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CFI Checkrides Do Count as Flight Reviews
Yes, it’s true! After a CFI or CFII checkride, you do not need another flight review for 24 calendar months. For example, I passed the commercial AMEL practical test on 26 October 2012. When I was hired in October 2013, I reported my flight review date for my commercial test, meaning I would need a…
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How to Credit Card
If credit were as simple as cash, we wouldn’t need cash anymore. Credit cards are very complicated sometimes, yet the fundamental financial skills needed to use them are not taught in schools or colleges. Here are my secrets to success in managing credit accounts. #1 Always have at least two credit accounts This is the…
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Missed Approach Point Study Guide
The M.A.P. Study Guide is a list of notes I first developed during instrument-flight-instructor training because I needed a concise explanation of various approach profiles. Now that I am instructing instrument students, it seems this guide is the best tool for teaching missed approach identification with FAA charts. The Missed Approach Point and Missed Approach Track…
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Hired!
A photo to send home, from KGYI, October 2013. A successful career move happened since my last post. I am now the newest flight instructor at US Aviation Academy based on the North Texas Regional Airport! Leading up to this development, my commencement ceremony at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) was in April, followed by my…
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New Circling Procedures in Michigan
Starting with the current chart cycle from August 22, the radius of protected airspace for new circling approach procedures has increased. This change will mainly affect airplanes in approach categories B through D. While the procedures are flown in the same way, the requirements for a larger protected airspace may result in higher altitudes being…
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First R-ATP Authorizations Announced
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this week issued the first Letters of Authorization for universities to make their graduates eligible for an airline pilot certificate under FAR 61.160. These three universities can now officially certify graduates as qualifying for a restricted privileges airline transport pilot (R-ATP) check ride.
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CFIT Training Aid
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) prevention is one of the main topics of Single-pilot Resource Management (SRM). As a pilot, I do want to avoid flying into terrain! I also enjoy studying any aspect of aviation. Sometimes this means tracking down an obscure publication, and I do enjoy that challenge as well. I found several…
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R-ATP Regulation to Reality
The newly-promulgated FAR 61.160 went into effect last week. Already, I am seeing positive changes in the aviation industry. Hiring is on a rapid up-swing, and rumors are starting to circulate about a liberal interpretation of the new first officer qualifications and certification rules. While discussing the potential for a pilot shortage last year, I…
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Deciding Not to Land
In response to the recent Air Safety Institute blog about the Asiana crash at San Francisco, I am addressing the point of developing basic “stabilized approach” skills and how they are used in flight training. Bruce Landsberg wrote: I absolutely agree that students will be working it all the way down and that is part…
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First Officer Qualification Rule in Detail
The new first officer qualifications are a hot topic. On July 10, the FAA released its Final Rule, which should appear in the Federal Register next week. Everyone has something to say about this. But opinions aside, all I can I find on the web is the text of the new rule and several paraphrased…