“Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.”

Ruth E. Renkel

Father’s Day – June 17^th

A day to say thank you to our special men in our lives.

Give Dad, Grandpa or another special man in your life the thrill of a flying lesson as a Father’s Day gift. Whether your Dad, or that special man in your life has always dreamed of flying or is already a licensed pilot, Freeflight Flight is ready to help you give him a one-of-a-kind Father’s Day experience. For additional information, please contact us HERE.

Flying West to East

Brian Robbins, on our Freeflight Aviation’s flight instructor and the father of two children, had the opportunity to ferry a Cessna 210 back from the west coast. Here are a few photographs taken during his flight back home to New Jersey.

The Hoover Dam while communicating with Las Vegas Approach

The Grand Canyon – Zuni Corridor heading North

Monument Valley

Mojave Desert

Brian with his oxygen at high altitude.

“There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.”
― Bram Stoker, Dracula    

The Enigma of Aircraft Lights

Gene Wentzel, ATP, CFII

It is 12 noon, the 25 hour student pilot and I have just cleared the runway and they are completing the after landing checklist. They are at the part that says, “Lights ……As Required”.

I know what’s coming…I see them read it…they hesitate…I see the cognitive wheels revolving as they noodle through this seemingly innocuous declaration. They bring their tentative finger slowly over to the landing light switch; it hovers over the control for what seems an eternity. It’s almost as if they feel making the wrong choice will advance the Hobbs meter by 0.5. They next look at me confused and inquire, “Should I turn the landing light off?”

I always give them the answer and provide a rationale for why they should be turned off or left on. They will be even more confused if strobes are involved. The cruise checklist (which, by the way, doesn’t even mention strobes) simply states, “Landing and Taxi Lights…..Off” and will cause the student to reach over and reflexively turn off both the landing light and the strobes!

I reviewed this issue with another flight instructor. I asked him if he has the same situation come up, and if so, what he does about it. He explained, “I just ask them to answer 2 questions:

1. Do you need the lights to see?
2. Or
3. Do you need the lights to be seen?”

These are easy and logical questions and I have been utilizing this approach when training my students, but with varying results. Therefore, let’s go over how we should utilize the lighting systems of our aircraft and why.

Aircraft certificated with an electrical system and have installed lighting systems typically include all or some the following:

• Position lights (aka navigation or nav lights)
• Primary Anti-collision light (usually the beacon)
• Landing / Taxi lights
• Strobes (usually supplementary anti-collision lighting)

Some of these lights and their use are regulated by the FAA; others systems are operated by either common sense or personal preference. Ok, let’s get started…

1. Position lights: these are required by regulation to be used while operating on the ground or in the air after sunset and left on until engine shutdown or up to sunrise. Therefore, during the day they are OFF.
2. Primary Anti-collision light, such as the beacon, are required to be used during all types of operations (day or night). If the master switch is on, so is the beacon. Closer to the truth, the beacon light switch is ON, period! End of story! Barring a small beacon electrical fire, DON’T TOUCH IT! Personally, the beacon shouldn’t even have a switch; it should only have a circuit breaker that can be pulled, but I digress.
3. Landing / Taxi lights: This is where there is some confusion and personal preference.
   1. First, if an aircraft has both a landing and taxi light, consider them one light and one switch. They are either both on or they are both off. There is rarely a need to have one on and the other off.
   2. My advice is that EVERY take-off and EVERY landing has both landing and taxi lights on (day or night). At night we need them TO SEE and TO BE SEEN and during the day we need them TO BE SEEN.
   3. After landing, if it is daytime, turn them off. We don’t need them TO SEE and we don’t need them TO BE SEEN.
   4. After landing, if it is nighttime, leave them on. We need them TO SEE and we need them TO BE SEEN. Turn them off ONLY if they might cause a distraction to another pilot, especially if they are taking-off or landing.
   5. There is a regulation to have a landing light, but that is only for aircraft utilized at night for commercial operations.
   6. In cruise flight there is some personal preference that can be afforded.
      1. Some pilots always turn them off and others leave them on.
      2. There is a recommendation from the FAA to leave landing lights on below 10,000 feet, but this does not appear to be universally adopted or practiced in general aviation.
      3. Since the advent of LED lighting many pilots choose to just leave them on (day or night). These lights use less power, produces less heat, provides more light, and they last for 10’s of thousands of hours, so the attitude is, “What the heck, just leave them on TO BE SEEN.”
4. Strobes:
   1. Strobes are another form of anti-collision light and usually supplementary to a beacon.
   2. They should be turned on prior to entering a runway for any reason and left on until completely clear of a runway TO BE SEEN, day or night.
   3. They should be turned on prior to take-off TO BE SEEN.
   4. They should be left on in cruise flight TO BE SEEN…
      1. …but, they should be turned off in flight if determined by the PIC that they constitute a hazard to safety due to adverse meteorological conditions. (14 CFR Section 91.209).
   5. They should be turned off after landing and clear of the runway so not to distract other pilots or ground personnel.

I hope this helps illuminate the uses of aircraft lighting in the different phases of ground and air operations. If you have any questions, discuss it with any flight instructor.

Gene Wentzel, ATP, CFII

Private Private Ground School by Bob McCabe

Start Date will be April 14th at 6 PM

There may be one or two spots open, but space is now limited.

IF still interested, please on contact us HERE!

Instrument Ground School by Bob McCabe

Wednesday Evenings for 14 Weeks
Date to be determined when we get enough students.

Class Location:

Freeflight Aviation
Flying W Airport
60 Fostertown Rd
Medford, NJ 08055

Price: $339 for the complete course or $40 per session…
(Textbooks and pilot supplies sold separately)
• Comprehensive ground school covering all aeronautical knowledge required for the Instrument Pilot Rating
• At course completion, students who pass a sample test will receive an endorsement to take the FAA Knowledge Test. (Unlimited number of practice tests).
• Experienced pilots may attend the sessions of their choice as an excellent refresher. • Rusty pilots will find this training a great way to get back in the game.
• To enroll or request additional information, contact the instructor Bob McCabe at 856912-5329 or Freeflight Aviation at 609-265-0399. Or Send us an Email from our contact page.
• Please provide Proof of Citizenship (current passport or birth certificate with raised seal) to Freeflight Aviation prior to attending classes.

About the Instructor:
Bob McCabe is a certificated flight instructor, advanced ground instructor and instrument flight and ground instructor with more than 3600 hours flight time and 25 years of teaching experience. He is a former flight school owner, corporate instructor, and adjunct college professor. He holds the rank of Colonel in the Civil Air Patrol and has served as New Jersey Wing Commander, mission pilot, instructor pilot, check pilot and cadet orientation pilot. Bob is a volunteer FAA Safety Counselor for the Philadelphia Flight Standards District and has presented seminars on a wide range of safety related topics. He is a nationally recognized public speaker and author. In 2014, Bob received the General Aviation Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year Award representing the FAA’s Eastern Region. In 2015, he received the General Aviation Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year Award representing the Philadelphia Flight Standards District.

Comments from former students:
“Best explanation of aerodynamics I’ve ever had”

“Great experience! Helped me build confidence” “Exceeded my expectations”

“The open exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience of someone who’s been there were a great benefit”

“After many, many years of classroom and practical instruction I can state unequivocally that Bob McCabe is the best teacher I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing I had ground school training from Bob which was clear, concise, entertaining and informative. Absolutely the BEST!”

Job Offering For a Certificated Flight Instructor

We are a part 61 flight school and flying club based at the Flying W Airport in Medford, NJ We are a privately owned business providing flight instruction, aircraft rental, pilot shop sales, aircraft maintenance and repair services. We offer a friendly, relax atmosphere at a non-controlled field and an airport with some great activity. Our flight instructor staff have a variety of experiences, work well together, and share their knowledge and passion of aviation with each other, including their students.

CFI Requirements

Minimum of a CFI Certificate, CFII preferred.

Full or Part Time Availability

We welcome anyone with the skills to teach of flight, to fly safely, and a desire to provide us feedback.

Our team includes our independent flight instructors, our aircraft maintenance crew, and our office management group.

Resume Required

Please provide:

• • Contact Information
  • Total Time and Type brake down
  • Previous Work Experience
  • Education
  • Certificates
  • Short summary about yourself

This is a great opportunity for someone who loves to share their passion of aviation with others and willing to work as an independent flight instructor.

Our job invitation goes out to retired personal looking for some extra income, a relative new CFI or CFII interest in building time for the airlines, or just the pilot who teaches due to their passion. Our flight school offers nine training aircraft for rent.

Want to send us a Resume or Contact Us, Click HERE.

Ah, how wonderful is the advent of the Spring!—the great annual miracle…. which no force can stay, no violence restrain, like love, that wins its way and cannot be withstood by any human power, because itself is divine power. If Spring came but once in a century, instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake, and not in silence, what wonder and expectation would there be in all hearts to behold the miraculous change!… We are like children who are astonished and delighted only by the second-hand of the clock, not by the hour-hand. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Kavanagh, 1849

Spring Goals

As the spring is approaching, learning to fly or adding a new certificate is will be on our students’ horizon.

We will be offering a Private Pilot Training Class on Monday evenings starting on March 12th for 14 weeks.

We will also be offering an Instrument Pilot Training Class on Wednesday evenings starting on March 14th for 14 weeks.

We are attaching our flyers for the upcoming courses.  If you are interested on taking either class, we request you fill out our registration form which can be found HERE.

Private Pilot Course Starts Monday April 16th

(Please note the date has change.  Flyer below is no longer correct date)

Instrument Training Course pending start date…

**Date being changed to Late – April or May, call for more infor

If you would like additional information on either course, please send us an email and we would be happy to send you a full course syllabus.

Job Offering For a Certificated Flight Instructor

We are a part 61 flight school and flying club based at the Flying W Airport in Medford, NJ We are a privately owned business providing flight instruction, aircraft rental, pilot shop sales, aircraft maintenance and repair services. We offer a friendly, relax atmosphere at a non-controlled field and an airport with some great activity. Our flight instructor staff have a variety of experiences, work well together, and share their knowledge and passion of aviation with each other, including their students.

CFI Requirements

Minimum of a CFI Certificate, CFII preferred.

Full or Part Time Availability

We welcome anyone with the skills to teach of flight, to fly safely, and a desire to provide us feedback.

Our team includes our independent flight instructors, our aircraft maintenance crew, and our office management group.

Resume Required

Please provide:

• • Contact Information
  • Total Time and Type brake down
  • Previous Work Experience
  • Education
  • Certificates
  • Short summary about yourself

This is a great opportunity for someone who loves to share their passion of aviation with others and willing to work as an independent flight instructor.

Our job invitation goes out to retired personal looking for some extra income, a relative new CFI or CFII interest in building time for the airlines, or just the pilot who teaches due to their passion. Our flight school offers nine training aircraft for rent.

Want to send us a Resume or Contact Us, Click HERE.

“Every person, all the events of your life are there because you have drawn them there. What you choose to do with them is up to you.”
― Richard Bach

Finding your Heart in Aviation

The passion for flight may have been with you always but the doors to this passion may not be fully open. One must have a personal experience to open the wings to your flight passion. We suggest an Introductory Discovery Flight.

The Discovery Flight is a hand’s on flight experiences. Our FAA Certificated Flight Instructor will teach you some basic principles about flight prior to departing on your first flight in the aircraft. You will get a chance to learn about starting the aircraft, taxing the aircraft to the runway of departure, the departing procedures, and a chance to manage the controls of the aircraft, all under the control of one of our Flight Instructors.

What to Expect During a Discovery Flight, check it out HERE!

Are you ready to take your Discovery Flight yet?

Just give us a call our purchase a Gift Certificate HERE for someone you Love!

A short story

A Passion for Flying by Nicholas A. Eastman, click HERE

Just search the phase and you will find more stories on the Passion of Flying.

Where do I really start after My Discovery Flight?

Recreational or Private Pilot Certificate – This is where you start!!

With a private pilot certificate you will have the freedom to fly wherever you want, day or night once you get your Private Pilot Certificate!!

The recreational pilot certificate imposes many flight restrictions on the pilot. With several more hours of flight training you can have your private certificate and more freedom to fly.

Both certificates are considered “VFR” or flight under visual flight restrictions or “no flying in the clouds”

Instrument Airplane Rating – Become a better pilot!!

Not every pilot needs an instrument rating, but this rating will built your flying skill, your confidence, and allow you take flight into the clouds, something your private pilot certificate will not allow. This will also provide you the necessary skills to make it safely to your destination if weather conditions worsen.

Commercial Pilot Certificate – Get paid to fly!!

A Commercial Pilot Certificate is required for anyone that wants a career as a pilot. The commercial pilot certificate will allow you to get paid to fly!

Whether your goal is become a flight instructor to teach others or take flight to the sky with an airline, this rating is one more step in the right direction towards your career or hobby.

The commercial pilot certificate will also increase your skills as a pilot until you master a number of advanced maneuvers and can handle more complex aircraft, an aircraft with a controllable pitched propeller and retractable gear. We use the piper arrow, N79VM for part of this training.

Flight Instructor Course – To teach the joy the flying!!

After you’ve earn your commercial pilot certificate, you may start training to become a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI).

If you are thinking about an airline career, the airlines favor pilots who have built their time instructing other pilots. The CFI certificate has given the pilot the understanding, skills, and patience needed on teaching others, an important aspect in regards to the aviation industry.

Multi-Engine and Multi-Engine Flight Instructor Course – Adding to your flight skills!!

The Multi-Engine and Multi-Engine CFI will again increase your skills as a pilot and teach you co-pit management of operation more than one engine.

At this time Freeflight does not offer these choices but can direct you to a facility that does provide these training services.

Notable Accomplishments

Congratulations to our students.

Ian’s student, Samantha completed her solo course country to Georgetown, DE.

Ian’s student, John completed his solo.

Tony’s student, George completed his solo.

Josh’s student Jacob completed his solo.

“We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws, but for potential.” ― Ellen Goodman

Start your career in aviation.

Freeflight Aviation is offering a Private Pilot Training class, called ground school for students interested in starting their private pilot career in Aviation. This class will help you pass your written test for the Private Pilot rating. We recommend taking flight instruction during this training class because this can often help you understand the training material in the class much better. Our training class starts on February 6^th, will be for 10 weeks on Tuesday evenings from 6 PM to 10 PM. During the training you will have a chance to visit our aircraft maintenance facility and learn more about the aircraft you will or are flying. To register, please give us a call or learn more on our Facebook Page, HERE.

Meetup with Freeflight Aviation

If you are interested in learning more about what is happening with Freeflight, we recommend joining our Freeflight Aviation Meetup Group. We post several events, including safety seminars, dinner gatherings, flyouts and more. Sign up today and keep in touch with us HERE.

Calling All Local Aircraft Mechanics

Don’t miss the upcoming 16th Annual First State Chapter PAMA / Dassault Aircraft Services Maintenance Symposium & IA Renewal February 24, 2018 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM in Newark Delaware. Learn more about this upcoming event at the PAMA webpage http://firststatepama.com/Symposiuminfo.html

In the News

DA40 NG: Fly for Under 20 Cents a Mile!

LifeStyle Aviation has launched the Diamond DA40 NG, Jet A burning piston, to the North American Market. LifeStyle is highlighting the ultra economy of the aircraft and the advantages of buying aircraft that burn Jet A versus leaded aviation gasoline which is on its way out.

Mayo Clinic Launches BasicMed Course

“We’re pleased to be able to provide this new option for pilots,” said Clayton Cowl, director of the Mayo Clinic BasicMed Course. “This course has been a culmination of efforts of many colleagues at Mayo dedicated to aviation safety. A wide range of medical experts across the organization as well as with input from experts with civil aviation medical associations across the country have contributed medical knowledge to help pilots recognize medical risks in an effort to keep them, and the passengers who they fly, safe.” Learn more at the Mayo Clinic BasicMed Page: https://basicmed.mayo.edu/

Where to Fly in 2018

Food, Events, Fly-Ins

One of our students presently working on his private pilot rating was wondering where to fly once he got his rating. Here are a few suggests for Aviation Event Links. Know a good website, please send us an email so we can add the link.

Fly to Lunch

Fun Places to Fly

Social Flight

$100 Dollar Hamburger

EAA Calendar of Events

AOPA Community

During the holiday season, it’s easy to forget that sometimes the best gift of all is simply the gift of time. I can’t think of anything a writer would appreciate more than being given time and space to work. Kate Klise

Buy A Gift Certificate Here

For The Little Ones

Simple gifts that are free or don’t cost a lot are always great gifts for the young ones in the family.

Make up a coloring book from free drawings on the web, add some colored markers or crayons and you are on your way with a colorful gift that will entertain your children.

Involve Mom, Dad, or an older child in building a simple aircraft using a clothes pin with a younger child.

Just a couple ideas for children of many ideas on the internet.

Thinking about becoming a pilot.

We suggest an Introductory Discovery Flight if someone in the family is interest in becoming a pilot or who is interested in experiencing flight.  Give us a call to learn more.

Ready to start flight training.

Many books and Private Pilot Kits are available for a Private Pilot starting their flight training along with other pilot supplies. To get started, our flight instructors often recommend the Airplane Flying Handbook published from the FAA. Freeflight also sells the Complete Private Pilot Kit publishing by ASA. This kit contains many of the necessary items that are be needed for a student’s flight training, including a logbook, an E6B flight computer, a plotter, the test questions, and a FAR-AIM. Freeflight offers Gift Certificates for some of these items online HERE.

You can also purchase each of the items from the kit, individually, if you are on a limited budget. Other inexpensive supplies include flashlights, fuel testers, a multi tool that includes a screw driver, plexiglass cleaner, and micro fiber cleaning cloths.

Additional Pilot Items

Aviation Headsets makes another great gift, but I suggest some dream gift discussing with a pilot on this subject. Headsets come in all makes and models, cost, and prices. There are inexpensive headsets, such as the ASA model HS- 1A to the David Clark H10-13S median-priced headset, to the noise canceling headsets such as the Lightspeed Headsets.

Handheld radios from Icom or Yaesu

A small I-Pad with a Foreflight – An Electronic Flight Bag Subscription or an aircraft yoke support for the aircraft.

Magazine Subscriptions to AOPA – Aircraft Owner and Pilot Association, EAA – Experiment Association Membership, Air and Space Museum Magazine

Private Pilot Training Class or Instrument Pilot Training Class offering. Freeflight presently has a Private Pilot Training Class schedule to start Feb 6^th, 2018. Other classes will be available in the future.

Just for Fun

A friend of ours just started a Drone Company call Buzz My Property. This company will take a video of your property. What a great gift for someone in your family for the holidays. Buzz My Property also has a Facebook Page and Listed on Instagram. Be the first in your neighborhood to show off an aerial view of your home.

Biggest Flight Journey of ALL: Santa and NORAD

For over 60 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s flight. Follow Santa as he makes his magical journey!

Happy Holidays!

I love holidays. It’s such a wonderful time for the whole family to be together and not have to worry about schedules and that kind of thing. Toni Collette

The Patti Wagon Café at the Flying W Airport will have it’s annual Holiday Gathering on Friday Dec 1st starting at 6:30 PM.

All local Pilots and Friends of the airport are invited.

Patti and the Flying W Airport have decorated the facility for the Holiday Season. The restaurant windows are painted with wearths, snowman, and a flying Santa.

We hope to see you on Friday December the 1st. It will be a nice way to start the monthly holiday season off with airport friends and family.

“Give freely to the world these gifts of love and compassion. Do not concern yourself with how much you receive in return, just know in your heart it will be returned.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

New Jersey Discovery Flight Gift Packages

Private Pilot Ground School starting Tuesday February 6, 2018

Please see out “Pilot Shop” for additional Gift Certificates

About our Discovery Flight Packages.

Both Discovery Flight Packages are a hand’s on flight experiences. Our certificated FAA Flight Instructor will teach you some basic principles about flight prior to departing on your first flight in the aircraft. You will get a chance to learn about starting the aircraft, taxing the aircraft to the runway of departure, the departing procedures, and a chance to manage the controls of the aircraft, all under the control of one of our Flight Instructors.

Important information about your flight experience prior to purchasing.

• Our Discovery Flight Packages expires one year from the date of purchase.
• Students under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
• Please bring a valid form of ID with you to the airport.
• The maximum weight for this experience is 250 pounds.
• This experience is weather dependent.
• One person per plane
• To schedule your experience we recommend at least 7 days notification.
• Discovery Flight Certificates are non-refundable

After purchasing your Discovery Flight Package.

• Freeflight Aviation will send you a “Numbered ” Discovery Flight Package” Certificate, so please add your email address to the checkout form.
• This may take 3-7 business days.
• To make your Discovery Flight reservation, please call 609-265-0399 or 609-456-0001
• Your Discovery Flight “Certificate Number” is to be provided to Freeflight Aviation when making a reservation.
• We will ask your weight, height, age, phone number, and email address for your reservation. Why? – Knowing his information will help us chose an airplane, flight instructor, and send you and email of your appointment.
• Wear comfortable clothing and sunglass for those sunny days. We suggest no open toe shoes for your flight.
• Please remember to bring your “Discovery Flight Certificate” with you on the day of your flight.
• Discovery Flights may sometimes have to be rescheduled for weather, such as rain, wind, low clouds, mechanic problems, or other unknown reasons.
• If you request a “Refund” of your online purchase, there is a $10.00 refund processing fee.

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.    Aristotle

PRIVATE PILOT GROUND SCHOOL

PRIMARY TRAINING AND REFRESHER COURSE

We Invite: Primary, Potential Students, Certificated Private Pilots and Rusty Pilots

Starting Date: Tuesday February 6, 2018 for 10 weeks

Starting Time: 6 PM-10 PM

Location: Freeflight Aviation, Flying W Airport, 60 Fostertown Rd, Medford, NJ 08055

Price: $270 for the complete course or $30 per session

(Textbooks and pilot supplies sold separately and available will be at Freeflight Aviation)

Instructor: Shannon Wea

• • This course covers all aeronautical knowledge items required for Private Pilot certification.
  • At course completion, students who pass a sample test will receive an endorsement to take the FAA Knowledge Test. (There is no limit to the number of times you may take the sample test).
  • Experienced pilots may attend the sessions of their choice as an excellent refresher.
  • Rusty pilots will find this training a great way to get back in the game.
  • To enroll or request additional information, contact the instructor Freeflight Aviation at 609-265-0399 or Shannon Wea at 609-532-3013.
  • Please provide Proof of Citizenship (current passport or birth certificate with raised seal) to Freeflight Aviation prior to attending classes.
  • Training TextBooks for class: FAA’s Pilot Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge and the Private Pilot FAA Test Questions – (Gliem Preferred or ASA Brand)
  • This course can be purchased online through this website HERE.

There’s only one interview technique that matters. Do your homework so you can listen to the answers and react to them and ask follow-ups. Do your homework, prepare.

Jim Lehrer

AND YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE FINISHED WITH HOMEWORK!

I remember in grade school I would be sitting in class shaking like a leaf because I knew the teacher was about to collect our homework and I hadn’t completed mine. Sometimes it was because I forgot, but more often than not, I just chose not to do it. Typically, this was because the subject didn’t interest me and I didn’t appreciate its importance. In actuality, I guess I was just a typical adolescent.

As a flight instructor I am now on the opposite side of the fence. I am the teacher and my flight customers are my students. I am the one handing out homework, and I have to be honest, when a student doesn’t complete an assignment it is puzzling and confusing. This training is an endeavor they chose, it’s one they have obvious interest in, and they are clearly no longer a rebellious whipper-snapper. Further, the importance of the information cannot be denied and this is training they are directly paying for.

The reason for this article is an effort to assist students in understanding the importance of completing and comprehending the study materials we assign before a flight lesson.

As you probably have discovered, each lesson has a learning objective and an aviation skill to hone. Typically, we ask that you read a related chapter in a textbook or watch a relevant video, plan a cross country, or complete a navigation log prior to a flight. The efficacy of the flight exercise we are about to engage in would be significantly hobbled if you did not prepare in advance. Moreover, each flight lesson is a building block which supports each subsequent lesson to come. Without proper study, the house we are attempting to build is being forged on a very weak foundation.

When an aircraft is scheduled, it is usually for only 2 hours or so and let’s break down a typical encounter:

• After the usual pleasantries and small talk 10 to 15 minutes pass. The instructor knows that there will be significant time spent walking out to the plane, performing a pre-flight, calling for fuel, adding oil, completing checklists, starting-up, warming-up, running-up, taxiing and flying to the practice area…so he or she looks at their watch, closes their eyes and inquires with trepidation…
• “…ok, so, did you read the chapter I assigned which covered Sectional Charts and Emergencies?”
• The student is caught off guard by the question begins a sheepish apology of, “Ah, yea…I ah…well… sort of…I mean I ah.… you know…might of missed a little…or some…you know…basically all of it.”

It is now clear the quality of the lesson is compromised. The instructor won’t reprimand the student, send them to the principal’s office or demand penance, but trust me, the sentence is close at hand! Now, instead of just a 5 or 10 minute synopsis of the lesson plan, the instructor must give a 90 minute lecture compressed into a hasty 30 or 40 minute oration of the subject matter.

This student arrived at the airport with the excitement of flight, but unfortunately they just deprived themselves of precious air time. They are now ground-bound, forced into self-inflicted atonement for the sins of educational neglect. They are forced to sit in a windowless classroom and listen to a middle-aged man droning on about some topic on a beautiful Saturday morning…one with the Sun bright, the sky blue, the winds calm and an aircraft beckoning from its tie-down. For pity’s sake, I beg you to avoid putting yourself in this position!

There is so much more to becoming a pilot than stick and rudder skills. You are going to need extensive knowledge of aerodynamics, the weather, aircraft systems, cross-country planning, ATC communications, aeronautical charts, the POH, and the list goes on. It is for pity’s sake that I implore you to study your assigned material before for the scheduled flight. Escape the mindset that it is only your job to show up, sit inertly at a desk while an instructor pours knowledge into your head. This attitude is deeply flawed, because becoming a safe and knowledgeable aviator is not a passive activity…it is an active process; you and only you must take charge, take the initiative and take command of your learning.

After solo, the instructor’s role transitions from teacher, to evaluator, to passenger, to peer. Therefore, take ownership of each flight!

In closing, your instructor will always be there as your mentor, your guide and your most dedicated supporter, but understand it remains your responsibility and it benefits you to complete required assignments, to comprehend the material, to show up prepared, and to ask relevant questions.

Gene Wentzel, ATP, CFII