By Steven Daun There are countless times in aviation history and the development of a certified flight instructor course when friendship and a handshake formidably changed our industry. In fact, much of what we consider modern-day aviation wouldn’t exist today without these unique “handshakes”. This is a story of
By Chris Webb I’ve seen all sorts of logbooks over the years; big ones, small ones, green ones and orange ones. I’ve heard myths and rumors of what logbooks ought to be. I have seen them with various colors of ink, cross-outs, white-out and even taped in pages. There
By: Steven Daun, National Chief Pilot Weather is usually the weakest subject area that we fund when speaking with pilots. This is regardless of certificate or rating(s) held. The weather seems to be one of those areas that is treated differently than the other topics that we discuss. Why?
By Rick Farmer You don’t need to be in aviation very long, or have completed a certified flight instructor course, to hear the myth that “aircraft fuel gauges are only required to be accurate at empty.” This statement is completely false. I have heard it from pilots, mechanics and
By Justin Parnell Pre-Flighting: It’s not just about the airplane anymore. My students sometimes ask me “what should I do before a flight?” Like many of you, my mind immediately focuses on the regulations and rules. Yes, I am a CFI, who has completed CFI academy, and yes,
Many factors affect our decision making as pilots and those looking for a commercial pilot program. Sometimes, we have difficulty making decisions because we have too little information. On the other hand, surprisingly, we sometimes have difficulty making decisions because we have too much information. An example of the
Our Addison South location, where our Career Academy is located, is blessed to have 3 experienced and dedicated Assistant Chief Pilots (ACI). One of these ACI’s is Stephen Sanderson. A charismatic employee with a fun and caring personality, Stephen is an instructor every student hopes to fly with. Born
By: Steven Daun, National Chief Pilot I’m always amused when I hear someone ask another person if they are ready to go flying. If you ask 1,000 pilots to define “ready,” you are bound to get 1,000 different answers. The proper statement should be, “tell me why you are
By Dr. Mike Bliss As part of the continuous path of how to become a pilot, we should always be looking for new ways to broaden our knowledge base and refresh what we already know. One easy way to do that is by planning flights to new and various
When I spend time in the American Flyers flight schools or airline academy, I hear the phrase “Ambassadors of Aviation” a lot, and it’s directed at flight instructors. Old joke: how do you know if there’s a pilot at a party? Oh, they’ll tell you. So, you better believe
It’s that time of year again. School’s out, family vacations are in full swing, and beautiful flying weather is ahead of us. We’ve been fortunate to have an unusually wet spring season, which means the once brown fields of winter should now be nice and green as we fly
You have dreamed about becoming a pilot or how to become a commercial pilot your whole life; from the time you looked up and saw that beautiful airplane streak by or simply from a story that you once heard. Regardless of the source that lit the flame, the stage