Flight Training

Flight instructors conducting GA flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks are being directed to make sure pilots can hand fly the aircraft well enough to get themselves out of trouble. AOPA is reportingthat the FAA has issued a new advisory circular for instructors that adds emphasis to hand flying skills for the periodic reviews. It […]

Although he’ll probably thump for me saying it, the well-known aviation raconteur and instructor, John King, has the same thin patience with aviation psychobabble that I do. I can’t recall the context, but a few years ago, we were discussing the hackneyed five dangerous attitudes aviators are supposed to be alert to. You know the […]

We see it happen here all too often. The Franklin County Airport in Sewanee, Tenn., sits at the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau. During cooler months, northwest winds are thrust up the side of the plateau and swirl back down toward the airport. Tall trees surround the runway and make the airport difficult to […]

Mooney International Corp.’s M10T proof-of-concept model has its first flight on Wednesday from Chino Airport in California. Test pilot Len Fox flew the fixed-gear airplane for about 15 minutes, taking it through basic maneuvers before landing as the aircraft’s engineering team looked on. The M10T, unveiled in 2014 at the Zhuhai Airshow in China, is […]

Leaders in Congress are working on legislative changes that would cut flight-training benefits for veterans, the Helicopter Association International said this week in a news release. HAI President Matt Zuccaro issued a “call to action,” saying the proposed changes would especially affect helicopter flight training. In addition, HAI said, under a new interpretation issued earlier […]

Registration is now open for Build A Plane’s 2016 design competition, the nonprofit group announced this week. The program, which is co-sponsored by GAMA, aims to promote science, technology, engineering and math education in U.S. high schools. In its first three years, the program has reached more than 150 schools in 38 states and Washington, […]

The pilot wasn’t having much luck on his flight review. As he and his instructor were about to depart, the airport weather went from a manageable SCT006 to BKN006, requiring an IFR clearance. Since they had planned to depart VFR, they didn’t file an IFR flight plan. To top it off, the part-time tower was […]

JetBlue plans to develop an “ab-initio” training program for its Embraer SA E190 crews, the company told Bloomberg News last week. The airline must get FAA approval for its plans, but if it does, it would become the only U.S. airline to recruit zero-time pilots. The program will start with about two dozen participants, said […]

Business aircraft operators are always concerned about flight proficiency and currency, and the usual way of achieving it is through simulation. At NBAA, Precision Flight Controls showed off its DCX Max, a reasonably priced sim that can be configured to simulate many kinds of aircraft, from single-engine pistons to jets. view on YouTube

The Single Pilot Safety Standdown seminar at this year’s NBAA Convention focused on loss-of-control events. Tom Turner of the American Bonanza Society was part of Monday’s slate of safety programming. He spoke with Paul Bertorelli about the event and currently spotlight on LOC in aviation safety. Duration: 6:18 File Size: 5.6 MB download here