How did a fatal mid-air collision happen? The answer to that question is not casual query. In a very real sense, our lives depend on finding the likely answer and including that knowledge in our future flying.
Six tips to becoming a good CFI
Anyone who is a CFI or wishes to become a CFI should take these few tips as the bare minimum commitment on their journey to becoming a truly effective, efficient, professional CFI.
Success is a team sport
It takes a team to get things done. It may take years, but big things can happen if you try, and try, and try again.
There’s an acronym for that
Aviation is awash in acronyms and abbreviations. Thankfully so. To spell out the entire word, term, or phrase the acronym or abbreviation symbolizes would be unwieldy. But some pilots, and even CFIs, think we use too many acronyms.
Baby, it’s cold outside
In aviation, things are absolutely, without a doubt, getting cleaner, quieter, and more efficient.
Old dog, new trick
My new role with the AOPA Foundation is once again something audacious, something that has never been done on a large scale. I now hold the title of High School Aero Club Liaison, which gives me the freedom to work with kids, parents, teachers, administrators, airport administrators, and community leaders from coast to coast to help them create aero clubs where kids can get into aviation in a meaningful way.
When the paperwork equals the weight of the aircraft
Here’s the good news. The FAA has extended the life of aircraft registrations to seven years, more than double the previous term of three years. Here’s the not so good news. There is no requirement for the FAA to mail out new documentation that actually shows those extended expiration dates.
Elite and specialized
Within the ranks of pilots that span a wide spectrum from student to Airline Transport Pilot with so many stops in between, there is an enormous amount of specialization. So much so that the word “pilot” becomes little more than a broad category that suggests an industry more than it explains what a given individual does.
Be a gateway to the future, not a barrier
If your reason for getting into an aviation organization of any type is rooted in the desire to keep others out, I’m pretty sure you’re doing life wrong.