Flight Training

As pilots, we try not to draw too many parallels between driving a car and flying an airplane, because they don’t have much in common aside from moving your body quickly through space. One place this really rings true sits in front of you when you get into the cockpit: the instrument panel. It’s the […]

I have heard it many times: “I have always wanted to learn to fly, but I don’t have perfect vision.” The idea that pilots need 20/20 vision is truly a misconception. And while there are some medical conditions that would disqualify you from becoming a pilot, most can be overcome. Only one eye? No problem. […]

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s Air Safety Institute (ASI) has released a new episode of its Reality Check video series focused on a topic that never seems to lose any energy, at least in the debate: the 180-degree turn back to the runway after an engine failure just after takeoff. Traditionally, most of the […]

The full breadth of general aviation aircraft offers something to suit every potential pilot—and that includes those that fall under special airworthiness categories. The rising popularity of experimental aircraft, such as the RV series from Van’s Aircraft, turns upon their high performance-to-cost ratio and a serious fun factor driven by models that range from fabric-covered […]

The pandemic forced the 2021 NIFA SAFECON (National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference) Championship to be held virtually this year without the flying segments. After completion of the online events, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Golden Eagles Flight Team from its Prescott, Arizona, campus won the event, making them 13-time national SAFECON champions and […]

When Kirby and Teresa Ortega retired from Textron Aviation—after a combined 66 years with the company and its predecessor, the Cessna Aircraft Company—they knew that they were far from through with general aviation and flight training. The pilots wanted to develop their own path in teaching folks to fly based on those decades of experience, […]

When it comes to working through the highs and lows of funding an aviation-centered education, every dollar helps. This week, California Aeronautical University (CAU), the Bakersfield, California-based private, post-secondary school announced some serious scholarship money for students who apply to its Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics degree program. A CAU news release said, “CAU is […]

We all know that as density altitude increases, there is a corresponding decrease in the power delivered by our airplane’s engine and the effectiveness of our propeller. For a typical non-turbocharged light single-engine airplane, this can result in a takeoff roll that’s 25 percent longer for every 1,000 feet of elevation above sea level. The […]

A new upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) facility has emerged in Europe to help prevent a common and preventable cause of aviation accidents—loss of control in-flight (LOC-I). Located one hour south of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Upset Training Solutions International (UTSI) provides UPRT that meets the EASA criteria specified by FCL.745.A, which was recently […]

The 10,000-member strong American Bonanza Society’s Air Safety Foundation (ASF) in early May announced a new addition to the ABS’s online learning center, the release of the first in a series of training modules called the Beechcraft Essential Systems and Techniques, or BEST program. BEST is the next generation enhancement of the ABS’s Beechcraft Pilot […]