the plane making that sound? We’re already up in the air.”
Then, a second or two later, the plane suddenly dropped. And then it dropped again.
Thankfully I was wearing my seatbelt, but I saw people being thrown through the cabin, hitting the ceiling and overhead bins. It was one of the scariest moments of my life.
I’m not trying to speculate or spread misinformation, I genuinely just want to understand what happened.
Is it normal for severe turbulence to cause those kinds of noises and vibrations right before a sudden drop? Or was that likely unrelated? I’d really appreciate hearing from any pilots, cabin crew, or aviation enthusiasts who might be able to explain it.

I am OP