Learn to Fly

Insider Series

CONTINUING EDUCATON

When Gust Locks Go Bad

Gust locks are our friends... really... but they don't like to be ignored. They keep our controls locked…

⏱ 3 min read
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Decision Training for Pilots — Airspeed

The following is an airspeed maneuver example of how the real-world element can be a part of everyday…

⏱ 4 min read
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The Right Trim

We trim our airplanes multiple times each time we fly. Trim is set based on what is needed…

⏱ 4 min read
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Trivia Testers : Skin and Bones

The first regular in-flight motion pictures made their appearance in...

⏱ 4 min read
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Decision Training for Pilots — Building Blocks

Every flight you will ever take consists of a series of decisions -- it's the quality of those…

⏱ 4 min read
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Pilot Habits

There is a certain cultural component to the province of piloting that actually becomes self-defining. From habits in…

⏱ 3 min read
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Polish It Smooth?

Pop Quiz: Is it against the Federal Aviation Regulations to take off with ice and snow on the…

⏱ 6 min read
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Trivia Testers : 4F

The lowest barometric pressure ever recorded in the United States was 26.35 inches. In which state was it…

⏱ 7 min read
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My Way Or the Highway

Your hands freeze on the controls as your instructor barks out "No! Don't do that! Why on earth…

⏱ 6 min read
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Fly Like a Pro – Part 12 Flight Training Carryovers

As flight students and instructors we work very hard to improve our skills and maintain our status as…

⏱ 6 min read
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Trivia Testers : One Heck of a Pinata

The first airplane to land aboard an aircraft carrier under jet power was...

⏱ 3 min read
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Pin the Tail On the Donkey

Not to editorialize or anything, but just what good are all those hoops that we all have to…

⏱ 7 min read
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Dick Dings One — The Crosswind Tango

Most pilots agree that crosswind landings are the most common challenging landings they have to make. This should…

⏱ 3 min read
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Trivia Testers : Beyond the Third Degree

There was an aircraft that, while it may not have had the noise output of the Valkyrie supersonic…

⏱ 4 min read
EMERGENCIES

Trivia Testers: On Speed

Man, my airplane is fast, boasts a pilot. "I was getting 150 knots true groundspeed."

⏱ 5 min read
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Those Who Won’t, Revisited — 2002, The Year In Review

There's a saying among pilots of retractable gear airplanes, "there are those who have, and those who will"…

⏱ 6 min read
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Trivia Testers : Not Architectural, Neurological, Silvicultural, or Ceramic

Why is there a difference between the magnetic variation for an airport, and the VOR located at that…

⏱ 6 min read
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Pop-ups

The "pop-up": an on-the-spot IFR clearance from ATC, possibly without either an IFR briefing or having filed a…

⏱ 7 min read
LAW

Forbidden City

...a few things you didn't know about prohibited airspace incursions, and a few things that the Secret Service,…

⏱ 8 min read
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Fly Like a Pro — Part 9 Pattern Match

What actually is experience and what does it give you? The dictionary defines experience as "gaining knowledge through…

⏱ 7 min read
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Trivia Testers : Got Wheels?

The first airplane to take off on wheels was...

⏱ 8 min read
LAW

Hangar Rash: Bad Contracts

Did you read that right? Bad C-O-N-T-R-A-C-T-S was the title, not contacts. Believe it or not, some airport…

⏱ 4 min read
LAW

Keep Out! Part II

Last time, we looked at prohibited and restricted airspace. This time we're going to discuss the other four…

⏱ 9 min read
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Pressurization: How and Why

For a given amount of engine power, the higher you fly, the faster your true airspeed. If your…

⏱ 6 min read
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Trivia Testers : The Driest Continent

The driest place on Earth!

⏱ 4 min read
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Fly Like a Pro: Part 8 – The Real Pros

As the project continued -- and the General Aviation pilots continued to have problems -- I became interested…

⏱ 5 min read
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Trivia Testers : Three Greens While the World Watches

What was the world's first rocket-powered airplane?

⏱ 4 min read
WEATHER

Winter Ops And Your Engine

If you live in the northern climes -- specifically where the outside air temperature dips below the freezing…

⏱ 3 min read
LAW

Keep Out! (Part I)

Our national airspace system sure isn't getting any less complicated, but any long-awaited rescue through increasingly available and…

⏱ 7 min read
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Trivia Testers : Santa

So just how fast would Santa have to go?

⏱ 9 min read
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Fly Like a Pro — Part 7: The Second LOFT Session

After the volunteers had flown the first LOFT scenario and attended the workshop/seminars, they were scheduled back into…

⏱ 7 min read
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Trivia Testers : Speed Zone

We have supersonic jet fighters, but are they (or any other type of aircraft capable of supersonic flight)…

⏱ 6 min read
CONTINUING EDUCATON

Trivia Testers : Q Branch, and the Q Quandry

Approximately how many patents for flying machines were filed with the US Patent Office before that of the…

⏱ 4 min read
LAW

Your Aeronautical Clock is Ticking

If you’re flying under a U.S.-issued pilot certificate, your days are numbered.

⏱ 5 min read
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The Training Wheel

The debate about where the middle wheel belongs isn’t quite as stormy as the disputes over where the…

⏱ 6 min read
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Fly Like a Pro — Part 6: Better Decisions

After all the pilot volunteers had flown the flight simulator for the first time, I invited them back…

⏱ 3 min read
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Trivia Testers : The Real First Hot Air Balloon

The greatest distance ever covered (either "straight line" or free) by a powered airplane (or for that matter,…

⏱ 3 min read
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Inverted Flight Follies

My buddy Mike loves to fly, and the only thing he likes more than flying is flying aerobatics.…

⏱ 3 min read
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Trivia Testers : Oooh, Dad!

The world's smallest jet engine (whether turboprop, turbofan, or turbojet) used in a "real" passenger carrying aircraft weighs…

⏱ 4 min read
WEATHER

Categorical Outlook Flying

The "categorical outlook" is a very general description of ceiling and visibility conditions contained in the Area Forecast.…

⏱ 4 min read
CONTINUING EDUCATON

The Impecunious Pilot

Everyone is affected by economic instability to varying degrees. Although we're all flying more carefully after last September,…

⏱ 6 min read
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Fly Like A Pro — Part 5: Results

Last week I described a project that involved volunteer general aviation pilots, a simulator, and a decision scenario…

⏱ 6 min read
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Trivia Testers : Pea Soup

The noisiest aircraft of all time, during takeoff, is (was)...j

⏱ 2 min read
LAW

Is Your Airport Secure?

In this business, I have to keep my finger on the pulse of aviation. Imagine my surprise when…

⏱ 3 min read
CONTINUING EDUCATON

Fly Like a Pro — Part 4: GA Pilots and LOFT

The airlines use a form of training called Line Oriented Flight Training or LOFT. "Line" refers to the…

⏱ 6 min read
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Trivia Testers : A Wing and a Prayer

True or false: It is possible to maintain control of (as well as land) an airplane that is…

⏱ 4 min read
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Fly Like A Pro — Part 3, Solutions

What are the Airlines doing that we should be doing? The National Transportation Safety Board initially classifies 65-percent…

⏱ 3 min read
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Wheels Down

Even though the Space Shuttle doesn't deploy its landing gear until reaching an altitude of only a few…

⏱ 6 min read