Abeam his intended landing spot while flying on the downwind leg of the pattern, my commercial pilot candidate, Eddie, pulled the throttle back to idle and set up to glide for the remainder of the flight.
“Are we foraging for food tonight, Mama?” Pete looked concerned after he tossed his book bag onto the back seat of the car, slipped in beside me, and read the stress on my face.
Although the FAA requires pilots to earn a flight review every 24 calendar months to continue to exercise the privileges of a certificate, I avoided them for many years.
Leaving the hospital with my newborn son years ago is a moment seared in my memory. As I cradled Jack in my arms, the automatic doors swished open, and I felt the warmth of the sun for the first time in three days.
Over the years I have had many discussions about flight fundamentals with a wide range of pilots, whether during aerobatic instruction, administering a checkride, or just swapping stories with local pilots when the weather keeps our airplanes tucked in their hangars.
Recently I enjoyed dinner with friends who were excited to take their first flight in a general aviation airplane with me the next morning. Kelli and Melissa peppered me with questions like, “How will we get permission to take off?”
Aerobatic routines are fun to watch, and my favorite performers use aircraft with a low power-to-weight ratio that are representative of the general aviation fleet.
Eights on pylons is an advanced maneuver required for both the commercial and flight instructor practical exams. It's a big step up from basic ground reference maneuvers and nailing it will surely impress an examiner.
As RNAV approaches become increasingly common, even to airports long excluded from the IFR system, you might think that circling approaches will soon be a thing of the past. But that’s not the case.
Some folks dream of a career as a child and, through years of careful planning and hard work, realize success. I especially admire such organized people because I’m definitely not one of them. Early on, my professional goals were simple: Don’t sit at a desk; do something interesting.
I’m all for a good rule of thumb. When the bill arrives at a restaurant, I move the decimal one place to the left to get 10 percent of the total. If the service is especially good, I’ll double that figure (or more) for the tip; otherwise, I leave somewhere between the two amounts.
I have always hated shopping. Although most things can be had via the internet these days, groceries are the exception when you live in a small rural town.
Whether it’s passing a checkride or getting out of a sticky flight situation, pilots need to perform their best, and that involves knowing key changes we can make to ensure a successful outcome.
Much of my flight from Tennessee to New Hampshire earlier this summer involved testing the integrity of my seat belt and shoulder harness as my Beechcraft Bonanza Niky bounced up and down in unstable air. And the Nashua (ASH) ATIS dispelled any notion that there would be relief as I neared my destination.
