Even without having ever been in a functional airplane, Leonardo Da Vinci observed, For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return. Flying in a small airplane, whether as the pilot or as a passenger, is …
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Pilots necessarily have a significant aeronautical vocabulary that has been refined for decades. Much of it is formalized in the Pilot/Controller Glossary (Federal Aviation Administration, 2014) and in the Airman’s Information Manual (AIM) (Federal Aviation Administration, 2017). Both of these are published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is the governmental arm responsible for overseeing air …
In the outstanding TV series Sky King, which ran from 1951 to 1962, “Sky” would rush out to his twin-engine Cessna, the Songbird, start her up, and spring into the sky, ready to do good deeds at a moment’s notice. Sounds romantic, doesn’t it? It’s not. It’s death-defying. Before any flight, all pilots must do …
The world of professional aviation can take many forms from airliners to corporate flying, career flight instructing to skydiving operations. The largest portion of university students hoping to become professional pilots will ultimately head to the airlines. To help bridge the gap between school and employment, many regional airlines have created cadet programs which give …
Thinking about becoming a pilot? Anyone who wants to fly needs to be taught by a competent instructor. If you’re not in the military, you get to choose who will teach you, and it’s a much bigger decision that it first seems to be. Like in all things, you can have a great flight instructor or …
READ MORE Great Flight Instructor Or Horrible Flight Instructor
People pretty much know how to behave as passengers on a jetliner as opposed to small planes. Sure, some people, the outliers, do ridiculous things like argue with and threaten the flight attendants (federal offense!), or try to open the cockpit door or escape doors during flight. Instead, we the majority tighten our seat belts …
READ MORE 7 Things Passengers Should Know About Small Planes
Every person over two years of age has some kind of feeling and wonder about airplanes. If an airplane is flying over our heads, and if it is low enough, virtually every normal human looks up and thinks, even briefly, about what’s going on up there, not to mention that many children also express interest …
A freshly-minted pilot’s first thought is invariably very exciting: I want to take my friends or family up into the air while I’m at the controls! Of course, there’s another agenda, even if we don’t always admit it: Most new pilots with their private pilot certificate like showing off, at least a little. And pilots …