Training

We’ve all seen B-roll video footage of robots busily building cars on an assembly line, spinning and whirling with impressive precision and nary a human in sight. But you’ve probably never seen anything like this. Researchers in Germany have connected a robotic arm to the cockpit section of an airplane to create perhaps the world’s […]

Maybe, someday, at the end of a flight I will be able to say, “My performance as a pilot was perfect on that flight. I didn’t make a single mistake.” So far I have never come close. My performance (and John’s) on a recent flight is a great example. It was time for us to […]

After we’ve been flying for a while as pilots, things get a lot easier. Our hands and eyes begin to go to the right places in the cockpit naturally, and the body just knows how much response the airplane will make to each control movement. We become comfortable with aviation communications. We get to know […]

As of next week, pilots taking the FAA knowledge exams for the private pilot certificate will no longer need to suffer through questions pertaining to outdated systems and procedures. A new question database, which is scheduled to become active on February 9, excludes questions that were deemed no longer pertinent. Questions regarding NDB, Radar Summary […]

You are likely very aware that flying behind avionics you are not familiar with is not only frustrating but also a major barrier to safe flight, particularly if you are flying IFR. To help its customers take maximum advantage of all the features in its popular touch-screen navigators, flight display systems and integrated flight decks, […]

From the moment Sporty’s revealed details of a barebones refurbished Cessna 172 trainer at Sporty’s Academy in Batavia, Ohio, renting for $99 an hour including fuel, owners of other flight schools around the country took notice. In calls and emails they all had the same questions: Do you plan to sell similar refurbed airplanes and, […]

As the trend toward diesel training aircraft continues to supplant traditional avgas fleets, Cochise College in Douglas, Arizona, has become the latest school to turn to jet-A pistons by ordering six RedHawk airplanes from Redbird Flight Simulations. Cochise College, which has been providing aviation training for more than four decades, says the decision to switch […]

Remember when we made a big deal last month about the FAA permitting more training time in flight simulators to count toward the instrument rating? Well forget about it. The FAA formally withdrew that policy today, and then reinstated the mind-boggling requirement that instrument students wear Foggles or other view-limiting devices while flying on instruments […]

It was late, the end of a long and trying day, and we hadn’t even left the state of Texas. I caught glimpses of muted scrubland far below as we flitted in and out of dusky cumulus. I shifted in the right seat and glanced over at Johnny in the dim red cockpit light. The […]

The National Transportation Safety Board today released its 2015 list of “Most Wanted” transportation safety improvements, and at the top of the list cited loss of control in general aviation as among the most pressing dangers demanding urgent attention. “While airline accidents have become relatively rare in the U.S., pilots and passengers involved in general […]