Learn to Fly Blog – ASA (Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.)

ASA has an expanding library of aviation titles for everyone in the industry, whether you’re a student pilot, mechanic, instructor, or flying for a major airline. Here are three to consider this season:

For the student pilot…
Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms
Fifth Edition, by Dale Crane

The aviation industry has a language all its own, and the Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms (or “the DAT” as we call it here) is an essential reference to make sense of it all. ASA editorial and support staff even rely on it as a guide to industry-standard terminology and jargon. Now with over 11,000 terms, the DAT includes definitions from 14 CFR Part 1 and other parts, the Pilot/Controller Glassary from the AIM, glossaries from government handbooks and manuals, and more. We’ve also included useful tables (phonetic alphabet/Morse code, triginometric functions, and Periodic Table), an exhaustive list of acronyms, abbreviations, and V-speeds, and over 500 illustrations. The DAT is useful for anyone in the aviation industry, but it’s the perfect reference book for a student pilot who’s absorbing a lot of new and critical information. It is a reference that will serve a student pilot over the course of their training and aviation career.

For the flight instructor…
The Savvy Flight Instructor: Secrets of the Successful CFI
Second Edition, by Greg Brown

In the new edition of The Savvy Flight Instructor, Greg Brown shows not only how to make flight training engaging, effective, and rewarding for students, but also how to make flight instruction work as a business. Greg covers marketing, using social media and other internet tools to reach prospective and inactive pilots, and how to network and build relationships with local, regional, and national flying organizations without losing sight of the fact that flying is fun. Also included are guest perspectives from commercial pilot Heather Baldwin, CFI and DPE Jason Blair, flight training standardization expert Ben Eichelberg, flight school owner Dorothy Schick, and flight-training writer Ian Twombly.

For the flyer…
Severe Weather Flying
Fourth Edition, by Dennis Newton

In this brand-new fourth edition of Severe Weather Flying, author Dennis Newton continues to build on great resource that’s been in print for over 30 years. Weather continues to challenge aviation, but the scientific understanding, tools, and models have evolved making it easier to predict and survive severe weather. As a meteorologist, flight instructor, weather research and engineering test pilot, Dennis Newton believes that by understanding weather science, pilots can truly lessen their chances of encountering thunderstorms and other severe conditions. This is an excellent book for an aviator of any skill level, as it offers strategies for better airmanship and greater understanding of atmospheric sciences and insight into the weather research that shapes aviation policy.

Looking for a specific recommendation? Give ASA a call at 800-272-2359 or email us at asa@asa2fly.com or cfi@asa2fly.com. Check out past Editor’s Picks posts for more recommendations, including last year’s stocking stuffers!

Today I’d like to highlight three books from author, pilot educator, and photographer Greg Brown. Greg has been flying since 1972 and writes the Flying Carpet column in AOPA Flight Training magazine and maintains the popular Facebook group Greg Brown’s Student Pilot Pep Talk. You can find more of Greg’s work including his aerial photography on his blog.

You Can Fly!
By Greg Brown and Laurel Lippert

Written as an introduction to general aviation, You Can Fly! features gorgeous full-color photography to lure prospective pilots into learning to fly. You Can Fly! provides a roadmap to obtaining your pilot’s license while dispelling myths and rumors at the same time to show that the joy of flying really is for everyone. This book makes an excellent gift for prospective pilots or young people interested in learning to fly.

Flying Carpet: The Soul of an Airplane
By Greg Brown

Greg Brown’s spirited autobiography recalls his path to becoming an authentic aviator. Told though memorable private accounts of flying adventures to impart lessons he learned along the way. Through these flying stories Greg defines what it means to be a pilot, reflecting on an epigraph from Sir Walter Raleigh, “The engine is the heart of an aeroplane, but the pilot is its soul.” I’d recommend this book to aviators of any age and ability.

The Savvy Flight Instructor: Secrets of the Successful CFI
By Greg Brown

Intended for aspiring and seasoned flight instructors alike, including flight school managers, The Savvy Flight Instructor contains a wealth information, advice, and tools that can be put to use right away. Savvy covers all aspects of the business of flight instruction, from marketing to achieving continued customer success to building a culture of professionalism. This brand-new edition addresses the needs and complications of flying, teaching flying, and running a business in today’s market. This book is an indispensable resource for all CFIs and newly-minted private pilots considering their next step.

Here’s Greg speaking to NAFI about flight instruction in February, 2016:

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Today I’d like to recommend three great holiday gifts for pilot’s. Along with covering everything an aviation professional or aspiring aviator needs for their advancement, ASA has a large aviator’s library of books by pilots for pilots ranging from history, to best practices, to personal accounts.

Making Perfect Takeoffs & Landings 
by Ron Fowler

Making Perfect Takeoffs and Landings in Light Airplanes shows pilots how to develop total awareness for the situation, the airplane, and the self; and to convert that awareness into perfect takeoffs and landings. Each chapter describes a specific takeoff or landing situation and presents methods, and the logic behind each method, to master techniques key to each situation. This book makes a great gift to any student pilot working to hone their technique and build confidence in their own takeoffs and landings.

A Pilot’s Accident Review
by John Lowery

A Pilot’s Accident Review is an in-depth look at the high-profile accidents that shaped aviation regulations. This book is both an intriguing history of some very memorable events and an investigation into why accidents occur in the first place. Lowery uses NTSB reports, photographs, and interviews with survivors to illustrate the lessons we can learn from aviation accidents. Along with offering best-practices and his own advice along the way, this book is ultimately a cautionary tale for pilots of all abilities to train seriously, regularly, and to identify and correct the aspects of their own personality and flying habits that could precipitate accidents.

Notes on the Tailwheel Checkout and an Introduction to Ski Flying
by Burke Mees

This book combines the author’s years of experience in flying and teaching tailwheel skills with the sense of adventure flying can offer. Mees covers the basics in tailwheel/ski flying as well as advanced topics such as multi-engine tailwheel airplanes and mountainside ski-plane takeoffs. Gorgeous photography and clever illustrations throughout make this book a perfect gift to any pilot thinking of where their flying skills will take them.