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 [...]

The toughest flight test by any standards is the Private Pilot Flight Test. This starts from square one. The applicant is not assumed to have demonstrated any aviation knowledge or skill beforehand. Through oral and in-flight testing, he or she must demonstrate all aspects of aviation from aerodynamics through in-flight performance of maneuvers to prove [...]

A recent letter to the editor raised the question of Pilot in Command (PIC) and whether a safety pilot could log PIC time. This is one of those “can of worms” questions.
In my opinion, the FAA lawyers who prepared the final wording of the regulation have gone out of their way to be confusing in [...]

It has been my pleasure in the past few months to administer instructor renewal flight tests to three gentlemen, each of whom has been instructing for more than 50 years. My 39 years of instructing pale in comparison.
What interested me most were the comments that each made regarding the changes he had seen over the [...]