by Joseph Standley | Apr 17, 2015 | Student Pilots
Student Pilot Makes 2 Big Mistakes During X-Country Solo
Here’s a story sent to us by a one of our readers that you really need to pay attention to, especially if you’re a student pilot. Mistakes like this happen all the time, especially with a student pilot who has a million things going on in his or her head. Using your checklist and knowing your airplane could prevent this problem. This student almost put himself into 2 different situations that could have made his flight a very scary or dangerous one.
This story was written by Russell Butz
I was waiting for a fellow student pilot to return from his second cross country solo so I could take the plane he was using on my own cross country solo. He was running a little bit late so when he taxied to the ramp, I went out to begin my preflight inspection. As we exchanged pleasantries, he told me he experienced radio trouble on his final leg and thought he might have to enter the class Delta airspace without radio communication. Observing that the Garmin was flashing and on a hunch, he turned the alternator ON. Magically, the radios began functioning! He indicated he had not flown this particular airplane, although the flight school has a fleet of three, and did not realize the alternator switch should be ON! I informed him that it was certainly essential no matter which of the three that he flew.
There was more. I asked the person on the line to top off the fuel since I was going cross country and began my preflight inspection. After filling the right tank, the line-woman stopped briefly at the left tank before putting the cap back on and rewinding the fuel hose. Did it not need topping off, I wondered? When I asked about the refueling, the young lady who filled the right tank said that the right tank was practically empty but the left tank was almost completely full! To my shock, the previous student pilot apparently never switched tanks. Almost losing his electrical power, the guy was about to run out of fuel in his right tank! When I returned from my flight, I made it a point to tell the owner of the flight school about my experience. I don’t know who endorsed this guy to solo, but it scared me to know there was another student out there who could be as careless as that.
Advice From Flight Instructor Joe
My advice to any pilot, whether you are a student or not is to be sure that you use a checklist and know the airplane systems; know what information they are giving you and why. Knowing the systems well will help you problem solve in the event of some kind of problem. Things like this can be avoided by asking questions when you don’t understand how something works. Any time you fly a plane other than the one you have been flying, sit in it and get familiar with it. If there is something that does not look familiar to you or you are not sure of how it works, ask your flight instructor. Our e-lesson called Simple Explanations for the Mechanical Things on the Flight Training Products tab explains the things you should know about your airplane systems. I wouldn’t call this pilot careless, but he didn’t understand the systems completely and may have had other distractions which made him forget the checklist which would have reminded him about changing the fuel tanks.
Do the best you can to remember and learn from this story. Fly Safe!
by Joseph Standley | Feb 23, 2015 | Instrument Training, Pilots, Student Pilots
Brand New IFR Student Training Material!
We’ve got new material for the Instrument student who is looking for an easier way to learn real life IFR procedures!
Our new IFR training e-lessons include:
Aircraft Control for Instrument Flying talks about IFR Scanning and Correction Techniques that will help you stay ahead of the airplane by showing you how to anticipate deviations and correct for them before they happen while flying in IMC. Knowing how to anticipate and fix deviations before they happen will reduce your workload and make flying IFR much easier. Learn about straight and level flight, constant airspeed climbs and descents, turns, airspeed and vertical speed control and more.
Holds is an e-lesson that breaks down IFR holds into steps you can understand! Visualizing holds and hold clearances will be much easier for you. You’ll learn how to enter holds without difficult calculations. You will also learn about published and non published holds, holding at intersections and over VOR’s, wind correction, time correction and more.
IFR Clearances and Radio Communication talks in detail about how to pick up your IFR clearance on the ground or in the air, at airports with & without a control tower. It covers various different methods so you don’t get stuck wondering what to do. You will also learn how to communicate with ATC, Tower Controllers and on the CTAF with examples of exactly how you need to say it. It will also cover clearance void times, valid times, clearance on request and hold for release situations.
IFR Emergencies and Instrument Failures explains in detail many different dangerous scenarios that could happen to you while flying IFR. It will teach you exactly what you need to do when things go bad while flying IFR. Learn how to recognize instrument and equipment malfunctions, and anticipate how their failure will affect what you see and do to maintain control of the plane. You will learn how to recognize all the warning signs and maintain control with vacuum failures, gyro instrument failures, electrical failures, pitot static, icing and more.
Managing Single Pilot IFR Approaches discusses the details of what you should be doing and planning during your IFR flight to help you stay ahead of the plane by properly managing your workload. You will learn how to anticipate what the controller will say to you before he says it and to visualize where you are easily. Reading back approach clearances and setting up your approaches will be much easier for you.
Preparing for your IFR Flight takes you through everything you need to check in preparation for an IFR flight, where to find it and why it is important. You will learn how to choose a destination airport, how to choose an alternate airport, things you need to know before taking off or landing at an airport from a legal and a safety standpoint, Stars, DP’s, Obstacle clearance requirements, weather requirements, etc.
Low Altitude Enroute charts Covers commonly seen and used symbols and information during IFR flight that will help Instrument Students to be able to interpret what they see easily.
IFR Approach Plates and Approach Types discusses the many different things you will see on Precision & Non-Precision approach plates such as: MSA, DA, MDA, VDP, Circling & Straight in Approaches, Missed Approaches, Procedure Turns, Transitions, Feeder Routes, IAF, IF & FAF & More. Covers things you need to know at a glance that will keep you safe while doing an approach.
If your current Instrument training material isn’t explaining things in enough detail and you need steps that take you by the hand and walk you through the process, then this is for you!
by Joseph Standley | Jul 10, 2014 | All Pilots, Student Pilots
COMMUNICATION WITH APPROACH , DEPARTURE, TOWER AND GROUND
Hey Student Pilots!
I made this a few years ago for a student I had that was struggling to understand what the controllers were saying. I decided to make a list of as many of the most common things said by controllers that I could think of. It made a big difference for him and really helped him to anticipate and understand what they were saying. I hope it helps you too!
Straight in runway 25
Enter a right base for 25
Plan a right downwind for 25
Number 2 following a Warrior on a 3 mile final
Cleared to land 25 (two five)
Cleared touch and go
Cleared stop and go
Cleared for the option
Extend your downwind
Continue upwind
I’ll call your base
Base your discretion
Make a right 360 for spacing
Vectors for spacing
Vectors for traffic
Report 3 Northwest
Report 2 mile final
Say altitude
Say type aircraft
Say call sign
Say position
Advise other aircraft in sight
Advise of any altitude changes
Climb maintain 3000
Maintain at or below 3000
Frequency change approved
Report back with me
Do a 180 there
Advise when ready
Say intentions
Where do you park?
Say parking
Taxi to parking
Position and Hold
Hold short landing traffic
Contact ground on point niner
Squawk vfr
Squawk 1200 (twelve hundred)
Ident
Stop altitude squawk
Recycle your transponder
I’m not receiving your mode c
Radar contact
Fly heading 240 (two four zero)
Radar contact 18(one eight) miles East
Traffic at your 10:00, 2 miles, southbound altitude indicates 3000’
Type and altitude unknown
Fly runway heading
Departure on 121.0 (one two one point zero)
Altitude your discretion
Proceed on course
Maintain present heading
Departure to the north approved
Left turn-out to the west approved
Report leaving 3000
Report passing through 3000
Caution wake turbulence
Standby
Contact ground for clearance
Contact clearance delivery
Advise when you have the weather
Advise when you have information Zulu
Contact tower
Contact departure
Taxi full length
Intersection departure
Turn right when able
Traffic has you in sight
Traffic no factor
Advise when you have the field in sight
Radar service terminated
Radar contact lost
You’re leaving my airspace
Advise on initial contact you have zulu
Contact ground on the tower frequency, positions are combined
Remain on this frequency
Stay with me
Say again
Cleared to depart 19
Cleared to depart 19 at foxtrot
Cleared to depart 19, on departure enter a right downwind for 7
Say destination / on course heading & altitude
If you need more help you can check out this video on Flying into a Control Towered Airport
For those of you getting ready for your Checkride, you may want to check this out. It’s ONE OF THE MOST REALISTIC, TRUE TO LIFE, PRIVATE PILOT CHECKRIDE PREP COURSES ANYWHERE with a Pass your Checkride Guarantee!
Fly safe!
Joe Standley
by Joseph Standley | Feb 15, 2014 | Student Pilots
How to save money while preparing for your Private Pilot CHECKRIDE!
Hey Student Pilots! I just thought I’d share this site with you. It very cool, online video training for your oral exam, and they guarantee you will pass your checkride. It is the most realistic, true to real life training you will find anywhere. Refer your student pilot friends too!
If any of you student pilots are getting close to taking your CHECKRIDE then this online training program will help you greatly! It is designed to walk you through everything you need to know to get through your CHECKRIDE. It focuses on presenting the information to the examiner, problem solving and scenario based testing. There’s also a very detailed section on analyzing weather and decision making.
They guarantee that you will pass your CHECKRIDE or you will get your money back!
They also offer some of the flight training products from this site as a bonus! The program is for U.S. pilot certification training only.
When you consider that there are 5 hours of extremely detailed training and some free bonus material for a fraction of what you’d pay an instructor for the same training, it’s a perfect way to get training for free and save money while studying for your checkride! Click the link below to check it out.
Take Care!
by Joseph Standley | Dec 16, 2013 | Pilots, Student Pilots
Safe Weather Decision Making
You have faa.gov weather publications and can find weather charts on aviationweather.gov but do you understand aviation weather good enough to make safe, “go/no go” decisions as a pilot? General aviation pilots preflight weather planning and decision making is important to your safety.
Aviation Symbols and Abbreviations
The first step to learning weather is to learn to read the weather charts. There are many abbreviations and symbols on aviation weather charts and if you don’t know what they say, then how can you analyze the weather properly? Learning aviation symbols and abbreviations takes time but it must be done. There are many FAA weather publications out there as well as private publications addressing weather symbols, abbreviations and charts. You won’t remember every single one, especially the ones you will never use or see such as dust storm if you live in the Midwest, but you should know quite a bit.
The Problem With Weather Information
Once you have a good knowledge of aviation weather symbols and abbreviations you will be able to look at the charts on aviationweather.gov or other weather sites and know what information is on them. Knowing what information is on them and knowing what they mean or how it affects you is different. The problem is that most aviation weather books out there are all the same. They explain things very technical, boring and hard to understand. That’s great for passing a written test with boring technical questions that need an answer, but it would be nice to know what it means in real life.
Learn to Anticipate Weather
In order to make good weather decisions as a pilot, you have to know how things can affect you. You have to be able to anticipate what will happen and know whether a weather forecast could change or how reliable it is. Do you cancel, just because there is an airmet for possible thunderstorms or snow in the area? Do you fly if it’s marginal VFR? You have to know the legal limits of whether you can fly to help in your decision making but just knowing the limits isn’t good enough. If the ceiling is 2000′, are you legal to fly? You may think to yourself “I can fly as long as I’m 500′ below the clouds and I have 3 miles visibility because I’m in class E airspace”. That’s great, you know the legal limit, but is it ok to do? Can it be done safely? Should you attempt it or cancel? Most publications don’t talk to you about this.
Options to Learn to Make Safe Go/No Go Decisions
It takes years of experience, comparing actual flight conditions with the weather forecasts and hands on experience to start getting real comfortable with it but there are ways you can get a head start. You can pay an instructor $30-$50 an hour to walk you through detailed steps of analyzing weather. Start reading weather charts and forecasts and comparing actual weather to forecast weather to see how accurate it is. You should know the risks and how they affect you. These are all good ways to start. Your instructor can help you with this but there are many people out there that can’t afford to pay an instructor for more hours of training so they choose to study at home to save the money. I’m all for home study as long as you are dedicated and the material is easy enough for you to understand.
An Easy Way to Learn Aviation Weather Decision Making
I know there isn’t much out there to choose from for real life thought processes to help you in your aviation weather decision making and I see students struggle with it all the time so I have written and e-book explaining things with easy to understand, simple steps to understanding how to make weather decisions. You will learn all about different types of weather and what it means to you in real life terms. You will learn what weather is dangerous and why. Do those icing airmets or snow showers affect you and if so, how? You will learn that too. It’s written in a format to help avoid all the confusion and take out all the technical terms. You still have to know what information the chart is showing you by learning the symbols and abbreviations but the rest will become very clear if you read this e-lesson. I haven’t seen anything like it and I’m sure it will really help you to understand, make safe decisions and to feel more confident in your choices. For the price of less than 30 minutes of instructor time this is a perfect solution to learning how you really need to think to make safe weather decisions.
Only $14.95
Eliminate confusion with simple steps to easily understand aviation weather
I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it for you. I’d love to hear how it has helped you, please let me know.
Take Care and Fly Safe!
by Joseph Standley | Nov 14, 2013 | Pilots, Student Pilots
When to change Flight Instructors
As in any relationship, communication is key to resolving problems. If you’re considering leaving your flight instructor for another, then there is obviously a problem. For example, if your instructor is too hard on you, let them know how you feel. This will usually resolve the problem. Sometimes instructors get comfortable with their students and think that just because they can talk and joke with their students that their students will understand them as well as their friends do. They then become relaxed to the point of getting harder on their student as if they are close friends, letting their professional guard down. I’ve seen it with many instructors and have done it myself. Sometimes there’s truly a friend connection but other times the students take offense to it.
When a student takes offense to it, they usually just leave. The instructor is sitting there totally confused and wondering what happened, thinking how well they got along and feeling betrayed after getting along so well. I can say from my perspective that if I knew I was offending someone, I would feel terrible. I would want my students to communicate any feelings with me right away so I can be sure they are happy. If you’re a student who feels mistreated in any way, just talk to your instructor about how you feel. If they continue, then leave. If they stop for awhile and then all of a sudden start again, it could be because they are feeling comfortable around you after having flown with you for several lessons and really care about how you are doing and are just being too passionate about it. No instructor wants to hurt or offend anyone. We became an instructor to help people, not hurt them. Sometimes you may just want to remind them again that something is offending you. Why leave on a bad note if something could have been resolved with a simple conversation. If it continues, then of course you should leave.
If you’re having problems learning to fly
There are always problems when it comes to learning to fly. No one gets it perfect every time and everyone has problems with some part of learning to fly. As a flight instructor, if you’ve tried everything you can think of to teach someone to do a flight maneuver and they are still having problems, don’t be afraid to let them fly with another flight instructor to see if they can think of something you may have missed. You’re not giving up your student, you are just letting another CFI see if they can figure out the problem.
Many students don’t realize how much is involved in learning to fly and quickly become overwhelmed. When they do, they struggle to advanced and instead of understanding that it is a normal part of learning to fly, they quit (thinking that it is too hard and they will never be able to learn) or blame their instructor and change instructors. If you are a flight student and are getting frustrated, please understand that it is normal and it will pass. Don’t be so hard on yourself and don’t be so quick to blame the instructor. Give it time and understand that it is normal. Some flight students take long and some catch on fast. Everyone learns at their own pace.
Your flight instructor is not prepared
If your flight instructor is not prepared and doesn’t seem to know what they are talking about, then leave right away. You want someone that knows what they are doing to help you become the best pilot you can be. Not every flight instructor knows every answer to every question but if they don’t know the answers to many questions, it’s time to leave. My personal focus is on safety and knowledge. I want my students to have the ability to handle anything that comes their way.
I’m a believer that being honest, open and understanding will solve most of these issues but if one person isn’t then it creates an uncomfortable situation that can be easily avoided. If you have a particular situation that you don’t know how to handle, either as a student or an instructor, send me an email and I’d be happy to help in any way I can.
Fly safe!
Joe
