Lately I have been getting a surge of people signing up for emails and buying some of my flight training products. Some of you have come back a second and third time to get more which I really appreciate. This is a good sign because if the material wasn’t good, you wouldn’t come back for more.
I have gotten emails thanking and complimenting me on how easy to understand my e-lessons are which I appreciate, but it would be really helpful if you could also use the comment section so that others can read them too. It’s natural for people to be hesitant about buying anything online but if they saw feedback from people that have purchased the lessons already it may put them at ease and help them feel more comfortable about what they are getting.
I tried to come up with material for the most common problem areas but I am open to suggestions for more. I’m thinking about putting together a video series to help prepare people for their private pilot oral exam. It would walk you through how to present the information from the PTS to the FAA Examiner. It would also talk about scenario based testing and thinking outside the box to come up with solutions to problems. I’d love to hear your feedback on whether this would interest anyone.
So, THANK YOU again for your support. Feel free to send a comment or email any time if you have questions or suggestions.
If you’re an instructor please don’t give away the answers. Please “Like” this or “tweet” it for me. You can send in your answers using the comment form below or go to our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/flightinstructorjoe and answer there! Pass this on to a pilot friend and see who knows more. Have fun!
Have you gotten your FAA Medical or Student Pilot Certificate yet?
UPDATE: Since this post and video were published, the FAA separated the student pilot certificate and the medical certificate. The video below is the process you will go through to get your medical certificate only. You must apply for the student pilot certificate through the IACRA website. See your instructor for details on how to fill out the application.
If you’re not aware of it, you now have to fill out your medical information online before you go to the FAA Medical examiner. In this video I will show you the steps you will take to set up an account so you can start filling out your medical form. The form will stay in the system for 60 days once you submit it.
If you have questions, there are examples to help but if you get stuck on something related to medication type your doctor will be able to fix that. Make sure you check the application for mistakes because once you submit it, you won’t be able to reopen it and may have to complete another one. When the application is finished, it will give you a confirmation number. Be sure to write this number down because you will need to bring it to your appointment with you so they can open your application.
If you are a student pilot make sure that you apply for a STUDENT PILOT CERTIFICATE. You don’t need anything higher than a 3rd class medical on your student pilot certificate because 1st class and 2nd class are for more experienced pilots. When you are done you can click on the exam summary button where you can save a PDF version on your computer or print out a copy which I believe has your confirmation number on it. Ask the examiner for a copy of the completed form for your records.
Make sure that you change the quality of the video to HD and open up to full screen so you can read everything better.
Please send any pilots you know to this website that you think may like to see this video or any other information here. I hope you enjoy it.
Hey Guys! I thought you would enjoy this picture. It’s not often you see a power plant from the air so close. Being vectored for final for an ILS approach, we got an awesome, close up view of the power plant. I actually got vectors through the steam once and I have to say it got really turbulent! I knew it would be rough, but I didn’t realize it would be as rough as it was.
Yes, I was on an IFR flight plan so I didn’t have to worry about staying VFR. If you are ever talking to approach and they happen to give you a heading to fly that will take you into steam or clouds, tell them you need to deviate one way or the other to maintain VFR! Don’t just assume that it’s ok because they are telling you to fly a heading. It is still your responsibility to maintain VFR if you don’t have an instrument rating.
This one hits close to home. This happened just a few miles from my home airport. I had just landed before it happened and one of the other instructors where I teach actually heard some of the conversation. This is a video from AOPA’s site. It’s very sad. Please learn something from this. Listen carefully to all the bad decisions that were made and promise me you will never do the same! It didn’t have to happen and could have been prevented.
Here’s another post from someone who was still a student pilot when this happened. I don’t know how he kept calm enough to make it through this, but he did a great job! For the record, the Joe he references in his story is not me.
Article written by Dave Reinhart
Just before I took my PP flight check, the 150 I’d been flying was grounded for an overhaul. I told my instructor that I wanted to fly the one I’d be flying for the test before hand so I could get a feeling for it’s idiosyncrasies. His reaction was “Heck, they all fly the same”. Having flown at least five C-150s at that point, I politely disagreed with him and scheduled the airplane for a solo flight.
After arriving in the practice area, I did a power-off stall. I noticed the left wing dropped a bit, but nothing much. I then set up to do a power-on stall: slowed it down, pitched it up a bit, and poured on the coal. Nose up, starting to feel the buffet and then…
WHAM it broke, the left wing dropped and in a blink of an eye it had spun out and I was headed down.
It’s important to note that I had *never* spun an airplane. Not only that, I had never been in an airplane while it was spinning, ever. But there I was, looking at the desert floor below me getting closer by the moment and going around in circles.
To say I was petrified would be putting it mildly. I knew that if I didn’t do something quickly I was going to die. Say what you will about FLYING magazine, but that day it saved my life.
Before Dick Collins became the senior CFI at FLYING, the guy who wrote most about flight instruction was a fellow named Bob Blodget. I had just read an article by him about spin recovery and as I was watching the ground getting closer, his little checklist literally appeared before my eyes. While not in the exact PARE order taught these days, the way I remembered it was:
1. Relieve the back pressure. I suddenly realized that I was still holding the yoke up against my chest. I let go and the airplane instantly came out of the spin.
The wind noise started to build and I looked over at the ASI. It was already in the yellow arc and building fast. I started to pull back on the yoke, and as I did so I felt the airplane start to load up. I knew that if I kept pulling the wings would come off. I again released the back pressure, saying to myself “What am I forgetting?” when it came to me:
2. Reduce the power. Power! I was still at full throttle. I reached out and yanked the throttle so hard that I’m still amazed to this day that it didn’t come out of the panel. The airplane gave a sigh of relief, started slowing down, and I pitched up to level flight.
After getting it level, I flew around for 15-20 minutes just to get my composure back. After that I headed back to the airport and landed high, wide and awful but we were both back in one piece.
A friend of mine who worked at the FSS on the field lived on the airport. I went over to his place and begged a beer off him, being well below legal age at the time, I recounted my tale and he was properly concerned and sympathetic. When I next saw my CFI, I told him what had happened. His response? “Yeah, that plane does tend to drop a wing in a stall”. Nice to know that, Joe,
