Flight Training

“Would you like to declare an emergency? the controller asked with practiced coolness. Looking at the stopped and feathered left engine on the Cessna 310R Id had for just 10 days, there was only one possible answer: Yes. Moments before, the engine had started vibrating so violently I was afraid it would shake the plane […]

Letter of the Week:It’s the Instructors, Stupid I own a small flight school with three to five planes in central Massachusetts. It’s the kind where everyone is always greeted properly when they walk in, the kind the fosters a large pilot community, not just a pilot’s certificate. Otherwise, you’ll only watch them leave and their […]

Boeing Thursday released its 2013 Pilot and Technician Outlook that predicts the need for nearly 500,000 airline pilots by 2032, and the company says the number shows an increase over previous forecasts for nearly all regions. The company says the demand is driven by steady increases in airplane deliveries, most of which are single-aisle jets. […]

If the world is full of opposites-and I think it is-the opposite of critical thought is group think or herd mentality. Group think is the tendency to go along with whatever new idea or trend comes along because, well, everyone else thinks its a good thing. Its just laziness by another name and were all […]

If you’re interested in airplanes and wish you knew more about aerodynamics — or air traffic control, space policy, satellite engineering or airline management — you can study all of those topics and more, for free, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, via their OpenCourseware website. Each course features a syllabus, readings, video lectures, and […]

Pan Am International Flight Academy, based in Miami, Fla., has been bought by ANA Holdings, the parent company of All Nippon Airways, the companies announced last week. All Nippon Airways said it plans to expand Pan Am into Asia, providing training to other Asian airlines, partner firms and subsidiaries. “With air travel expected to double […]

Why hasnt some simulation enthusiast created a simulator to teach a child how to ride a two-wheeled bicycle? Imagine all the advantages of a simulator like that. You could teach in any weather, day or night, with no more skinned knees or jogging to keep up as they figure it out. And just think of […]

Some Chinese airlines, reacting to rapid industry growth, are seeking to attract experienced pilots by offering salaries and benefits roughly double that of the average U.S. airline captain, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Top salaries offered by some Chinese airlines exceed $225,000, and the country’s current pay leader, Hainan Airlines, is advertising pay packages […]

Seventeen-year-old student pilot McKenzie Morgan, while flying part of a long cross country Tuesday, crashed the Cessna 172 she was flying in mountains near Meeteetse, Wyo., not far from a cabin once owned by Amelia Earhart and, fortunately, within sight of two hunters. Morgan told reporters she had become disoriented, flying in nearly the opposite […]

It’s one thing to get people in the flight school door; it’s another challenge to bring them through to the check ride and beyond. This week, Bob Meder, president of the National Association of Flight Instructors, hosted a webinar to discuss those issues and develop an action plan. He spoke with AVweb’s Mary Grady about […]