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Copyright © 2006 AOPA. | Training Tips
| | TOWERED AIRPORT SOLOS
A private pilot may operate an aircraft from airports with an operating control tower. At a minimum, training requires a private pilot applicant to make three solo takeoffs and landings at an airport with an operating control tower to be eligible for the private pilot flight test.
 If your training base is a tower-controlled airport, you will nail down this requirement as a matter of course. If not, visit towered airports often during dual training. If one is nearby, listen at home to its radio chatter, or monitor tower frequencies via the Internet. The opportunity to make the solo takeoffs and landings may come during one of your dual visits, or perhaps you can do it during one of your solo cross-country flights. For more information, download the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's Safety Advisor Operations at Towered Airports .
Note that the regulation calls for "three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower." Here is where you'll experience how tower controllers expedite the flow. Your first traffic pattern may have been left-handed, but your second may require right traffic. Arrivals and departures may cause your pattern to be extended or abbreviated. Your landing sequence may be based on your spotting and following another aircraft. You might hear the phrase, "Follow that traffic, cleared to land, caution, wake turbulence." See the January 24, 2003, Training Tips article "Staying Clear of the Wake." A helpful tip is to inform the ground or tower controller that you are a student pilot fulfilling your solo requirement.
Many student pilots ask: Is it better to train at an airport with a tower or at a nontowered airport? Here's an answer from the January 2001 AOPA Flight Training feature "Turf For Training": "The debate over whether towered airports are better for training than nontowered airports is analogous to arguing over whether turns are better than straight-and-level or climbs are better than descents. We need them both, and we need to be comfortable with both to be fully functional as aviators." Practice, and you will conclude that participating in towered-airport operations is predictable, rewarding, and fun.
| Your Partner in Training
| It's almost checkride time! Are you ready? Have you reviewed the Private Pilot Practical Test Standards? Have you sat down with your instructor to fill out your FAA Form 8710-1 and go over your training aircraft's logbook to be sure all the required entries are in place? These are just a few of the details to remember, but you'll get through it. AOPA's Interactive Form 8710 is a great tool to help you with the required FAA paperwork. It takes you step by step through the form and, when completed, can be printed, signed, and given to your designated pilot examiner.
As an AOPA Flight Training Member, you have access to all of the features within AOPA Online and AOPA Flight Training Online. Login information is available online.
| Flight Training News
| AIR SAFETY FOUNDATION STORE OFFERS NUMEROUS TRAINING DVDs
The AOPA Air Safety Foundation Store has training DVDs on everything from weather planning to collision avoidance. You can train in the convenience of your home to become a much better pilot the next time you take wing. The DVD programs range from 35 to 60 minutes. Also, consider the Pinch-Hitter training for your non-flying spouse or significant other.
DELTA CONNECTION ACADEMY INKS TRAINING DEAL
Delta Connection Academy and Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines have signed a training agreement under which Delta will provide transition training to select new-hire pilots for entry into Cape Air/Nantucket's initial training program. Cape Air/Nantucket also has agreed to offer guaranteed job interviews to Delta Connection Academy graduates. Cape Air/Nantucket is a Part 121 and 135 regional airline that flies a fleet of ATR-42 and Cessna 402-C aircraft. Based in Hyannis, Massachusetts, Cape Air/Nantucket also has pilot bases in Florida, the Caribbean, and Micronesia. Delta Connection Academy's main campus is located at Orlando/Sanford International Airport in Florida, and it is a flight-training partner for five colleges and universities with a total enrollment of more than 800 flight students. For more information, see the Web site.
ILLINOIS COLLEGE ADDS AVIATION DEGREE PROGRAM
Kishwaukee College, a two-year community college in Malta, Illinois, has added flight training to its curriculum. Students who complete the program receive an associate of applied science degree and earn a commercial pilot certificate. The college also offers a 17-hour program that prepares participants to earn a private pilot certificate. The college partners with Northwest Aviation in Schaumburg; Poplar Grove Air Motive in Poplar Grove; Midwest Flight Academy in Dekalb; and Bresson Flying Services in Rochelle to offer flight instruction. Ground school is conducted by the college. For more information, see the Web site.
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE SPONSORS FLIGHT-TEST COURSES
Have you ever wanted to be a test pilot? The University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) is offering three flight-testing courses in 2006. Fixed Wing Stability and Control Flight Testing will be held at the university in Tullahoma, Tennessee, May 15 through 26. Fixed Wing Performance Flight Testing will be offered September 11 through 22, and Rotary Wing Performance Flight Testing will be held October 2 through 6. Instructors will cover the subject of rotary wing stability and control flight testing from theoretical and experimental viewpoints, with active student participation in the flight experiments. For more information, telephone Becky Stines, director of continuing education, at 931/393-7276, or e-mail [email protected].
| Inside AOPA
| AOPA DESCENDS ON SUN 'N FUN
The Big Yellow Tent is open for business and AOPA staffers are on hand and helping members. Sun 'n Fun is the first major airshow of the season, and many manufacturers choose this event to show off their newest and greatest wares. If you can't be there to prowl the flight line and exhibit halls, we can. AOPA has sent a team of aviation journalists and photographers to bring all the news home to AOPA members. Visit our special Sun 'n Fun section every day for the latest.
HAVE YOU UPDATED YOUR AOPA MEMBER PROFILE?
To make the most of your membership and allow us to serve you better, please visit AOPA Online and update your personal member profile.
| Training Products
| | KEEP TRACK OF FLIGHT INFO WITH SPORTY'S BRIEFING CARDS
Whenever you launch from your home airport, there's a lot of information to process and keep track of: weather, active runways, frequencies at your destination airport, and the like. Keeping it all organized is an ongoing challenge. Sporty's Briefing Cards may be able to help. The kneeboard-size cards were designed specifically to record flight information such as weather, clearances, takeoff and landing data, frequencies, airport information, and other notes. Note information for your departure airport on one side and your destination on the other. The cards were created for instrument-rated pilots, but Sporty's says they are handy for VFR pilots as well. Available in a pad of 50 for $3.95, Briefing Cards may be ordered online or by calling 800/SPORTYS.
Note: Products listed have not been evaluated by ePilot editors unless otherwise noted. AOPA assumes no responsibility for products or services listed or for claims or actions by manufacturers or vendors.
| | Final Exam | Question: What is adverse yaw?
Answer: Adverse yaw occurs while an airplane is banked in either direction. For example, if you were to bank the airplane to the right, the right aileron is deflected up while the left aileron is deflected down. As a result of a greater angle of attack on the left wing, it will experience an increase in lift as well as an increase in drag, and the right wing will experience a decrease in lift and drag. The increase in drag on the left wing tends to pull the airplane's nose toward the left, opposite of the desired direction of turn. To counteract this tendency, the use of right rudder is necessary to make the turn coordinated. For additional information on basic aerodynamics, view AOPA Online.
Got a question for our technical services staff? E-mail to [email protected] or call the Pilot Information Center, 800/872-2672. Don't forget the online archive of "Final Exam" questions and answers, searchable by keyword or topic.
| Picture Perfect
| Looking for some really fabulous aviation photography? All the air-to-air photos and beautifully detailed ground images used by AOPA Pilot magazine over the years are yours at the click of a mouse button. Download your favorite images to use for wallpaper, send an e-postcard, or order prints online. For more details, see AOPA Online.
| What's New At AOPA Online
| The wind can work for or against you. It can mean the difference between a long, bumpy flight and a short, smooth trip. AOPA’s updated subject report on windy flight operations includes articles from AOPA Flight Training magazine that cover lessons learned from a student pilot caught off guard by a wind gust, what information you can and cannot get from a windsock, a crosswind tutorial, and an in-depth discussion of different kinds of wind shear.
| Weekend Weather
| See the current weather on AOPA Online, provided by Meteorlogix.
| ePilot Calendar
| UPCOMING FLYING DESTINATIONS:
Lakeland, Florida. The Sun 'n Fun Fly-In takes place April 4 through 10 at Lakeland Linder Regional (LAL). A spring tradition featuring exhibitors, aircraft display, and a daily airshow, Sun 'n Fun offers something for everyone! Don't miss AOPA Day on Friday, April 7-AOPA members get $5 off admission when you show your membership card. For more information, see the Web site.
Burnet, Texas. The 16th Annual Commemorative Air Force Bluebonnet Airshow takes place April 8 at Burnet Municipal Kate Craddock Field (BMQ). Featuring warbirds, aerobatics, parachute jumpers, and more! Gates open at 9 a.m., show begins at 1 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults/$5 for children. Contact Clif Walker, 512/756-2226, or visit the Web site.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The 2006 Airfield Operations Area Expo and Conference takes place April 9 through 11 at the Four Points Sheraton. Join airport operations, maintenance, and engineering managers from airports around the world for seminars, courses, and over 90,000 square feet of exhibit space. For more information, see the Web site.
To submit an event to the calendar or to search all events visit AOPA Online. For airport details, see AOPA's Airport Directory Online.
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR REFRESHER CLINICS
The next AOPA Air Safety Foundation Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics are scheduled in Atlanta, Indianapolis, and Salt Lake City, April 22 and 23. Clinics are also scheduled in Denver, and Tampa, Florida, April 29 and 30. For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online. Can't make it in person? Sign up for the CFI Refresher Online.
AOPA AIR SAFETY FOUNDATION SAFETY SEMINARS
AOPA Air Safety Foundation Safety Seminars are scheduled in Huntsville, Alabama, April 17; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 18; Raymond, Mississippi, April 19; Pensacola, Florida, April 20; and Greensboro, North Carolina, April 22. The topic is "Do the Right Thing-Decision Making for Pilots." For more details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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