Flight instruction

Want to fix flight training? Have some fun.

The flight training system in this country is broken. That's what a variety of sources tell us, from a detailed AOPA study to the experts at your local hangar flying session. What’s the solution? Unfortunately, it’s both easy and difficult.
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

11 things you must do with your pilot’s license

You worked hard, paid a lot of money and earned your pilot's license. Now what do you do? It's a question that comes up more often than most pilots care to admit. Let me suggest 10 things that every pilot should do before they die. Call it a bucket list if you want, but I consider it a flight plan.
Flight track of Texas plane track

John’s blog: holiday accidents have a lesson

We are all salesmen to a certain extent when we fly with family. We want to prove that all the money and time we spend on airplanes is worth it, and brings value to the entire family. But you only have to be wrong once, and the airplane doesn't care if this trip really counts, and it doesn't care if your family is on board.
Flight Risk Assessment Tool

John’s blog: risk management is a sham

Risk Management in its current form is a sham, a feel-good phrase that is popular precisely because its meaning is so elastic. Just like “I want better schools” and “I support a strong America,” everyone is in favor of it until it comes time to define what it actually means and how to do it.

John’s blog: where have you gone, piston twin?

The piston twin became a victim of our culture's relentless pursuit of efficiency. The second engine, just like elevator operators and flight engineers, didn't provide the necessary return on investment. But I think the piston twin is worth mourning, because for all the practicality of a high performance single, something is missing with the new generation of transportation machines.

John’s blog: does anyone understand NextGen?

Have you heard about NextGen? It's the FAA's plan for a Next Generation Air Transportation System, and it's going to save pilots money, protect the environment, improve safety and generally solve all the world's problems. There's just one problem with this rosy forecast--no one has any idea what NextGen means.

The truth about the iPad

You can’t read a story about general aviation these days without being confronted with Apple’s world-beating tablet computer. Some pilots are skeptical that the iPad really changes anything. Most gush about it and how flying will never be the same. What’s the real story? And what is it really good for?
Los Angeles Flight Watch

John’s blog: who needs Flight Service?

A relatively new instrument pilot asked me recently how to open a flight plan via Flight Service. After stammering for a moment, it hit me: I haven't called Flight Service in over 5 years.