Why IFR Flight Training Should Come After Your License
Dr. Mary Ann O’Grady Any pilot who has been flying for a while has experienced flights delays due to weather conditions, and without having an instrument rating, those delays can stretch into hours or even into days. These delays can cause many pilots to make go no-go decisions that are not so good. So the benefit […]
How Crew Resource Management Makes Flying Safer
Vern Weiss On December 29, 1972, an Eastern Airlines Lockheed L-1011 with 176 people aboard crashed in Florida’s Everglades only 3 minutes from touching down at Miami International Airport. Three flight crew members, the Captain, First Officer and Flight Engineer became focused on a landing gear indicator light bulb that was not illuminated. As the […]
Competency vs Proficiency: A Look at Flying Aircraft Safely
When Flying Aircraft, Exceeding Flight Minimums = Maximum Safety in the Skies! Margie O’Connor Competency versus Proficiency. Flying aircraft competently means you have met the standards. Flying aircraft proficiently means you’ve taken that extra step to gain a certain comfort level in the cockpit – you’ve refined and built your competence to a point where you are confident […]
How to Get the Most From Online Flight Training
Dr. Mary Ann O’Grady Online flight training and aviation courses are designed to help pilots get off the ground (pun intended), and accredited online programs provide job skills training to high school graduates and college students who have an interest in pilot training. Distance learning aviation courses prepare pilots for the rigors of flying and/or […]
Flight Training Videos: How Relevant Are They?
Mary Ann O’Grady The term andragogy, which is defined as “the art and science of helping adults learn,” was used as early as 1833 but it was popularized in the United States by Malcolm Knowles in the 1970s (Whitmyer, 1999, p. 1). Originally, andragogy was contrasted with the term pedagogy, which focused on helping children to […]
Un-Learning as You’re Learning How to Fly Airplanes
Shawn Arena Okay, you have checked another box in your journey to earning your private pilot certificate. You and your instructor have set up a ground training schedule and an aircraft has been selected for your training. The next logical step then arrives, as you ask yourself, “So, HOW do I fly airplanes?” I’ll now […]
ATP Certification: Is It Really “King of the Hill”?
Wilson Gilliam Jr. When a pilot opens his or her certificate wallet, the Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate is usually the one on top. It is a diamond on a black cloth. ATP certification is a significant accomplishment, as the requirements for both the written and practical tests are demanding. I could have used all […]
Know the Signs and Symptoms of Hypoxia and Avoid Becoming a Victim
Margie O’Connor Whether just learning to fly or a seasoned aviator, hypoxia does NOT discriminate. It doesn’t care if you have 15 hours of flight time and you’re still aspiring to get your Private Pilot’s License or if you’re a seasoned aviator with 12,000+ hours flying for a major airline. Hypoxia lurks just around the […]
Sport Pilot Training: Everything You Need to Know
John Peltier Want to fly around for simple travel and sightseeing but don’t have the resources to obtain a private pilot’s license? Or perhaps you can’t get the medical certificate for your private pilot but can still safely operate an aircraft. Go through sport pilot training instead! What Can You Do as a Sport Pilot […]
IOE, AQP, FOQA, CRM, etc: The ABCs of Airline Training Programs
Airlines are integrating new curricula and shifting the focus of airline training programs more towards enhanced safety. Vern Weiss Some day I should experience a different career just to see if other fields are as crazy with initialisms, acronyms and abbreviations as aviation. I’ll bet not. For the benefit of the purist, an initialism is […]
The Cessna Training Program: Flight Training the Cessna Way
Shawn Arena So you have decided to not only begin flight training, but have focused on using Cessna aircraft and their associated Training Program. First a caveat – regardless of the type of aircraft and program selected, the main goal is training you safely, efficiently, (and as in this case) the use of a specific […]
Bush Pilot Training and Mud Flying – Say Again?
Dr. Mary Ann O’Grady Often pilots who fly small to medium-sized aircraft as a means of amassing hours to vie for positions with the airlines and cargo planes are likely to become bored with consistently flying prescribed routes and filing the same flight plans. In comparison, there is a category of pilots who enjoys the […]
