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Category Archives: Flight Instructing
Doing It the Old Fashioned Way
Well, I guess I have graduated from the School of Geekdom at the University of Hardknocks. Following this past week’s computer emergency, with the help of some friends, a couple of manuals, and the Internet, I was able to teach myself … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying, History, Life in General
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Tagged a mean old cantankerous flight instructor, a sense of collective history, Alexander Graham Bell, am locomotive engineers, ancient sailors, Apple, black and white prints, Captain Ross, commercial electricity, computer emergency, computers, dependent on technology, digital cameras, Doing It the Old Fashioned Way, English, Ernest K. Gann, Fate Is The Hunter, French, Garmins, history, Johannes Gutenberg, Kill Devil Hill, manual typewriters, measured by column inches, mentors, MicroSoft, Nicola Tesla, proportion wheels, re-loading various software, rocket science, sailed across the Atlantic, School of Geekdom, smart phones, Spaniards, storytelling, the ancient Polynesians, the DC-3, the light bulb, the New World, the printing press, the telephone, the University of Hardknocks, the Wrights, Thomas Edison, Tom-Toms, Trimbles, Vikings, World War II, “the old-fashioned way”
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5 Comments
Looking Both Ways
In teaching student pilots, I have been amazed that a few will cross a runway or taxiway without looking. At airports with control towers and active ATC, the instances of this happening are more pronounced than at airports without ground control. The … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Personal
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Tagged a late Friday afternoon, airplanes, airports with control towers, Cessnas, clearance to our ramp, crossing a runway or taxiway without looking, discipline, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, look both ways, Looking Both Ways, making the approach to another airport, pilots, professional pilots, similar runway patterns, student pilots, teaching student pilots, the mighty PA-44 Seminole, using the radio
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2 Comments
Precession – Is It Really A Left Turning Tendency?
Flight instructors teach their students about the left-turning tendencies an airplane encounters on takeoff. Unfortunately, some flight instructors may not fully understand the dynamics of takeoff and might pass a misconception or two on to the next generation of new … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Back in the Old Days, Cessnas, conventional landing gear, flight controls, Flight instructors, flight training, flying, full throttle, high power settings, high-angle-of-attack-flight, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, left-turning tendencies, Newton’s third law, nosewheels, novice pilots, P-51 Mustang pilots, P-factor, pilots, precession, Precession - Is It Really A Left Turning Tendency?, professional pilots, propeller blade, right rudder, spiraling slipstream, student pilots, students, taildraggers, tailwheels, torque, training aircraft, World War II
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6 Comments
Time For a Plane Diet?
Yesterday, I talked about the problems of loading an airplane improperly. With a forward or aft cg, especially if loaded outside the limits, you are going to have control problems. Now for the rest of the story, as Paul would … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged absolute ceilings, altitude limits, an overloaded airplane, best angle of climb, best rate of climb, carrying a little extra weight, control problems, exceeding the allowable aft cg limit, flying an overweight airplane, high rotation speeds, higher landing speeds, increased takeoff distance, loading an airplane, lower climb rates, performance issues associated with heavier operating weights, putting too much in the airplane, service ceiling, shallower climb gradients, Time For a Plane Diet?
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Loadin’ Up the Old Family Plane
There is a trick to loading an airplane properly, especially for a long cross-country flight. Many pilots lack a practical understanding of the important concepts of loading. It is not the same as going out to the family SUV and … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged balance equates to controllability, center-of-gravity, elevator control feels very heavy, exceeding the aircraft’s g-limits, FAA private pilot written exam, loading an airplane properly, Loadin’ Up the Old Family Plane, ng cross-country flights, over control the plane, overloading the aircraft, pilot examiner, pitch control is exaggerated, recovery from a spin, stall recovery, understanding the concepts of loading, weight and balance
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Flying From Here to There
One challenge I enjoyed most learning to fly was flying from one place to another. In the aviation business, they call this flying cross-country. It truly is a great challenge and immensely fun. It is also a fascinating science. The … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged charts, checkpoints, flying cross-country, Flying From Here to There, following directions, going from point A to point B, GPS, instruments, most fascinating navigators, navigation at sea, navigational instruments, printed timetables, rudimentary sextants, the ancient Polynesians, the Hawaiian Islands, the Pacific Ocean, when technology fails
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5 Comments
Knowing Where to Land
One thing about landing an airplane is knowing where to land. Of course, all pilots will land on an airport, but the question becomes one of where on the airport. Or maybe where on the runway. It makes little sense … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged a pilot must know the performance of his or her aircraft, aircraft operations, capable of executing the landing within those parameters, centerline stripes, Cessnas, engine overheating, experienced pilots, fouled spark plugs, hard surface runway, knowing airport runway and marking, Knowing Where to Land, land near the FBO, naturally decelerate without using the brakes, Pipers, saves wear and tear on the brakes, saving taxi time, single-engine airplanes, the pilot-in-command, where to land on the airport, where to land on the runway
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2 Comments
Off to School
Every two years flight instructors must renew their credentials in order to continue teaching. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides three ways to accomplish this task. The easiest way is by providing documentation of flight activity showing at least an … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Personal
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Tagged 80 percent success rate, Air Force, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Avon park bombing and gunnery, Cessna 150, Cessnas, CFI endorsements, discipline, documentation of flight activity, F-16 Falcons, FAA check ride, first solo, Flight Instructor Refresher Clinic (FIRC), Flight instructors, flight training, flying, friends, Guantanamo, gun sights, judgment, learning to fly, memories, Off to School, pilots, professional pilots, rolling in “hot”, student pilots, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), training aircraft
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1 Comment
God Speed Atlantis
Yesterday was one that truly passed the litmus test for being a day of historical proportions. While the nation watched from all over the land via television, perhaps one million Americans traveled to Florida to witness the last flight of … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, History, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged a very low rumble, an event of historical magnitude, flying with students, God Speed Atlantis, last, launch, New Smyrna FL, Orlando, seven million pounds of thrust, the Arthur Dunn Airpark, the event of a lifetime, the Gulf of Mexico, the launch of the Challenger, the Orlando airspace, the Shuttle launch, this one, Titusville, to hear the roar of the rockets, watching from along US-1 and the beaches, watching the Shuttle launch, yapping dogs
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Apples and Oranges
Remember all the times someone told you to keep the apples and oranges correctly separated? There is probably some math teacher somewhere in your past who said you have to keep the apples with the apples and the oranges with … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged airplanes, an accurate estimate of the fuel weight, Apples and Oranges, Cessna 170, flight training, flying, judgment, learning to fly, student pilots, taildraggers, the advantage of using pounds over gallons, The Cessna 170, training aircraft, weight and balance problems
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