Training

WxWorx on Wings, the weather products that XM Satellite Weather downlinks from satellites to our cockpits, is provided to XM by Baron Services’ WxWorx. The weather products are collected at two distinct collection points, one located at WxWorx’s headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, and the other inside the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, North […]

A glass-panel cockpit is intended to make flying an airplane simpler – and safer – by presenting virtually every bit of information the pilot could ever require during a flight front and center on a single display. In more sophisticated glass cockpits, there are at least two displays: the PFD, primary flight display, that can […]

The words “current” and “proficient” are widely used to define a pilot’s ability to fly. Actually, being current means only that you meet all the regulatory standards which, in turn, don’t mean a whole lot. Almost six months after your last instrument approach you are still considered current for an ILS to minimums. Or, for […]

The first time I flew solo on an instrument flight in actual instrument conditions was the day I flew from Morristown to Teterboro, New Jersey, to take the check ride with an FAA examiner to add the instrument rating to my instructor certificate to make me a CFII. I sufficiently impressed the examiner to add […]

I’ll say in advance that Tom and I aren’t bound to agree on everything in this series. While I think checklists and acronyms are great on the ground and in flight for things like emergencies, I don’t think you can apply them to the shades of gray we find in instrument flying. If there is […]

The private pilot’s certificate is a magic door that opens to the fantastic world of flight. And for many pilots, the sheer pleasure of recreational flying is sufficient. But others soon bridle at the limitations of VFR-only operations when they realize many flights have to be cancelled or delayed because of weather. Often that weather […]

Every long journey begins with a single step. Once you’ve decided to go ahead and learn to fly-something you may have been dreaming about for years-and selected a flight school and an instructor, you’ve set out on the first leg of a satisfying lifelong journey. You’ve committed your time and money to achieve your goal, […]

Today, the beginning pilot has many paths to choose from when learning to fly. There’s the Light Sport activity, which gets you going in a basic airplane. Then there is the recreational route which expands horizons a bit. Finally there’s the tried and true private certificate that expands piloting privileges by a lot. If initial […]

__For many of us, going places is one of the wonders of flying. Many instructors like to take potential flight students on a short cross-country flight during the initial introductory flight in order to whet their appetite for the reward that awaits after they complete their primary training. Getting kicked out of the pattern is […]

It starts with weather. A pilot knows where he wants to go VFR and the first step is to see if the weather will allow a flight along the route that, at this point, is just in his mind. The most direct route is the first one considered. The next thing is the weather synopsis, […]