Articles by John E. McLain
Prior to his retirement as a career flight instructor, John McLain accrued over 18,000 flight hours of which more than 13,000 were dual given. He has conducted over 4000 flight tests in his twenty-five years as a designated pilot examiner. These articles first appeared in The Southern Aviator and are reprinted with John's permission.
I came back recently from Myrtle Beach, S.C., to Raleigh Durham, N.C., in a Cessna 150 with a single nav/com radio, in solid instrument conditions, and terminating in a 600-1 VOR approach.
Back in the early days of my flying career, IFR flights were regularly flown with one nav/com radio. The addition of a second nav/com, [...]
I have been a instructor for more than 40 years, and a pilot examiner for 26. In these two positions, I have seen students and pilots with a wide range of abilities, education and experience. I can honestly say that I have only encountered one person who I truly believed could not learn to fly. [...]
This year is my 45th year as a pilot. In that time, I have benefited greatly from the advice and guidance of many experienced pilots. Recently I unpacked all of my old log books and went through them, enjoying the memories of my career and the reminder of some memorable flights. The most enjoyable part [...]
Over the past year or so while conducting flight tests and recurrent training, I’ve noticed an alarming trend: the almost total dependence on advanced navigation systems such as GPS, flight data systems, and the so-called glass cockpits.
While these are modern electronic marvels and add much to the field of navigation, they also present opportunities for [...]
