Tag Archives: training aircraft

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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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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I Woke Up Old Today

When I woke up today, the talking heads on television were talking about historic events—in particular, John Glenn’s three-orbit flight around the world. I remember that flight. Just like it was yesterday. It was, however, 50 years ago. I turned … Continue reading

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Inexperienced Pilots and the Just Highlander

Someone had an interesting query for Google the other day. It was “highlander aircraft inexperienced pilot.” The Google machine brought the Googler right straight to my blog. When I saw the query in the software, I started thinking about it … 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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The Thing About Flying

My friend, Holly, sent in this account of one of his latest adventures. He wrote it so well and supplied great photos, I had to have him debut as my first guest colmnist. ——————— The thing about flying, the adventures … Continue reading

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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

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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

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More on G and the Envelope

Yesterday, in G-Loads and the Envelope, I explained the basics of the Vgn diagram and the limits of the operational categories. Today we’ll discuss more about what it means to operate within the envelope. First, its all about what the wing … Continue reading

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