Learn to Fly

At last weeks Redbird training conference, I wouldnt say the attitude toward using LSAs in training was exactly hostile, but it wasnt warm and fuzzy, either. During his talk on the Redhawk diesel, Redbirds Roger Sharp said that LSA resale values are a relative unknown and, at least in Redbirds view, LSAs havent yet demonstrated […]

Redbirds San Marcos, Texas, Skyport made quite a splash earlier in October when it sold avgas for two weeks at a buck a gallon. Yet two weeks after the cheap gas experiment ended, flight activity is still up threefold at the airport, according to Redbird CEO Jerry Gregoire. Redbird launched the cheap gas experiment on […]

Just three months after it announced its diesel Redhawk conversion aircraft, Redbird says its finalizing plans to lease the airplane to flight schools on a power-by-the-hour basis and it hopes to buy as many as 30 conversion aircraft by the end of the year. During this weeks Migration training and industry conference in San Marcos, […]

Have you ever noticed how a word you havent heard for awhile all at once starts buzzing into your ears like that mosquito that snuck through the screen door? At Redbirds third annual Migration training conference this week, the word was Millennial. We all know it as the term used to describe the generation born […]

Letter of the Week:Me-Too Mooney? News of the imminent resurgence of Mooney spawned two reactions in me. I’m happy that owners of the breed are likely to have a secure supply of spares to keep their birds flying. I have fond memories of a variety of Mooneys. Most of my M-20 time is in a […]

Seventy-seven-year-old non-pilot passenger John Wildey became his own rescuer when he took the controls of a Cessna 172 at night, Tuesday, and with the help of an instructor on the ground, landed safely at Humberside airport, UK, after the plane’s pilot lost consciousness. The pilot was removed from the cockpit after the landing and later […]

American Airlines said this week it will begin hiring again for the first time in over a decade, seeking to acquire 1,500 pilots over the next five years. The carrier is not yet out of bankruptcy, and has been involved in restructuring for nearly two years now, but began recalling pilots late last year. It […]

A new direct to final rule issued Sept. 16 by the FAA introduces a subtle but substantive change for CFI candidates, and according to NAFI chairman of the board Robert Meder, “This is a good thing.” The new rule considers practical tests flown for the issuance of a flight instructor certificate, or renewal of a […]

The definition of what it means to be a good pilot may be changing. AVweb speaks with former Northwest captain and Embry-Riddle educator Jack Panosian to explore the question of what’s more important in keeping passengers alive: stick and rudder skills or systems management. Duration: File Size: download here

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 […]