As the old saying goes, “FAR Part 61 tells you how to get your license, and FAR Part 91 tells you how to lose it.” What is always amazing to me is how some pilots can invest so much in their training and certificates, yet fail to keep them
The mark of a good pilot is staying ahead of the airplane, anticipating what’s coming, and being ready to act promptly. This principle applies to both flying the airplane and managing radio communications. To “stay ahead” of communications, the best place to start is on the ground. Before takeoff,
There are three things in aviation that do a pilot no good: altitude above you, runway behind you, and fuel you don’t have. How then do we ensure that we do have enough fuel and use it safely, effectively, and efficiently? For a safe flight, you must have sufficient
Whether you are learning to fly for fun or as a career, the journey of becoming a pilot is marked by many milestones. Among these, purchasing your first airplane can be one of the most significant. The price of new single-engine airplanes has surged to well over $400,000 in
Records show that methods to tell the future, like a crystal ball, have been used as far back as the 1st century. The 20th century is certainly much farther along in history regarding science, technology, education, and knowledge than the 1st century. Edwin Link made the first “flight simulator”
As children, many of us found ourselves regularly amazed and captivated by the clouds’ ever-changing shapes. I have had a lifelong fascination with clouds, and I could not wait to fly through them when I first began flying. This allure only grew when I opened an airplane window to
I was recently asked what I read to stay updated on the aviation industry. Since I am constantly reading and studying information covering all aspects of our industry, this was a challenging question to answer. I read anything and everything that I can find about our industry because, as
Even in the early days of aviation, the reduction of pilot workload was identified as an important path to increasing safety. As a result, the first autopilot was released in 1912 by the Sperry Corporation, just nine years after the Wright brothers’ first flight. While this 75-pound contraption would
HE WHO SWEATS MORE IN TRAINING BLEEDS LESS IN BATTLE. – GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON This quote always struck me as the sole justification for training hard. When I started to fly, I realized it was as significant to pilots as to soldiers. You can’t train for everything, but
Staying on course and not giving up on your dreams during flight training is a challenging endeavor that requires determination, passion, and unwavering commitment. As Winston Churchill famously said, “Never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to
TO MAKE CONSISTENTLY GOOD LANDINGS, YOU NEED TO APPLY CONSISTENTLY GOOD PRACTICES. That is easier said than done, especially for less experienced pilots. It’s difficult because there are many variables to address during the landing process, such as airspeed, power, pitch, wind speed and direction, glide path, configuration, runway
A FEW MONTHS AGO, I DECIDED TO BUY A NEW PAIR OF SUNGLASSES. RATHER THAN JUST TRY ON A PAIR AND BUY THEM, I RESEARCHED ALL THE NUMBERS AND ABBREVIATIONS FEATURED ON THE TAGS. THIS TURNED OUT TO BE HIGHLY EDUCATIONAL. HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS AND SOME INFORMATION I