Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow them to soar magnificently through it.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips. Remember... when it comes to being good pilots, we're all in this together.

Aero-Tips 01.15.06

Pilots are achievers. We’re energized when we strive for a goal. So what happens when we reach our target? How can we remain enthused and active as pilots?

In my first CFI job I noticed newly minted Private Pilots often took friends flying often for a few weeks, but then many would drift away from the airport. Without a new, clear goal in mind, they lacked focus and interest waned.

Post-Graduate Flying

Not everyone wants to pursue advanced ratings or certificates -- look at the apparent interest in Sport Pilot. Back in my early CFI days I recognized this, and came up with Post-Graduate Flying, a menu of short instructional programs to improve safety and build on skills honed to (at least minimum) standards for the Private checkride—and to give new Private pilots a goal.

A Post-Graduate Flying selection might include:

• Class B operations. Spend time reviewing Class B procedures, then fly to Class B primary and satellite airports, emphasizing navigation and radio procedure.
• Night flight. Review regulations and put together a night-flying kit. Discuss dark-night flight, lost-horizon night flight over water or sparsely populated areas, and “black hole” airports. Talk about pilot-controlled lighting, part-time control towers, and after-hours fuel considerations. Fly some night cross-countries.
• Low-altitude navigation. Cover regulations, preflight planning, reading the sectional chart, and memory items of the airplane’s emergency checklists--problems at these altitudes leave little time to act. Then fly, practicing finger-on-the-sectional navigation (for the day the GPS quits), unusual visual cues at low altitude, difficulty in seeing towers even on clear days, and the challenge in finding an airport from low altitude. Review the need to avoid populated areas and keep a constant lookout for emergency landing zones. The goal is to convince a pilot of the hazards of scud-running before he/she ventures out alone on a bad day.
• Emergency IFR. Enhanced study and practice of instrument flight procedures, including how to fly an ILS and, if equipped, use of an autopilot. The goal is to develop skills to use in a dire emergency, although it is also a good lead-in to the instrument rating.
• Commercial maneuvers. Similarly, discussion and practice of the so-called commercial flight maneuvers is a great way to build on Private pilot skills, and may serve as encouragement to continue training.

Aero-Tip of the day: Pilots need a goal. Post-Graduate Flying is a good way for pilots to remain enthused about aviation, and for instructors to encourage continued refinement of Private pilot skills.

FMI: Aero-Tips