This simple tip will keep you from getting more lost and help you to find out where you are.
Where should you go when you are lost?
Navigation With Your Home Simulator
I have been publishing Youtube videos that show how to navigate using your map and compass. There is a lot that goes into navigation and a lot to know about the map and how to find your way.
When it comes down to the actual practice of navigation, the experience is king. The best way to learn is by going step by step through navigation scenarios. That’s why I do these videos on Youtube. I want to show people how to take a real-world sectional and navigate in the simulator. It is a great way to learn how to use the map and compass. It’s much less expensive than real flying too!
Check out my latest video navigating between some restricted areas:
The Secret to Perfect Ground Reference Maneuvers
Ground reference maneuvers are an important part of private pilot training. I am about to tell you a trick that will make your ground reference maneuvers so much easier, but it comes with a disclaimer. Continue reading “The Secret to Perfect Ground Reference Maneuvers”
Flying Between Towers
I was on a progress check flight early in my commercial training and the Chief Flight Instructor decided to play a trick on me. I learned an important lesson from this flight.
We got the plane started at Chandler (KCHD) and he asked me to fly him to Gateway (KIWA). I noticed the 2 class D airspace areas are squished together with no space in between! Continue reading “Flying Between Towers”
How I conduct a flight review
I begin each flight review by asking the pilot what kind of flying he normally does. This often happens ahead of time, on the phone, when we are scheduling the review. I also want to know what licenses he carries, and I let him know that I want him to plan a cross country. I usually tell him where to plan right away but sometimes I want to think about it and I will call him back later.
I generally choose a destination a few hundred miles away that will require more planning than the typical private pilot cross country. I like to find a destination that will require a lot of airspace knowledge and some challenging terrain or a water crossing. Continue reading “How I conduct a flight review”
Rectangular Course
The rectangular course is a fundamental ground reference maneuver required for the private pilot license.
However, it is so fundamental and so critical to landing that it is often ignored as a ground reference maneuver. Instead, it is frequently considered only within the context of the traffic pattern. Continue reading “Rectangular Course”
What is a Flight Review?
In order to continue flying a pilot must stay current. This means keeping up with the medical requirements and doing some takeoffs and landings so that passengers may be carried. But the biggest part of staying current is the Biennial Flight Review.
This review must be conducted every two years. Specifically, it runs by calendar months, so if you had a flight review on July 15th, 2018, then it will expire on July 31st, 2020.
The review requires a minimum of 1 hour of flight training and one hour of ground instruction. Continue reading “What is a Flight Review?”
Steep Turns
One of my favorite maneuvers when conducting a flight review is the steep turn. This innocuous looking maneuver provides a window into a pilot’s stick and rudder skill that allows me to quickly find areas of deficiency where the pilot being reviewed might need more work.
Please remember that the flight review is not a test and my goal is not to fail anybody. Rather, I want to find areas where the pilot is out of practice and try to give them a boost!
The steep turn requires a combination of just about all of the basic flying skills in one maneuver. It requires a pilot to: Continue reading “Steep Turns”
Are you a pilot?
I saw this question on Facebook recently:
Do you call yourself a pilot after you have your PPL? I don’t do it but tried once recently during an interview as a kids aviation interest group instructor and she asked which airline I’m in. I said I’m not an airline pilot in which she replied, “Then you’re not a pilot!” Share your opinion.
Clearing Turns
Before any maneuver you might perform in an airplane, it is important to do a clearing turn. This is simply a turn made to give you visibility and time to look for traffic all around you.
Clearing turns are required for a safe flight, and required to pass the checkride!