Topic Category: Student Pilot

The Secret to Being Stable Pr Copy

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 Copy

Flying in the Wind Pr Copy

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 Copy

Taxiing in the Wind Pr Copy

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 Copy

Load Factor Pr Copy

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 Copy

The Power Curve Pr Copy

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 Copy

Steep Turns Pr Copy

How to turn the Airplane: While making turns in the airplane may seem simple, making coordinated, level turns and rolling out specifically where you want the aircraft to point does take some skill and practice.  In this topic we’ll cover the fundamentals of being able to turn the airplane to a specific heading while also… Continue reading Steep Turns Pr Copy

The Traffic Pattern Pr Copy

Flying the Traffic Pattern: In this topic, we’ll cover the standard airport traffic pattern, how to stay in the airport traffic pattern without going out to the practice area, as well as how to re-enter the traffic pattern when returning from the practice area or coming back from another airport. First watch the video above,… Continue reading The Traffic Pattern Pr Copy