Today in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, I’m at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to reenact the first flight of the world’s very first airplane, the 1903 Wright Flyer.

At first glance, the boxy Wright Flyer doesn’t look much like our modern notion of an airplane. However, it possesses all the key features that still define an airplane to this day. 

As every pilot knows, there are four forces that account for how and why an airplane is able to fly: lift, weight, thrust, and drag. These four forces were first outlined 100 years before the Wright brothers flew by the Englishman Sir George Cayley, who also invented the seat belt, the wire-spoked bicycle wheel, and the tank tread.

So the basic thesis of flight was reasonably well understood by the time the two young Wrights, Wilbur and Orville, stepped onto the stage. There were several people already hard at work on the problem of controlled flight, including the well-known and well-funded head of the Smithsonian Institution, Samuel Langley. But success continued to elude them. The brothers, in contrast, were the obscure sons of a Protestant bishop in Ohio who had started a workshop catering to the latest high-tech fad, bicycles—kind of like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak tinkering in their garage on a homemade Apple II computer.

The first of Cayley’s four forces, weight, seems fairly self-evident: It’s the force anyone needs to overcome to fly. To counter weight, you need lift. One solution is to fill a balloon full of gasses that are lighter than air and therefore want to rise. As early as 1783, the French had learned how to fly in balloons. Giant bags full of gas have a number of drawbacks, though, and for millennia people had observed that birds are able to fly by using wings—often by flapping them, but just as often by simply gliding on them.

In the 1890s, the German aviator Otto Lilienthal experimented extensively with gliders, based on his close study of birds. Lilienthal carefully noted his successes and failures until breaking his spine and dying in a crash in 1896. As amateurs, the Wright brothers constructed their own large-scale kites and compared the lift they were able to achieve with Lilienthal’s results. The results were not what they hoped, so back home in Ohio they cobbled together a primitive wind tunnel that they used to systematically conduct tests on wings of different shapes.

The way a wing works is by creating a difference in pressure as the air flows across it. The differential between the lower pressure above and higher pressure below generates a force (lift) that pushes the wing up. Both the shape and position of the wing determine the amount of lift created. What the Wright brothers discovered was that many of Lilienthal’s calculations, which were guiding everyone else’s efforts, were wrong. Their experiments led them to a better wing design that produced more lift relative to its weight.

OK, that’s one problem solved. But to generate lift, air needs to be flowing across the wing. Wind is one way to achieve this, which is why the Wrights picked the wind-swept sand dunes of North Carolina’s coast to test their designs. Another way to achieve forward motion is by using the potential energy induced by gravity. Lilienthal jumped off a tall hill,  translating downward pull into forward motion, like sliding down a long slope of air.

Ultimately, though, for sustained flight you need a source of propulsion to generate consistent thrust. People realized this from Cayley’s time, but the problem was that steam engines were too heavy and inefficient to produce enough thrust relative to their additional weight.

Fortunately for the Wright brothers, the internal combustion engines that were just being developed for cars and motorcycles combined lighter weight with greater power—perhaps enough to power an airplane. Once they felt confident with their glider design, the Wrights turned to a local engineer in Ohio to build them a custom, lightweight engine, with four in-line pistons, capable of producing 12 hp.

This engine was linked, via bicycle chains, to two 8 ½-foot-long propellers. A propeller is basically a rotating wing that produces thrust in the same way a wing creates lift. The Wrights spent a lot of time experimenting in their wind tunnel to get the shape of the propellers just right.

The thrust provided by these propellers is offset by drag. All the wooden wires and struts holding the Wright Flyer together, along with the friction of its canvas surfaces, create a lot of air resistance—and parasite drag—that will slow the aircraft’s movement through the air.

Will 12 hp be enough? The answer is: probably not enough to take off. That’s why the Wrights set up a catapult (below at right). Dropping a weight will pull the aircraft forward at sufficient speed for a good head start. Along with a strong headwind, this might be just enough.

All of the improvements I’ve described up to this point were critical to success. They might have sufficed to get them off the ground and into the record books,  butthey weren’t the basis for the patent the Wrights filed in claiming rights over a truly unique invention. What the Wrights invented—and understood as their real breakthrough—was their method of controlling the aircraft in flight along three axes.

First there is roll, raising one wing and lowering the other, by rotating the airplane around its longitudinal axis running from nose to tail. The Wrights controlled roll by having the pilot swing his hips within a wooden cradle, left or right. This motion pulled wires that twisted or “warped” the outer shape of the wings to create more lift on one side and less on the other.

Today, wing warping has been replaced by ailerons, little hinged surfaces that do the exact same thing. And the hip cradle has been replaced by a stick or yoke that looks something like a steering wheel.

Next there is pitch, rotating the nose and tail vertically up or down around the lateral axis running from wingtip to wingtip. The pilot of the Wright Flyer controlled pitch by manipulating a wooden handle that operated two smaller wings to the front of the aircraft. These “elevators” caused the nose to point up or down.

These days, the elevators have usually been relocated to the tail of the airplane, instead of the front, but perform the exact same task.

Last but not least, there is yaw, the rotation of the nose left or right around the vertical axis running through the aircraft from top to bottom. Control over yaw is important to prevent an airplane—especially one that’s not very streamlined, like the Wright Flyer—from starting to fly sideways. In their glider experiments without a rudder, the Wrights found this to be a major problem.

So starting with their 1902 Glider, they installed an upright rudder to the pilot’s rear. It was linked to the same wires that controlled wing warping, via the cradle, to coordinate the two. This helped keep the airplane flying straight. Today, the rudder (or rudders) remains a standard on most airplanes, beside the elevator(s) on the tail.

Control in three axes was the secret sauce. While the Wright Flyer may not look like a modern airplane, it was the same as one in its essential operation. Let’s see whether it does the job!

This was a particularly fun sim thread to recreate because, a little more than a year ago, I took my family to Kitty Hawk and we saw this exact site. We saw the wooden workshops where the Wright brothers stored, assembled, and repaired their Flyers, and the markers showing the distances achieved on their first four powered flights. From the photos I’ve seen, it looks like at that time there were just sand dunes in the area, which is now filled in with grass and trees.

On December 17, 1903, all the pieces were finally in place. With a headwind gusting up to 27 mph and the catapult charged, the Wright brothers were ready to attempt a powered flight. Next to the pilot were just two instruments: a stopwatch (below middle) and a gauge (below bottom) attached to a little windmill (below top) to show distance covered.

I did several flights and the key is to avoid pitching up too fast, otherwise you’ll lose what little airspeed you have and stall. Keep it low and just a few feet above the ground.

The Wright Flyer was not very stable, requiring attentive control inputs just to remain steady. Weight also becomes a complicating factor when you bank to turn, placing additional load on the wings and raising the stall speed. All I could consistently do with the 1903 Flyer was fly straight ahead.

That’s OK, because that’s all the Wright brothers could do on that first day—just fly straight ahead for as long as they could remain aloft. Their first and second flights lasted 12 seconds each and covered 120 feet and 175 feet, respectively. Their third flight lasted 15 seconds for 200 feet, and their fourth went 59 seconds for 852 feet. It looks like I’m going to beat their record here.

I made the tree line just past the 852-foot marker. I tried repeatedly to fly over the tree line and no can do. The 12 hp engine just isn’t powerful enough to sustain flight past 1,000 feet, much less climb. The same was true for the 1903 Wright Flyer.

Now what happened immediately after the Wrights’ first successful flight is an interesting story. The brothers sent a telegram home to their father, confirming their achievement. But only one local newspaper in Ohio picked up the story, based on their press release. Concerned about securing their patent, the brothers continued their work in secrecy and avoided any public demonstration of what they had accomplished. For many years, people doubted their claim that they had flown at all.

During that time, they upgraded their motor to 15 hp, then 20 hp, and eventually 35 hp, giving them the power they originally lacked to remain in the air longer and maneuver. But in the process, they lost ground to other aviation pioneers, like Glenn Curtiss, who followed the trail and quickly adapted and improved many of the Wright brothers’ innovations. It was Curtiss who performed the first public flight on July 4, 1908, to widespread acclaim. Only afterward, when they toured Europe and demonstrated their Flyer there, did the Wright brothers earn widespread recognition for inventing the flying machine before Curtiss.

The Wrights tried to enforce their patent against Curtiss, claiming rights to any aircraft that used the system of controlling along three axes, which Curtiss argued was too broad to allow for improvements. It was a long and bitter fight, only resolved when the U.S. government forced them to share their patent rights during World War I.

Our family experienced a very enjoyable trip to Kitty Hawk as well, and I took them all hang gliding on the dunes to give them a feel for what the Wright brothers actually experienced there.

I hope you enjoyed this story on the Wright Flyer and that it has shed some light on what makes an airplane an airplane and the true nature of the Wright brothers’ historic accomplishment.

If you’re interested in an enjoyable but informative read about the Wright brothers and the race to be first to fly, I highly recommend Dawn Over Kitty Hawk, a historical novel by Walter Boyne, the former director of the National Air and Space Museum.

If you’d like to see a version of this story with more historical photos and screenshots, you can check out my original post.

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Thousands of pilots use Sporty’s Pilot Shop’s ground schools to help them reach their aviation goals. Now that number is about to grow as Sporty’s has established a partnership with Leadership In Flight Training (LIFT) Academy, a training program owned by Republic Airways.

“Sporty’s is honored to have been selected by LIFT Academy as an online training provider,” said Sporty’s president John Zimmerman. “Sporty’s courses, paired with LIFT’s on-site flight training, will provide LIFT students with a premier learning experience as they prepare for their aviation career.” The partnership gives LIFT Academy attendees access to a wide range of training resources, including Sporty’s Learn To Fly Course, Instrument Rating Course, Commercial Pilot Course, and Garmin G1000 Checkout Course.

Each course includes hours of video content with flight deck perspectives and sophisticated 3D animations. The instruction can be accessed on Sporty’s dedicated mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV, and downloaded for offline viewing.

• READ MORE: Sporty’s Launches 2024 Learn to Fly Courses

“LIFT chose Sporty’s as the course provider for our students for the feature-rich and modern courseware that will complement our innovative, industry-leading training program while providing students with the skills they need to succeed,” said Edward Bagden, director of LIFT operations and academic programs. “The flight school management tools provide our team with the tools they need to provide LIFT students with the best training possible.”

The partnership includes access to Sporty’s test prep tools, allowing users to create unlimited study sessions and practice exams through access to the company’s proprietary database of thousands of test questions. The exams can be randomized or focused on specific areas to help the users address soft spots in their knowledge to customize their learning experience.

LIFT Academy will use Sporty’s CFI Portal and Chief CFI features to monitor and track student progress within the courses. These tools allow LIFT instructors and management to better ensure that learners are staying on track to meet their training objectives.

About Lift Academy

LIFT Academy is headquartered in Indianapolis and has additional training facilities in Texas and South Carolina. The academy utilizes Diamond DA40 and DA20 single-engine aircraft and DA42 multiengine designs as well as advanced aviation training devices (AATDs) from Diamond Simulation and Frasca International to enhance the learning environment. In addition, LIFT utilizes virtual reality immersive training devices (ITDs) crafted by Vertex Solutions.

For more information, visit  the LIFT website.

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One of the personally interesting aspects of this historic pilot hiring wave has been that, in my day job as a Boeing 737 captain, nearly every single week I encounter flight attendants who are commercial pilots, or are in flight training, or are considering taking the plunge.

This is a very welcome development that will do wonders to increase the diversity of our pilot corps, as well as help tear down lingering barriers between our pilot and flight attendant groups, an unfortunate aspect of our company culture. Management apparently agrees: Several years ago they created two accelerated hiring paths to the flight deck for our flight attendants, which has stirred immense interest among our cabin crew. The early participants are now at the qualification level where I’ll be flying with them soon, and I’m really looking forward to it. 

When I encounter anyone who is interested in flying professionally, flight attendant or not, I often suggest that they first go get their private pilot certificate before making any big commitments. Flying, and especially at the professional level, isn’t for everyone. Not everyone will enjoy it, and not everyone is cut out for it. Too many people discover this only after quitting their job and putting a lot of money and time into professional flight training. In my opinion, the time to discover whether a flying career is right for you is during primary training. My airline apparently agrees because it made a private pilot certificate a prerequisite for our basic flight-attendant-to-flight-deck hiring path (the advanced path requires a commercial certificate).

Similarly, I often suggest that those who are interested in taking primary flight lessons first go on a discovery flight, or introductory flight lesson, to make sure it’s right for them. Or better yet,  go on several discovery flights with multiple flight schools and instructors to gauge which is right for them. Most FBOs and flight schools offer 30-minute introductory lessons at a somewhat discounted rate, sometimes via a Groupon coupon. This has traditionally been intended to give the prospective learner a somewhat rosy picture of what piloting a small airplane is like, a quick hit of the good stuff to ‘get ‘’em hooked’ with none of the messy side effects. I have always thought, however, that students, instructors, and schools are better served by giving prospective aviators a realistic look at what learning to fly is like—and that they should treat the experience as an extended interview of a prospective instructor and flight school.

There is no standard format for a discovery flight. Every school, and in many cases each instructor, does it differently. Some conduct a preflight briefing; others do not. Some walk the student slowly through the preflight inspection; other instructors do it quickly themselves and get the student in the air ASAP. Some give the student significant instruction; others barely let the student touch the controls. Sometimes it varies based on the time available or by just how deeply a particular discovery flight (and perhaps instructor fee) has been discounted. When I was instructing, I knew a few CFIs who openly talked about discovery flights being a rare chance to manipulate the controls themselves for almost an entire flight. Based on recent conversations with discovery flight recipients, this still seems to be a common mindset. That’s a pity.

• READ MORE: That First Flight

I’m no longer an active flight instructor, but I make a regular point of taking nonpilots flying in my Stinson 108.  Whenever they show the slightest interest in learning to fly, I conduct their flight in the same fashion as the introductory flight lesson I was afforded at age 13, and the way I tried to perform discovery flights when I was an active CFI. This includes a ground briefing to explain what we’ll be doing, what they should watch out for, and what they can expect to learn and accomplish. Then I’ll spend a good 15 minutes talking them through the preflight inspection, getting their hands on fuel sumps, brake calipers, the oil dipstick, and cowling fasteners. Finally, we go flying for 30 to 60 minutes. I have them follow me on the controls during takeoff, then I level off and trim out and get right into the business of teaching the basics of aircraft control. This includes coordinated turns, which can be tricky in my Stinson, but everyone seems to get it after a few minutes. I fly a circular course, so we can get back home quickly if the student starts looking green. Every 10 minutes or so, I take the controls to show a scenic point of interest, giving the student a short break in concentration and an example to emulate. Our loop always ends over bustling Lake Union, for a spectacular view of downtown Seattle with the majestic backdrop of Mount Rainier.

I understand this is an idealized introductory flight lesson, one given at my leisure during ample free time, and not necessarily always realistic given the demands of instructor and training fleet scheduling. Not to mention the economic considerations of offering a discovery flight cheap enough to attract casual punters. For this reason, if you’re a prospective student, I would avoid those cheap, advertised 20-to-30-minute discovery flights, which are likely to involve little instruction and  insight into your prospective school or instructor. Instead, I would request a two-hour block of instructor time with a full 45 minutes of flight time. This will give you the opportunity to make a thorough evaluation.

When you show up 15 minutes before your scheduled start time, how is the atmosphere of the place? Harried and chaotic or organized and calm? Does somebody greet you promptly and appear to know what you’re there for? Your instructor may well be finishing a lesson with another student. How do they handle the transition? Is there a quiet briefing area, and do you notice other instructors briefing their students before their flights? Does your instructor explain what you’re going to do without resorting to jargon you don’t know? When you go out to the airplane, does your instructor seem rushed? Do they teach you the preflight or at least talk through what they’re looking at? Is the airplane beat up with apparently inoperative equipment?

While the instructor is taxiing out and taking off, do they explain what they’re doing? After takeoff, how soon do they give you control, and how do they handle the transition to active instruction? Rest assured, your aircraft control will be pretty rough at first, possibly enough to make most pilots squirm with unease. How does your instructor react? This is an excellent chance to gauge their patience. Are they paying attention to what you’re doing and how you’re doing it? Are they adjusting their instruction when you don’t understand something? Do they seem in a hurry to take the controls or to return to base? After the flight, do they give you a debriefing and a chance to ask questions? I’d suggest a frank discussion about the instructor’s experience, their students’ check ride pass rate, their career goals going forward, and the chances of them sticking around the flight school during your planned time frame for primary training.

Let’s say you do three of these introductory lessons at three flight schools with three instructors. At the end, you should have about 2.3 hours logged (which certainly counts towards PPL requirements), be getting pretty good at basic aircraft control, and have a good idea of the differences between flight schools and instructors. Hopefully, you’ve found one that you mesh with well. When you consider the considerable cost of ineffective instruction or having to switch schools or instructors midstream, I’d say these 2.3 hours of discovery flights should be money well spent.

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One of the challenges of pursuing a career as a professional pilot is balancing flight training with the pursuit of a college degree, if that is your choice. It helps when the flight school has a partnership with the university. That’s the case with Epic Flight Academy in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, and Purdue University Global, which are now partnering to offer an online bachelor’s degree in aviation management or professional flight through the Purdue Global aviation program.

“This partnership will help both parties work together to address the need for more pilots, as well as those who work in the aviation industry,” said Sara Sander, Purdue Global vice president, dean of the college of social and behavioral sciences and interim dean of the school of aviation. “We are pleased to partner with Epic Flight Academy through recognition of prior learning in both the professional flight and aviation management programs.”

Said Danny Perna: Epic Flight Academy founder and CEO: “Our flight students can earn up to 45 transfer credits through their Epic flight training with Purdue Global.” 

Taking advantage of the partnership can save an individual up to $28,400 in tuition and enable them to complete the degree online in two to three years while simultaneously pursuing flight training or working full-time as a flight instructor.

The next start date is January 31.

To be admitted to the professional flight degree program, the applicant must hold a private pilot certificate, first-class medical certificate, and have either a high school degree or GED.

Those enrolled in the aviation management program need not hold a pilot certificate or medical certificate.

About Epic Flight Academy

Epic Flight Academy is a Part 141 school that has been training pilots since 1999. In addition to the main campus in New Smyrna Beach, there are campuses in Ocala and Tallahassee, Florida, and one in Arizona that offer pilot training. Epic also provides mechanic training at New Smyrna and Erlanger, Kentucky.

About Purdue University

Purdue University has been at the forefront of aviation education since the 1930s. One of its famed faculty members was none other than aviatrix Amelia Earhart. In 1936, the Amelia Earhart Fund for Aeronautical Research was created with the Purdue Research Foundation. The fund raised $80,000, which was used to purchase the Lockheed Electra that was known as Earhart’s flying laboratory. Earhart, navigator Fred Noonan, and the aircraft disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 while attempting an around-the-world flight.

Founded in 2018, Purdue Global offers online degrees for working adults. It operates as a “nonprofit, public university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and backed by Purdue University.”

For more information visit https://stories.purdue.edu/purdue-global.

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If taking an aviation knowledge test or check ride is on your to-do list, the folks at Aviation Supplies & Academics are here to help. The ASA 2024 Test Preps, Test Guides, and Test Prep Plus (book and Prepware) are available now.

For decades, ASA has been assisting pilots and maintenance technicians in preparation for FAA knowledge exams.The newly released prep material reflects the latest information and includes updates for two years.

Test Prep for Pilots and Mechanics

The Test Prep books are organized by subject matter and provide explanations for both correct and incorrect answers. ASA has texts covering remote pilot (drones), private, instrument, commercial, instructor, ATP, flight engineer, and aviation mechanic. The books contain the same charts, diagrams, and figures as the knowledge test. Each book has a FAA CT-8080, so the applicants will become familiar with the supplement materials they will see when they take the official knowledge test. Test prep books also include five online practice tests.

Prepware combines all the information found in the Test Prep book with computer-based training. The downloadable software installs to either Mac or PC and includes a two-year subscription to ASA’s Prepware Online, offering study and use-of-test features on digital platforms, including desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. This product also allows student integration with ASA’s Prepware School, which is Prepware designed to be used in the classroom.

Prepware Online includes a two-year subscription to any single test database, allowing the user to study using any digital device.

Test Prep Plus includes a book and the most current Prepware software along with a two-year subscription to Prepware Online. According to ASA, this arrangement has the most flexibility, offering the user the flexibility to study from a book or digital device. It is available for both pilots and mechanics.

Prepware School is designed for flight schools and training centers for multiuser support and study for all FAA knowledge exams—anytime, anywhere—from any internet-connected device.

Pricing ranges from $49.95 to $99.95. For more information, visit asa2fly.com.

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Question: I want to get my private pilot certificate, but I was told that I will never be able to because red-green colorblindness runs in the family. If I have it, will that keep me from being a pilot?

Answer: Not necessarily. Red-green color vision deficiency—a fancy term for colorblindness—is also known as deuteranomaly and is the most common form of the condition. Because aviation is filled with color-coded information—including light gun signals, arcs on the airspeed indicator, lights in the cockpit, presentation on glass cockpit instruments, airport signs, lights and symbology on sectionals—color vision is important, especially at night when colored lights are used to identify aircraft in flight and determine its direction relative to you and locate airports by spotting the rotating beacon.

• READ MORE: FAA Updates its Policy for Special Medical Flight Tests

As a private pilot, you will be required to obtain a medical certificate that includes color vision testing using a pseudoisochromatic color plate test. It’s a series of several dots of a specific color arranged to form a number while other dots of a different color surround them. People with color perception challenges may have difficulty distinguishing the numbers. If you fail this test because of red-green colorblindness, you will still be able to obtain a medical certificate, but there will be a limitation preventing you from flying at night. The FAA defines this restriction as “no night flying or color signal control.” You will still be able to fly during the day. The night limitation exists because  land airports are identified by rotating green and white beacons at night.

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For years we have been hearing about a labor shortage in aviation. As the industry grows, so does the need for pilots, cabin crew, mechanics, and technicians. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Foundation (AOPA) and Choose Aerospace are partnering to establish a formal agreement to help increase education opportunities so these jobs are filled.

According to AOPA, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed to create a means of collaboration to “identify curriculum alignment, jointly promote each other’s educational materials, and pursue grant-funding opportunities related to aviation.”

The MOU was put into place to share ideas, best practices, and training resources to help both organizations meet the ongoing and increasing demand for skilled aviation professionals.

• READ MORE: STEM Curriculum Now in 300 Schools Nationwide

“This agreement allows the AOPA Foundation and Choose Aerospace to collaborate more closely,” said Glenn Ponas, AOPA Foundation director of high school outreach. “Together, we will be able to provide our respective curricula and resources to school districts and career technical centers and support them in creating pathways to careers as pilots, drone pilots, and aviation maintenance technicians.”

The AOPA Foundation represents the organization’s philanthropic arm. The collaboration with Choose Aerospace is the first of multiple efforts from the foundation to document and coordinate aviation programs and resources.

The Process

The MOU includes a review of both the AOPA Foundation High School Aviation STEM Curriculum and the Choose Aerospace Aviation Maintenance Curriculum.

Both groups play key roles in helping the industry meet its workforce demand by providing education, training, and employment pathways in the communities they serve.

“Aviation industry stakeholders recognize the need to invest resources and collaborate as part of developing a sustainable, diverse workforce,” said Ryan Goertzen, vice president of workforce development at AAR Corp. and president of Choose Aerospace. “The Choose Aerospace-AOPA Foundation partnership will help both organizations maximize their already-productive efforts to feed aerospaces workforce pipeline.”

There are plans to promote the curriculum through social media, newsletters, and joint presentations to schools and the aviation industry.

How Many Jobs Will There Be?

According to recent data from Boeing, there will be a need for 649,000 pilots, 690,000 technicians, and 938,000 cabin crewmembers over the next 20 years. The company also noted that domestic air travel is back to pre-pandemic levels, and international travel is also increasing again.

About the Groups

Choose Aerospace is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit partnership of aerospace stakeholders joined together to increase the availability of a diverse, qualified, technical workforce to support industry growth. The Choose Aerospace two-year AMT general prep course complements the AOPA Foundation drone and pilot pathways, enabling school districts that participate to create direct pathways to three in-demand aviation careers.

AOPA, established in 1939, is the world’s largest community of pilots, aircraft owners, and aviation enthusiasts. The association was created to provide advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels, and encourage flight training and aviation accessibility. The partnership will be introduced at the first AOPA Aviation and Aerospace Workforce Development Summit  at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport on November 12. The AOPA You Can Fly High School Aviation STEM Symposium will follow the summit on November 12 through 14. Both events are open to organizations that offer high school aviation curricula and resources.

The post AOPA, Choose Aerospace Target Worker Shortage appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

There is an awful lot of math involved in being a pilot and sometimes you won’t have access to a calculator or pencil and paper. There are times, for expediency, that you have to work the problem in your head.

Mental Math for Pilots, Third Edition by Ronald D. McElroy–now available from Aviation Supplies & Academics (ASA)–can help you with that.

According to ASA, the book teaches readers how to solve math problems in the cockpit without calculators, using solutions that are simple and practical for airborne contingencies. The mental math tools can be used in flight planning and to help pilots stay ahead  in the cockpit by performing more efficiently.

• READ MORE: Math 101 for Pilots

“In this book, pilots can learn the tricks of the trade for the areas where they have traditionally needed to sharpen their mental math skills: fuel planning, temperature conversions, reciprocal headings, turn radius, crosswind components, time-speed-distance problems, calculating true airspeed, the 60-to-1 rule, and many others,” ASA said in a release.

Among the techniques is how to determine the reciprocal heading by adding or subtracting 200 from a heading, then adjusting by adding or subtracting 20 to get the resultant. For example, if the aircraft is on a heading of 340 degrees – 200 = 140 + 20 = reciprocal of 340 is 160 degrees.

These skills can help pilots at all levels, including airline applicants during interviews.

In softcover, Mental Math for Pilots contains 104 pages and can be obtained from FBOs that stock pilot supplies, online retailers, or at asa2fly.com for $24.95.It is also available as an e-book for $19.95.

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Florida-based Epic Flight Academy (EFA) has opened a satellite operation in Arizona.

The ribbon cutting was held Friday, October 27, at Tucson International Airport (KTUS).

“We chose the location because of the climate and variety of airspace, so the pilots get to experience the full range,” said Cindy Lovell, director of education for Epic Flight Academy.

Lovell added that the location has taken possession of three fresh-from-the-factory Cessna 172 Skyhawks with the understanding that more aircraft will be added as more pilots join the program. It also has an advanced aviation training device (AATD), a Precision Flight Control GTX Max, that can be used in a variety of training applications.

According to Lovell, the program is designed for both domestic and foreign students.

“For domestic applicants, they go from private pilot up through instructor, because in the U.S. they need to build their time,”Lovell said. “It takes approximately one year. We hire them to teach at our school because we need instructors all the time, and we know they have been trained to the highest standard. As soon as they hit 1,500 hours, they are off to our partner airlines.”

Lovell also pointed out that Epic has partnerships with colleges and encourages its clients to obtain a college degree in something they can fall back on just in case the aviation career doesn’t work out or meet their expectations.

The foreign students achieve their commercial certificates then return to their home countries, where they may be placed in the right seat of an airliner to build experience. This can take as little as seven months.

About Epic Flight Academy

Epic Flight Academy was established in 1999 in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The location offers training for both pilots and maintenance technicians. As the needs of the aviation industry increased, EFA has been scouting and establishing new facilities to meet the demand.

“We’ve received an incredibly warm welcome from everyone at Tucson International Airport and Million Air Tucson,” said Brock Rees, director of satellite operations at Epic. “They have been extremely helpful in setting up the flight school.”

Added Danny Perna, Epic’s founder and CEO: “Tucson has been a great choice as another location for us. The climate and airspace are perfect for flight training. I also echo Brock’s sentiments. Everyone has been so helpful since we made the decision to open a new school here. The grand opening was an incredible event. We thank the [Tucson Metro] Chamber, CommuteAir, and the staff at Million Air Tucson.”

For additional information visit Epicflightacademy.com/locations.

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Though it’s been around for more than 50 years, the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) hosted its first big event this week—a “summit” intended to bring together instructors from all over to discuss, educate, and debate on a range of topics near to our hearts. The tagline, “Come to NAFI Summit, go home a better instructor,” rang true following the largely informative and engaging sessions on Wednesday and Thursday in Lakeland, Florida, at the Florida Air Museum.

I know I learned a few things.

There were about 200 attendees overall, with at least 150 sitting in on both days—a pretty good show for the first of anything. And considering that NAFI has about 7,000 paid members to draw from, it made for a great representative sample of the group.

DPE Panel

The sessions kicked off with a panel of highly experienced designated pilot examiners, including NAFI chair Karen Kalishek, Mary Schu, and Doug Stewart. While the broad topic—to discuss the state of check ride preparation and success—involved every instructor in the room, the conversation quickly zeroed in on the concerns that the panelists saw every day when working with applicants for pilot certification.

According to Schu, who is based in Oregon. there’s a lack of real cross-country solo time, especially for students coming from Part 141 programs. Instead of logging time as the sole occupant of the airplane—and having to make every decision, without the safety net of an instructor beside you—more and more pilots are showing up with “pilot doing duties as pilot in command.” To my ears, this sounds a lot like the classification of time under European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regs as “supervised solo,” with the instructor still in the right seat but somehow remaining silent.

Really? That’s not how you learn to take responsibility as pilot in command.

The examination pass rate has dropped dramatically over the past five years—roughly and informally to 50 to 60 percent, according to Kalishek, a DPE based in Wisconsin. She is scheduling check rides for March 2024.

Stewart, based in New Hampshire, gave another handy insight—he requires candidates to submit their application via IACRA at least five days prior to the check ride. If things aren’t in order, he can schedule another applicant in their place.

Flight School as a Business

Another fascinating panel that reminded me of my days as the Cessna Pilot Center manager: Your Own Flight Instruction Business. Moderated by flight school owner George Allen, it included Aaron Dabney, Frank Gallagher, and Ned Parks. With roughly 2,000 training organizations in the U.S., there’s a lot of competition. However, by identifying a niche, you can make a successful go at it.

There are also other points to consider.

According to Gallagher, one of the key drivers of success is maintaining a high quality of employees and equipment. One detail that goes a long way? Train your instructors to wipe down the aircraft after the flight and service it like an owner, so that it looks like a clean car picked up from a rental agency.

Dabney, who specializes in CFI to tailwheel instruction, said, “Be able to say concisely what your mission is: How are you different?”

Parks cautioned that, when recruiting and retaining instructors, be wary of using 1099 contractors versus employees on a W-2. As he noted, some schools use 1099s “because it’s cheaper”—but the actual savings is so low, it’s not worth the hazard of running afoul of the contractor-versus-employee regulations in many states. “It is such a small amount of money [in the end],” he said.

The Magenta Guy and GA Type Ratings

One of the highlights for me came in getting to see FLYING contributor Les Abend take the stage with Gary Reeves in walking instructors through the GA Type Rating course they have developed.

Reeves built upon his presentation the day before (The Top 5 Mistakes Good Instructors Make Teaching GPS—I definitely learned a couple that I’ve been making) by walking through how the pair met and what unique steps they take to appeal to an airline pilot transitioning to GA—or flying light aircraft for the first time if they came from the military.

Is there a sneaky way in there to encourage those retired captains to become instructors? You bet. It’s a great idea.

Networking at a High Level

Overall, I came away impressed by the cadre of folks who attended the summit—not just because they were presenting, like Greg Feith, of the Flight Safety Detectives podcast and former senior NTSB accident investigator—but because they wanted to support the organization’s initial effort to raise the level of flight instruction in the U.S.

I was able to catch up and have long talks with executive-level colleagues from Sporty’s, Redbird Flight Simulations, and the FAA. John and Martha King, founders of King Schools, gave the dinner’s keynote with tips from their two books. I had an insurance question answered by a senior leader at Avemco. I made new connections with fellow instructors from the Flying Musicians Association and rekindled lasting friendships with folks from Ortega Aviation Services.

All in all, did I come away a better instructor? We’ll see soon, when I go up for my own flight review—thanks for the tips, Tom Turner!

The post Want To Be a Real Instructor? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In all the years I have been flight simming, testing, and evaluating big jets for the love of the hobby, a special criteria exists to grade the flight model of any particular subject. The Precision Manuals Development Group (PMDG) lineup of Boeing 747s, 777s, and 737NGs have always passed the test on quality flight modeling, pretty much taking the top spot for the very best. The competition is usually far below PMDG’s level of quality, at least on the Boeing lineup.

Now with the advent of the “still kinda new” Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (MSFS2020), the default airliners seemed pretty good to me over the past few years, but not great. They are loved for their good looks and ability to travel to and from great expanses of the sim globe, but not much more. The default sounds were horrendous—and still are. Luckily, that was solved by a little company called FTSounds, which has redone many of the default aircraft sound sets to something far closer to the real thing. Now in addition to that, the default jetliners recently got a makeover in terms of systems modeling and avionics updates by the Working Title company. These free upgrades got pushed automatically by recent in-sim, mandatory updates, so by the time you see this, you’ll already have the newly enhanced heavy jets. 

• READ MORE: Your First Sim

I was thrilled to find out all this was integrated seamlessly and works so well. The newly done avionics fidelity didn’t cause any performance or dreaded frame rate reduction either. Now our default jets are looking and performing as they should, like a costly add-on. Until PMDG releases the upcoming 777 and 747, the default 747 and Boeing 787 complement the realism and fidelity of the currently available PMDG 737NG and BBJ lineups for MSFS2020.

To initiate an autoland in the airliners, you’ll need to make sure your FMS is properly set as in any flight, with the destination, runway selection, ILS chosen, speed performances, etc. Be sure to have spoilers armed and auto brake set to whatever you want. On a long runway like Denver International Airport (KDEN), where I did this example, I had auto brakes off completely and used full reverse to stop the jet (or at least to 60 kts per usual real-life stuff ). The FMS on the Boeing 747 and 787 auto select the frequencies, so you’ll not need to calculate or hunt those down. Once the airplane is on the initial approach, it will look similar to any ILS.

Once a certain distance is hit, it will proceed to LAND 3 or LAND 2 modes. LAND 3 will utilize all three autopilots and perform the entire event all the way to rollout with self steering and runway tracking to a stop. In this example, the autothrottle is on, holding a target landing approach or V_REF of 151 kts. It’s wild to see the throttles moving on their own, but they do. No matter the weather and wind, this thing works.

On short final, you may see a FLARE annunciation, but you’ll not need to do anything, as it will do that maneuver all by itself too. It will round out, hold the nose up, and allow a gentle sink rate onto the pavement. If you watch it closely, it’s almost a lesson on how to land a heavy jet with perfection each step of the way. As in real life, if you do this in zero-zero, you may never even see the runway at all. Maybe at night you’ll see the centerline lights, but the only indication you’ve landed is the spoiler snatch back, or touchdown sounds.

The slowdown and rollout with the gentle wobbling back and forth to keep the centerline was fabulous as I had not expected all this detail. In some autoland sim models, you’ll have to kick off the autopilot yourself since it’s not going to steer precisely. Now, I only fly a bizjet in real life, so I haven’t experienced real autolands or equipment at different runways—maybe they don’t all allow precision to a stop.

I have been practicing autolands in both Microsoft Flight Sim and X-Plane products over the years, and it’s especially rewarding in zero-zero. When I recorded these screenshots, I was using live weather and wasn’t sure how precise it would be or even if it would work correctly, so I was happy to have great weather. I now have no doubts that if you’re flying a default 747 or 787, it will perform just as perfectly when unable to see. Just remember the centerline may be easier to see at night in zero-zero than during the day. Autoland on jetliners has been around far longer than I ever knew, going way back to the 1970s when most airliners had that functionality built in. The great trijets, such as Lockheed L1011s and McDonnell Douglas DC-10s, used this technology just like the 747s and the Boeing 757s and 767s in the 1980s. 

For the real die-hards, I would recommend the plethora of YouTube videos or other online resources available on the subject. It’s amazing how much great material is available for the inquiring mind on real-world operation. 

The best website to totally geek out on is run by a friend of mine, Steve Giordano. 

Speedtapefilms.com and its associated YouTube videos present great HQ cockpit action from all around the globe as Giordano and his team ferry jetliners around for banks and various new owners.

The post Amazing Autolands appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The best laid plans of mice and men and pilots can go awry. I am speaking here of the need to divert—that is heading to an airport that is not your original destination. The ability to divert safely, meaning to a suitable airport with acceptable weather and sufficient fuel, is a skill you will be demonstrating during your pilot career, both in training and on a check ride.

Why Divert?

There are many reasons to divert, the most common of which is weather. Although you obtained a weather briefing and the forecast was for VFR conditions at the time of your arrival, Mother Nature decided to throw a curveball and now the ceilings are dropping along with the visibility. Or perhaps when you picked up the ATIS or AWOS and noticed the crosswinds or gusts are a bit stronger than you are comfortable with. Or perhaps you have an airsick passenger or that headwind took a bigger bite out of your fuel consumption than anticipated. In all cases the prudent thing to do is divert.

When Planning Your Route

Most pilots learn the art of the divert as part of their cross-country flight training. When planning the flight, select a route that presents options for diversions. Instead of taking that direct route over the mountains, you may want to zigzag a little if there are small airports close by. You do not have to go directly over these other airports, just know that they are out there—perhaps 5 nm from your planned route. If the weather is good enough and your altitude sufficient, you can see them. When using these airports as landmarks on your navlog, write down the pertinent information you will need, such as radio frequencies, orientation and length of runways, etc., so you do not need to fumble with a chart should the divert become necessary.

• READ MORE: Always Be Prepared to Divert to Another Airport

If your aircraft is equipped with GPS, don’t fall into the trap automatically using the NRST (nearest) function. While it is handy, remember that pressing the button to show the nearest airport won’t factor in variables such as weather, airport type, or terrain. The magenta line might direct you into an area of lowering visibility, the side of a mountain unless you climb 3,000 feet (into a cloud deck, no less) or to a grass runway measuring 1,900 feet when you have not learned how to do soft field and short field landings yet.

The Process

Once you have figured out where you are diverting to, put a mark on the sectional for your current position, then measure the distance to the divert field. Fair warning: The large plastic plotter can be clumsy in the cockpit, so you might want to use the mechanical E6-B, as it has a measurement scale printed on the side, and you’re going to use the wind side of the device to determine groundspeed as well.

Pro tip 1: When you put the wind dot on the E6-B’s wind scale, make it heavy and dark enough that you can see just by glancing at it and leave it on the device. That way you won’t have to redo the mark when you are trying to divert. If you are using several different winds for the trip, such as different altitudes, try assigning each one a different symbol (* for winds at 3,000, an X for winds at 6,000, etc.) or use a different color of ink or pencil. Make sure to record the key someplace on your notes—such as the corner of the paper navlog if using that.

Pro tip 2: A typical American disposable pen like a Bic Stic pen with the cap on measures 40 nm on the VFR sectional scale. One of the tools I give my learners is a pen marked off in 10 nm increments, using hash marks cut with a knife and enhanced with liquid paper. Known as “the Magic Pen,” it’s a lot easier to use than the plotter for measuring distances.

Pro tip 3: If there is a VOR on the sectional near where you are at the time of the divert, place a straightedge (like the Magic Pen) horizontally on the sectional lined up with where you are and the airport you intend to divert to, then without changing the angle of the straight end, slide it so it sits over the VOR. Read the heading under the appropriate end of the straightedge.

To reach the divert destination, turn the aircraft to the heading. Determine your ground speed and time en route using the E6-B.

Plan for a Divert, Just in Case

When the instructor signs you off for a cross-country flight, the endorsement will list which airports you can land at, as well as the destination and the fields you could potentially divert to, if needed. The instructor who reviews and signs you off for that particular flight should ask about potential landings that could happen en route along with your choice for a divert. These airports will be noted in the endorsement after the phrase “with landings authorized at (insert names here).”

• READ MORE: Practice Diversions

Learners often ask what happens if they land at an airport they were not signed off for. Will they get into trouble? Was the diversion necessitated by a change in weather? The need to refuel? Because it was getting dark and you have not been signed off for night flight? No, you will not or should not be punished for exercising good aeronautical decision making.

Always Have a Place in Mind 

Every time you fly you should have an idea of where you go “if” you cannot make it to your original destination. This goes for those out-and-back trips to the practice area. Although we’re taught to anticipate a diversion as part of the cross-country training, many learners would benefit from this training as part of their pre-solo. 

What if you could not land at your home airport because of weather, or even a disabled aircraft on the runway? The savvy instructors prepare for this by making sure the learner has been trained to fly to and from at least one other airport within 25 nm of their home field before they are signed off for their first solo. When the CFI endorses the learner for the first solo, the instructor adds the endorsement for the field 25 nm away. 

I do this with my learners and it has come in handy. When there was a noninjury accident at my airport that closed the runway for several hours, two learners were in the practice area and both diverted to alternate airports. It did wonders for their confidence, and I will admit I was very proud of them as learning had taken place.

The post Is It OK to Divert? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Are you a flight instructor who has cringed at the thought of climbing into a Cessna 172 and conducting a flight review with an airline pilot? Is the reaction a result of the intimidation factor, believing he or she has thousands of hours of experience flying airplanes that surpasses your experience? Or do you have a preconceived notion that their attitude has an air of arrogance or superiority?

Would you believe that many airline pilots harbor trepidations about operating in the GA environment and have a great deal of respect for good flight instructors? Many of the worries or concerns stem from the fact that airline pilots have been away from the small airplane world long enough to have forgotten the basics or have been absent for years of changes.

Airspace rules have changed. Filing a flight plan has changed. Airplanes have changed. Retired airline pilots are now faced with how to maintain their IFR and VFR proficiency, selecting electronic chart subscriptions, choosing the appropriate medical certificate class, calculating weight and balance, and operating out of nontowered airports, etc. Guidance in selecting and purchasing the appropriate airplane for the desired mission is another topic worthy of mention.

• READ MORE: Webinar Aims to Help CFIs Help Airline Pilots Return to GA

With quality instruction, airline pilots can excel at the flying part, but they need guidance in other areas. And they need guidance in areas specific to their unique fears. Reviewing a  Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge is probably not beneficial. A rusty pilot’s course might be of assistance but may not address the topics that are most concerning.

With a record number of airline pilots retiring over the next few years, many with disposable income that has increased because of favorable salaries, some of these men and women will be considering reengaging with their roots. Empty nester pilots nearing retirement that have eliminated their financial obligations of a mortgage and their kids’ secondary education may also be entering the GA market. All of these folks need flight instructors who have insight to the airline pilot psyche.

Knowing that airline pilots are familiar with the nuances of professional training, the program is tongue-in-cheek dubbed the “GA type rating course.” Gary “GPS” Reeves, a 20-year veteran of specialized flight instruction, and the FAA 2019 Instructor of the Year has teamed up with Les Abend, a retired airline pilot and longtime contributing editor to FLYING.

The Airline Pilot GA type rating course is in the development stage and will involve a reference manual utilizing an entertaining and informative format that should maintain the attention of even the most-seasoned, long-haul airline pilot. Flight and ground instructors will be offered a free Airline Pilot GA type rating online course through Reeves’ website, www.pilotsafety.org

With the primary goal of adding safer pilots to general aviation, we would appreciate your assistance and participation in refining the course. How? It’s simple. Use this hyperlink: https://pilotsafety.org/ga-type-rating. If you’re an airline pilot, click on the two-minute “Airline Pilot Survey” button. The survey is a valuable assessment for course development.

And finally, all pilots can click on the button that links to registration for the NAFI Summit (National Association of Flight Instructors) Tuesday  through Thursday. The airline pilot GA type rating course introduction will be presented on Thursday, October 26, at 10 a.m. EDT. Reeves is offering a $30 discount through his website.

We have a great opportunity to welcome our airline pilots back into the GA world or perhaps greet them for the first time. They will be an asset to safety and  the GA economy. Let’s prepare our flight instructors with the best tools to assist these valued professionals.

The post GA Type Rating for Airline Pilots: Intro at the NAFI Summit appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Today in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (MSFS2020), I’m going to be flying and telling the story of one of the most important airplanes in the history of aviation: the Piper J-3 Cub.

The Piper Cub was designed in 1930 by Clarence G. Taylor. He and his brother Gordon formed Taylor Brothers Aircraft Corp. with the financial backing of local Pennsylvania industrialist William T. Piper. Taylor’s idea was to build a simple, affordable airplane that would encourage more people to learn to fly.

The Cub sported a 35-foot wingspan and was 22 feet long. The fuselage was made of tubular steel covered in fabric, and the wings were fabric-covered wood. It weighed a total of about 800 pounds empty, 1,200 pounds fully loaded.

Originally the Cub was powered by a 20 hp engine, but this proved to be underpowered, so it was upgraded to 40 hp. This particular version, the J3C-65, has a 4-cylinder 85 hp engine. The name of the first engine was the Brownback “Tiger Kitten,” from which the airplane’s name, the Cub, playfully derives.

The Cub’s landing gear are fixed and cushioned by bungee cords covered in leather.

The two pilots sit in tandem, one behind the other, which made the Cub ideal for training with a student in front and instructor behind. When flying solo, the pilot sits in the rear seat. You have to look over the seat in front of you to see the instruments, though you do have your own stick, throttle, and rudder pedals.

Here’s a closer look at the Cub instrument panel from the front seat. Just a tachometer (rpm), airspeed indicator, compass, altimeter, and oil pressure/temperature gauges. No artificial horizon or turn coordinator, so this is strictly for VFR.

The throttle is the black knob on the left. Not only is it a fixed-pitch propeller, you don’t have a fuel/air mixture control, because presumably you won’t be flying high enough to need one. You control the throttle with your left hand and the stick with your right.

Sadly, the Taylor brothers went bankrupt during the Great Depression. Piper, a businessman with no previous experience in aviation, bought a controlling stake in the company for $761 to keep it going. That’s why I’m here at the William T. Piper Memorial Airport (KLHV) in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, where Piper relocated the factory.

Piper supported Taylor’s vision of popular aviation. Piper built a flight school next to the factory and included lessons in the price of the airplane. Piper himself learned to fly at the age of 50.

The Cub’s standard, factory paint job was chrome yellow, which came to be known as “Cub yellow” or “Lock Haven yellow.”

Piper and Taylor eventually quarreled and parted ways. Taylor formed his own company, and Piper renamed the existing company after himself. Hence, the Piper Cub. Piper steadily made incremental improvements to the design. With a maximum cruise speed of 78 knots, it had a range of 191 nm and a ceiling of 11,500 feet. In 1938, a Piper Cub sold for $1,000.

What really changed things, however, was the approach of World War II. In 1938, the U.S.  established the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) to instruct pilots for potential wartime needs. The CPTP operated through flight schools and universities. Students received 72 hours of ground school followed by 35 to 50 hours of flying. This curriculum established the foundation for private flight training as we know it. The program required these schools to have one airplane for every 10 students, which meant buying a lot of new aircraft—most of them Piper Cubs.

By the time CPTP was phased out in 1944, the program had trained 435,000 new pilots. Seventy-five percent of them—and 80 percent of all military pilots in WWII—performed their initial flight training in a Piper Cub. CPTP-trained pilots included African-Americans who went on to fight as part of the Tuskegee Airmen, and women who, as members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), served as ferry pilots to deliver and reposition aircraft.

As the war approached, privately owned Piper Cubs were being conscripted by the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) to search offshore for German U-boats, like this one I’m flying off Cape May, New Jersey. By the end of WWII, CAP pilots had flown more than 500,000 mission hours, 90 aircraft were lost, and  64 pilots were killed, including 26 lost on coastal patrol.

The Piper Cub truly came into its own, however, as an artillery spotter and staff airplane near the front lines in Europe, where it was designated the L-4 Grasshopper. This one, dubbed the Elizabeth, operated from the aircraft carrier USS Ranger during Operation Torch, the 1942 Allied invasion of North Africa.

The Elizabeth was flown by Lieutenant William Butler with observer Captain Brenton Devol, and it operated along the coast of Morocco during the invasion near Casablanca and Rabat.

In 1943, General Dwight D. Eisenhower inspected the battlefield in an L-4 Grasshopper. But the most famous L-4 of all was flown by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Carpenter, who was a 29-year-old high school history teacher when he signed up to go to war.

In autumn 1944 after the D-Day invasion, General George S. Patton’s Third Army was driving hard into eastern France, crossing the Moselle River here at Nancy in Lorraine. In Normandy, Carpenter had outfitted his L-4 with six bazookas, three on each wing strut, so he could fire on German vehicles below. He dubbed his airplane Rosie the Rocketer—a play on “Rosie the Riveter.” His single-handed attacks on German units in his Piper Cub earned Carpenter the nickname “The Mad Major” from troops and “Bazooka Charlie” from the media.

On September 18, German heavy Panzer divisions, led by large masses of Panther tanks, counterattacked against Patton’s troops here in the countryside east of Nancy. On the morning of September 20, the Germans moved in on the Fourth Armored Division’s HQ unit at the town of Arracourt (below). The fog initially protected them from Allied air attack.

As soon as the fog began to clear, however, Carpenter jumped into his L-4 and joined the battle. His favorite strategy was to climb above the Germans then corkscrew down on them, firing his bazookas at the tops of the tanks, where their armor was lightest.

Carpenter was credited with destroying four German tanks and an armored car during the Battle of Arracourt, which was one of the largest tank battles on the Western Front. Another famous figure to come out of the Battle of Arracourt—although on the ground—was Lieutenant  Colonel Creighton Abrams, who helped rally the defenders and went on to become the Army’s top tank ace of WWII.The M1 Abrams tank is named after him.

In 1945, Carpenter was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and received an honorable discharge. He was given two years to live but ended up living (and teaching high school history) until 1966, when he died at 53.

As the L-4 Grasshopper, the Piper Cub served as an ideal artillery spotter because it could take off and land close to the front lines. Even without bazookas strapped to it, a single pilot flying one could direct more explosives at a target in the form of artillery fire than a B-29.

At its peak during WWII, the Piper Aircraft Co. produced one Cub every 20 minutes. Overall, it produced more than 20,000 J-3 Cubs before halting production in 1947. After the war, the government sold thousands of Piper Cubs to private owners, many of whom had been trained in them. Until the mid-1950s, when all-metal airplanes like the Cessna 172 and Beechcraft Bonanza emerged, Piper Cubs were the mainstay of private aviation in the U.S.

Piper Aircraft eventually moved to Oklahoma and then to Florida, where it continues to produce small single- and multiengine airplanes. William T. Piper, who died in 1970 at 89, has been called the “Henry Ford of Aviation.” Clarence G. Taylor, the designer of the Cub who lived until 1988, founded Taylorcraft, whose DCO-65 looked a heck of a lot like a Cub and served beside it as the L-2 in WWII.

I’m coming in for a landing here back at William T. Piper Memorial Airport. When you take off and land the Piper Cub, because it’s a taildragger, you can’t see directly ahead while on the ground. You have to judge the centerline from the edges of the runway in your peripheral vision.

Many kitplanes take their basic design from the Piper Cub, even if they aren’t manufactured by Piper anymore. If you want to learn a whole lot more about the Piper Cub, consider reading Flight of Passage: A Memoir by Rinker Buck, which describes how he and his brother flew a Cub across America as teenagers in 1966. It’s a wonderful book.

The Piper Cub has been referred to as “the airplane that taught America to fly.” And now you know why.

If you’d like to see a version of this story with more historical photos and screenshots, you can check out my original post: https://www.patrickchovanec.com/aviation/piper-j-3-cub-1938.

This story was told utilizing the Piper J-3 Cub add-on by BT Studio, along with liveries and sceneries produced by fellow users and shared on flightsim.to for free.

The post A Virtual History of the Piper Cub appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

One of the most intimidating aspects of learning to fly is learning how to communicate on the radio. You need to know what to say, when to say it, and understand what air traffic control is saying in reply.

For years, Bob Gardner’s Say Again, Please: A Pilot’s Guide to Radio Communications has been an educational resource for pilots. The seventh edition of the popular book, first published in 1995, has just been released by Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc. The information reflects Gardner’s decades of experience as a flight instructor and designated pilot examiner as he explains how ATC works, and how to ask for what you want or need.

Say Again, Please has been recommended reading for aspiring pilots for the past 28 years. The new edition has been updated to reflect current aircraft equipment, navaids, changes in airspace infrastructure, rules, and procedures.

Gardner’s prose is conversational and concise. You feel as though you are sitting across the table from a favorite instructor as he lays out scenarios and presents typical radio transmissions and appropriate pilot procedures. The book takes the mystery out of pilot-to-controller speak.

This is more than a what-to-say book. Gardner goes into detail explaining how radio equipment works, radio etiquette and rules, the differences between VFR and IFR communications, emergency communications, the role of ATC facilities, and who to call when, as well as differences in procedures in different airspace. There is also a pilot/controller communication section with terms and phrases you will hear and need to use.

Say Again, Please is available in softcover from FBOs, online retailers of asa2fly.com for $24.95.

The book can also be purchased as an e-book viewed on both small and large screens for use with the ASA Library app for $19.95.

For more information, visit asa2fly.com.

The post ‘Say Again, Please’ Remains a Must-Read for Pilots appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

CAE will bring on line two Embraer Phenom 300E full flight simulators that will enter service in 2024 at London-Burgess Hill and Las Vegas’ Harry Reid international airports. The installations will target the growing demand for pilot training in the light jet in Europe and the U.S.

“We are working with CAE to be where our customers need us to be, providing them with our latest technological updates and best-in-class support. Embraer and CAE are long-term partners to provide exceptional services to the market,” said Carlos Naufel, president and CEO of Embraer services and support. 

Said Alexandre Prevost, CAE’s division president, business aviation and helicopter training: “The two new simulators will double our Phenom 300 training capacity in Las Vegas and London and allow ECTS to train more pilots at a critical time. Over the next 10 years, CAE forecasts a need for 32,000 business aviation pilots, and we are working with our partners at Embraer to ensure Phenom 300 customers have the highly qualified pilots they need to keep them flying.”

• READ MORE: Embraer Unveils Autothrottle for Phenom 300E

In a NBAA-BACE preview briefing with FLYING earlier in October, Embraer vice president of customer support Marsha Woelber put the addition into the context of the overall service program, which includes five owned service centers and more than 60 authorized service centers around the world, in addition to its training partners. “In the past few years, our fleet has grown a lot,” Woelber said. “There have been a lot of secondary market transactions…and overall a lot of attrition in our flight departments that has created a significant increase in demand for pilot slots.”

“Earlier this year, we opened a Phenom simulator facility in Las Vegas, that was in April,” said Woelber, who noted that the sim installed this spring was the seventh one on line in the partnership, and the coming installations in February (London) and in Q3 2024 in Las Vegas represent the eighth and ninth units, respectively.

The post CAE Doubles Capacity for Embraer Phenom 300E Training with Sims in London, Las Vegas appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary findings on the fatal crash of a Piper PA-28-161 near Whitesville, Kentucky, in September involving a flight instructor and private pilot candidate on a night flight.

According to the report, the pair flew into a thunderstorm. The event has received national attention because the CFI, Timothy McKellar Jr., 22, made several social media posts during the flight that included demeaning comments about the learner, Connor Quisenberry, 18. McKellar also posted an image of approaching thunderstorms along the route of flight. McKellar acknowledged the storms and the flight continued.

The Timeline

On September 27, McKellar and Quisenberry were attempting a night cross-country flight fromOwensboro/Daviess County Regional Airport (KOWB) to Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport (KBWG) in Kentucky on a VFR flight plan. The aircraft, a Piper Warrior, belonged to Eagle Flight Academy in Owensboro. According to social media accounts, McKellar completed his solo at the school in 2020, then finished his training at ATP. McKellar’s Facebook profile lists him as a flight instructor employed at ATP. McKellar had a significant social media presence, and often the posts were about flying.

The NTSB notes that, according to the operator of the aircraft and Quisenberry’s regular instructor, this was the first time he had flown with McKellar. In his Snapchat, McKellar remarks “me and this student should not get along if he was my full-time student. I’ve seen faster at the Special Olympics,” then the camera angle is reversed to show Quisenberry, flashlight in hand, performing what appears to be the preflight inspection of the Warrior. The time stamp of the Snapchat shows 8:39 p.m. as McKellar is heard saying, “C’mon.” He posts that the pair have a three-hour flight ahead. McKellar is eager to get the three-hour flight completed because he has to be up at 4:30 a.m. the next day.

According to the NTSB, automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data shows the airplane took off from KBWG around 21:55 local time, climbed to an altitude of 4,500 feet msl, and proceeded on a northwesterly course toward KOWB, on a VFR flight plan. According to SkyVector, the distance between the two airports is 58.6 nm. McKellar posted video of the night takeoff and a portion of the in-flight cruise.

McKellar refers to Quisenberry as “Forrest Gump” and posts that he is “just giving it to him straight up,” to which Quisenberry allegedly replies to the criticism by saying, “I don’t mind you being hard on me. I know I need it.” 

The Weather

METARs from the area at the time of the flight show severe weather with lightning in all quadrants. Additionally, the TAFs from earlier in the day indicate the possibility of convective weather.

At 22:15, approximately one hour after takeoff, McKellar posted an annotated weather image from a mobile-device-based aviation navigation tool. The image shows the airplane’s  position northwest of Bowling Green, Kentucky, along with the planned route of flight to KOWB. Weather radar imagery was also displayed in the image, which had been annotated with a circle around the flight track and nearby weather radar returns and a comment from McKellar about the storms approaching like “angry hornets.”

A screen grab of the post is included in the NTSB report, with attention called to the location of the approaching storms, airplane’s position (blue airplane icon), the planned route of flight (magenta line), and the depicted weather radar imagery with the storms circled in red.

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The report notes the pilot contacted ATC at 22:44, and the controller advised the flight of heavy to extreme precipitation at the airplane’s 9 o’clock position, roughly northwest of the planned route. ADS-B data showed that the airplane continued its course, and about two minutes later, McKellar requested an “instrument flight rules clearance.”

The controller issued the clearance and assigned a turn to the east to get out of the weather.

McKellar advised ATC that the airplane was “getting blown around like crazy.” The airplane’s flight track showed a turn to the northwest, followed by a right circling turn. The controller reiterated the heading of 090 degrees. McKellar replied that they were in “pretty extreme turbulence.”

The flight track showed a continuing descending turn to the right. There were no further communications. The last ADS-B position was recorded at 22:49 at an altitude of 2,200 feet. The wreckage, described by the NTSB as a “debris field,” was found spread over 25 acres in a hilly, densely wooded area.

The Wreckage

The NTSB noted that all major components of the airplane, with the exception of the left portion of the stabilator, were located in the debris field.

The aircraft had been torn in half with the forward fuselage, including the cockpit, engine, and right wing located together in the most westerly portion of the debris field. The left wing was located 800 feet away.

The empennage with vertical stabilizer intact was located over a ridge about 200 feet north of the forward fuselage. The rudder was torn diagonally from top to bottom, with the lower portion remaining attached to the vertical stabilizer and the upper portion separated and located near the empennage in the debris field.

The stabilator was torn chordwise just outboard of the hinges, with the right side located 1,500 feet away from the fuselage. The wreckage was recovered and sent to a salvage facility for further examination. The engine displayed impact damage, but the NTSB did not uncover any preaccident anomalies or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation.

The final report will be issued in a few months after the investigation is completed.

The post NTSB Preliminary Report on Kentucky Fatal Crash Released appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Anytime you learn a new skill, there will be a phase where you don’t know what you don’t know. Flying is a prime example of this. Expect the first manifestation to be when you are learning to do a preflight inspection of the aircraft. You may find yourself asking questions like “Is that normal?” and “Is it supposed to be like that?” as you look at the aircraft. These questions should be asked as they are part of the process.

What Is Normal?

On your first preflight inspection, your instructor will likely teach you how to perform it, checklist in hand. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been flying, use the checklist. In addition to providing a logical flow to the inspection, it often offers metrics for normal and safe operations, such as “minimum oil level 5 quarts”.

It is OK, in fact encouraged, to be extra cautious when it comes to potential discrepancies found during the preflight inspection. If you have never flown a particular airplane before, and it is your usual slightly beat-up flight school rental, you will probably find things that give you pause. For example, that crack on the plastic wingtip that terminates in a drilled hole. A good instructor will use this as an opportunity to explain stop-gap drilling.

• READ MORE: Make the Most of the Checklist

Sometimes you will find more than one thing on an airplane that concerns you or have a question about, but you’re so focused on the inspection you may forget that you had a question. This is common. During my student days, I got into the habit of leaving the left wing tied down as a reminder to myself that I had a question for the instructor. Pretty soon my instructors were trained to recognize this symbol. Today my learners use this technique.

There may be a situation where the CFI calls a mechanic for their opinion. The first time I did this was when my learner found a nick in the propeller—a piece of sharp metal sticking up. The mechanic came out and inspected the propeller, then used a file to dress the crack and blade. It was an excellent teachable moment for both the learner and myself, and it taught the learner not to be intimidated by mechanics.

I don’t remember a single time a mechanic became cross with me for asking their opinion on something. One mechanic explained it to me by saying, “These are our airplanes too,” and they’d rather have it be a nonissue than something that creates a problem in the air.

The best flight schools are the ones where the CFIs and mechanics work as a team. This begins by respecting each other’s space and skill sets. I rather enjoyed being called upon to assist the mechanics when they have a task like swinging a compass or taking them up on a diagnostic flight. 

If the school is Part 141 only mechanics can touch the aircraft. I’ve been told that even the replacement of a screw in the cowling by someone other than a mechanic can result in sanctions from the FAA. Under Part 61, this apparently isn’t the case, but you should never borrow a tool without permission. The mechanics I know keep their toolboxes very well organized. A missing tool—or one not put back in the right place and therefore perceived as missing can make a mechanic wonder if they left it in an aircraft—is not a good thing.

I can’t borrow tools without permission. I just can’t. One of the worst punishments I received as a child was when I borrowed my father’s hand tools without permission. I was 7, and let’s just say learning took place.

One mechanic I worked with said I could borrow his tools, but he asked that I return them on top of his toolbox with a note indicating that it had been borrowed and now returned. I respected this.

It is extremely disturbing to find a tool where one is not supposed to be—on the ramp, on the runway, or in the airplane. A former colleague found an Allen wrench on the battery of Cessna 172 during a preflight inspection and, for reasons that still escape me, thought it had been put there for him to find as some sort of joke. I am still not sure why he thought it was about him, and I was horrified. I still don’t get how leaving a tool in an engine could be a joke. 

• READ MORE: Flying Checks: Private Pilots Best Practice Before Takeoff

That being said, I do use colorful plastic toy frogs on the exterior of the aircraft and in the cockpit to check a learner’s preflight inspection and start scenario dialogues. For example, a frog on the fuel selector valve might mean the placard of the valve is missing. Is the aircraft still airworthy? Learning takes place. I always collect the frogs after the inspection. 

Most often, though, the learner’s discoveries of potential issues during the preflight inspection are not serious but are quirks of the airplane. It is often a relief to learn that the dent you found along the empennage has been there for months, and it is important that the instructor validate the learner’s observation, especially when it’s tied to their use of the checklist. During the run-up, the learner observed a rough-running magneto. There was too much of a discrepancy between the magnetos, per the checklist, for a safe flight, and I admit I was proud of my learner when he stated this. That was the day he learned how to clear a bad magneto.

When You Find Damage

Sometimes learners are reluctant to report damage they find for fear they will be blamed for it and billed for repairs. I witnessed a pre-solo learner near tears when she found a wingtip light hanging by a wire. Her CFI called me over to take a look. It was obvious the wingtip had collided with something.

“There’s no way you did this,” the CFI told her. “Something hit it.”

A little bit of sleuthing revealed that the line worker pulling the aircraft to the fuel pump had misjudged the distance between the aircraft wing and fence line. The line worker said he thought he felt it drag, but then it came loose so he didn’t think anything of it.

As it was a daytime flight, the lesson took place. However, a placard was inserted and a note made on the dispatch binder advising renters that the aircraft was for daytime VFR only. The lesson for the day included how to report a squawk. At this school the form included what aircraft, who found the squawk, when, were you solo or with a CFI, phase of flight, and action taken, as in which mechanic or administrator did you notify. Sounds like a lot to do, but, as I was told, there was precedence when squawks were verbally reported to the dispatcher, who wasn’t a pilot and often didn’t understand the issue and its impact on airworthiness. The detailed squawk report addressed this.

Squawks Don’t Just Disappear

Just because something is squawked doesn’t mean it gets addressed. If it doesn’t impact airworthiness or safety of flight, it may be deferred until the next inspection. However, be wary of a school that encourages instructors and renters to fly aircraft with known squawks, such as oil leaks or flat spots on tires with cords showing. Big red flag: If the local designated pilot examiners are reluctant to fly in those aircraft, take note.

If you feel uneasy about the mechanical condition of an airplane, remember you are not being forced to fly it. That apprehension could be from a lack of experience, or you could have a valid concern. It’s always best to err on the side of caution.

The post Knowing What’s ‘Normal’ Is a Big Part of Preflight Inspections appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Sheltair and Avfuel, prominent players in the aviation industry, have announced the six recipients of their second annual Future Takes Flight Scholarships. Each recipient will receive $5,000 to advance their education and careers in business aviation.

This year’s scholarship class includes dedicated individuals from various regions, each pursuing different aspects of the aviation field—Lei Huot, Joel Mink, Justin Hernandez, Katrina Kienitz, Bailey Pollard, and Kyle Keyser. The scholarships are intended to support areas of aviation education such as primary training or obtaining advanced pilot ratings, aviation technician training, or continuing education.

The recipients also bring diverse aspirations to the aviation field. Pollard, for example, aims to inspire the next generation of women in aviation by obtaining her instrument rating and commercial certificate. 

“It is truly an honor to be awarded the Sheltair and Avfuel: Future Takes Flight Scholarship,” said Pollard in a press release. “Receiving this scholarship will allow me to continue and complete my instrument rating after putting it on hold for a few years …This opportunity is putting me one step closer to having my dream become a reality.”

Keyser is pursuing a career in aerial firefighting, with a strong desire to support those working on the ground. Huot is pursuing a degree in aviation maintenance science and seeks to work on jet aircraft, potentially maintaining military aircraft, as her grandfather did. Mink’s passion for aviation has driven him to earn FAA airframe and powerplant certifications, with the ultimate goal of becoming an aviation maintenance technician. Hernandez’s scholarship will support his aviation studies as he aspires to become a professional pilot.

This scholarship program not only provides financial assistance but also encourages and supports individuals to achieve their career goals and make valuable contributions to the aviation industry. With their diverse backgrounds and career aspirations, these recipients represent the future of business aviation.

In its second year, the Sheltair and Avfuel: Future Takes Flight Scholarship program plays a crucial role in helping aspiring aviators pursue their dreams and achieve excellence in their chosen fields. Applicants interested in the next round of scholarships will have the opportunity to apply beginning in December, with a June 1 deadline. The selection process for the 2024 scholarship recipients will involve evaluating essay submissions and giving special consideration to applicants facing financial hardship. The winners of the next scholarship class will be announced at the NBAA’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in 2024.

The post Sheltair, Avfuel Award $30K in Scholarships appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

When you are teaching a complicated subject like aviation maintenance, it helps to have good visual aids. The folks at Aviation Supplies & Academics (ASA) can assist with that by supplying slides drawn from the pages of the FAA’s Aviation Maintenance Technician Handbooks 8083-30B, 8083-31B, and 8083-32B

“The slides are categorized and labeled to make them easy to identify for the chapter and subject you want to use,” according to ASA. “The graphics can be viewed as a slideshow, or you can use individual slides in your own presentation.”

• READ MORE: What Does It Take to Become an A&P?

The slides, more than 3,000 in all, are pulled from the General, Airframe, and Powerplant FAA Handbooks covering the Aviation Maintenance Technician knowledge requirements including:

• Mathematics and physics
• Electricity
• Aircraft drawings
• Weight and balance
• Fluid lines and fittings
• Cleaning and corrosion control
• Aerodynamics
• Assembly and rigging
• Airframe systems
• Reciprocating engines
• Turbine engines
• Powerplant auxiliary systems

These are all the subjects required by Part 147 and the Aviation Mechanic Airman Certification Standards (ACS-1).

The slides are available from brick-and-mortar stores or online marketplaces for a suggested retail price of $49.95.

For more information, visit asa2fly.com

The post Eyes-On Approach Offered to Simplify Aviation Maintenance Technician Study appeared first on FLYING Magazine.