Learn to Fly

Essential Pilot Skills

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

Life of a Pilot

The Well-Prepared Flight Bag

By: Steven Daun, National Chief Pilot Every few years, we write an article about what different pilots have or should have in their flight bags. As I looked over some of these past articles, I was amused at how the contents continued to shrink based on technology and new

Become a Pilot, Pilot Courses

Choosing an Aviation Education vs. Picking a Flight School

Quite a few of you have had the unique and challenging experience of assisting a child in choosing a college. Maybe you flipped a coin for children two and three, but picking a college for that first was quite a daunting task. As it was a brand new experience,

Life of a Pilot

Aviation Childhood Airshow Syndrome

By: Steven Daun, National Chief Pilot You are 5 years old and sitting in the bleachers at an airshow with your friends or parents. As you look up into the sky, you see the shiny slick airplanes doing amazing tricks in the sky. It doesn’t take long before your

Learn to Fly

Preparing for Your Solo Cross Country

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

About American Flyers

American Flyers Airline Academy: Flight Training Perfected Over 80 Years of Teaching

I am often asked, “Why do airline pilots wear a uniform?” The answer is simple and can be summed up in two words: professionalism and teamwork. All of us have worn a uniform at some time; a uniform represents commitment and belonging to a cause, such as wearing your

Life of a Pilot

The Future for Aviation Is Bright

For over 68 years, pilots and aviation enthusiasts have been making the pilgrimage to the EAA Fly-In Convention. First to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then to Rockford, Illinois, and then eventually to its current home of Wittman Field in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. During that one week each year, Wittman Regional Airport becomes

Learn to Fly

Getting an Instrument Rating is Easier Than You May Think

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

Learn to Fly

Foundations of Weather and Instrument Flying

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

About American Flyers

Why Choose American Flyers’ CFI Academy

By Patrick Connell Legacy, an endowment, a bequest, a gift… These are a few hallmarks of a good flight instructor. He or she endows upon their students a lifelong gift that will forever change them in ways that they had perhaps never imagined. How, you may ask? First of

History

Women in Aviation: Inside and Outside the Cockpit

By Steven Daun, National Chief Pilot I went to an aeronautical university in the ‘80s and could count the number of female pilots on one hand. Growing up in a house full of women and watching them achieve what they did, I could not understand why more females were

Student Interview

Life In The CFI Academy

Pilot’s Digest: Why did you choose American Flyers for your CFI training? Skyler Hudson: I chose American Flyers for my CFI training because I have worked with them through my private, instrument, and commercial. American Flyers has a strong reputation for developing competent professional aviators. When choosing a

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