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Category Archives: Flight Instructing
Teaching Straight and Level
One of the first things a student pilot needs to learn is the task of merely flying straight and level. Sounds simple enough, right? It is, to a degree. Still, there are elements of performing the maneuver (can straight and … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged a flight instructor, airplanes, airspeed, altitude, angle-of-attack (AoA), Cessnas, CFI, climbing or descending while flying straight ahead, climbs, descents, different visual aspect, flight training, flying, flying straight and level, inexperienced pilots, judgment, learning to fly, pilots, sitting height, student pilots, Teaching Straight and Level, the four fundamentals, the simplest elements, training aircraft, turns, “sight picture”
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2 Comments
Dave, You’re Working Too Hard!
I read with interest the insights learned by an Australian friend, Dave, a middle-aged (as he refers to himself) young person as he is learning how to fly. For his insight #13, he wrote, “Watch the airspeed on late finals! I … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged airplanes, airspeed, altitude, Australia, Cessnas, correct airspeed, Dave, discipline, falling out of the sky, fear of stalls, first solo, flight training, flying, flying close to the ground, flying the airplane, friends, glideslope, inexperienced pilots, insights, judgment, landing, learning how to fly, learning to fly, on late final, pilots, professional pilots, relax, runway threshold, slow flight, stall speed, student pilots, Trim the airplane, working too hard, You’re Working Too Hard!
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5 Comments
The Lost Promises
So, Reveille sounds at 0530 this morning as it always does for me. Only I know longer hear the bugler or the voice over the 1MC calling, “Reveille, Reveille, Reveille, all hands turn…” After years of hearing the calls, I … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged A plane in every garage!, airplanes, all hands, and Piper, aviation news, Beech, Cessna, Cessnas, flight training, flying, increasing insurance premiums, learning to fly, little grass airstrips, LSA Dream, Mom and Pop flying schools, new LSA airplanes, pilots, product liability, Reveille, student pilots, taildraggers, the 1MC, the American Dream, The Lost Promises, training aircraft
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The Perfect Storm
We are facing a situation in the aviation industry, which many may very well describe as an approaching “Perfect Storm.” For years, we have heard people in and out of the industry say there will be a pilot shortage. Current … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged aviation industry, discipline, extreme dedication, flight instruction, flight training, flying, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, judgment, Korean era pilots, learning to fly, perseverance, pilot shortage, pilots, professional pilots, remaining ready, student pilots, the little boy crying wolf, The Perfect Storm, too late, training aircraft, Vietnam vets, World War II pilots, world’s population, young pilots, “Perfect Storm”
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The Citabria
One of the finest airplanes produced is the Citabria, which, spelled backward, is “Airbatic.” That was one of the things this little two-place airplane specialized in—aerobatics—going upside down, turning loops, and flying Cuban Eights. Champion Aircraft originally designed the plane … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged 7ECA Citabria, 7GCAA Citabria, 7GCBC Citabria, 7KCAB, 8KCAB Decathlon, aerobatics, airplanes, basic acrobatic trainer, Champion Aircraft, Cuban Eights, flight training, flying, inverted fuel and oil systems, learning to fly, Lycoming O-235, Lycoming O-320, Lycoming O-360, pilots, professional pilots, student pilots, taildraggers, the Champ, The Citabria, turning loops, upside down, “Airbatic”
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Hail
One of the most dangerous weather conditions anyone can encounter beyond tornadoes and hurricanes is hail. According to the National Weather Service, hail causes $1 billion in damages to crops and property each year. Oh, the “b” was not a … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged airplanes, Atlanta GA, dangerous weather conditions, DC-9, flying, flying into a hail shaft, Hail, Huntsville AL, hurricanes, inexperienced pilots, instrument flying, instrument flying without radar, judgment, learning to fly, National Weather Service, New Hope GA, pilots, professional pilots, Rome GA, Southern Airways Flight 242, tornadoes
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1 Comment
The Soft Field Landing
Yesterday, I gave my insights to the short field landing; today it is time to discuss the soft field landing. Again, as with the short field landing, many pilots today have little or no experience on actual soft fields. It … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged a chance actually to fly off a short or soft runway, a large metropolitan airport, a long forgotten art, anything that is not paved, dirt strips, flight schools, former military bases, grass runways, hard surface runways, local pilots, muddy fields, non-towered country airports, practical experience, reciting the procedures, slow flight, snow covered fields, students, the Practical Test Standards (PTS), The Short Field Landing, The Soft Field Landing
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2 Comments
The Short Field Landing
Yesterday, I talked about the Miracle of Lift. Today, I will pass on some of the secrets of the short field landing. We’ll also discuss how the lift equation plays so importantly in “making the point.” One of the most … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged .002377 slugs per cubic foot, A Few Good Men, airspeed, altitude, Anyone Can Fly, arrive at the spot right at stall speed, coefficient of lift, Colonel Nathan R. Jessep, coordination of speed and AoA, Country airports, descent path, L=1/2 r V2 Cl S, landing short of the runway, lift equals speed times angle of attack (L = S x AoA), pitch, Power, rho, short field landings, short grass runways, the lift equation, The Mystery of Lift, the power curve, The Short Field Landing, the truth, velocity squared, where to aim, wing area, writer-editor Jules Bergman, “float”, “making the point”
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2 Comments
The Mystery of Lift
In science writer-editor Jules Bergman’s book, Anyone Can Fly, he talks about asking a little boy why airplanes fly. The child explains, in essence, that airplanes float on the air. I like that—because it is so simple—and almost true. When … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying
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Tagged .002377 slugs per cubic foot, A Few Good Men, airspeed, altitude, Anyone Can Fly, coefficient of lift, Colonel Nathan R. Jessep, L=1/2 r V2 Cl S, pitch, Power, rho, short field landings, The Mystery of Lift, the power curve, the truth, velocity squared, wing area, writer-editor Jules Bergman
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2 Comments
First flights
Every time you introduce a student to flying for the very first time, you should do it very early in the morning or right at sunset. The reason for this is simple. Flying during the later morning periods or in … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged a short flight, a very gentle flight, be as smooth as possible, enthusiasm, FBOs, First flights, first flights should be simple and enjoyable, flight training, flight training schools, flying early in the morning, flying late in the afternoon, free marketing, free publicity, get to know your new student, hot bumpy days, introducing students to flying, rough rides, second lessons, sunrise, sunset, the perfect introductory flight, Vgn diagram, word-of-mouth advertising, “hook” the student
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