News

In the June 2018 edition of the Pilot’s Digest, we discussed the balanced field concept regarding runway length, but what happens when there is not sufficient room to construct a balanced field? Look at airports like New York La Guardia (KLGA), Dallas Love Field (KDAL), Charleston West Virginia (KCRW), or Reno (KRNO). Each of these […]

By Mike Bliss Many IFR pilots, even those who have completed airline academy,  spend too much time nervously looking at the approach chart while flying the approach and, consequently, less time scanning the flight instruments. This is primarily because they do not have a structured way of going about chart reference. By taking into account […]

Ask a student pilot what skills are needed to be a pilot and he might say steep turns, stalls, and landings. Ask a commercial pilot and he may say chandelles, lazy eights, and accuracy landings. However, once the ink is dry on the newly won certificate, what are the true skills needed to be a […]

By: Steven Daun, National Chief Pilot You have decided to earn your private pilot certificate. The first half of your training is going well, and you just soloed. Now it is time to get ready for the next step in your training. The solo cross country. This article will discuss what you need to do […]

By Steven Daun, National Chief Pilot We see many students come through our doors each year to earn their private pilot certificates. The majority of these students continue on to earn their instrument rating. However, when we speak with people who received their private pilot certificates years ago or from other schools, the story is […]

By Steven Daun, National Chief Pilot My aviation career started in the ’80s. This was before the smartphone and iPad era. We were fortunate enough to have a flight service station at our airport. Most of the time, rather than calling the FSS, we visited the office. The briefer would print out the weather charts […]

By: Mike Bliss Every discipline has its own unique set of terms, whether they are slang, acronyms, or phrases. Aviation is no different. There are even subsets of the aviation language. For example, each military branch has its own terms and some have even migrated to general aviation. For example, using the term, “no joy” […]