Stalled Airflow Pr

Check out the video above to have a look at what actually happens to the airflow over the wing of an airplane when it stalls.   Some important stuff: Two important things to notice from the diagrams above: You do generate more lift at higher angles of attack (however with more lift you generate substantially… Continue reading Stalled Airflow Pr

How To Practice Stalls Pr

The Fun Part! How to properly practice stalls in the real airplane.  Hopefully after watching the video above you will have a better understanding of the process of actually stalling the airplane, and realize it really is a gentle and safe maneuver to practice with your CFI. Remember: Choose a safe altitude (recommended that you… Continue reading How To Practice Stalls Pr

Angle Of Attack Pr

The Angle it Attacks Angle of Attack, or AOA as we’ll call it going forward, is technically defined as such: THE ANGLE AT WHICH THE RELATIVE WIND MEETS THE CHORD LINE OF THE WING. Now, that sounds awful fancy, so let’s break it down a bit. The Chord Line is the line that goes from… Continue reading Angle Of Attack Pr

The Secret to Being Stable Pr

The trick to being more stable than Charlie Sheen isn’t just abstaining from drugs and alcohol.  Safe and STABLE approaches all start with how you handle the aircraft and how you interpret the signs the aircraft is giving you. What’s the Definition? Let’s go ahead and define what qualifies for a “stable” approach.  To me,… Continue reading The Secret to Being Stable Pr

Flying in the Wind Pr

By about lesson 3 in your training you probably will have had the opportunity to experience a few takeoffs and landings, and there’s a good chance there was some wind involved in at least a few of those. If you haven’t yet seen a nice crosswind blowing across the runway, you’re lucky, and this TOPIC… Continue reading Flying in the Wind Pr

The Power Curve Pr

It’s all about the POWER: Of course big powerful airplanes are cool, but in reality most of the training aircraft we fly have relatively little power with max horsepower ratings somewhere between 100-180hp.  Since this isn’t enough power to make the airplane climb vertically like a fighter jet, we need to think about how best… Continue reading The Power Curve Pr

Taxiing in the Wind Pr

You’ll often find that it is always windy at the airport whenever you want to fly, whether or not you live in Kansas. This means you’ll be needing to get very familiar with how to maneuver your new found friend (airplane) around in the wind. Gone with the wind Given that the airplanes we fly… Continue reading Taxiing in the Wind Pr

Load Factor Pr

How much can the wing carry? What we are looking at here is a graph of the load (G loading or G-forces) felt on the aircraft itself (and also felt by you, the pilot) when making LEVEL turns (level turns being holding a constant altitude and not climbing or descending, as we talk about being… Continue reading Load Factor Pr