Tag Archives: Cessnas

The Magic Plastic Wheel

Ernest K. Gann, the aviation writer of the Twentieth Century, once wrote about the plastic E6-B flight computer that resided in his top pocket of his uniform shirt. Other pilots had other favorite places in or on their uniform for … Continue reading

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Ready, Set, GO!

Yesterday, I wrote about my time. Well, there is something more to this time of year than just getting up early and enjoying the mornings. The one great event of this time of year, for all pilots, is the annual … Continue reading

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My Time

This time of year is my time.  There is nothing better than the early morning cool, listening to the birds, and feeling the cool damp of the morning while drinking coffee in the sunrise. When I was learning to fly … Continue reading

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Pattern Discipline

Flying the landing pattern is one of those simple tasks that makes use of all the fundamentals of flying. It also uses other skills and disciplines–along with math and physics–and a “dash” of common sense. The start of a good … Continue reading

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Alaska

Earlier, when I checked my email, I found a message from a former student who recently graduated. Like the graduates before him, it was time for him to figure out what to do with the rest of his life, starting … Continue reading

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Maximum Cruise Range

Engineers love playing with numbers, equations, and graph paper. They like playing with lines, French curves, straightedges, and their triangles. From all of their frivolous number-crunching and sketching, sometimes they come up with specific useful information. They, the engineers, discuss … Continue reading

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Cruising, Explained

Sometimes, I think there are pilots who do not understand the relationship between speed, building time, and money. Especially those with only a bit of flight time in their logs. They need to build time; yet, they fly their cross-country … Continue reading

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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

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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

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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

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