January 29, 2015 – 9:10 am
Moving? Change of address? Did you know that that there is a regulation, 14 CFR §61.60 to be exact, that states the holder of a pilot, flight instructor, or ground instructor certificate who has made a change in permanent mailing address may not, after 30 days from that date, exercise the privileges of the certificate […]
January 26, 2015 – 8:31 am
A good starting point for the regulations you must know as a pilot can be found in Bob Gardner’s textbook The Complete Private Pilot. The definitive compilation of United States regulations for aviators is the FAR/AIM. Today’s post breaks down 14 CFR 61.113 Private pilot privilages and limitations; pilot-in-command. Here is a link to the […]
January 22, 2015 – 8:21 am
The airspeed indicator (ASI) is an important component of the pitot-static instruments. As you can imagine, there are numerous speeds for each aircraft. It can be tough sometimes to remember all those V-speeds, particularly if you are transitioning between multiple aircraft with different performance characteristics. The ASA Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms by Dale Crane defines V-speeds […]
January 19, 2015 – 8:18 am
Safely flying in any aircraft depends upon not only a pilot’s ability to interpret and operate flight instruments, but also to recognize when an instrument is malfunctioning. This week, we’ll take a look at common issues associated with pitot-static flight instruments: the airspeed indicator (ASI), altimeter, and vertical speed indicator (VSI). This content comes from […]
January 15, 2015 – 8:43 am
AvGas, or “aviation spirit” as it is affectionately referred to in the United Kingdom, is the topic of discussion today. Aviation gasoline (AvGas) is derived from the same principles as motor gasoline found in car engines although with a much higher performance requirement. Why you ask? Well the reason is simple: aircraft engines are typically required […]
January 12, 2015 – 9:18 am
This week we’re thinking about aircraft systems. Here’s an excerpt from William Kershner‘s textbook The Student Pilot’s Flight Manual. Nearly all planes have starters these days, but the following is presented for your possible use. If you plan on doing any propping (cranking the propeller by hand), you should receive instruction from someone with experience; […]
January 8, 2015 – 8:21 am
Happy New Year! After a great holiday it’s time to get back in the grind and what better way to start 2015 off then with a discussion on stability! So just what is stability? In the sense we are discussing, stability is the inherent ability of an airplane to return, or not return, to its […]
January 5, 2015 – 8:55 am
This week, we’ll take a look at another aerodynamics topic: stability. Bob Gardner has this introduction in his textbook The Complete Private Pilot. The three axes of control pass through the center of gravity. How the designer has related the centers of lift or pressure to the center of gravity affects the stability of the […]
