Flight Training

Everyone I told about my upcoming checkride wished me “Good Luck.” Why did I need luck? Luck is for the incompetent. I only needed their blessing for good weather, because I was trained to fly “good.” Maybe if I keep telling myself that, I will start to believe it. In trying to remain confident, my […]

WARNING: The techniques and procedures described in this column can definitely be hazardous to your health and life. I do not encourage anyone to fly at these altitudes unless they have experience in an altitude chamber, have AT LEAST the equipment described, and know the subject and their limitations thoroughly. Mountaineers call altitudes above 25,000 […]

Do you know the most common mistake a solo student can make to cause an accident during takeoff and landing? Do you practice to avoid it, or spend lots of time with your students on it? Before you send a student up again, you may want to read Brett Justus’ article. Ask any flight instructor […]

The media is filled with stories on how today’s youth has gone bad. However, in our aviation industry there are thousands of young people fulfilling their dreams of learning to fly. In the process of learning how to build a wing, or earning a pilot’s certificate, they have acquired self-esteem and an introduction into the […]

The BE-76 Duchess is a 3,900-pound airplane with seating for four (including crew). Power is by Lycoming at 180 horsepower per side. At recommended cruise power settings, it’s good for about 750 nm (with reserves) at around 150 KTAS at 10,000 feet. The BE-300 Super King Air is a 14,000-pound airplane which is certified to […]

I‘ve flown with a number of CFIs over the years. I’ve always claimed that every CFI, regardless of experience and style, has something to teach every pilot. At least, that had been my experience up until one day recently. It was then that I had to do something I’d never done before. I had to […]

Spring showed up last week, taking a lot of us by surprise. Everybody at the virtual airport adjusted pretty quickly except old Hack – he knows this first warm spell is just a teaser so he sat around in his heavy coat and muttered at the rest of us. As usual, the good weather brought […]

Advancing your ratings makes you a better/saferpilot. We’ve probably all heard that statement more times than we can count, andmost pilots probably accept it as an empirical truth. However, others feel thattheir lack of advanced ratings does not make them any less safe or competent tofly the planes they do, the way they do. At […]

It’s 12:40 on a lovely spring afternoon. My boys are in school; my chores and my errands are done. I grab my driver’s license, a blank check, my “Be A Pilot Certificate” and head out the door. I am determined that today I am going for a Discovery Flight. Flying in New England in the […]

If you don’t get in that plane and learn how to fly, you’ll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life. – paraphrasing Rick Blaine, from the movie Casablanca It is not the things that you do in life that you regret, but the things that […]