Topic Category: Commercial Pilot

What to Expect on Your Flight

What will your flight look like? Preflight First as you walk around the aircraft together after your oral is complete, the examiner will ask you some questions about the systems, antennas, documents, and other things about your airplane now that he is looking at it with you.  You’ll hop in the plane and give the… Continue reading What to Expect on Your Flight

Steep Spirals

Steep Spirals So imagine you are flying along fat, dumb, and happy (or imagine your friend is flying along fat and dumb if you’re insecure) at 10,500′ and all of a sudden your engine quits.  You notice an airport just a few miles away and start gliding towards it as you run your emergency checklists. … Continue reading Steep Spirals

Power-off 180 Degree Landing

Making the Power Off 180 Work! So a lot of applicants get very worried about the power off 180 thinking they only have one chance to get it right.  Well, that’s not entirely true, and with a little practice on top of it, you’ll find that this is one of the easier maneuvers to perform… Continue reading Power-off 180 Degree Landing

Eights-on-Pylons

Eights on Pylons How to Begin… First, you’ll need to find Pivotal Altitude.  What is Pivotal Altitude?  Great question! Pivotal altitude is the height for a given ground speed at which the line of sight from the cockpit directly parallel to the lateral axis of the aircraft will remain stationary on an object on the ground.… Continue reading Eights-on-Pylons

Lazy 8’s

Don’t Be LAZY when practicing Lazy Eights! The Lazy Eight is designed to show complete mastery of aircraft control at different air speeds, bank angles, and pitch angles.  Use of rudder and aileron is the key to master this maneuver, and elevator is also important (but rudder and aileron are more important).  Throughout this maneuver… Continue reading Lazy 8’s

Chandelles

What’s this Chandelier Maneuver All About? Its pronounced shan-dells….and it stems from an old warbird maneuver dating back to the first and second world wars.  The premise behind the maneuver is to make a full power, constant RATE 180 degree turn while climbing, and finish the turn at or very near stalling speed for the… Continue reading Chandelles