Craig Stringham asked:


When I was a young child and would hear an airplane fly overhead, I would look up and wonder how it would be, being at the helm of that flying ship. I would imagine how it would feel to have the freedom of going to far off places with that view from far above the world.

I can tell you this if you have ever wondered the same thing; it is an awesome responsibility to have and enjoy. There is some amount of risk involved with flight. With good training and planning of each flight, that risk is decreased dramatically. Most aircraft accidents ARE the case of pilot error or the lack of planning ahead.
The most important item to consider for safe flight is the weather. It is the #1 cause of an aircraft’s ability to loose either lift or the pilot losing visual references, hence the big bang. I don’t want to scare you about maybe becoming a pilot here. With good planning and the use of all of the weather related data and pilot weather briefings the risk of flying into danger can be taken completely out of the equation. There is a rule that I use and it goes like this: A takeoff is NOT mandatory, but a landing IS. You see-What goes up must come down. (GRAVITY CAUSES THIS PHENOMENON) A pessimistic statement would go like this-THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GRAVITY-THE WHOLE WORLD *****. What a way to view life huh?

I would like to say this though. Flying small general aviation aircraft has been one of the most exhilarating experiences that I have ever enjoyed. A pilot becomes so focused on the job at hand and the beauty from high above , that he tends to loose all other distractions in life during the flight. He becomes unable to focus on the problems at work or the broken garage door that needs repaired. Because of the intense focus that must be maintained to keep that tin can with an engine in flight, everything else seems to fade away. That is the beauty of being a pilot. It really is serenity at the core and peace of mind at the time. TOTAL MIND RELAXATION FOR A WHILE

Smooth takeoffs and some greased landings are the bomb too, resulting in some very complimentary remarks from your passengers. Any pilot can have this result: It just takes practice and an inner desire to make each takeoff and landing better than the one before by focusing on your skills and making a conscious effort to reduce your tolerances during each maneuver to become a more precise pilot, and a pilot with PRIDE.



RENE

AssociatedPress asked:

Federal officials have released the audio of the conversation the pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 had with air traffic controllers as his plane lost power and he had to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River. (Feb. 5)

DENNY

Peter Bankss asked:


Air Pressure

Air pressure is a very important part of flying. In general, a pilot will want to fly in ‘stable’ air conditions which often occur in cooler temperatures of high pressure such as cumulus clouds and avoid low pressure areas of higher temperatures and instability. Of course, these temperatures are relative. For example, if an area of 90° F is surrounded by a cooler belt of 85° F, you will want to fly in the cooler belt of 85° F.
Fronts and Air Masses

There are two kinds of air masses, tropical and polar air masses, depending upon their location. When the air mass moves over water, it is deemed maritime and when it moves over land, it is called continental. The last part of naming air

masses is cold or warm depending on the air current temperature. For example, you may encounter a “polar maritime cold air mass” or a “tropical continental warm air mass.”

The route that an air mass travels is very important because it will affect the air mass. An air mass that travels over water picks up more moisture than one going over land.

When an air mass is traveling, it encounters other air in its line of travel. The boundary line between both is called a front. A cold front is the boundary line between the cooler air mass and the warmer air that it is overtaking. Fastmoving, a cold front is generally smooth, clean, heavy, and stable, creating good visibility and clear flight conditions. As they move quickly, they can cause violent weather. Squall lines are long lines of thunderstorms created along the frontal zone.

A warm front is the boundary line between the warmer air mass and the cool air that it is overtaking. Slow-moving, warm fronts are more spread out and harder to see. They generally result in slow worsening of good weather conditions, including poor visibility and precipitation.

A stationery front occurs when a warm front really slows down and stops. This causes misty weather, poor flight visibility. The weather is not violent and rarely turbulent.

The Weather Decision

Now that you know all the various factors that will affect your weather, you will be better prepared to handle your flight weather. Weather hazards are primarily winds and turbulence, reduced ceilings and poor visibility, and airframe icing.

Avoid these conditions and you will fly safely. Every pilot must accurately learn how to gauge these conditions.

Some things about weather still cannot be predicted. They are:

Time that freezing rain occurs

Location and occurrence of severe turbulence

Location and occurrence of icing

Ceiling of 100 feet or less before that they occur

Thunderstorms before they

start to form

Fog

Hurricane movement more

than 24 hours in advance



Realizing that even the best weather  forecaster cannot accurately predict these above conditions, it is good to be cautious when flying. Here are some general rules of thumb to follow:

• A forecast of good flying weather is generally applicable for 24 hours (this means a ceiling of 3,000 feet or more and visibility of 5 miles or more)

• A forecast of poor flying weather is generally applicable for 3-4 hours (this means a ceiling of 1,500 feet or less and visibility of 3 miles or less)

• Ceiling and visibility forecasts are suspect after the first 2-3 hour forecast, especially if changes are indicated during the forecast.



BRIAN

Patrick asked:


Please tell me how much the average airline pilot makes. Also what is some pros and cons about being an airline pilot. Lastly please tell me some advice.

FREDDIE

Ron Hel-Or asked:


We all heard of the obesity problem in North America as well as the rest of the world. If you’ve been suffering from this problem, don’t despair. Help can come from an unexpected place – your very own PDA, such as your palm pilot, your iPAQ, your Treo, or what every pocket pc you’re using right now.

While struggling with your diet, weight watchers on the palm pilot can be a big help. PDA software allows the dieter to access the points on their weight watcher accounts and to keep an up to date count of all their calories and food intake for the day. Weight watchers on the palm pilot can make the pda much more than just an organizer. It can transform your pocket pc into a very useful diet accessory.

To use weight watchers on the palm pilot, you enter your daily food intake into the special software to keep track of your diet. The palm pilot information can help you control your diet and keep track of your eating. As any dieter will tell you, knowing what you are eating is the first step in controlling both your portions and your eating.

You may not have thought of a palm pilot as a diet accessory, but weight watchers and other diet software means that your digital assistant can help you lose the weight you’ve been struggling with. Just think about it – your PDA is with you at all times, especially when you’re out side – where the temptation is big. Why not use the easy access to it to manage your diet, calories intake, etc? The first thing about diet is to keep track of what you eat, and your PDA is perfect for it. This is only one of the many things that make a pda a must have item, but it can prove to be among the most beneficial ones.

Here’s an example of how your day can look like if you put your trusted PDA into work when it comes to your diet:

You wake up in the morning, and when you go on to have breakfast, you just punch into your Weight Watchers on Palm Pilot software the exact foods you ate at your breakfast. The software instantly calculates the point/calories and you know what your balance is. You than go to work and start your day at your job. When lunch time comes, you head out to eat with your co-workers. This time you also remember to take your PDA with you as you want to put all your meal ingredients into account. The very act of documenting what you eat makes you more vigilant about what you take into your plate and then into your stomach. You write everything into your Palm, and the calorie balance is updated. You can see exactly how much you’re already took in and how much is left to the remains of the day.

You finish your working day and head home. It’s time for dinner, and you won’t fail into eating too much because you have everything on record and you know how much you can eat for today.

In addition to keeping track of your daily food intake, the dieter can take advantage of the computing ability of their palm pilot to track such things as their weekly weight and their weekly measurements. You can even use your palm pilot to browse the internet and select all those great new clothes you plan to buy once you achieve your goal weight.



CHUCK

Spencer Baselice asked:


A pilot’s wedding is a great event. The pilot and his or her bride or groom are always eager to celebrate.  If you are planning one yourself you are probably no different. So, how do you go about getting the right decorations, gifts and favors?

The first step is to choose the right aviation wedding decorations. These could include pilot hats, airplane wings or any other aviation themed designs.  You could even buy a few model airplanes to hang in the reception hall.

The next step is to select the best airplane wedding favors to properly thank your guests for coming.

One idea is an airplane keychain. You can put these into a favor bag, or set one at each table. They are unique and guests really like them.  These keychains feature an airplane usually in silver. They are great because both kids and adults like them.

Another great idea are airplane luggage tag favors.  There are hundreds of styles to choose from and they are very inexpensive. These are fun and practical favors that everyone will enjoy.

Another idea is to get really creative and use things related to a pilot’s job. Why not create a centerpiece that looks like a luggage carousel? You can pile up some old suitcases and use rubber matting for the conveyor belt.

There’s no reason to ride away in a limousine either. How about taking a converted luggae cart to the airport? Or, mounting a set of cardboard wings onto your getaway car?

There is really no limit to what you can do for your aviation wedding. Just think about how you want to decorate and you’ll have plenty of ideas come to mind.



ARRON

Anonymous asked:


Hello,
I want to know if it is possible to become an apprentice pilot for a major airline. I love to fly, but i dont think i will have the required enter score to become a pilot through schooling.

WILBERT

Airfreddy asked:


Your Pre- Solo Training is the first Part of your Private Pilot License Training. In order for you to solo you have to be instructed and be found ” COMPETENT” in the areas listed in the Student Pilot Regulations of the FAA. I Have them listed in the Private Pilot License Requirements in my other articles.

Now there are 15 Aeronautical Experience areas that need to be covered and you need to be proficient at them. I am finding two different types of students have two different ideas about soloing.

The Younger Student: The younger students want to get soloed as fast as possible.

The Older Students: I have a lot of students who are my age or older. These students are going after their life long dream but are now in the phase of their life were they don’t want to do anything stupid. In these cases the student doesn’t really care about soloing. So I move them ahead and go through the cross country phase. I have had many older students that get to about 30 hours, I have completed almost everything with them and finally say, ” It is time to get out there on your own” At this time they go do all of their solo time. Then we come back and finish up with the flight test preparation.

In Either case if the student is not ready to solo I move them forward.

For the purpose of this article I just add up the cost for you to get up to that phase of your training. If you are not ready to solo I just move on to the Post Solo Requirements.

If you take a look at the requirements you can see that there are 15 areas that you have to be instructed in and it has to be logged in your logbook with an instructors signature. I always tell students not to focus on the solo. You want to focus on being a safe pilot and getting your Private Pilot License done on schedule and on a budget.

Now in my syllabus I have 13 Flights to cover these areas with the addition of a Spin Entries Lesson and a Review Flight. In know that spin entries are not required but years back I had a student get himself into a spin. Since then I try and show every student spin entries and recoveries.

All of this training adds up to about 17 hours and 3-5 hours of ground instruction. Now you have to remember that is me. If you have a good dedicated instructor, you should be somewhere close to this. If you are at a school that is going through flight instructors left and right, you can expect having different instructors. This turns out to be more money. Once again the reason I tell people to plan things out ahead of time.

I will use an aircraft rate of $120 Per hour For a C-172 and $45 for the Instructor Since that is what I charge. You will find many different rates in different areas of the countries so just use my numbers as a guide for you. I have put 1.5 hours of solo time in here since your first and second solo should be close to this. If you are not ready to solo you will pick it up later on.

17 Hours Dual Instruction @ $165 Per Hour

1.5 Hours Solo @ $120.00 Per Hour

5 Hours Ground Instruction @ $45 Per hour ( Flight Instructor )

Total Dual Instruction $2805.00

Total Solo Time $180.00

Total Ground Instruction $225.00

TOTAL $3210.00

Now you want to remember this should be close with a dedicated flight instructor and flying on a regular basis. I would suggest 4 lessons per week. If you are not ready to solo, you should ask your instructor to move you forward. Most people have problems with landings so there is no reason not to move forward with the rest of the requirements because each flight you have to land. You will get the lightbulb to come on soon or later. Many times you will find that if you stop focusing on just landings you will start to get them nice and smooth.

One other thing you want to remember is you are not the only person in the world who has problems in certain areas. Most students in general have the same problems and usually it is landings. Don’t let it bother you, you have been driving a car all your life and it takes a very long time to break the habits.

Soloing is a great milestone but you want to remember that your main goal is to be a safe and confident pilot. I always ask students, would you rather solo in 10 hours or would you rather be prepared to handle any emergency that came up. You are dealing with a machine and sometimes no matter how well maintained they are, they are going to break.

Your goal is to “FLY THE PLANE” and handle the emergency so you can make it to happy hour.

Hope to see you in the sky

Airfreddy



GILBERT

Eevie Weevie asked:


Hello. I have a serious questions for all pilots out there. Why did you want to become a pilot? Thank you in advanced for answering my question.

RANDOLPH

Jack Stanley asked:


Is it your first time to take the pilot’s seat and fly your own plane? If so, make sure that you buy the following supplies to ensure your safety during the flight.

Pilot Supplies You Need to Buy

Bags - There are several types of bags that you may need depending on the duration of the flight. A headset bag is a must to protect your headset from damage when not in use. Buy a heavy duty flight case to keep important flight documents, charts, and maps safe in any situation. If you’ve got a laptop with you, make sure you place it in an appropriate case. As for the rest of your things, choose a flight bag that has dual-styled handles (shoulder and hand straps), the right size, and made of durable weatherproof material.

Fuel Testers and Gauges - This is one of the most important pilot supplies to purchase. Fuel testers and gauges let you know if something’s wrong with your fuel. When shopping for fuel testers and gauges, it’s best to buy more than one. Besides the usual tester and gauge, consider buying a fuel testing cup and one with a screwdriver as well so you can easily unscrew the lock for testing.

Light It Up - A pilot must always be prepared to face the worst case scenario, and that’s crashing. But he must always be optimistic as well, by thinking he’ll survive the crash. When he does, having light is important. When shopping for supplies, always look for dual purpose items that give you light such as 2-in-1 flashlight pens. Buy a flashlight set that’s specifically made for pilots as well. And don’t forget to have a handy supply of light sticks!

Kneeboards - When shopping for kneeboards, you’ll usually need - and have space - only for one so make sure you choose wisely. Your kneeboard must contain information regarding all 24-hour time zones, flight plan sequences, tower light signals, and other important flight information. Make sure it’s the appropriate size and will fit snugly in your cockpit and made from durable material like aluminum.

Flight Plotters - Buy a couple of these to ensure that you’ve accurately mapped out your flight and that you can use it for all types of measurements. Buy a foldable flight plotter as well if you’re lacking in space.

Safety Supplies - Lastly, pilot supplies should always include things you can use to give you additional safety or protection like a carbon monoxide detector, life vest, a medical kit, and a voltage meter among other things.

Have fun flying!



TRISTAN