CFI Pay Rates

Last week I posed a question on Air Safety Institute’s Facebook page (yes, we have one) asking how much a CFI should be paid. The answers were fascinating.

Here are a few...

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Cross Country Planning?

The widespread availability of sophisticated GPS receivers, digitized aviation charts, and internet-based weather information is changing the way student pilots are learning cross-country flight planning. The introduction of new technology and techniques always raises questions: Should student pilots be taught to use paper charts, plotter, pencil, and a slide rule E6B or encouraged to switch entirely to electronic charts, calculators, GPS and computer-based weather briefings? Don’t throw out that plotter and slide rule just yet ...

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Welcome Back Pilots (and non-pilots too)

A lot of people in aviation are worried about a looming pilot shortage. Plane & Pilot magazine decided to do something about it.

Over the past few years many general aviation pilots have hung up their headsets. A new microsite managed by the magazine aims to lure them back into the left seat – by harnessing the power of marketing.

The site – WelcomeBackPilots.com – offers good deals, promotions and other incentives aimed at...

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Aviation Pocket Protector Stuff

A calculus professor once told me the only tools a real mathematician needs are a pen, a piece of paper the size of a postage stamp, and his or her brain. That may be the case if one is sitting at a desk, quietly contemplating the theoretical. Controlling an aircraft that is hurtling through the air at two miles per minute or more while simultaneously listening and talking on the radio? That endeavor has the unfortunate side effect of dropping everyone's IQ by several points, which is why...

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Aviation Insurance - Need to Know

As the owner of a successful aviation insurance business for over 30 years I encountered many occasions where pilots found themselves in difficult situations with respect to an aircraft owner and the owner’s insurance company.

It is interesting how often a “good” friendship or flying job turns sour when you...

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Airplane Ownership - 4 Ways

Aircraft ownership in the United States can take many different forms depending upon the type of aircraft and the purposes of use intended for the airplane. The way you will want to own a personal aircraft may differ greatly from the way a corporation will want to own an aircraft.

The primary reason for determining the best way for anyone to own an aircraft has to do with...

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Catch a Cessna Skycatcher Review Here

While the rest of the world was fixated on the Paris Air Show, I was schmoozing with the folks at the Cessna Aircraft Factory in Wichita Kansas. I met up with Cessna’s piston-engine chief pilot, Kirby Ortega, for a flight in Cessna’s LSA: the Skycatcher.

The Cessna 162 Skycatcher is a sharp looking high-wing and it's a fun plane to fly. It’s easy on the controls, exudes stability and is very docile. Think of it as a snappier and faster version of the 152 fitted with a fancy glass cockpit by Garmin.

In cruise, the Skycatcher handles just like you would expect any high-wing Cessna to fly...

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