VORs: Avoiding Confusion with the TO / FROM Flag
John Peltier If there’s one area of the Instrument Flying Course where most students struggle, it’s usually on the subject of VORs. For some reason, VORs are very mysterious, and for some reason many students have no motivation to learn them thanks to the capabilities of GPS! VORs are still important to learn – not […]
What Do the Best Aviation Colleges Offer?
Dr. Mary Ann O’Grady Typically, prospective students who are considering careers in the aviation industry tend to contemplate becoming pilots through aviation colleges which offer five essential pilot ratings as follows: private single engine, instrument rating, private multi-engine, commercial single and multi-engine, and certified flight instructor (CFI). In addition, the best aviation colleges usually offer courses […]
What to Expect for a Starting Commercial Airline Pilot Salary
Jennifer Payne Pilots have been underpaid, leading to overworked and fatigued pilots, which creates a shortage of qualified applicants. Has aviation finally learned that low wages are hurting the industry? It first needs to be clarified that this is the starting commercial airline pilot salary for all pilots. At the beginning of every pilot’s career, […]
Flight Simulator Training: Cutting Costs and Improving Skills
Stimulation by Simulation Vern Weiss A long time ago they discovered that training pilots could be done more efficiently if there were a means to duplicate the objectives of instruction given in an aircraft. Not only could pilot training be cheaper but some maneuvers could be accomplished without the window of vulnerability for hazards that […]
Have You Ever Thought of Becoming a Pilot?
The Journey from Fixed Wing Single Engines to Jets Shawn Arena “What do you want to be when you grow up?” That is one question I am sure almost all of us can remember being asked by either parents, teachers, or friends when we were young. Most certainly we replied with an answer such as […]
Different Pilot Licenses Explained: Sport, Recreational and Private Pilot
In the fixed wing airplane world, pilots often refer to their pilot’s license as a “certificate”. Essentially, both terms mean the same thing and are interchangeable (although, technically, they are slightly different). For the purposes of this article, we intend “certificate” and “license” to represent the same “pilot status”. According to AOPA, the most accurate description of […]
Caleb Mason: ULA Graduate and Ag Pilot
Caleb Mason, Upper Limit Aviation graduate and current Agriculture Pilot (or Ag Pilot), recently shared an update regarding his commercial pilot journey – bringing us up to speed about what has transpired since he finished the ULA flight training program less than a year ago. Ag Pilots fly specially-designed helicopters to apply herbicides, insecticides, seeds […]
Enstrom TH180: Will it Compete with the Robinson R22?
Enstrom Helicopter Corporation has a new training aircraft called the TH180 but the company had been keeping the details of this new helicopter confidential until Heli Expo last March 2015. Could this helicopter, the Enstrom TH180, answer the call for a low-cost training alternative to the Robinson 22, which is by far the most widely used helicopter […]
Edgley Optica: Will No One Save This One-Eyed Aircraft?
Designed and first flown in 1979 by British designer Edgley, the Edgley Optica is a beautiful but nearly extinct aircraft. The Optica was produced in limited quantities in the 1980’s and targeted the gap in the aviation market for low cost, fixed-wing observation aircraft. The idea was to replace helicopters in activities such as: aerial […]
Spatial Disorientation: How and When Does it Affect Pilots
Do you remember the fatal airplane wreck of John F Kennedy Jr.? In July of 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr, and two other passengers on board crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Massachusetts. The official NTSB report concluded that Kennedy experienced spatial disorientation while descending at night over water. He lost control of the […]
Five Unique Ways of Paying for Flight Training
Secrets from Successful Pilots Let’s face it, paying for flight training is very expensive. Airplane flight school is going to cost $35K to $70K for fixed wing training, and $90K to $150K for helicopter training. Unless you have a trust fund from your rich dad, the costs to become commercial pilots can seem to be an impassable […]
Pilot Resume: This is Key to Your Career
In the aviation industry, a resume is much different – unique – and does not follow the traditional resume format that you will find within most industries. Building a pilot resume for a helicopter employer should be designed to fit the specific needs of the employer. Essentially, your resume will be all about YOU as […]
