I recently added some things to the Private Pilot page. When reading the FARs, I would often find myself flipping through different sections of the book to read all the exceptions to the laws. So for that reason, I added links to all part 91 and 61 references. The links will lead you to the current regulations. I hope this will help you piece together the regulations easier.
Secondly, I broke out a few of the regulations to include checklists for private pilot logging requirements, separated for ground vs. ground and flight training. I included a field for you to put the dates logged in the student’s logbook. This will hopefully give you an idea what you still need to train on and log.
Hopefully that is helpful for you! Keep the blue side up!
P.S. I stumbled on some of Steve-o’s YouTube videos. Check it out if you get a chance.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Engine Systems
Sometimes it’s difficult to explain airplane systems because you can’t usually see the moving parts of an engine. Today, I stumbled across a site that shows how car engines and systems work. Though, some of the systems in airplanes are different (air cooled, for instance), many of the concepts and designs are the same. Without further explanation, this site might help clarify some things. Hopefully you can learn something you didn’t know!
And while I’m at it, here is how a jet engine works.
Mobile Optimized
I hope you like the new design. Sorry about the down time, but mobile menus are working again! The idea is that if you need a lesson plan when you’re not at your desk or in your hangar, or care to study up on some things, you can pick up your phone and review concepts or procedures on your phone or tablet. You can also show your students the pictures on your tablet right in your lesson plan! That’s one of the primary reasons for making this website.
I was in an instructor check ride once and I was explaining a system of the airplane. Instead of printing a lot of pages or flipping through a book with a million tabs, I opened my phone and zoomed into a picture file I had on dropbox. It didn’t zoom very well and was frustrating to me. Alas, the website was born! The only thing I haven’t figured out completely is how to get a mobile browser to cache the site so it doesn’t need an internet connection. If you have ideas how to do this, be sure to let me know! I imagine it may require an extra browser plugin of sorts.
Also, if you see any pages that need updates or would like improvements, please drop me a note on the contact page, or comment to this post. I’m working on adding pictures to the pages that are mobile friendly. Thanks for all your support!
Cross Country to Wendover
One of the most fun things about flying is taking a cross country trip to somewhere unfamiliar. This is a night trip we took to Wendover in a 172. Flying directly west right at sunset is not usually a good idea, but we took some comfort in being with flight following there and back. Flying around an international airport is also fun. It makes you want to have more than just your normal charts (like a Terminal Area Chart (TAC) and approach procedures), but if you simply tell them that you are unfamiliar, they can ‘suggest a heading’. Different from an instrument flight plan where they assign a heading, their suggestions are sort of like a progressive taxi for the air. If you don’t fly these transitions very often, I would prefer both. If you don’t know the details of the charts (or haven’t read them before they’re assigned), then ‘unfamiliar’ would be the safest bet, even if they are right there in front of you.