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I was on the return leg of a two-day trip to Texas last month on a late Tuesday evening. I had spent the entire week prior attending an industry conference in Florida. I’ll confess that like a lot of people, I don’t sleep well while traveling. The combination of a foreign environment, stress of the […]
None of us are perfect. I’m probably less perfect than most, but by the grace of God, good training and procedures, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience the joy of flight for more than a decade. Along the way, there have been many bumps in the road. A very smart instructor once told me, “You […]
I’ve never liked the pre-flight inspection. It’s like the salad course before a steak dinner–sure, it’s good for you, but all it does is prevent you from getting to the good stuff. But if I could give some advice, it would be short and sweet: “Get over it.”
Incorporated into every pilot certificate is the Practical Test Standards (PTS) mandated Soft Field Takeoff and Landing. Unfortunately, for many students, this simple PTS item can often be the source of apprehension and stress during their training and checkride. Most of this training anxiety is generally based in the unknown or unfamiliar procedure of actually […]
“Are you ready?” asked my instructor, “Because once we start that engine we will be in constant motion until we are back on the ramp.” But he didn’t mean a traditional FBO ramp. No, we were launching from a boat ramp on the Ohio River from Mac’s Seaplane Service in Rising Sun, Indiana. Is getting […]
Here at Sporty’s Academy, we love to celebrate the achievements of our students. One of our biggest celebrations comes when a student successfully completes his or her first solo. We really think that this is a big deal and we want the student to understand this as well!
It has been many years since my first solo in an airplane. In fact, I’ll be celebrating the 30th anniversary of that event in a couple of years. Even with the intervening years, I can still remember my takeoff from Runway 29 at the Flagler County Airport in Florida. I don’t really remember the landing but I remember the takeoff. I looked out the side window after liftoff, watched the left main spin to a stop, and thought to myself, “Well, now you have to land it!”
Today, pilots are using tablets to assist with just about every aspect of flying. These devices can help you plan cross-country flights, provide preflight weather briefings, display electronic sectional charts, show GPS moving maps and much, much more. Even with these advances in mobile computing technology, there’s a good chance your flight instructor will still […]
We all set goals as pilots, whether it’s completing the first solo, earning a private pilot certificate or simply getting current again. There’s nothing wrong with that (in fact, I think it’s part of what makes flying so rewarding), but we need to be careful that the destination doesn’t overshadow the journey.
All too often during the course of training students will experience some difficulties with their instructor. These difficulties can range from something as simple as having a rough communication day between instructor and student, or they can be far more menacing such as a fundamental difference in personalities or learning styles. Students who come to […]
Mother, Mother Ocean I have heard your call. Wanted to sail upon your waters Since I was three feet tall. These words were penned by Jimmy Buffett 40 years ago in a song entitled “A Pirate Looks at 40” telling how a young boy longed for a life on the sea. I grew up […]
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