Let's Go Flying May Newsletter

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In This Issue:
Student helps others lose fear of flight    |    Medical Certificates quiz
Follow 'The Finer Points' on Twitter    |    WCA offers scholarship

Live the Dream

Father, daughter share flight training experience
When Rob Krajcik of Springfield, Mass., was deciding how to help his 20-year-old daughter Marissa develop some outside interests, his first thought was to take her flying. Read more >>

Fly the Goodyear blimp
Wide-eyed airplane pilots will reach for the armrests when the Goodyear blimp pitches down 30 degrees, filling the windscreen with beach and surf. See for yourself in this video as Marty Chandler, chief pilot at Goodyear's Pompano Beach, Fla., blimp port describes airship operations and a day in the life of a lighter-than-air pilot. Watch video >>

Student helps others lose fear of flight
An 18-year-old high-school student and licensed pilot in Perquimans County, N.C., is helping other young people overcome their fear of flying by teaching them about aviation. Read more >>

Gone flying? Tell us about your flight and submit photos and video of the experience!

Start Flying

Test your knowledge: Medical Certificates quiz
A sport pilot certificate does not require a medical certificate, but a private pilot certificate does. Private pilots need to update their medical certificate over time. Want to know more? Take the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's Medical Certificates quiz.

Follow 'The Finer Points' on Twitter
The Finer Points flight instruction video and podcast series, hosted by certificated flight instructor Jason Miller, has expanded to Twitter. Just how much flight training wisdom can be dispensed in 140 characters? Plenty, it seems. Here are a couple excerpts: "When landing in a crosswind you sideslip the airplane. This exposes the fuselage to the relative wind and increases drag. Watch your speed." And, "Using the autopilot can be an AWESOME tool for learning, making it much easier to understand complex operations under IFR in the airplane."

Women in Corporate Aviation offers scholarship
Men and women interested in pursuing a career in any job classification in corporate/business aviation are encouraged to apply for a $1,500 scholarship offered by Women in Corporate Aviation. The award can be applied toward flight training, upgrades in aviation education, dispatcher training, or NBAA Professional Development Program courses. Applications must be postmarked by Aug. 1. For details, visit the Web site. E-mail scholarship questions to Sandra Clifford.

First Steps • Types of Certificates • Time and Cost
Choose a Flight Instructor • Safety • Take Your First Flight

Aircraft of the Month

Hawker-Beechcraft G58 Baron
How is it that such a big, heavy, fast airplane can fly so beautifully? The reasons are hard to pinpoint, but there's no doubt Beech did it right in the early 1960s with the introduction of the Baron, and today's model offers more than ever. Read more >>

Ask a Pilot

Question: I am currently in my junior year in high school, and am looking to become a career pilot. What is the best road to take?

Answer: Aviation is so vast and diverse that it would be helpful if you could establish some initial career goals. For example, if you aspire to become a military fighter jock, or a missionary pilot, or a firefighter airman, or an airline pilot, or a corporate pilot, or a law enforcement aviator...well, the route to each of these is somewhat different. The first step is learning to fly and that requires earning an FAA private pilot certificate. The choice for initial pilot training depends primarily on how you will pay for it. If you are able to start working toward your private pilot certificate at a local airport before you graduate, it will probably be less expensive than starting from scratch at an aviation college, university, or flight academy. Check out the local Civil Air Patrol (CAP) squadron. Some units provide initial flight training to CAP cadets at very low cost.

Do you have a question about flying? Ask a pilot! Call 877-58-PILOT or send an e-mail.

In the Blogs

Here are some recent highlights from our Let's Go Flying blog page.

Help save a Skyraider
By Francois Dumas
Yes, you know me from posting about flight simulator topics, but real aviation is also close to my heart, and more in specific the history of it, old planes and old airfields. Here's a story you have to hear... Read more >>

Flying in the pilot-maker: A ride in the USAF T-6A Texan II
By Steve Tupper
For many of us, the initial thrill of aviation came from military aviation as it was portrayed in the movies and on television. Many of us who followed that call to the airports... Read more >>

Sailplane flight simulators
By Bill Daniels
PC Flight simulators have proven very popular. The current generation of gaming PC's deliver performance that only a few years ago was the province of supercomputer labs. Read more >>

Aviation Calendar of Events

Airports all across the United States offer weekend activities, from pancake breakfasts and barbecues to car and air shows. Find out what's going on in your area. You can search by city, state, or geographic region.

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