Last spring a Citation 550, flown by an air ambulance service, lost both engines over the Atlantic and dead-sticked into Savanna, GA with no injuries or damage. Because everything worked perfectly, with lucky weather and masterful piloting, there was absolutely no coverage of this event in the news. This dual-engine flame-out, as dramatic as Sully … Continue reading "“Ready For Anything?” – Training (Useful) Emergencies"
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Beyond “Never Do This” In Safety!
Aviation safety as we currently practice it involves examining accidents for causal factors, “errors and omissions,” then deriving theories about what the pilots are doing wrong to improve our...
Control Your “Startle Response” (The DIY Lobotomy)
We humans become totally stupid – inducing a “do it yourself lobotomy”- when we experience threat or panic. We all have “choked” during a test or performance and perhaps even experienced...
Ace Your Oral (for Student and CFI)
The easiest pathway to success on the oral portion of any check ride is to first thoroughly read and understand the FAA standard for certification. These are FREE online and fairly succinct. These...
“Overlearning” Defeats the Startle Effect!
Intuitively, savvy educators know any skill achievement or learning progress, though gratifying, is very perishable. Especially in a high-stakes environment like aviation, deep learning, with...
Learning Tools for the Educator!
The best student you ever had as an instructor probably was the one who was “on fire” to learn. That totally motivated learner is mostly effortless for an educator, like feeding a hungry child or...
Auto-Land is Here for GA – Ready?
Congratulations to Garmin on the announcement of Autonomí™, their new emergency autoland technology. Though obviously a high-priced entry and not available to most, it is a smart and definitive...
Model Excellence; Earn a Master CFI (LLC)
The secret to inspiring pilots to be eager lifetime learners is to embrace this commitment (and model it) ourselves. Educators are the “influencers” in aviation and continual improvement is...
Roger Throwing CFIs Under the Bus…
If you are a Roger Sharp fan I apologize in advance for my lack of love for his most recent rant about “stupid CFIs” at Migration.(Please click this link and watch a while…) His negative attitude...
Caring is a Critical Aptitude for Educating!
When I present to groups of pilots and experienced aviation educators and ask for key traits of great aviation educators, the most often mentioned attributes are never taught or tested by the FAA....
Fancy Footwork; Yaw Canceling (for Safety)!
We had 45 professional aviation educators at the “You Can Fly Center” for our SAFE CFI-PRO™ workshop this week. These dedicated professionals (half with more than 20 years teaching) really...
Thank-You! Super Stars at SAFE CFI-PRO™
SAFE CFI-PRO™ is all set for next week and I am overwhelmed with both the attendance and the quality of our presenters. Thanks to everyone for supporting this important safety initiative, this is...
Imagine the Worst, Plan for the Best!
Mike Patey very bravely took full respnsibility for his public crash of Draco this week: “this is on me, I made a bad decision.” We need to respect and honor that (rare) honesty. But Mike also...
GA “Extended Envelope Training” (Required For Airlines!)
This is from the road; if you are at the AOPA Fly-In at Tullahoma, TN. please stop by the SAFE booth and say hello. CFR 121.423 requires “Extended Envelope Training” for all airline flight crews...
Teaching Crosswind Landings (at Altitude!)
Yeah, sounds dumb right? Training crosswinds at 3,ooo feet? But those 5-10 seconds of terror right over the runway are not an opportunity for nuanced description and durable learning. Teaching...
Creating Productive Scenarios; “Struggle Zone”
Scenario-based training has acquired a stigma in aviation though misuse. But if done properly, these experiences can be the most powerful tool in an experienced educator’s arsenal. And scenarios...
Buffering “FAA Minimums” Aim For Excellence!
The FAA only specifies the absolute minimums (limitations) in their regulations and these are not recommended operating specifications. This might sound silly to many pilots, but some people have...
Extend Your Skills! 60/90 Turns, Triple A Stalls
This blog presents some challenging flight maneuvers that build greater pilot proficiency, confidence and flight safety. It is essential to break out of our daily “comfort zone” or we will react...
WANTED: Angle of Attack Managers
This is one in a series of posts by special guest authors about SAFE’s new CFI-PROficiency Initiative™ (aka SAFE CFI-PRO™). The goal of the initiative is to make good aviation educators great!...
Reflect and Redirect; “Double Loop” Learning!
Pilots are a “different breed of cat” as you well know. As a personality type we are confident, higher than average in intelligence, tend toward dominance and are almost never wrong about...
“Flight Service” (Back and Better!)