On August 7, Paul Olson from the Dayton Flight Service Station spoke to the Sidney (Ohio) Pilots Association (7I7). Your FSS provides weather briefings as its primary function. You phone 800-WX-BRIEF and you take some menu options and you hear the weather for your departure. The FSS also handles flight plans and can reorient lost … Continue reading Your Flight Service Station by Michael Marotta
Category: Aviation Articles
What Next? Consider An Instrument Rating by Jerry Plante
The transition from student pilot to certificated pilot commences with the designated examiner handing you a temporary certificate with the usual warning; This is a license to learn." Some of us take that statement to mean that we're not quite ready for prime time, and others grab anyone who will go flying and buzz around … Continue reading What Next? Consider An Instrument Rating by Jerry Plante
The Virtues of Aviation Culture by Michael Marotta
What is the culture of aviation? In what ways do pilots think, talk, and act differently from other people? What is good etiquette in aviation? When is a pilot behaving in a non-aviation or anti-aviation manner? What mechanisms inform us of aviation's unwritten rules and by what means is our behavior corrected when it strays … Continue reading The Virtues of Aviation Culture by Michael Marotta
Switching Instructors by Michael Marotta
Find an instructor you can work with and stick with that CFI until you earn your ticket. That is the usual advice. However -- as the Tulip Craze showed -- most people in most times and places are wrong about most things. Even so, it is still true that the road less travelled is less … Continue reading Switching Instructors by Michael Marotta
The Fearful FAA Check Ride Exam by Tom W
Well, there I was... Finally sitting in front of my FAA examiner thinking about how long and hard I had worked to get to this point, and shaking my head in disbelief that after this day, if all went well, I would be an actual pilot. I was about to take my check ride in … Continue reading The Fearful FAA Check Ride Exam by Tom W
Simulators and the VFR Student by Michael Marotta
To see if working with a simulator can help me be a better pilot, I scheduled four hours in two blocks, with two different CFIs. The result is a qualified "Yes." If you understand the reasons why simulators can NOT help VFR students, you can then find a few things to learn that go better … Continue reading Simulators and the VFR Student by Michael Marotta
Phantom 92’s Got A Problem! by Randy Haskin
An in-flight emergency is a time when pilots are truly "put to the test." A pilot's actions alone can spell the difference between success and failure - even living or dying. In the military flying environment, this is especially true - high performance flying in high performance aircraft often begets high performance emergencies. A pilot's … Continue reading Phantom 92’s Got A Problem! by Randy Haskin
Radio Gaga by Michael Marotta
Livingston County Airport (OZW) in Howell, Michigan, gets a lot of business from high time pilots who prefer to avoid controlled airspace because they hate talking on the radio. Some of the regulars on the field, including one guy with a Pitts, do not even have radios.In college I worked as a radio disk jockey. … Continue reading Radio Gaga by Michael Marotta
Night Forced Landings by Peter Bedell
When it comes to flying small airplanes, there's not much that's worse than having to make a forced landing at night. Let's face it, most aircraft owners and pilots who fly for pleasure are going to do it during the day; that's just the way it usually works out. Although it's not the only factor … Continue reading Night Forced Landings by Peter Bedell
NOT BAD FOR $100 — When you fly to Toledo, eat at Max’s by Michael Marotta
You can land at Toledo Express (TOL) or Metcalf (TDZ) or Toledo Suburban, long ago called Wagonwheel in Lambertville, Michigan, (5G9). That does not matter. What counts is that you get into a car and find Max's. There are two: 2336 South Reynolds Road (414) 865-1044; and 805 North Reynolds Road (414) 531-6627. The food … Continue reading NOT BAD FOR $100 — When you fly to Toledo, eat at Max’s by Michael Marotta