Title : New Feature Released: Easily Email All Your Club Members

Description :

New feature released for club admins. Now you can easily send an email message to all your members. You can specify if you want to send to "All Instructors", "All Pilots", "All Staff", or you can select one or many names to email. to access this feature go to the new "Mass Email" page under Mange Club. 

 

Post Date : 01/01/1970

Title : Flight Instructors

Description :

So you have picked your flight school, maybe it was based on the type of instruction whether Part 61 or Part 141 or maybe it was based on the type of aircraft used.  Well that’s it all the choices have been made, right? Wrong!  It is quite possible that the most important decision in your budding aviation career is picking your very first flight instructor.  The truth is it might very well be the most important decision you EVER make in your aviation career.  That’s right, little Johnny who has yet to leave the ground or crack a FAR is responsible for choosing who he is going to learn the most basic and fundamental concepts, techniques and procedures from.  So how do you make such an important decision when you don’t even know what you’re looking for?

Well here is tip number 1.  Remember and never forget, this is your aviation career and you are the customer when it comes to your flight training.  The instructor, flight school, college or any variant of, all work for you not the other way around.  So take an active role in every decision, you are not a passenger you are the Pilot in Command of your career from the moment you decided to take to the skies.

Tip 2.  Don’t be afraid to ask to interview or speak to all of the available instructors or even schedule instruction flights with various ones.  The first instructor might seem fine, but who knows the next instructor might end up being like that 3^rd grade teacher who instilled that passion for learning and thirst for excellence that you still possess to this day, or it might be the first one after all.  The point is you might never know if you don’t shop around.

My first true and subjective piece of advice is to choose an instructor who truly has a passion and love for aviation.  Someone who has that fire for all things aerial and loves to teach.  Just like your favorite high school teacher, your CFI is not in it for the money.  You might find one who is building time for his ATP or a retired airline pilot who just wants to pass on her wealth of experience in the cockpit.  So from a purely subjective standpoint which is better?

The answer is, it depends.  In all honesty the low time guy just building time is hands down going to be better in the books because having just gone through what you are currently going through, and now reciting all of his fresh knowledge to you daily they will never be as sharp.  On the other hand the retired airline/charter/fighter/bush pilot has forgotten more about flying than you will learn in the next 10 years. 

A full time instructor vs part time, high time vs low time, male vs female, ex-military vs civilian and on and on.  The entire point of this post is to simply point out that there are so many different combinations of experience, skill level and personalities in life and this is naturally mimicked in flight instructors. No one knows you better than you so don’t assume that a flight school knows what instructor is best for you.

Up to this point you have picked the school and the aircraft why not the instructor.  Remember the onus is always on you still to be the very best flight student you can be, because in the end the pilot that you end up being is ultimately up to you.  Chuck Yeager could probably teach a monkey to fly but that doesn’t mean that you would board a 747 headed London if that monkey is the PIC.  Instead be the student who is open and receptive one who can accept criticism as well as praise with equal professionalism.  Be a student who knows his limits and understands that until the day he steps out of the cockpit for the very last time that there is always something to learn.  Just food for thought when making some crucial decisions that might very well save your life one day.  Until next time, Fly Safe!

Post Date : 01/01/1970

Title : New Features: Additional User Settings for Enhanced Customization

Description :

We released two new user settings under "My Profile" page, to give you additional customization capabilities to your PilotSchedule account. Here are the details:

• "Default Reservation Period" - Set the default time range you want to see when you open the Reservation screen to create a new reservation.
• "Put me as default Pilot" - For admin users who are also Pilots, check this checkbox, then when you create a reservation, your name will be automatically selected as the Pilot.
  

 

 

Post Date : 01/01/1970

Title : Things you should know when enrolling in a flight school

Description :

There are some things that you should know when enrolling in a flight school. It will help you find the perfect school and the right instructor to ensure your success. If you have a passion for flying, there is nothing more rewarding than flying your own plane. It gives you a sense of accomplishment while you are staring at the world below. It presents that freedom that you can’t get from many other things that you do. It allows your life to be put in perspective and this rewarding experience is easier to accomplish than you may think. 

When enrolling in a flight school, these are the things that you will want to know. The focus is to make sure that you are ahead of the game and informed, so that you are in charge of your aviation future. 

Determine what you want to do

There are various licences that you can get at many flight schools. Are you interested in flying commercial flights or more interested in taking a few friends to another location in your area? Understanding what your ultimate goal is will help you find the best program for you to get the right certification. Before you get the opportunity to fly a commercial plane, like a Boeing 747 that seats around 600 passengers, you will need to receive more certifications, than if you are flying a Learjet 31 that seats around eight. 

Calculate the costs

Next, you will want to calculate the overall cost of reaching that goal. Many people decide not to follow their dream of flying because they assume that it is too expensive. Before you give up before the fun begins, get an estimate of the overall costs and an idea of any discounts or funding options. There are many individuals who were able to afford the training even though they thought that they couldn’t. 

Choose a reputable school

When it comes to training to fly, you want to choose a school that is reputable and one that can satisfy your needs. Check out schools that offer simulation training during live training off times. It will allow you to maximize your experience without maxing out your budget. The simulators can allow you to practice for less. 

Know your stuff

Understanding the types of planes, certifications needed for various flight trips, and other pertinent information can be a great way to get in the driver’s seat faster. When it comes to the registration and decision making process about what school to go to, you can get the help of an expert. They can take a look at your needs and find the perfect school for you. It is the best way to cut costs and get in the air faster. 

Find out the Aircrafts available

Learning about the aircrafts that you will be able to practice on is a great piece of information when it comes to choosing a flight school. There are planes that have glass bottoms that allow you to see more clearly. They are great for learning and the first time you take a trip in one, you will never forget it. 

These tips should help you find the perfect flight school. If you are looking to learn how to fly, you want to be able to take charge of your education, so you can get flying as soon as possible. 

Post Date : 01/01/1970

Title : What Every Flight Instructor Should Know About Student Pilots

Description : Proppellerhead is the autobiography of a guy who went into ultralight flying to impress the girls but ended up falling in love with aviation. In the chapters describing his flight training, the author talks about his difficulties in learning how to land the ultralight. He wasn’t allowed to solo purely because his landings weren’t satisfactory. One day, he went to a different flight school and ended up flying with a new instructor. The instructor, with a few wise words, seemed to magically fix the author’s landings.


Does this mean that his previous instructor was a bad teacher? I highly doubt it. However, sometimes flight instructors need to better understand students and their needs. So here are four things I wish my flight instructors had known about student pilots.


I Don’t Get It

Sometimes a student simply does not understand an explanation. What I have experienced is a lot of instructors simply reiterate their original explanation over and over again using slightly different wording or speaking more slowly. Unfortunately, that’s not going to help. It also makes the student feel like an idiot. This is where creativity comes into play. As a student, if I don’t get something, I want the instructor to come at it from a completely different angle. Use different visual aids, go back to the basics, demonstrate concepts and use examples.

Nerve-racking

For some reason or another, students can sometimes be really, really nervous. You’ll be able to tell as a flight instructor by their behaviour. This would happen to me when I had problems in my daily life, or when I felt like I hadn’t properly prepared for a lesson. When a student doesn’t fly as well as they want to, they’ll also become nervous and even irritable. Getting criticism during this period can have a really negative effect on the student, especially as they’re probably already kicking themselves internally. The student is more likely to develop tunnel vision and make even more mistakes, which results in a vicious cycle. When an instructor senses that, they should avoid any sort of criticism and go back to something they know the student is good at. It helps reduce that tension. Return to the stuff that they messed up after you feel like they’ve calmed down a bit.


Teach us where to look

As a student, I always found the whole system daunting. There’s so much to know. There are hundreds of different manuals and air law texts. As a student, you’re struggling to learn to navigate, or nail those short field landings. Sometimes we just need to know where to look up the answers to questions we may have. For example, one day I asked my instructor what the VFR minimums were. He just said, “in uncontrolled airspace it’s clear of clouds and 5km visibility.” If the day comes where I become a flight instructor and a student asks me that, I’ll say, “well you can find that in the SERA. I’ll show you where it is and we can have a look together.”


I’m here for fun

Flight instructors are usually people who trained from the beginning to become professional pilots. I include myself in that mix. However, many people go into flight training purely for the pleasure of flight. They don’t want to learn airline-like SOPs and standardised professional departure and approach briefings. Teach them the essentials. They want to have fun in a safe manner. If you teach them in a fun way, they’ll soon come back for more, looking to fly more professionally.

Post Date : 01/01/1970

Title : PilotSchedule Re-launched

Description :

PilotSchedule started in 2003, and have remained online for free since then (that is for 14 years). Technology changed so much since 2003 and the older technology we had used become obsolete and unsupported for a while now. Therefore the system had to be re-written from scratch using new modern tools. We have completed this task and what you see today is PilotSchedule 2.0. In order to continue improving PilotSchedule, and providing the support needed, we had no choice but to switch to a fee base model, with minimal fees compared to other systems.

For all our existing users, your data has been transferred. If you are having difficulties logging in, or you see something missing from the data conversion that we did, please contact us. We have all your data. We hope you give this new system a chance. However if you decided you do not want and want your data, we can send you the data in an excel file. 

Please bear with us as we fine tune the system, and fix few glitches as we discover them or you report them to us. We do have a plan to release features every month and also create new iPhone and Android apps.

Save

Post Date : 01/01/1970

Title : A Pilot Near Miss Story: The Airprox and how to avoid it

Description :

The Story

I was back home for the holidays and my girlfriend at the time had come to visit me, so I decided to take her on a ride in the club’s Cessna 152. We took off into the bumpy summer air and enjoyed the views over Versailles Castle as we departed St Cyr Airfield in the outskirts of Paris. The plan was simple: a short local flight at 1500ft. Uncontrolled airspace, no clouds, and about thirty miles visibility. It was the perfect VFR day.

I showed her a few castles, pointed out areas of personal significance, and tried to show my girlfriend a good time. It seemed to me though that she wasn’t really enjoying the flight. So I made a decision.

            “I can show you one more castle if you want or we can go back. It’s completely up to you.” She thought about it for a while.

            “Let’s go see the castle and then go back.”

I knew that the castle was due south of me, and that I was heading in a north easterly direction. I did my visual checks, then began my right turn. I was doing my normal scan of looking outside for fifteen-seconds, then the instruments for one. It was when I was transitioning from looking outside to inside that I noticed something. A shadow of an aircraft on the ground, and it certainly wasn’t ours.

I arrested the turn, and a moment later a canard-type aircraft whizzed past us. It barely missed us. The plane was going so fast that it was gone within moments.

            “Did you see that other plane? It looked pretty cool!”

My passenger hadn’t realised the disaster we had just narrowly avoided. I nodded, told her that it had been just a little too close for comfort, and so I thought it were best for us to go back. I didn’t show it, but I was nerve wrecked the whole way back. All my energy was focused on flying the aircraft back to the apron. I then spoke to my flight instructor and filed an Airprox.

 

The Airprox

Near midair collisions are actually quite common in general aviation, but they become rarer and rarer the further away you get from an airport. Nevertheless, this was a reminder to always, always scan outside.

Two things saved me that day. The first was our low altitude. Had we been much higher, I don’t think I would have seen the other aircraft’s shadow and we would have certainly collided. The second thing was my scan. Had I fixated on my instruments, and maybe even outside, I would never have seen the aircraft. Dumb-luck had kept us alive.

It had been the other pilot’s responsibility to overtake me safely, however, there were a couple of things I could have done in order to avoid such a situation. According to an FAA statistic, around 80% of midair collisions occur when a faster aircraft overtakes a slower one. So my pre-turn scan was lacking one important location: behind the aircraft. I did my usual 180 degree up to down scan, but I never looked behind me.

My second mistake was that I wasn’t talking to anyone. You can get at least traffic information, even in uncontrolled airspace. Had I been talking to Paris Information that day, I’m sure they would have told me of the conflicting traffic.

I learnt my two lessons, and since then I have always looked behind me before turning, whilst making sure that someone on the ground is looking out for me.

Post Date : 01/01/1970

Title : PREFLIGHT INSPECTIONS: BE THOROUGH

Description :

As we enter flight school and start out as new private pilots, we are all taught the routine of preflight inspections and how important they are.  We are hopefully also taught to be very thorough.  The preflight is almost as important as the flying itself.  Read on to learn why.  We will follow up with one example of how badly things can go wrong if you don’t check everything, or if you “cut corners”.

We have all learned the routine for preflight, but it should never get routine, even though we are tempted to become blasé’ about it.  That temptation has to be resisted.  The inspection usually starts at one of the cabin doors, and goes around the aircraft in either clockwise or counterclockwise, checking flight controls surfaces, gas tank levels, stall warning, wheels, skin condition, lights, engine and engine oil, and many other items.  In fact, there are so many items, it is best to use a checklist, although the truth is that few of us use a list.  But remember, one of the reasons that flying is so safe, especially airline flying, is that the airlines use checklists all the time.  In fact, airlines are the safest industry in the United States and worldwide, and one of the biggest reasons why is that the airlines use checklists for almost all of their preflight and flight operations.  So make sure your preflight inspection is thorough. Don’t leave anything out.  And again, don’t fall into a “routine”, or let the inspection become a process of just “going through the motions”.  In other words, check your “attitude” about the whole process

Although we almost never hear about an aircraft accident being caused by a faulty or incomplete preflight, believe us, it happens.  To illustrate the point, we want to introduce you to a really good young man, Brook Berringer.

Brook was, by all accounts, a real good and decent young man.  He had been an outstanding high school athlete, especially in football.  In the mid-1990s he was the second string quarterback for the famed University of Nebraska Huskers football team.  When the first string quarterback was out with injuries, Brook stepped in and was very instrumental helping Nebraska capture the national NCAA football championship in both 1994 and 1995.  He was engaged and he and his fiancé had a young child.  He graduated from Nebraska in 1995.  His life was headed in all the right directions.

There had been several pilots in his family, and Brook naturally picked up a love of flying, and by early 1996, he had a private pilot’s license, and had built up 125 hours of flight time.  So he had a fair amount of experience.  A friend of his in Lincoln, Nebraska owned a vintage yellow 1946 Piper J-3 Cub, one of the most classic airplanes in the United States.  His friend let Brook fly this Cub any time he wanted to, so on Thursday April 18, 1996 Brook and his soon to be brother-in-saw, Tobey, also an experienced pilot (commercial rating with 210 hours), decided to take the Cub out for a spin.  Brook was the pilot in the back seat, with Tobey was the passenger in the front seat, so the Cub was close to maximum weight.  They did a pre-flight on the Cub, taxied out, did a run up, and then took off.  This was from a rural private sod airstrip, surrounded by flat cropland.

Things went just fine until they got to 250 feet up, at which time the 65 horsepower Lycoming engine simply quit.  With the plane fully loaded with passengers and fuel, and at that low altitude, experienced flyers would agree that the best procedure would be to get that nose down, maintain airspeed, and land the best place you can, basically straight ahead.  And as we all know, in these circumstances, there is a very strong psychological temptation to try to “get back to the airport”, a temptation that has to be resisted at such a low altitude.  Unfortunately, Brook tried to turn back, and since it was windy that day (20-30 MPH and gusty), and with the Cub fully loaded, the Cub stalled, and went straight into the ground.  Both Brook and Tobey were killed and the plane was completely destroyed.

As always, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was called in to investigate.  There were at least two eyewitnesses.  It took investigators only 9 months to reach their conclusions---fairly fast for the NTSB.  They found the fuel valve for the J-3 Cub was not fully on, but only about 2/3rds or 3/4ths on.  So on taxi and run up, and initially during take-off, the engine was getting enough gas.  But with full throttle on take-off, and with the valve only partially open, the gas feed could not keep up with the high consumption, and the engine failed due to that classic old cause, “fuel starvation”.  The secondary causes were “failure to maintain control of the aircraft” (probably meaning his decision to turn back), and the high winds.

In addition to the lost lives, the crash left Brook’s widow and one orphan.  This is all very tragic.  Of course all the Nebraska football staff and fans were stunned.  Brook had a promising life ahead.  Just two days later, on the following Saturday April 20, the NLF was holding its 1996 draft.  Given all his talent, Brook was expected to be drafted as a pro quarterback.  It never happened.

So, on all your preflights, resist the mindset that you are just going through a routine process.  Make all your preflights thorough, and cover all the bases. We all want to prevent things going wrong. 

Post Date : 01/01/1970

Title : Five Things to Do Before Starting Flight Training

Description : Starting flight training can be daunting. There are so many things to learn during the training that it can get a little bit overwhelming sometimes. So here are five ways you can prepare for training before doing that first lesson.

Brush up on math and physics
Don’t worry, the math involved in private flight training is very basic and easy. However, it’s not instinctual until you practice for a while. Go to the bookshop or go online and find videos and practice questions for mental arithmetic, trigonometry, moments, and center of mass calculations.

Get A desktop flight Simulator
I recommend Microsoft Flight Simulator X for one simple reason: you can go through the flight school missions with Rod Machado’s voice in your ear as you practice the basics of PPL flying. It’s a lot of fun and you’ll learn a few things. Read and learn all the pre-flight lessons before though, as that’s where you’ll get a bunch of useful information. Alternatively, you can get Microsoft Flight Simulator X for Real World Pilots. It is a first-class book that I highly recommend to anyone wanting to practice using a home simulator. Make sure to get at least a joystick and rudder pedals.

Learn the Phonetic Alphabet
It’s actually very easy to learn. Not only will you need to memorize every letter, but you’ll also need say them instinctively. It must be second nature to say, “Bravo 4” instead of B4, or, “Hotel Echo Mike Oscar” instead of HEMO. Get a printout, memorize all 26 phonetic letters, and start reading everything that way. Why not start with this blog?

Get a Flight Journal
A flight journal should be considered to be as vital as a logbook. It should become part of your daily routine to write into your flight journal after every flight. Many studies have shown that actively recalling your performance after receiving feedback will improve future performance and steepen the learning curve. Writing a flight journal deserves a blog for itself. It really is an amazing tool.

Prepare your Schedule
Flight training is intensive and time consuming. Don’t waltz into the flight school expecting to do one or two flights a week and then receive a private pilot certificate with no further work on your part. It’s hard work and you’ll need to schedule some time every week to study and review your lessons. Don’t let this last point scare you. You’ll want to study. Trust me. It’s super exciting learning how to fly an aircraft!

If I were to give you a sixth piece of advice it would be to relax. The tips above are not mandatory, they’ll simply help you feel more comfortable when you do your flight training. Go to your flight school, watch the planes take-off, and allow yourself to smile, knowing that you’ll be in one of them soon.

Post Date : 01/01/1970

Title : How to Get the Most Out of Flight School

Description :

Embarking on your flight training as a soon-to-be pilot or simply to continue developing your skills is an exciting period in your life. After all, you will get to experience the journey of earning your wings for the first time. And if one of the things you are probably wondering is how to get the most out of flight school. There can be a lot of factors to consider, but follow the advice below and you will be well on your way to acing your training and flying high:

 

Choosing Your Flight School

 

The flight school you choose will have a large impact on your aviation career. Every school is different, and optimized for certain pilot training. Consider what kind of flying you want to do: private, commercial, military, or something else? What kind of aircraft do you want to fly? What kind of weather and terrain do you want to train in?

 

This will determine where you apply. After all, if you want to casually fly small private aircraft over terrain with mild weather, that is much different than if you plan to fly a jet through thunderstorms for a major airline on a regular basis. Your school should reflect the kind of flying to expect to do.

 

Choosing Your Instructor

 

Once you’ve chosen a location to train, you’ll also need to be paired with an instructor. And you shouldn’t just accept anyone. Even though most instructors are incredibly knowledgeable and can help you earn your wings, not every instructor will be the best match for you.

 

People have different personality types, and certain personalities get along better than others. If you are naturally a funny person who likes to joke around in a casual atmosphere, then you’ll want to find an instructor who shares the same tendencies. Likewise, if you tend to be no-nonsense and straight to the point, you’ll want to train under someone who values the same pragmatic approach to life.

 

By choosing the right instructor with the skillset and personality to match yourself, you can get much more out of your training in less time.

 

Extracurricular Development

 

There is more to flight school than just the time during actual training. Pilots who get the most out of flight school are those who find ways to maximize their learning and engagement in the pilot community.

 

Seek out resources on campus or off. And get into the habit of reviewing your training syllabus before class to be 100% prepared.

 

And don’t be afraid to seek out mentors. You can request to “ride along” with another pilot who is more advanced than yourself. This will let you learn at a faster rate and avoid mistakes you would otherwise make.

 

You might even consider asking your instructor to give you a review after each flying lesson in order to identify what you are doing well and where you can improve.

 

Making Pals / Networking

 

Instead of watching cat videos on your phone, you can network with other trainees during breaks between lessons. Break the ice by throwing out your favorite Top Gun references - it might be cliche but it gets the conversation started!

 

This gives you an opportunity to shares your hopes, dreams, and even fears with other like-minded individuals. You could even make pilot friends for life.

 

Meetups

 

Finally, one of the best ways to have fun and learn at the same time is to attend events outside of your training such as WINGS meetings, FAA seminars, or classes from the Air Safety Institute.

 

Alright Ace! Now you’ve got the inside scoop on how to get the most out of flight school. You know enough now to pick the best school, connect with a key mentor, go the extra mile, and make lifelong friends in the best industry in the world: aviation!

 

Post Date : 01/01/1970