Getting started with your flight training and curious about the differences between ratings? As per 14 CFR 61.5, there are seven pilot certificates: student, sport pilot, recreational, private, commercial, airline transport pilot, and flight instructor. This summary comes from Bob Gardner’s The Complete Private Pilot. The
…Blog Posts
Today’s posts is the first part in a two part series on the pitot-static system and associated pitot-static instruments. We will begin by covering a quick general overview of the pitot-static system as seen in the picture below.
The pitot-static system is responsible for the operation of the airspeed indicator,
…Today, we’ll go over the airspeed indicator (ASI). This explanation comes from the FAA textbook Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge.
The ASI is a sensitive, differential pressure gauge which measures and promptly indicates the difference between pitot (impact/dynamic pressure) and static pressure. These two
…Steep turns are a fun and exciting maneuver and right in line with this week’s discussion on load factors. As a student pilot part of your training will include performing steep turns to established standards as outlined in the Private Pilot Practical Test Standards and shown below. Key concepts to
…We’re devoting this week to aerodynamics, specifically the load factors experienced in turns. There’s more to turning your airplane than smoothly coordinating your ailerons and rudder pressure. Understanding the role of lift and gravity in a turn will help you fly efficiently and within the limitations of your airplane. The
…So I’ve been told my airplane engine has two magnetos, but what the heck is a magneto? Well in a reciprocating airplane engine like that of Lycoming IO-360 found in many Cessna 172 aircraft the magnetos are a source of high-voltage electrical energy. This electrical energy is used to produce
…You don’t have to be a mechanic to be a safe pilot, but a knowledge of how your engine works and what the engine instruments are telling you will make it easier to give your engine tender loving care and get long, reliable service from it. Today we’ll cover your
…According to FAA research and safety reports there are three distinct types of communication errors:
An absence of a pilot readback. The pilot merely acknowledges the clearance that he/she in actuality misunderstood.
A Readback/hearback error. When a pilot reads back a clearance incorrectly and the controller fails to catch the
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