Flight Training

We’ll admit our bias up front: We like flight simulators. A lot. Being cheap, we came to like them originally because we could use them to keep our instrument skills up for a fraction of the cost of getting in an airplane and putting on the hood—whether we could log the time or not. As […]

The text message was familiar: “Have to cancel today’s lesson.” The accompanying sad-face emoji didn’t mitigate the fact that too many flying lessons never get off the ground, stalled by self-imposed realities of alleged real-world issues. Over a quarter-century of instructing, I estimate about half of all appointments cancel and not simply because the student […]

Sandel Avionicsannounced that longtime avionics executive Larry Riddle has joined the company as VP of marketing and sales. Previously, Riddle was with L3 for 16 years. Sandel has an extensive line of specialty avionics including primary attitude displays, AHRS and TAWS systems. Aviation apps for the iPhone and iPad continue to proliferate and the latest […]

Although electric airplanes still inhabit a regulatory backwater, Slovenian-based Pipistrel Aircraft is boosting its production of battery-powered trainers and reports a 50-50 split between gasoline and electric aircraft. In this exclusive podcast, the company told AVweb this week that a new production line is building five to six Alpha Electro trainers per month. “We reorganized […]

Although electric airplanes still inhabit a regulatory backwater, Slovenian-based Pipistrel Aircraft is boosting its production of battery-powered trainers and reports a 50-50 split between gasoline and electric aircraft. In this exclusive podcast, the company told AVweb this week that a new production line is building five to six Alpha Electro trainers per month. Duration: 19:43 […]

When trying to count and classify a group of pronghorn antelope from the air, you deal with lots of factors that aren’t included in most other general aviation flying. Where are the towers or power lines? Where’s the light coming from? Where’s the wind coming from and how strong is it? Where are the fences? […]

Florence “Shutsy” Reynolds of Connellsville, Penn., passed away Thursday, March 15, 2018, at home. She was 95. She took a Civilian Pilot Training Program at her local airport in Connellsville and completed it, receiving her pilot’s certificate at the end. According to the “Fly Girls the Series” blog, “Reynolds was required to sign a document […]

A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate last week would provide $5 million each year from 2019 through 2023 to expand programs and apprenticeships that would train workers for careers in aviation maintenance. “Our aviation industry needs skilled workers, and the aviation-maintenance industry provides high-paying, high-skilled jobs across the country,”said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., one […]

A new report this month from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) says the Federal Aviation Administration lacked effective management controls over the “project level agreements (PLAs)—an internal control mechanism for documenting the agreed-upon work and managing project execution” for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). This program was implemented to meet the […]

The sport pilot rule allows anyone who wants a seaplane rating to do it with five or so hours of training and then an endorsement from an evaluating CFI. AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli recently did the rating at Jones Brothers Air and Sea Adventures in Tavares, Florida. Here’s his report. view on YouTube