Pilot Products

Once a pilot has mastered all the FAA handbooks, endured one of the most challenging oral examinations in his or her career, proved he can fly and talk at the same time, and fly from the right seat, the FAA issues him a flight instructor certificate. Now the CFI faces a real challenge - figuring out the flight training business.

The training the FAA requires will prepare flight instructors to teach, but it doesn't prepare them to recruit new students, to achieve professionalism, or how to advance their careers through increasing the skills and satisfaction of their students. A new book, published by ASA, can teach CFIs to do all of this and, at the same time, promote general aviation.

The Savvy Flight Instructor: Secrets of the Successful CFI offers techniques for flight instructors to become more effective. Written by Flight Training contributing editor Greg Brown, the book focuses on the elements of teaching, the student/ teacher relationship, communication skills, and marketing. It offers suggestions about how to find new students, how to establish an avenue for repeat business, and how to motivate and inspire their students.

Brown examines the nitty gritty of flight instruction by discussing various kinds of possible employers - contract ab initio, collegiate, large flight schools, small flight schools, and FBOs as well as "Choosing the Right School to Work For." He also discusses going it alone as an independent CFI. Regardless of where an instructor teaches, the book focuses on a simple fact that Sean Elliott, executive director of the National Association of Flight Instructors, states in the foreword - "flight instructors are the instillers of safety and the quality control for our entire industry."

Flight school managers should also benefit from The Savvy Flight Instructor. In a special section, the book suggests ways flight schools can revamp marketing and student recruitment, and where today's opportunities for growth are.

Regardless of experience, a flight instructor should add The Savvy Flight Instructor to his library. At $19.95, it will pay many dividends - not only to an instructor's business, but to general aviation as a whole. For more information, contact ASA, 7005 132nd Place SE, Newcastle, WA 98059-3153; 800/ASA-2-FLY; 425/235-1500; www. asa2fly.com/asa Or use Flight Training's reader service card.

A Pilot's Favorite Book

Of all the books pilots collect, their favorite is, perhaps, their logbook. Not because the federal aviation regulations require them to record the training they receive and flights they make to keep current, but because the entries and their remarks about those flights spark memories of flying fun and adventure.

People can (and should) start keeping a logbook with their first, introductory flight. To help get new pilots started, Sporty's Pilot Shop offers its First Flight Log. Measuring eight inches wide by 4.5 inches tall, the paper-covered logbook has pages for 18 flight entries and flight instructor endorsements for solo and cross-country flights.

First Flight Log is $1.95. Ten or more copies are $1.70 each (for flight instructors and schools that want to make a person's first flight special by giving each budding pilot his [or her] first logbook). For orders of 100 or more, Sporty's prints the instructor's or school's name and phone number on the cover for free.

One of the small joys (and feelings of accomplishment) of flying is filling one logbook and starting on the second. Sporty's offers pilots two options for that new logbook, the Senior Flight Log and the Pilot's Flight Log. Both have been redesigned to comply with the new FAR Part 61 requirements, and new column headings ensure that pilots can thoroughly record every flight, ground lesson, or simulator (and flight training device) session.

The Senior Flight Log is comprehensive and, at $19.95, affordable. Measuring 9.75 inches wide, 6.25 inches tall, 1 inch deep, and 272 pages thick, each two-page spread has 28 columns, seven of which are blank so pilots can customize them to their needs. New annual summary pages enable pilots to record monthly, semi-annual, and annual experience for at-a-glance reference. This logbook has six pages for memoranda, seven pages for new endorsements, and ample room to record certificates, ratings, and flight proficiency history.

The Pilot's Flight Log is similar to the senior version. It has 49 two-page spreads with 24 columns, six of which are blank. It measures 8.25 inches wide, 4.75 inches tall, and 0.5 inches deep with 112 total pages, including eight endorsement and three memoranda pages. It costs $9.95.

Finally, to protect the logbook and organize your credentials, such as your pilot certificate and your medical certificate, Sporty's offers its Flight Log Case. Made of durable black Cordura nylon with a Velcro closure, the case has four clear vinyl pockets and two elastic pen/pencil holders. The case comes in two sizes, to hold the Senior Flight Log or the Pilot's Flight Log. The large case costs $14.95, the small case is $9.95, and embroidering your initials on either case is $8.95. To contact Sporty's Pilot Shop, call 800/LIFTOFF.

Sierra Pro Pilot

A new personal computer simulator and trainer has joined the market - the Sierra Pro Pilot. Available on CD-ROM for Windows 95, the program introduces people to the fundamentals of flight and enables them to perfect their skill in five, meticulously modeled aircraft - the single-engine, fixed-gear Cessna 172; the single-engine, retractable-gear Beech Bonanza; the twin-engine Beech Baron 58; the twin-turboprop Beech King Air; and the Cessna CitationJet.

Each airplane presents a photo-realistic cockpit and view through the windows. The instruments react in real-time to flight control inputs, and flying on instruments is a joy. The outside scenery is just as good.

Pilots can fly anywhere within 65 miles of 29 major metropolitan areas. According to Sierra On-Line, that's more than 100,000 square miles, and pilots can fly cross-country from any of more than 3,000 airports (and all their runways).

The program works from the pilot's perspective, not a flight simulation perspective. All of its features, including IFR and VFR flight, GPS navigation, and ATC transmissions, are real world. This quality carries over to the more than 30 video flight lessons. The lessons cover everything from the fundamentals of flight, aircraft systems, airspace classification, and radio communication to navigation, flying cross-country, and IFR flight. Pro Pilot's 288-page "Flight Companion" complements the lessons and gives more information, including the applicable federal aviation regulations.

The program's CFI, who is calm and supportive, is one of the most pleasant people I've ever "met." Pro Pilot will not teach people to fly a real airplane, but it will prepare them well for actual flight training. The video lessons could have come from any good CFI, with the only real difference being that people can ask the computer questions.

Sierra Pro Pilot has a suggested retail price of $54.95. Minimum system requirements are Windows 95, a 90 MHz Pentium processor, 16 MB RAM, a 2X CD-ROM, 30 MB of hard disk space, and a 256-color SVGA monitor. The "preferred" system is a 166 MHz Pentium, 32 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, a sound card with DAC, 16-bit high color, and a Windows 95-compatible joystick or yoke, rudder pedals, and throttles.

For more information on Pro Pilot, visit the Sierra website at www.sierra.com/pilot.