By Mike Bliss One of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of flying is that no two flights are ever the same. It is not only the destination and scenery that changes but there is the changing weather that requires constant attention. There are different kinds of airspace encountered,

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),

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

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

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

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

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

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

By: Steven Daun, National Chief Pilot It does not take long during primary flight training to realize that a pilot needs to adapt their mindset when flying into different airports. Controlled and uncontrolled airports are typically the primary difference. But each of those can be further divided into “busy”

By: Steven Daun, National Chief Pilot Winter is here and with it comes significant variation in the weather. It is important to note that when we discuss “winter weather” we are not just speaking about it being cold outside. Winter weather encompasses many different topics. For this article, we

BY STEVEN DAUN, NATIONAL CHIEF PILOT Perhaps the most basic question a pilot can ask is: “How do I control an airplane and make it do what I want it to do?” The answer to this question involves a fundamental principle that underlies just about everything a pilot will

BY STEVEN DAUN, NATIONAL CHIEF PILOT Webster’s Dictionary defines confidence as: “belief in oneself and one’s powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance.” If you ask any pilot if they are confident, the vast majority would say yes. Each year, we see many pilots with experience ranging from a day-one