“Great job — I really like how you talked through everything. You should think about becoming a CFI!”

That’s the first thing the designated examiner said when we got out of the airplane after my instrument checkride. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. After all, becoming a certificated flight instructor is a lot of work. The CFI checkride is regularly considered the hardest of any flight test — in no small part because the oral portion of the test can stretch up to 8 hours frequently, and national failure rates for first time CFI applicants hover around 80%.

For freshly-minted commercial pilots looking for ways to build time, becoming an instructor makes sense. But not for me.

I’ve got an established career outside of aviation that I love. And, frankly, CFI jobs don’t pay quite like the investment world does.

Still, that conversation with my examiner kept popping up in my head.

Let’s face it — I enjoy flight training. I enjoy studying for a new rating. And I like having a “mission” when I fly.

And the more I thought about it, the more pursuing a CFI certificate started to make sense. After all, it gives me a good excuse to hang out around the airport, get paid to fly, and subsidize my own flying. It’ll also add a lot of value to this nascent blog.

So, yup, I’m starting on the road to earning my CFI.

No, I’m not planning a change to my day job. I’ll set my sights on instructing part-time or independently. I’ll be documenting the process in these pages from here on out. First things first, I need to build time and earn my commercial pilot certificate. Stay tuned.

[Edit – in the years since posting this, I have indeed become an active CFI. For more information on flight training, click the Training link at the top of this page.]

Student pilots are spoiled these days. With video services like YouTube and Vimeo, it’s possible to back-seat-fly with in all sorts of conditions and in all sorts of aircraft. That’s especially true for instrument flying, where the procedural stuff makes the difference between staying ahead of the plane, or getting bogged down.

So, here’s a look at 3 videos that every IFR student should check out…

Getting Set Up on Any Approach

The first video comes from Dick Rochfort, a master flight instructor who specializes in the PA-46 (aka Piper M-Class). Dick’s videos are phenomenal — I highly recommend checking out his YouTube channel — but this one takes the cake. In it, he breaks down a flow you can use to get set up on any instrument approach. I was lucky enough to find this video early in my instrument training, and I still use the flow today.

If you want to impress your examiner on an instrument checkride, use this flow and verbalize everything you’re doing.

[Read more…]

Loops! Rolls! Spins! And a Lomcevak?

How did I come to perform extreme Czech aerobatic maneuvers over the California desert last fall? Aerobatics Camp, of course!

After I earned my private pilot certificate, one of the first things on my mind was upset recovery training — and more specifically, spins. Spins are one of those things that give most pilots the heebie-jeebies, and they should. Stall/spin accidents account for almost 14% of all fatal accidents according to AOPA. More than that, I wanted a chance to beef up my stick and rudder skills, something that aerobatics are great for. And the place I wanted to do it was Tutima Academy, airshow superstar Sean D. Tucker’s own aerobatics school out in central California.

I typically make my way to California a couple of times each year on business, so I decided to wait for my next trip out to the West Coast to visit Tutima. I got my chance in October 2013.

[Read more…]

“He’s a Cirrus pilot.”

Depending on who you are, that statement could mean two very different things. Either way, if you’re considering adding a Cirrus to your logbook, then this flight review is for you…

But before we get to the flying experience, we’ve got to deal with the elephant in the room. (Or, you can skip to the video.)

Let’s face it: there’s a stigma around Cirrus pilots. And it’s not a positive one: they’re rich autopilot button-pushers who rely on parachutes as a substitute for airmanship skills. And the safety statistics don’t help: the fatal accident rate for Cirrus has been higher than the GA average, and the rates to insure a Cirrus for a low-time pilot are astronomical.

I’ll admit, I fell for the stereotypes too. But, without putting too fine a point on it, they’re dead wrong. [Read more…]