Foul-Mouth Follies

Is it always wrong to use strong language with a student? I think it depends. Some instructors, like my first, just seem to have…

Best Glide? Says Who?

I was in a pilot briefing room one dark grey day, getting the weather from the WSI station when I overheard the following conversation…

Skid Row

An airplane is said to be cross-controlled when the ailerons are held one way and the rudder is held opposite; for example, turn the…

Ice Is Not Nice

Having flown many thousands of hours in the clouds of the Northeast, I used to believe that I had all the answers in dealing…

K-12: Sim Magic

In many years of teaching and working with kids and families, I have yet to meet anyone who, at some point in their lives,…

The Pilots We Want to Be

I was talking with another pilot regarding the general state of airmanship in the piloting profession. It brought to mind the distinction between the…

Partners in Crime

Thinking back on your life, you can probably list a number of things that you learned to do alone – that is one-on-one with…

Adaptability: For Every Season

Pilots operate in a highly dynamic environment where everything influences everything else. The interactions are sometimes subtle; other times, quite dramatic. While the environment…

Training Trauma in a Twin

Back in June of 1999, I had an instrument student by the name of Armand. He was not only a student, but we had…

Higher Education

Traditional flight training from an independent flight school or large organization, such as FlightSafety International, is one route to collecting pilot ratings. But for…