Sport-Pilot Training

Our pilot training articles are designed to help you improve your flying proficiency. Bone up on beneficial skills as well as the biggest mistakes to avoid as a pilot. Fly right with articles on topics such as dealing with ice and the most dangerous things you can do as a pilot.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 First 500 Feet, Part I: Engine Failure! What to do when the worst thing happens at the worst moment Engine failure on takeoff is every pilot’s worst nightmare, but there’s one basic rule that applies to all in-flight emergencies, regardless of the situation: Keep your cool (easier said than done) and fly the airplane. Having said that, the most important aspects of survival can be summed up in two words: mental preparation and training/practice. Okay, that’s four words, but you get the point.

Monday, May 11, 2009 Ticket To Ride II Part II: Practice, practice, practice, home study, and what? Time to solo already? Gulp. In our April 2009 issue, Jim Lawrence launched the first in his series of articles about LSA training in a Flight Design CTLS. This month, he takes us through solo.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 From Cirrus To Citation JetAviva puts its clients into the left seat of light jets Through my Lightspeed Zulu headset, I hear a confident voice: “Denver Center, Citation One Three Zulu Mike, vacating flight level 390 for 240, smooth ride.”

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 Looking For 200 Knots Forty years ago, the goal was 200 mph. Today, it’s 200 knots. Fast feels good. For those of us obsessed with clocking along at the velocity of a Lamborghini, speed is the kinesthetic equivalent of beauty.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 The Right Way To The Left Seat How to realize your dream of becoming a professional pilot Flying is in the blood of certain individuals. Some of us plan a career in the cockpit from an early age, and we pursue it to the exclusion of everything else. Others keep their aviation goals quietly smoldering, always on a back burner ready to emerge at the right time. For various reasons, they may alight in a different direction, attain career goals outside of aviation and pursue vocational paths that seem far detached from flying. But many of them come back.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 Weather In The Cockpit XM Weather provides real-time information in the cockpit for pilots who are serious about their weather decisions Ask most pilots what subject in aviation they wish they knew more about, and a majority will answer, “weather.” Indeed, while forecasters do occasionally still get it wrong, and even the best meteorologists acknowledge that we still have much to learn, the science of weather prognostication improves each year.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 TransPac Aviation Academy Drawing from its Pan Am training heritage, TransPac positions itself for the future Tradition goes a long way in aviation. A rich history aloft is respected and admired, whether it applies to pilots, aircraft or—in the world of ab initio training—flight academies. With its legacy steeped in the fabled lore of one of the greatest airlines in history, Pan Am International Flight Academy is long on tradition and legacy.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 The Last 50 ft. Making it all come together When you’re on short final and descending through 50 feet, it really doesn’t make much difference how good you are at centering airways, whether you can spout FARs or if you scored 100% on the written: The only thing that counts is how well you actually fly. Everything else is superfluous because every single thing you know about actually flying the airplane is compressed into a 10-second time span and an ever-decreasing sliver of altitude. This is literally where the rubber meets the road and where every one of your moves has measurable consequences.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 Ticket To Ride Earning a sport pilot license: Part I Enough trash already. This endless washboard-road turbulence promises to reintroduce me to the hot dog and greasy fries I just ate. Note to self: Next time, have an avocado salad.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 Cell Phone To The Rescue In the air or on the ground, it could save your life I was doing my first solo out to the practice area north of the airport. I was doing some ground reference maneuvers and noticed that the GPS and NAV lights were on. I thought that was strange, then noticed the annunciator flash, “low fuel.” I knew the fuel tanks were full because I checked them during preflight.

1...11121314151617181920...23

Careers Flight Training Pilot Skills Schools Directory Weather Flying