CFI

As of December 1, the FAA stopped issuing flight instructor certificates with a two-year expiration date.

Rewards of being a flight instructor far outweigh the challenges.

With flight training schools eager to recruit pilots, many often overlook the equal demand for CFIs who play a significant role in progressing aspiring students to become pilots.

Forty years ago, most new pilots aspired to eventually own a retractable gear airplane. Accordingly, aircraft manufacturers built a plethora of gear-up models, with which transitioning upwardly-mobile buyers could satisfy their urge to go faster, in style. The problem is, those retracted wheels eventually have to be extended, in order to taxi to the ramp […]

It was with some frustration that I observed my learner Ed attempting to hold a level altitude in a steep turn. He was carving a scalloped path around the horizon while completing his 360-degree circuit. “Ed,” I said, “ya gotta take smaller cuts at this carving you’re trying to make. Two-hundred foot deviations won’t satisfy […]

“What the —!”  the learner cried out as we rolled out from landing. Ahead of us some 1,000 feet down the runway there was a bald eagle standing on the centerline, scarfing down the carcass of what looked like a large white rabbit. We brought the aircraft to a stop as the bird stopped its […]

When we talk about flying solo, we’re usually speaking of doing so as the only occupant of an aircraft. And when we talk in a capitalized quote of “My First Solo,” we generally mean the first time we were ever aloft by ourselves. Whatever the occasion, being alone in the cockpit always gives us cause […]

In the early 1960s, I was on the ramp at Rosecrans Memorial Airport (KSTJ) in St. Joseph, Missouri, when I observed a massive Boeing 707 in TWA colors swoop down onto Runway 36, emit blue smoke from the main gear tires, and roar away into the air instead of braking to a stop. Making a […]

During any gathering of older pilots, often including a few non-practicing certified flight instructors, the current state of pilot training frequently comes up. “Them kids teaching students today don’t know sheep from shingles. Why, they were students themselves a couple of years ago. All they know is to follow a pink line on the screen.” […]

Assembling flight training providers, industry members, and numerous federal agency representatives, the Flight School Association of North America (FSANA) conducted the 15th annual Flight School Operators Conference in Las Vegas on February 21-22. More than 300 attendees shared best practices, resources, and heard briefings on topics related to providing effective, efficient, and safety-oriented flight training. […]