Time to Fly! (almost) Highspeed taxiing is the same as regular taxiing, simply done on the runway, with a little more power, and moving faster to get you used to the control feel at higher speeds you will eventually be landing at. While you perform this during every normal takeoff, the point of this maneuver… Continue reading Highspeed Taxiing Pr Copy
Topic Category: Student Pilot
Regulations (FARs Lite) Pr Copy
A light dose of rules Well, yes there are a lot of rules involved in flying, along with some unique nomenclature you may not have heard before. Given that this may very well be the “driest” part of your flight training, we’ve decided to break it up into a few parts, and it’s about that… Continue reading Regulations (FARs Lite) Pr Copy
Turns About a Point Pr Copy
Turning and Pointing Well, it’s a little more than just that. The idea behind a “turn about a point” is to develop a skill of being able to control the airplane in reference to a point on the ground, while accounting for the wind aloft trying to blow you off course. Since when you are… Continue reading Turns About a Point Pr Copy
S-Turns Pr Copy
Kind of like slalom skiing, but this time you’re flying S-Turns are typically performed over a long straight road and gives you another opportunity to hone in on your skills in controlling the airplane in relation to the ground at low altitudes. The idea behind the S-turn maneuver is for you to vary your angle of… Continue reading S-Turns Pr Copy
Forward Slips and Side Slips Pr Copy
Boy, that’s a slippery subject! Actually, not really. Forward slips and side slips are relatively easy maneuvers to practice and learn, and while they may feel uncomfortable at first, after some getting used to with your instructor and practicing these at a safe and high altitude, you’ll become familiar and comfortable with what the proper… Continue reading Forward Slips and Side Slips Pr Copy
Reading the Weather – TAFs Pr Copy
Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts TAFs are very similar to METARs in the sense that they use the same coding abbreviations and a very similar structure. Obviously the main difference between a METAR and a TAF is that the TAF is a forecast while the METAR is just a quick snapshot in time, and is instantly old… Continue reading Reading the Weather – TAFs Pr Copy
Reading the Weather – METARs Pr Copy
METARs METARs are a snapshot in time, a simple observation of what the weather was doing at a particular moment. They are an excellent tool to tell you if the weather is okay right now, but offer no forecast into the future. REMEMBER: They are a direct observation of what is happening at and over… Continue reading Reading the Weather – METARs Pr Copy
How To Practice Stalls Pr Copy
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 Copy
Stalled Airflow Pr Copy
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 Copy
Angle Of Attack Pr Copy
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 Copy