Tami, a student pilot in Arizona, writes: I’m in an accelerated flight training program to become an airline pilot. The entire thing is supposed to take a year. I’m only a couple of months in and I’m already starting to burnout. There’s just so much to read, so many videos to watch, so many things to memorize — and for most of it I’m pretty much on my own. Do you have any advice on how I should organize what I’m doing and how can I avoid burnout?
Human Factors: Cool as a cucumber
In his well-written and detailed accounting of the accident to the NTSB, it’s clear the pilot was still completely stumped about what caused his engine issues. Carb ice simply doesn’t enter his mind as a possibility.
Questions from the Cockpit: Where’s the end of the TFR rainbow?
Henry, a private pilot in Pennsylvania, writes: So with the election coming up, it seems like TFRs are popping up like mushrooms. Those VIP ones are BIG. But here’s my question: I know if you have a TFR over your airport, and you are a GA pilot, you are pretty much grounded — but what about taxiways? Are the movement areas and ground operations also affected by the TFR?
Human Factors: An unhealthy tango for two
We have a less than ideal airport layout with intersecting runways, view-limiting terrain, and published data ignored by the locals. Why, yes, that does seem like a good recipe for an accident, doesn’t it?
Questions from the Cockpit: U know it now
Elijia, a student pilot in Florida, writes: I’m confused about how private airports are shown on sectional charts. Most of them just show a circle with the letter R inside — why not the more logical P for private? And others have the more standard symbol, but then after the name of the airport it says (Pvt).
Human Factors: Fuel factors
At the accident site, an Amazon warehouse parking lot in Akron, Ohio, investigators found no fuel in the 1973 Cessna 172M’s tanks, lines, or carburetor bowl — and only trace amounts in the fuel filter.
Questions from the Cockpit: Sailplane vs. glider
Kenny, a flight instructor in Florida, asks: What’s the difference between a sailplane and a glider?
Human Factors: A competitive environment
What can we learn from a fatal crash at a STOL competition?
Seeing double
When most pilots hear “twins,” they can be forgiven for thinking of airplanes with two engines. But in this case, the twins are pilots: 17-year-old identical twins Sophia and Scarlette McIntyre, students at Albuquerque Aviation Academy, who earned their private pilot certificates before graduating from high school.