This may be a good boost for GA as many pilots have stopped flying due to a loss of their medical. If the General Aviation Community can experience a burst of interest and participation from former pilots, we may just stop feeling like a dying breed. Here’s the full article put out by AOPA on the FAA’s announcement:
I recently read a refreshing article regarding Piper getting more involved in the training and flight school market. I know that’s hard to believe they could get more involved as most of us have all flown a Piper aircraft of some sort in our current or past training career. However if you look at how dominant Cessna has been with their 172 series and 152’s of the past, it makes sense for Piper to want to step up. I love flying so whether I’m in a 172, Archer, Warrior etc, it really doesn’t matter to me. For training purposes, as a CFI, I will say the 172’s are very forgiving, but there is something to say about a training in a low wing Piper. I found with past students it simply came down to what was available, cheap and preference, in that order.
Piper does seem to have a few training markets cornered such as with their twin Seminole and it would be interesting to know if we will see “Piper Training Centers” competing with Cessna Training Centers. Anything to keep future pilots interested, engaged and excited will only benefit the aviation community. Here’s the link to the full article put out by AOPA: http://bit.ly/Yh92Ju
Ok, so this is not new news. Aviation apps have been around a while and more and more keep exploding on the market. I re-visited an article I read this past summer about some of the best apps available on the aviation market and wanted to share those with you.
Aside from the awesome world of digital chart applications that allow us to leave the 3-ring binders and hoards of paper at home, there are some fantastic applications available for your Apple and Android device. Keep in mind as the article states, not every pilot needs every app. Some of the apps are free, some a small fee. Also, some are only available for iPhone or iPad devices, sorry Android users.
One of my favorites is the E6B from Sport’s that is compatible with both Apple and Android platforms. I couldn’t imagine even going back to the old manual E6B after taking this for a spin. Best of all it’s cheap and with the holiday’s upon us, this would be a great gift for your pilot or in my case, myself. Of course some of the apps are so awesome that it may be encouragement enough to go buy yourself an iPad if you don’t have one yet, just to be able to access some of these wonderful apps.
Here is the link to the full article: http://www.flyingmag.com/avionics-gear/pilot-supplies/8-great-aviation-apps?page=0,0
For those of you wanting to go to the 2012 Sun n’ Fun Fly in & Expo, Sporty’s has a free app for your Apple device or Android device.
It’s packed with features to help you organize your trip while there, your schedule and getting around. It will provide show information, fly in information, schedules, shoe maps, travel information such as lodging and directions and exhibitor listings.
For those of you going, hopefully you will find this a useful tool. C’mon it’s free! Now if we can get Jeppesen to give us a free app with approach plates that would be awesome!
So one of the things that helps us keep moving is fuel. Yes I know it’s expensive but it is necessary to keep the engine running and thus, keep us from falling out of the sky. Since I’ve been flying, which is not long in many people’s books (10 years), I’ve seen av gas go from around $2.50 per gallon to over $5 here in Utah. Sometimes we don’t want to top off tanks for a number of reasons; weight limits, performance, we’re too poor, but keep one thing in mind, if you can get an extra gallon or two in the tanks without compromising safety or needed performance, wouldn’t that give you peace of mind? Who cares about your pocket-book, if you’re too cheap to add a few extra gallons, then I’d suggest maybe RC planes as I understand they are cheaper and if you crash them, well you are still alive.
Here is a good article from the NTSB, courtesy of Avemco: http://bit.ly/vefzAx
It emphasizes how important fuel is.
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