How do I pay for flight training? It seems like lately there has been a plethora of articles and blog posts on the internet about the cost of flying and how our population is shrinking. I felt it was appropriate to provide some ideas on how to pay for, and defray, training costs as the antithesis…
Dreaming of Flight: Flying as a second career There is an often asked question that is batted around in real and virtual hangars across the land – should I chase my dream of flying for a living? In a related article I asked, “Is the romance gone from professional flying?”, but as I stated then…
Always learning: a pilot can never learn too much Learning is defined by Webster as: the process of acquiring modifications in existing knowledge, skills, habits, or tendencies through experience, practice, or exercise. As pilots we always have to strive to get better and never stop learning. It is impossible to know everything there is to know…
My First Flight My first time to slip the surly bonds of earth occurred at Lawton, Oklahoma. I was 14 years old. The vehicle, a Piper Arrow IV. The pilot, Jim Huddleston. In my early teens I made the decision that I would be a pilot. The only nuance was I had never flow in…
As a contributor for Air Facts Journal I penned an article for them on mentorship as it relates to aviation. You can find it here: http://airfactsjournal.com/2012/11/aviation-mentorship Hopefully you will find it useful, whether you are a potential or current mentor or a mentoree. If you have experience or ideas in this area, I’d love to hear…
Flying with Finesse I love it when we refer to flying as art. It distills away all the sorid technical details and leaves us with the one thing that keeps us coming back, our physical connection with the flying machine. This connection should be a major concern for us as pilots. Our handling of the…
Father and Son First Solo This came across the Twitter feed and I couldn’t resist the urge to put it up on my blog. Father and son Michael and Gregory B. both solo’d a C-172 on the same day in Kissimmee, FL. According to Sun State Aviation’s Facebook page, this occurred on Wednesday, Oct 31st, 2012…
We now have a dedicated Facebook page for iflyblog.com Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/iFLYblog This will allow me to provide some additional functionality for folks who like to use social media. Let us know what you think by commenting below or posted on our Facebook page!
How To Fly a Taildragger: 201 We pick up where we left off in 101 and venture into more of the nuances of conventional gear aircraft. If you haven’t read How To Fly a Taildragger: 101 go there first. One area not mentioned in 101 was how gyroscope precession, spiraling slipstream, p-factor and torque effect a…
How To Fly a Taildragger: 101 I have taught dozens of pilots how to fly taildraggers and in this article, I summarize how it’s done. Note: This information should not be used in lieu of actual flight instruction. Also the terms taildraggers, tail wheel and conventional gear are all synonymous. Pontification: Everyone should learn to…