Meanwhile, many airlines are actively hiring for one particular behind-the-scenes job. Aviation Maintenance Technicians (AMTs) are in high demand throughout the United States and around the world.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates four percent growth for aircraft and avionics mechanics through 2032. Aviation training company CAE projects a need for 138,000 AMTs by 2033. While only two out of the five largest U.S. airlines are currently hiring pilots, all of them are hiring AMTs.

• READ MORE: AMT Day Offers Opportunity to Inspire Next Generation

AMTs play a critical role in the world of aviation and becoming one opens the door to a challenging and rewarding career. Here is what you need to know about being an Aviation Maintenance Technician:

What Is an AMT?

AMT is the term for a licensed aircraft mechanic in the United States. There are two ratings under the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) certification for AMTs: airframe and powerplant. Most jobs require applicants to have both, with the term “A&P” (airframe and powerplant) often being used interchangeably with AMT.

What Do They Do?

The role of an AMT is wide-ranging. AMTs can work on any type of aircraft, ranging from small general aviation planes to widebody jumbo jets. Similarly, AMTs can perform maintenance of all parts of an aircraft. An AMT’s work can consist of anything from making a small pre-departure repair to an airliner at an airport gate to working on an engine overhaul in a hangar.

As a result, there are diverse career prospects for AMTs. While many choose to work for airlines, there are also opportunities to work for other employers like business and charter companies, government bodies, and maintenance contractors.

How Much Do They Make? 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for aircraft mechanics in 2023 was $75,400. The median annual pay for those working at airlines was $101,500

How Do I Become One?

The FAA requires AMTs to meet a set of basic requirements before they can be licensed. Prospective AMTs must be at least 18 years of age and be fluent in English. In addition, they must meet either a training or experience requirement.

AMTs can meet the training requirement by graduating from an FAA-approved Aviation Maintenance Technician school or by completing the Joint Service Aviation Maintenance Technician Certification Council training course for military personnel.

Alternatively, they can demonstrate that they have had 18 months of practical work experience with airframes or powerplants or 30 months of experience with both systems.

After meeting these requirements, an AMT must pass three FAA exams (written, oral, and practical) before they can be licensed.

How Long Is AMT School?

Most AMT training programs are designed to be completed between 14 and 24 months. The exact length can depend on the program and student.

Students learn about a wide variety of topics to prepare them for their future careers. Upon completing AMT school, graduates can apply for the FAA AMT certification.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AirlineGeeks.com.

The post AMT Jobs Could Be Part of Aviation’s Next Hiring Boom appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Over 2,000 simulator enthusiasts, a new attendance record, gathered in the comfort of the air conditioning inside the Rio Las Vegas Hotel & Convention Center while near-record heat scorched the city’s world-famous strip and surrounding desert.

Here are the news highlights from FlightSimExpo 2024:

Flight Simulation Software

Development teams from the two most popular flight simulator software titles provided updates on their current and future development schedules, outlining new features:

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (MSFS2024): MSFS2024 will be a new, stand-alone, flight simulator—not an update to the current MSFS software, with a planned launch date of November 19. Jorg Neumann and Sebastian Wloch, who together head up the development of the MSFS software titles and represent a worldwide workforce of 800 employees, took the stage on Saturday afternoon and shared some key highlights about the upcoming 2024 release:

• Airliner news was the main focus of the new aircraft updates, with the development team confirming that the Airbus A330, Boeing 737 Max, A400M, Twin Otter and Stemme S12 glider will be new aircraft expected at launch. Also announced were real airline liveries, adding to the overall realism and immersion in-sim. 
• Approximately 30 different types of ground vegetation will enhance the ground scenery and the changes of season, a new feature in MSFS 2024.
• Improved and more accurate flight dynamics, including aircraft wake turbulence, which will disperse in-sim after six minutes. New to MSFS 2024, the improved CFD model will cause trees and vegetation to bend and move in reaction to jet wash.
• Improved cloud modeling, which will include cirrus clouds and improved cloud lighting
• A working replay function, allowing users to capture video replays from in-sim will make its debut in MSFS2024, a sorely missed function of the current MSFS software
• A team from Microsoft will be back at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2025. The company has attended the last few years of the show, exposing real-world pilots and aviation enthusiasts to the flight simulation experience. They will miss Oshkosh 2024 due to its proximity to the MSFS2024 launch.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (MSFS2020): The team recapped a few highlights about MSFS 2020. In four years, the development team issued 48 updates, had over 15 million unique members, and over 1 billion total flight sessions—all since the August 2020 launch. Community developers and members have built over 5,000 add-ons, including aircraft, features, challenges/events, airports, and other scenery. These items have helped to enrich the experience and speak to the dedication and passion in the flight simulation community supporting MSFS. Calming the flight sim community’s concerns that MSFS 2020 would not be supported after the launch of MSFS 2024,  Neumann confirmed that MSFS 2020 will continue to be updated monthly until 2028.  Watch the full update video here. 

• READ MORE: Taking Risks at a Trio of Mount Rainier Airstrips, Virtually

X-Plane 12 (XP-12): Sim pilots of the popular flight sim title can expect performance updates as early as Q3/Q4 of 2024. These will be driven by structural updates to the software, allowing XP12 to utilize multicore CPU processing, providing better overall sim performance. The development team at X-Plane is also working on a user-tunable visual improvement to the light exposure in the cockpit, allowing a greater degree of detail in the cockpit in sunny conditions. The X-Plane store is being updated to be fully integrated into the XP12 software. It has always been a separate marketplace, found on the web, and will now offer the X-Plane developers greater control over the quality of third-party add-ons and will benefit developers with increased digital rights management controls.

Artificial Intelligence

AI was a main theme of the expo presenters, as software developers were keen on incorporating the technology’s advanced learning capabilities into new applications for use in flight simulation. Falling costs for premium AI services allowed some developers of AI-driven software products to lower their monthly subscription fees, drawing enthusiastic applause from the audience. 

Development in the flight simulator industry occurs at an extremely rapid pace as evidenced by a new category of software add-ons providing AI-powered air traffic control services to flight sim pilots looking to replace the “stock” ATC that comes with popular flight simulation software titles.

• SayIntentions.AI is a service that works for both MSFS and X-Plane 11/12, offering full VFR and IFR AI-powered ATC services and new functions, including a flight instructor whom users are encouraged to have a conversation with while flying. Other new features include a tour guide for sightseeing and three versions of AI cabin crews for sim pilots flying airliners. With a touch of showmanship, the chief technology officer of the company happily announced a new lower monthly subscription price of $19.95, down from an earlier price of $29.95.
• FlyShirley.com is an AI service paired with X-Plane 12 that was described as an AI-powered coach, copilot, and guide for all of your flight simulator adventures. Interestingly, you can ask “Shirley” to tell you the weather ahead or recommend a nearby airport with favorable winds. See if this AI companion is for you with a free trial available at the company’s website.

Hardware

Hardware updates were the second most popular category of announcements at FlightSimExpo 2024:

WinWing: It drew big applause from the crowd by announcing new and lower priced EFIS and CDU controls to be paired with popular A320 and 737 aircraft in both MSFS and X-Plane 11/12. The company also teased a full set of fighter jet controls, avionics, throttles, and switch panels in an impressive launch video. Check out the WinWing hardware on a new flight simulator chassis called Dogfight Dynamics—also new to Flight Sim Expo 2024 (see photo below).

FliteSim.com: The new entrant to the flight sim hardware market announced the successful completion of its recent Indiegogo campaign and the shipping dates for its first production run of a competitively priced force feedback yoke. Two models are available, offering different strengths of resistance.

The base CLS-60 comes with a yoke design modeled after the C172, with a 737 yoke available for purchase as a do-it-yourself upgrade. Also available is a stronger 120N motor that can also be replaced if the user wants more force feedback offered by the stock 60N unit.

• READ MORE: Remembering the Most Successful Carrier-Based WWII Fighter

The CLS-60 offers a maximum pitch force of 13.5 pounds, and the CLS-120 offers a maximum pitch force of 27 pounds, which company founder Fabian Lim, an accomplished real-world pilot, equated to “a real workout.”

Both the CLS-60 and 120 yokes offer tunable behavior for all envelopes of flight, so the user can dial in the realism for the aircraft they fly. Units are available to order now (see photo below).

New Aircraft

No flight simulator expo would be complete without a quick update from flight sim development studios announcing new aircraft launching into MSFS and X-Plane.

Building airliner-sized aircraft can be a multiyear undertaking involving small teams dedicated to getting the flight model and all the complex systems right. Many developers work with real-world pilots of these aircraft to make sure they are authentic representations of the real-world machines. Thousands of hours of software development and thousands of photographs combine into models that are highly accurate.

• Bluebird Simulations announced a new Boeing 757 model coming to MSFS later this year, with a Boeing 767 and 787 to follow. It shared photos of measurements being taken on the flight deck of a real aircraft and that laser scanning was done to increase rhetorical accuracy. Committed to unparalleled visual and systems accuracy, the yoke is modeled to be accurate down to a few millimeters in size. 
• For those pilots wishing to experience the golden age of jet airliners, Nimbus Simulations announced the Boeing 707 being developed for X-Plane 12, complete with full working systems and modeling.

The team here at FLYING will continue to bring you updates from the world of flight simulation, including news and flight sim hardware reviews. 

The post Highlights From FlightSimExpo 2024 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

If this happens, you may want to consider going up for an hour of dual instruction with a CFI who specializes in the area you had difficulty in—like crosswinds or short field landings.

Provided the mistake wasn’t something egregious, resulting in bent metal or broken FARs, go out and practice that particular maneuver on your own—and hold yourself accountable to assigned metrics.

Anatomy of a Proficiency Flight

A proficiency flight should always begin with a pre-brief. If you are on your own, it can be self-talk with “this is what I want to accomplish on this flight; these are the metrics I seek to achieve.” And then hold yourself accountable to those metrics, and if they are not met, determine what changes need to happen to fix the situation.

For example, “I want to land on the first third of the runway with full flaps, but I keep landing long and slightly fast. I need to pay more attention to achieving a stabilized approach. I can do this by calling out my airspeeds on each leg of the pattern as I adjust the configuration of the aircraft.”

If you are flying with a CFI, the pre-brief can be the most important part of the flight. Describe the challenge you had in detail. Saying you “had a bad landing” doesn’t really help because there are so many variables that can result in that. Were you too fast? Behind the airplane?

• READ MORE: Separation Anxiety: When Your Instructor Moves on, Your Logbook Tells the Story

Was your pattern altitude all over the place? The CFI can’t help you fix it unless we know what it is we’re fixing.

Insist the CFI verbalize the procedure to correct the problem before you get in the airplane. Airplanes are terrible classrooms, and that can add to the frustration. If it’s the pattern and landings that are the issue, for example, try diagramming the pattern on a whiteboard, paying special attention to the required airspeeds, altitude, and aircraft configuration. Using a model aircraft to fly a tabletop pattern while reciting these metrics can also be helpful.

Let the instructor know what you expect of them during the flight. If you want them to be quiet and simply be there as a safety measure just in case things start to go sideways, let them know. If you want the instructor to offer real-time suggestions, say so, and be ready to accept their input.

Are You Knowledge Proficient?

You have to remember so many things as a pilot that it is easy for your knowledge to get a little soft. When was the last time you reviewed something in the FAR/AIM or read a chapter from the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge or Airplane Flying Handbook—without it being part of a check ride or flight review?

Just as we make time to fly those takeoffs and landings in excess of the three within 90 days for currency, a good pilot should make the time to review the knowledge required to hold their certificate.

Normalization of Deviance

Pilots sometimes make excuses for soft spots that can result in greater issues known as normalization of deviance, a psychological term for deviation from proper behavior or a rule becoming culturally normalized. In aviation these can be shortcuts or avoidance that pilots rationalize—and they can come back to bite you. We’ve all read those accident reports where the pilot was significantly out of currency, and therefore proficiency, but went ahead with the technically challenging flight with disastrous results.

• READ MORE: Make Flight Reviews for CFIs Worthwhile

Rationalization is dangerous in aviation. For example, some pilots fall into a pattern of avoidance of airspace, flying elaborate zigzag routing because they don’t want to ask for a clearance through controlled airspace. They rationalize it by saying, “I don’t go into Class D airspace because I don’t want to talk to the tower” or “The tower is too busy.” The request to transition the airspace is often a less than 10-second conversation.

Another example is the pilot who avoids nontowered airports because “it is too much work to see and avoid and self-announce at the same time.” This is very limiting, because the majority of airports in the U.S. are nontowered, and that is not likely to change.

Commit to Proficiency: The CFI Perspective

One of the challenges of the normalization of deviance is trying to determine what was lost in translation: Where did the pilot pick up this bad habit? Was it from a CFI? Flying with a buddy? Something they read online? “My instructor told me…” is the aviation version of “they said” and definitely should signal the need to find another source of that information, preferably FAA-approved material such as the FAR/AIM.

When a pilot comes to a CFI seeking a proficiency flight, that doesn’t mean the instructor should look for opportunities to shred them. I say this because I’ve seen very skilled and experienced pilots walk out of a business because of the attitude of the CFI tasked with the proficiency flight. The CFI was almost hostile, as if flying with an already-certificated pilot was beneath them. Granted, the one or two hours of proficiency flying are not as lucrative as teaching an entire certificate or rating, but you’re being paid to teach, and it is adding hours to your logbook.

• READ MORE: Who Is Teaching? Low Time and Social Media Make for a Bad Combo

Listen to what the pilot seeking training wants. It can be very frustrating to the pilot needing dual instruction when paired with a CFI who has their own agenda. The pilot says, “I want to regain my multiengine currency and proficiency,” and the CFI or flight school desk person hears, “I want to get my multiengine rating.”

Study for Proficiency

Online ground schools, such as King Schools, Sporty’s, and Gold Seal to name a few, are also very helpful in maintaining knowledge proficiency. CFIs may find it useful to “test fly them” before being recommended to clients.

Have you ever heard of someone retaking a ground school for the sake of proficiency? I have and I applaud them for it. In one of the face-to-face courses I taught, there was a father who held a CFI certificate in the class because he wanted to teach his children to fly. But it had been so long since he exercised the privileges of his certificate, he wanted the refresher. He was an airline pilot and had been taking online flight instructor refresher clinics to keep his CFI active but realized that wasn’t enough to maintain his teaching proficiency.

It is incumbent on all instructors and pilots to embrace a culture that encourages proficiency training. Remember this warning: Be humble in aviation, or aviation will humble you.

This column first appeared in the May 2024/Issue 948 of FLYING’s print edition.

The post The Importance of Embracing Proficiency Culture appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

For some, a good internal compass—not the literal kind but the figurative one—makes it easy for you to identify the moves to make to set you on course. For others, pursuing the dream of learning to fly may feel too abstract to turn into reality.

First off, what does “learn to fly” mean for you? Is it the ability to fly for yourself, with friends and family, for a business, or to own an airplane? Or is it the first stage in an aviation career?

Either way, you start with an initial pilot certification—either a light sport or private pilot certificate—as your first goal. That will give you the ability to fly a light airplane with one engine, about the same size as a car (with wings). And you can generally take a couple of people with you essentially anywhere in the United States—and abroad, in a U.S.-registered airplane.

We’ll talk about how you do that and some other ideas to consider along the way in this special section on learning to fly in this issue. It’s really up to you how far you want to take this dream.

But to kick things off, here are our top 10 key elements to transforming your fantasies of flight into action. It will be your move next.

1. Pick the Right Kind of Influence(r)

That’s a mentor, not a person you follow on Instagram. Yes, we love to follow the latest and greatest exploits of pilots (or those posing as pilots) online, on all the socials from TikTok to YouTube. And there’s some great stuff out there in the metaverse. But there’s also a lot of garbage and a lot of stupid pilot tricks posing as cool flights to try for yourself.

That’s why finding an IRL person to talk with about your pilot journey is so important. Arguably this person should not be your instructor (we’ll get to that in a sec), and often it shouldn’t be a family member. You want someone with experience as the kind of pilot you want to be—and a good sense of who you are so they can help guide you through the rough spots.

They can also help you separate the awesomeness from the “don’t-try-this-at-home” videos out there.

• READ MORE: Sporty’s Launches 2024 Learn to Fly Courses

2. Choose a Good Instruction Program

This can be a flight school, university or college program, military appointment, or local Civil Air Patrol, Commemorative Air Force hangar, or EAA chapter-led course. Think about what appeals to you, as well as what you have access to near your home base.

You may be willing to set aside a couple of years of your life and move to a different part of the country—or world—to go after ratings with a specific college or academy, if you plan to pursue an aviation career. But for most folks, the initial certificate should come close to home. That’s going to (typically) cost less money and time to achieve.

3. Identify How You Learn Best

Everyone has a style in which they absorb—and retain—information best. This will drive what instructor you pick and how you structure your personal approach to training. While you may think, “I love watching videos,” that may not ultimately be the best way for you to learn. Even for visual learners, taking in data passively allows a lot of the critical stuff to skip off the surface after you’ve hit pause.

Most people need to hear, see, and do in order to process—and for actual learning to occur. That’s why good training programs deliver the info in several ways, and then ask you to check your recall with questions or application of the material.

4. Find an Instructor Who Speaks to You

As we established in No. 3, everyone learns differently—and this has a direct bearing on whom you should choose as an instructor. While you may have that initial person chosen for you if you’re in a structured training program, you almost always have some flexibility to change instructors if there are concerns.

Here’s the big one: You need to understand what this person is trying to tell you on the ground before you get into the airplane. If you have trouble understanding them because of a language barrier, take steps to correct that. If you have other reasons that they fail to get critical information to you while flying, that’s just as big of an issue.

Make a change, if you need to. You and your CFI won’t be best friends, necessarily, but you should be able to conduct a pleasant business-style relationship with that kind of positive rapport.

• READ MORE: FLYING Launches Learn to Fly Kit

5. Take the Knowledge Test

In the process of getting your certificate, you’ll take both a knowledge exam (known as the “written,” though it is almost always conducted online) and a practical test or check ride. If you knock out the knowledge test, you assure yourself of two things—first, that you have assimilated a good portion of the information you need to master to understand what’s going on during your flight lessons, and second, you will have conquered any test anxiety that you have in order to achieve a passing score.

You can take the course online to prepare yourself, or you can work within the syllabus of your training program to achieve it. But checking this box early will tell you a lot about how you’ll do for the remainder of your training.

6. Save Up for Solo

Flight training costs money. Whether you are self-funding (read, paying your own way) or securing funds from your parents, a grant or scholarship, or other sources, you’ll need between $10,000 and $18,000 to complete an initial course, depending on where you are in the U.S. and what kind of airplane you fly.

It really hurts your training progress if you have to pause during the course because you’ve run out of money. This is especially true during the phase before your first solo flight—when a lot of concepts come together for you to master. Therefore, you need enough funds to complete about 20 hours of dual flight, so that you don’t have to pause for that reason before you solo and lose ground that will take more time to relearn.

7. Set Aside 10 Hours a Week to Learn, Minimum

Flight training extracts a time penalty as well as a cost—and you will gladly immerse yourself in the magic of flight if you can do it. But if you’re learning to fly while outside of a full-time university, college, or academy program, you will need to be honest about the time you can allocate to ground study and flights.

For most, 10 hours makes for a good minimum weekly investment. If you can’t commit this much time each week, between home study and flight/ground lessons with your instructor, hold off on the commencement of training until you can. You’ll save money and frustration in the long run.

8. Know You’ll Plateau

Everyone who has ever learned to fly has leveled off in their learning. Instructors call this a “plateau”—but it doesn’t have to feel like a brick wall. It may be your life. It may be the weather. It may be landings you just can’t get dialed. But it will happen to you.

If you know this from a logical standpoint—that something is just going to take your brain longer to integrate, for whatever reason—you’re less inclined to feel frustrated or discouraged when it happens. You can address it by taking a weekend off, flying with another instructor, or just going up for fun.

Sure, it will still get you down. But even Bob Hoover had his bad days.

9. Prep for the Check Ride

There are a wide range of practical test preparation guides that will help you understand all you need to know in order to pass the check ride when the time comes. Having command of the material will help you combat any nervousness you feel on the big day.

But what other important elements are there to consider? You need to eat (a light meal) and drink (water is best) and rest well. In the days leading up to the test, you may toss and turn a bit the night before, but that won’t stymie you if you’ve gone into the home stretch with gas in your tank. Also, make sure you take at least one practice exam with another CFI. They will help find any weak spots and give you more confidence that it isn’t just luck propelling you forward.

10. Make Your Next Dream Come True

Once the check ride is over, don’t let your dream end there. Leave yourself one wish unfulfilled, so that you have something to strive for. It may be buying an airplane, working toward taking your family on a vacation flying, or pursuing an instrument rating. We’ll give you all the ideas you need in the pages of FLYING—so keep those issues coming too.

This feature first appeared in the March 2024/Issue 946 of FLYING’s print edition.

The post Learn to Fly in ’24: Helping Your Pursuit of the Dream appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Leadership on the flight deck sets those apart from the general pilot population—and there are ways to build your capabilities in this regard with greater assumption of authority along the way. We spoke with longtime FLYING contributor Pia Bergqvist about her journey from a well-rounded general aviation pilot to the left seat of a regional airliner—and, most recently, to the right seat of a Boeing 737 for a major U.S. airline. Her experience illuminates one way to accomplish the goal of becoming an airline pilot, and in this Q&A she shares her tips for being prepared when the opportunity knocks:

FLYING Magazine (FM): How did you know you wanted to pursue a career as a professional pilot, and specifically as an airline pilot?

Pia Bergqvist (PB): I grew up in Sweden and dreamed of being a pilot since I was 8 years old. Unfortunately, the challenge in researching the path to get there in the era before the internet, along with the fact that I was a woman desiring a very male-dominated profession, made my dream job seem unattainable.

• READ MORE: Airline Pilots Must Not Dismiss Mental Well-Being

I finally began pursuing my career in my late 20s. One of the first things I did was to become a member of Women in Aviation International, and I attended the conference in 2000. I remember visiting several airline booths and being blown away by all the women who were airline pilots. At that time, the one that stood out the most was FedEx, where I met a Swedish pilot who described her job. She flew all over the world, had lots of time off, and made enough money to live by the beach.

FM: When you committed to the pursuit, how did you identify the airline(s) you wanted to aim for? How did that choice affect your plans for training and what you needed to have on your résumé before applying?

PB: At the time when I started flying, I would have needed a significant amount of time flying as captain of a twin-turbine aircraft, preferably at a regional airline, before applying for a position with a major airline. While FedEx was my top choice, other attractive choices included United, American, Continental, and UPS, as they were all flying internationally.

I based my pick of potential regionals on advice from flight instructors at the flight school where I received all of my primary training—Justice Aviation in Santa Monica, California. The regional airlines of choice on the West Coast were SkyWest, Mesa, and American Eagle. I applied for my first airline job on September 10, 2001. As a result of the tragic events that followed the next day [on 9/11], I shelved my airline dream for nearly two decades.

FM: How did you build time before applying? What were the minimums when you made the application 20 years ago versus five years ago?

PB: When I first started flying, pilots were getting hired by regional airlines with as little as 1,000 hours of total time and a hundred hours of twin time. The industry was booming. I built most of my flight time through flight instruction before sending in my application with about 900 hours [under] my belt. I also built some twin time by flying from Torrance, California, to Nantucket, Massachusetts, and back in a Beechcraft Duchess.

At that time, the interview process was much more rigorous than it is today, and applicants had to have the written ATP test completed. Regionals also conducted cognitive tests and simulator evaluations.

• READ MORE: Airline Pilots Flying to Age 67?

Today, the FAA requires airline pilots to have at least 1,500 hours (or 1,000 through a limited number of approved flight training programs) and to complete an ATP-CTP training program before they can take the controls of an airliner—a change that resulted from the Colgan Air crash in 2009. Most airlines these days, whether regional or major, only require an application

and an interview. Whereas the major airlines used to require turbine PIC [pilot in command] time, some pilots are now hired with just a few hundred hours as a first officer.

FM: What tips do you have for that first interview?

PB: The most difficult part of getting hired with a major airline is actually getting to the interview stage. Stay in touch with the captains and flight instructors that you fly with. They will be a great resource when it comes time to apply as you will need several letters of recommendation. Meeting with the hiring teams at job fairs, meet-and-greets, and aviation conferences are also a good way to get your foot in the door.

There are many things that go into a successful interview. Make it clear that you really want to be there. Go in with a positive attitude. Dress well and make sure you’re groomed to look the part. Professional interview coaching companies, such as Emerald Coast, Cage Marshall Consulting, Raven Career Development, and Career Takeoff, are almost a must for a successful airline pilot interview. They will provide practice scenarios, targeted to your airline of choice, that will develop the confidence you need as you sit down to get grilled.

FM: How did initial training at the regional go? What tips would you give for a prospective pilot to help them prep for success in training?

PB: The initial training at the regional level can be very challenging. There are many new concepts that go into flying in a professional crew environment versus flying in general aviation.

Get familiar with the flows, callouts, and other procedures that are written into the company’s standard operating procedures [SOPs] manual as early as possible. The only way to learn these procedures is by constant repetition, so having a “paper tiger”—basically a printed version of the flight deck layout—and using it for chair flying is a very good way to get ready. Understand that it can take hundreds of repetitions to learn the proper procedures to an acceptable level. Just keep going.

Practice the flows, callouts, and procedures for normal, non-normal, and emergency operations until they’re perfect. And keep practicing them during times when you’re not in simulator training or the actual airplane. Being able to immediately and accurately execute emergency procedures is critical in those rare and unexpected situations, such as an engine failure.

FM: What was upgrading to captain like?

PB: When it came time for me to move from the right seat to the left seat, it felt very much like it felt to become a flight instructor. I questioned whether I was really ready to be the one in charge of the ship.

The key to success was channeling what I had learned from the captains who I enjoyed flying with as a first officer. So, pay close attention to what the captains do to get the airplane off the gate; how they deal with challenging situations with passengers, gate agents, and rampers; what they do if there is an maintenance issue or emergency, and so on. The schoolhouse upgrade training is great, but the more experience you have seeing how the real-world operations go, the better.

The training is basically identical to the first officer training, albeit with different flows and more responsibilities. Often, captain candidates are paired with first officers through the training and check rides. Your partner can make or break you, in either seat, so do your best to find a good one.

FM: When did you know you were ready to apply for the next step, the majors?

PB: Most people in the industry consider [this to be] an unprecedented time in airline pilot hiring. Everyone I flew with, whether captains or first officers, at the regional airline was talking about moving on.

There were many first officers I flew with who moved on before I did. There were some things in my personal life that held me back, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the regional airline, [but] it was time to move on. The working conditions, destinations, pay, and retirement plans are more attractive at the majors, even with the huge pay bump we got at the regionals in 2022.

I was proud to be a regional airline captain. But now I feel like I have reached the pinnacle of my career.

FM: How did you approach that training differently, knowing what you know now?

PB: I found the training at the major airline much more relaxed. Perhaps it was because I was more prepared and ready for the hard work that is required of pilots in airline training departments. But it appeared to me that the level of respect at the major airline was higher.

At the regional level, there were hard limits on how many extra hours of training pilots could receive or how many events could be unsuccessful before they let a trainee go. As a result, the stress level was high.

From my very loosely gathered data, it appears that about 15 percent of the trainees at my regional airline were let go for one reason or another. That stressor didn’t exist at the major airline where I trained. We were made to feel very welcome and part of the family.

FM: What qualities do you think pilots need to cultivate to shine in a sea of candidates for the same role?

PB: Be professional, both in appearance and the way you handle yourself. Be prepared. Make sure you keep current on company SOPs, FARs, and instrument procedures, how to interpret weather data, and other details that you should be familiar with as a professional pilot. Build relevant flight time. Volunteer with aviation organizations to show your passion for the profession.

If you’re applying for a major airline job, go the extra mile and visit a job fair, conference, or meet-and-greet to get your name on the radar. Keep in touch with people you’ve met, and treat people with kindness and respect. Before an interview, seek help from one of several airline interview prep companies, but find a way to be yourself.

The stakes are way too high to just “wing it.”

This Q&A first appeared in the March 2024/Issue 946 of FLYING’s print edition.

The post Pro Track: Finding Your Way to an Airline Pilot Career appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The beauty of the ATD is that scenarios can be created and adjusted to compensate for the learner’s changing skill level. It can also be reset with a few keystrokes, providing a more expedient learning environment. Here are a few scenarios that you might find useful.

Scenario 1: The Pattern

The pattern can be very intimidating to a learner. It can also be dangerous when the learner drops the airplane to fly the checklist or radio, so practice in the ATD is often a good way to learn procedures, as the ATD is a CFI-controlled environment.

To get the most out of the scenario, the learner should use the same procedures in the airplane.

Checklists need to be followed, and the appropriate power settings and aircraft configuration for each leg of the pattern should be called out and applied. Radio calls should be made too.

If the learner is having trouble remembering what comes next, press the pause button and discuss the options. The CFI can increase the complexity of the scenario by changing the winds or refusing to engage the pause button. This is like playing a piece of music on a piano from one end to the other: You may hit some sour notes, but you will learn.

• READ MORE: Healthy Obsession: What Flight Sim Has Done for Me

Pro tip: If the ATD does not have side-view screens, the CFI should remind the learner that each turn they make will be in 90-degree increments. Note the 90-degree marks on the heading indicator as these help with orientation. If utilizing Runway 17 with left traffic, the crosswind turn will be heading 080, downwind 350, base 260, etc. This can be very helpful when the learner goes to unfamiliar airports and isn’t sure what headings to fly in the pattern.

Make sure the learner focuses on altitude control in addition to headings. Don’t accept the excuses of “I can’t fly if I can’t see the runway,” or “I can’t feel the airplane.” It’s an ATD. You’re not supposed to feel it like you do the aircraft, but this can make you a better pilot as you will develop instrument scan and interpretation skills. This can greatly improve landings as you will be ahead of the airplane and nailing the airspeed and attitude on short final.

To change things up, the instructor can program a tailwind so the learner experiences this situation in a controlled environment, where running off the runway isn’t a big deal. We file this scenario under “This Is Why We Shouldn’t Do It.”

Scenario 2: Uncommanded Loss of Engine Power

This is the big kahuna of emergency scenarios, and if it happens in the real world, knowing what to do can be the difference between telling the story in the FBO lobby or having six of your best friends carry you in a box. The beauty of engine issues in the ATD is that they can be sneaky, just like they are in the airplane. Before the learner launches, the instructor can program the engine to lose power several minutes into the flight. This is usually better than tapping at the keyboard during the sim session because that puts the learner on notice that something is about to happen.

In the airplane, loss of engine power in training is done when the instructor pulls the throttle back. Real world, if the engine loses power, the throttle is probably not going to move. This can be confusing to the learner if they have a loss of engine power—they may not recognize it and simply be surprised they are losing altitude because the throttle position hasn’t changed. The ATD scenario fixes this misconception.

• READ MORE: Our Pilots of the Future May Share Sim Stories

Partial power loss scenarios—especially at low altitude—are very useful. If a learner develops good habits for addressing the issue, that behavior will likely be automatic in the airplane. With intermittent power challenges, they should focus on troubleshooting using the appropriate checklist and decision-making skills—should we land or push on? Situational awareness is also stressed: Where is the closest airport?

For best results, don’t give the learner an engine failure on every sim session and mix up 100 percent loss of power with the occasional partial loss. The latter on takeoff is the most important. You don’t have the time or altitude to troubleshoot, so good decision-making and situational awareness is key. Learners can practice pitching for airspeed.

Always brief the land-straight-ahead scenario and at what altitude you will attempt the turn back. If you are flying with another pilot, insist on briefing who-does-what tasks in this situation. One of you needs to fly; the other takes the radios if appropriate.

Scenario 3: VFR into IFR

If you read the accident reports the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) compiles, you will notice a lot are attributed in part to the pilot’s decision to continue VFR into deteriorating weather. In the ATD the scenario begins by having the pilot check the weather before takeoff. The CFI creates a scenario with marginal VFR and a mission, like the pilot who is trying to get their airplane to the maintenance shop because it is about to go out of annual. Talk about how “get-there-itis” can make a pilot do foolish things.

These flights work best if they are limited to an airport 10 to 15 miles away. It’s just a few minutes, right? What could go wrong? Then the CFI slowly brings the weather down. VFR to MVFR…then 2 miles visibility and a ceiling of 1,200 feet agl.

If the pilot does not possess an instrument rating or is out of proficiency, things can go bad rather quickly. You may even put the learner in and out of the clouds.

• READ MORE: Cirrus Adds Second Vision Jet Simulator

In this scenario, the options are a 180-degree turn using only rudder to avoid overbanking—common when you lose the outside horizon reference—to get back to VFR conditions or contacting ATC to ask where the nearest VFR is.

Focus on basic attitude flying using the attitude, airspeed, and heading indicators, or the backup instrument(s). If the aircraft the learner flies in the real world has an autopilot and the ATD has one, teach the learner how to use it. Put the aircraft in level flight to give them a moment to consider their next course of action so they are not anxiously doing climbs, descents, and unplanned turns.

If the learner is not instrument rated but is training at an airport with an instrument approach, this might be a great time to teach them how to fly the approach as an emergency measure. It just might entice the learner to pursue an instrument rating as it will provide extra skills to address this situation and allow them to legally fly in the clouds.

Scenario 4: Crosswinds

If only flight instructors could control the weather, we’d have the learners practicing crosswind takeoffs and landings on a regular basis. But as we can’t in the real world, we set up the ATD for those scenarios, starting with the limitations used for recently soloed learners. It might be no greater than 6 knots with gusts to 10 mph. Usually that limitation is lifted as the learner gains more experience as a pilot. In the ATD, you can change angle with a keystroke, so the learner can experience winds variable between a 45- and 90-degree angle to the flight path.

The demonstrated crosswind component of the aircraft, as noted in the POH for the make and model, should be discussed, and then you can have the student attempt to fly it. Then the CFI should increase the winds so they are 10 knots (or more) above the demonstrated crosswind component.

You might even increase them gradually while having the learner fly the pattern at the airport. If the approaches turn into go-arounds, suggest the learner head to the nearest airport with a crosswind runway, computing the time en route and perhaps getting flight following—the CFI plays ATC at this point. It is important to discuss decision-making in this scenario, and sometimes pilots become so fixated on trying to land that they end up fighting the airplane—or, in this case, the sim when the best course of action is to go to another airport with a more suitable runway alignment.

Scenario 5: Practice Navigation

Getting lost is one of the major phobias of many fledgling pilots. Depending on how sophisticated the ATD graphics are, they can be an excellent tool for teaching basic navigation. Start by having the learner use the compass and teaching UNOS (“undershoot north, overshoot south”) and ANDS (“accelerate north, decelerate south”). Once that is grasped, get sneaky and fail the heading indicator.

Next, introduce the VOR. For this, it is beneficial to pause the device and walk through TIMS: tune it in, identify it by the Morse code, monitor it (listen to the code twice), and then finally set it so the needle centers up with a “From” indication. Why “From”? Because that’s how most of us process geographic relationships. If you asked someone about the nautical-mile distance between Oshkosh and Green Bay in Wisconsin, the answer would be “Oshkosh is 37 nautical miles from Green Bay.”

With a few keystrokes, the CFI can reposition the learner. Have them use the VOR to determine what radial they are on, and if the unit has DME, show you where they are on a sectional. For an extra level of challenge, reposition the virtual airplane and have the learner use the VORs to determine where they are using triangulation.

I don’t allow the learners to use the GPS in the airplane until they’ve learned the other means of navigation. I do not want them to become slaves to the magenta line, but that being said, the use of GPS is critical as you want to avoid the random panic pushing of buttons.

You will see this tendency in the ATD as well, but in the sim you can pause the action then discuss what the learner is trying to accomplish and go through the steps to find the menus and pages.

This is a lesson that should not be rushed. Have the learner go through a flight from start-up to shutdown using the GPS. Note the appropriate checklists, check RAIM if doing instrument approaches, note aircraft performance, and build flight plans. The idea is to learn the procedures in the controlled environment of the ATD, so when the learner gets into the faster-paced, less-forgiving aircraft, they will have a better chance of staying ahead of the airplane.

Remind the learners that GPS is much more than the “Direct To” key, because the direct key and the magenta line will put them through a mountainside or airspace requiring a clearance, so they best have their wits about them and maintain situational awareness.

The Ultimate IFR Scenario

Preparing a learner for their instrument check ride is much more than having them fly a particular profile under a view-limiting device. You’re supposed to be trained for the real world, with all the challenges and decisions that come with it. Do this with a scenario—the difference between a scenario and practice is that, when doing a scenario, the pause button is not allowed. You can’t do it in the airplane, so you can’t do it in the ATD.

This throws down a gauntlet of challenge.

The CFI plays ATC during this scenario, giving the learner their clearances and fielding requests, just as ATC does. Keep it realistic.

Do that in the ATD first by having the learner plan a cross-country flight in it and launch in MVFR but on an IFR flight plan. When they are just about at their destination, the airport is closed—maybe there is a disabled aircraft on the runway—what are the pilot’s options? Should they hold? Divert? The CFI should be prepared for anything, including the random instrument failure.

A Word About Emergencies

It’s a good idea to occasionally drop in a few emergencies during practice or scenarios but not to do them every time. That’s not realistic, or if it is, find a different flight school because that one has serious maintenance issues. There are also some emergencies I file under “I Hope You Never Need to Know This.”

The first one is the jammed elevator. Teach the learner to control the aircraft’s pitch attitude using throttle and trim, and to make the mother of all straight-ins. I compare this maneuver to knowing CPR—I hope I never have to use it, but I am glad I know how to do it.

When we practice a loss of engine power and emergency landing in the real world, we’re usually within gliding distance of an airport. We do clearing turns, identify the emergency landing area, then the maneuver commences. If only the real world was that predictable.

It can be very beneficial for the learner if the CFI fails the engine when the learner is not near an airport—where will they go? Into the trees? Are they over a beach? Can they make it to that grass strip the GPS says is 1.5 miles away? This is an exercise in decision-making. It may be a no-win scenario, or they may be that guy that puts it down in the farm field then lives to share the story.

And one more note about pacing: Some ATDs have the option to change the speed of the scenario. You can make it slow to allow the learner more reaction time, or you can speed it up to create a more challenging experience. If the learner is having difficulty staying ahead of the action, slow it down. If they are ready for a challenge, speed it up.

For best results, always use a syllabus and have an objective when you use the ATD. Finally, make sure you brief the lesson, just like you would in the airplane. Discuss how the scenario will be achieved—and let learning take place.

This column first appeared in the March 2024/Issue 946 of FLYING’s print edition.

The post Flight Sims for the Win: It’s All About Repetition and Drill appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to Daher and GAMA, four students, two from North America and two from Europe, will be selected. The interns will spend eight weeks exploring their areas of interest at the facilities of Daher’s aircraft division outside their home countries.

The North American interns will be assigned to the division’s Tarbes, France, headquarters and production facility for TBM aircraft. The interns coming from Europe will be based at the division’s Sandpoint, Idaho, operation, where Kodiak aircraft are produced. The company noted that the internship covers travel and living expenses, and lodging costs.

• READ MORE: GAMA, Daher International Internship Aims to Build Aerospace Workforce

“These internships provide students with an invaluable educational experience that will further their knowledge of the incredible opportunities in our robust and global industry,” said Pete Bunce, GAMA president and CEO, adding that he was particularly impressed after spending time with last year’s interns in Tarbes and Sandpoint.”[It was] inspiring to see these extraordinary experiences spark their enthusiasm toward future opportunities in the industry.”

Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher’s aircraft division, echoed Bunce’s enthusiasm.

“More than ever, the general aviation sector must motivate those who will lead the industry of tomorrow, facing challenges that range from reducing its environmental impact and finding new global supply chain solutions to strengthening the talent pipeline for all types of jobs,” Chabbert said.

All four interns will be part of Daher’s team at EAA AirVenture at the end of July. During the annual gathering in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, they will have the chance to explore the aviation world and potential careers.

Who Is Eligible?

The internship is open to ages 21 to 24  who are citizens of the United States, Canada, or Europe. They must be enrolled as full-time students pursuing associate, undergraduate, or graduate degrees. Applicants should be able to demonstrate an interest in an aeronautical career, such as engineering, flying, aircraft maintenance, manufacturing, marketing, or related areas.

Candidates need to submit a résumé and cover letter that explains why they are the optimum candidate for the experience and provide supporting examples of interests and achievements. They must also submit a 40-second video introducing themselves and describing expectations for the internship.

North American students can apply here.

European students should apply at the GAMA-Daher U.S. internship experience or via email at w.ferreira@daher.com.

The deadline for submissions is March 30. The selections for this year’s internships will be announced by Daher and GAMA at the Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo on April 9 in Lakeland, Florida.

The post Daher, GAMA International Internship Program Looking for Candidates appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Answer: This seemingly straightforward question has a complicated answer that begins with more questions: Why do you want to fly? Is it a bucket list item? Are you wanting to make a career change? Are you looking for an initial career?

When the person asking the question is a teenager, we need to take a look at their age. You can earn a glider certificate at 14, solo a powered airplane at 16, and become a private pilot at age 17. But that doesn’t mean a teen has the maturity to accept the responsibility of being a pilot. In addition, teens are notoriously overscheduled these days. If they are taking a heavy course load at school, playing a sport, or involved in a lot of extracurriculars such as band, robotics club, etc., this may not be the time to start flying lessons. They need to be able to focus on the task, and that’s tough to do when you are spread so thin. 

As flying skills are perishable, for teens seeking training in powered aircraft it is often best to schedule flight lessons a few months ahead of their 16th birthday and/or when the weather in your part of the world is best. You don’t want the training to drag out for too long. However, I have worked with teens as young as 14 for whom flying lessons were a reward for doing well in school—straight A’s will get you into the cockpit or ground school, but the teen will have to do the work once they get there. When their birthday on the calendar caught up with their training progress, they earned their certificates.

• READ MORE: Age Is Just a Number When It Comes to Flight Training

For the person seeking a career change, the question pivots to: Do you have the time and money to devote at least 10 hours a week to learning to fly? Don’t forget to factor in study time as well as commuting to and from the airport. Take a serious look at your adult responsibilities, such as simultaneously managing your present career and family obligations, before you commit.

Even if you select an accelerated program, anticipate at least two years of training before having the certifications and experience needed to be hired as a pilot.

Bucket List

If flying is simply the thing that has tugged at your heart for a long time, take consolation. There is no upper-age limit for learning to fly. For a sport pilot certificate, you can use your driver’s license in lieu of a medical exam. If you wish to be a private pilot, as long as you can meet the requirements of a third-class medical certificate, age isn’t a factor. In fact, as a retiree, you may be at the point in your life when you have the time and resources to do what you want. Many people learn to fly when they set aside their primary career and open up their world to the next thing. You could be one of them.

The post What’s the Ideal Age to Start Flying Lessons? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Very often these events are the result of the pilot being behind the airplane or flying by rote—My instructor told me to land with full flaps, and I forgot, but here I am on short final, so I will dump them in, although the aircraft is low, according to the PAPI lights.

Every pilot goes through this learning curve. It can be addressed by focusing on the procedures for the pattern practiced away from the pattern, and at a high altitude, there is room to recover if a stall occurs.

Begin with the Checklist

Good checklist application should begin from the first lesson and the preflight inspection. The CFI can model this behavior. It is not uncommon for a new learner to ask why a checklist is used. 

I watched one of my airport sons turned CFI working with a learner—his grandfather had helped train me—checklist in hand, and I was pleased to see son using it with his learner. When the learner asked why he “still had to use a checklist” if he had been flying for so many years, son tossed me a look as he said, “Because I have had good training.”

Checklists for Maneuvers

There are checklists for preflight inspection, engine start, taxi, and run-up. Then, when it is time for takeoff, the checklist is often dropped, and on one occasion, tossed in the back seat by the learner who said he wouldn’t need it for laps in the pattern or out in the practice area. Wrong.

In the practice area, the pre-maneuver checklist should be used because a rushed or poor setup—not unlike a poor pattern—will likely result in a poorly executed maneuver.

I witnessed this when working with a new-hire CFI. He was asked to demonstrate slow flight. After the clearing turns, he slowed the Cessna 172 into the white arc then dumped the flaps in all at once, resulting in a dramatic nose-up pitch, followed by a rough power-off stall and  equally rough recovery from stall.

I pointed out the procedure checklist used by the school to teach slow flight indicated flaps should be added incrementally, and the learner’s attention called to the fact they were losing airspeed and needed to adjust trim and power to hold altitude and avoid a stall during slow flight. He replied, “My way saves time.” “Your way doesn’t teach slow flight,” I countered, which was the lesson objective.

For reasons I have yet to fathom, he thought every time the learner performed the task they would have to read it off the maneuvers checklist, then perform the task. Read the next line, then perform a task. This was puzzling as at the top of each page on the checklist was the caveat, “Maneuvers should be memorized before check ride.”

A bit of sleuthing revealed he had never been exposed to a maneuvers checklist before. This was of great concern to the airline pilot who was part owner of the school. He advised the CFIs that at the airlines, “You don’t even scratch your nose without referring to a checklist.”

• READ MORE: Make the Most of the Checklist

Study the Maneuvers Checklist

Before each flight, study the maneuvers checklist. Note the airspeed targets and aircraft configuration. Not only does it make your setup for maneuvers smoother, getting into this habit can help you stay ahead of the airplane in the traffic pattern, when things can get fast and furious.

Pattern Procedures

Most flight lessons that begin by heading out to the practice area terminate with a few laps in the pattern. Setting up for the pattern should begin before departing the practice area as the pilot in command (PIC) checks the weather and determines which runway is in use.

I am not a fan of diving down to pattern altitude while still in the practice area unless there is a darn good reason—like avoiding a shelf of airspace or hostile clouds—because 1,000 feet agl doesn’t give you a lot of time to react should you have an uncommanded loss of engine power. 

Instead, focus on a controlled descent—300 fpm, for example. I always ask my learners when we will be at pattern altitude—over what landmark? We stress being established at pattern altitude on the 45-degree leg to the pattern. As we enter this leg, the learner verbalizes the prelanding checklist, or GUMPS: gas, undercarriage, mixture, primer or pump, and safety items— seat belts and lights. Even if you are flying an aircraft with fixed gear, get into the habit of looking at the tire and verbalizing “gear down and locked.”

Every time there is an aircraft configuration change, be it adjusting power or lowering flaps, the learners verbalize “pitch, power, trim” as they perform the action.

Airspeeds are called out. As most of them want careers as professional pilots, our students might as well get used to it. I started using the callout “white arc confirmed” after another CFI had a learner who dumped the flaps outside the white arc and damaged them.

It is critical to monitor the airspeed on downwind, as this is the longest leg in the pattern and gives you the most time to make adjustments. If you are in a twin or flying a high-performance single and sharing the pattern with slower aircraft, you will likely reduce power right after turning from crosswind to downwind so you do not crowd them. If you can’t get your aircraft slowed down by the time you are abeam the numbers, depart the pattern and reenter on the 45.

You don’t want to be chasing your own airplane as you roll on the base turn, adding extra flaps and jockeying the throttle, because when you go outside normal procedures, that is when mistakes happen.

The base-to-final turn has a lot of variables. You need to be at the correct altitude, airspeed, and aircraft configuration. Timing this turn is like throwing a pass to a wide receiver in football. You want to time it. Don’t rush it and get uncoordinated—nor do you want to have such a shallow turn that you overshoot. I like to practice descending turns up at altitude, so in case we do have a stall, we can recover.

Rolling onto final, call your landing spot. Will you land on the numbers? The second centerline stripe?

Triple-check your landing gear: “Final clear, check the gear,” as FLYING editor-in-chief/CFI Julie Boatman likes to say. Every. Single. Time. Retract or not.

Make sure the aircraft configuration, especially the airspeed, supports the choice of spot. If not, go around. Never try to “salvage” a poor approach or bounced landing unless it is an emergency.

When you touch down, please, please, please do not push the yoke forward or slam on the brakes.

Different Airplane, Different Procedures

Be very careful about negative transference—that is, doing the correct procedure for one airplane in the wrong airplane. We all do it at least once. It can happen subtly. You are used to flying a Cessna 182, which requires 20 degrees of flaps for a short-field takeoff, but that day you are flying a Cessna 172, which only requires 10 degrees of flaps.

If you are a CFI and fly several airplanes, you may find it handy to create a cheat sheet for each airplane that contains their numbers and procedural quirks. For example, one handles better with a power setting of 1,500 rpm, another 1,600, although they are both Cessna 172s. I wrote out personal notes for myself on 3-by-5 index cards and carried them in a pouch on a lanyard around my neck. I referred to them before each flight.

I told the learners this was like knowing which one of the kids I was babysitting was allergic to dairy, so I didn’t accidentally poison them.

As the learner gets close to first solo, many instructors make it a rule that unless the approach is perfect, the learner will have to go around. Be careful with this as often the learner will try to force the airplane down on the third attempt, which, according to the FAA, is often when accidents take place.

Go around again and focus on the fourth attempt or have the CFI fly it with the learner talking them through the process and performing all radio calls. This gives the learner a chance to rest and really tests their knowledge as they are required to teach it back to the instructor.

There’s a reason we do so many laps in the pattern during training. There’s a lot going on. Practicing and following these procedures helps you stay ahead of the airplane. When you do the same thing pretty much every time—making slight corrections as warranted—you will have good approaches and landings.

In this way flying is a lot like cooking: Follow the recipe, and you’ll get great results.

The post Procedures for Stable Approaches appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Although the statement may be a slight embellishment, it gave me pause for contemplation. Decision fatigue is one of Reeves’ iconic concepts. The theory is that humans, and more importantly pilots, have the capability of making only a finite number of good decisions in one day.

Well, I gotta admit not having to choose attire for every trip reduced my preflight workload. Perhaps my less-than-desirable landings at the end of a flight now have an explanation…or at least they have a new basis for rationalization. The decision fatigue theory is just one of many out-of-the-box concepts that Reeves presents.

Another favorite instructional concept from Reeves is to declare an emergency before the situation really becomes one. I couldn’t agree more. A higher-than-normal oil temperature may not be a major problem in the moment, but if the circumstance leads to a rapid loss in oil pressure, an engine failure is sure to follow.

So, who is the Guy in the Pink Shirt? Gary Dale Reeves has been instructing for more than two decades. One of his notable claims to fame is being named the 2019 national CFI of the year. He is also an FAA Safety Team lead representative. His focus is combining avionics technology with real-life IFR flying. He is a computer geek and a passionate flight instructor. He is an animated and entertaining public speaker. Garmin, Avidyne, ForeFlight, and Genesys S-Tec autopilots are all part of his expertise.

Reeves’ website offers videos of actual in-flight IFR instruction. His flagship product is a three-day course using a client’s airplane for the sole purpose of mastering the installed avionics to fly single pilot safely and comfortably in IFR conditions. He will come to you, or you can come to him.

Much of Reeves’ philosophy, “Mastery, Not Minimums,” is explained in his book, Single-Pilot IFR Pro Tips. For airline pilots engaging or reengaging in the general aviation world, this is a must-read. The book provides a perspective beyond traditional airline thinking, especially given the fact an experienced copilot is no longer part of the equation.

It’s not my intent for this column to be an infomercial, but for those of us having spent decades involved with professional flying, we encounter only a handful of instructors that make a lasting impression on our aviation psyche. Perhaps these folks share a common denominator.

In Reeves’ circumstance, a diverse background prior to establishing himself in his current vocation is most likely what defined some of his unique perspectives. His attraction to aviation was launched with a flight on Braniff Air Lines. While in grade school, his dad began taking flying lessons and allowed Reeves the opportunity to observe. On one notable flight aboard a Cessna 172, a stall was presented. Rather than recoil in fear at the experience, he asked for another demonstration.

Reeves began his career as a paramedic, which ultimately set the foundation for his methodical approach to handling high-stress situations. In his late 20s, an experience during an introductory ride with a reckless instructor who unexpectedly demonstrated a power-on stall discouraged his initial entry to aviation.

The event left an impression that most likely molded his conduct as a professional instructor. Despite the experience, he began to take flying lessons, eventually becoming a private pilot.

As an entrepreneur, Reeves saw a demand that no one thought to address and created an animal ambulance company. Although the company was successful, it consumed his life. Flying airplanes became his stress relief. At the ripe, old age of 32, he sold the business and escaped to Las Vegas after reading an ATP Flight School advertisement for a 10-day course that provided instruction to attain CFI, CFII, and MEI ratings.

• READ MORE: Webinar Aims to Help CFIs Help Airline Pilots Return to GA

As well as being frequently self-deprecating with his anecdotal stories, Reeves didn’t give himself high marks as a first-year flight instructor. That said, he committed the ultimate aviation sin and bought a flight school, operating the business for six years. He began to realize that his forte was not teaching students how to perform a chandelle but rather the art of IFR. Combining his technology geekiness with real-life instrument flying, he found a niche.

After becoming an expert, instructing students on the Garmin GNS 430, Reeves was approached by Avidyne to be its authorized training representative. Genesys S-Tec autopilots and Aspen Avionics also became part of his repertoire. Although he considers John and Martha King friends, he distinguishes their video training as controlled studio productions versus his actual onboard-the-airplane slices of real life.

One of Reeves’ philosophical arguments is that there is no value in critical analysis of an accident. Analysis may shed light on the mistakes made, but it’s possible that with the same circumstances, another pilot might react exactly the same. Why? Because in an emergency situation a flood of adrenalin can cause a state of paralysis where logical reasoning is suppressed.

According to Reeves, a medical study compared this adrenalin influx to a blood-alcohol level 50 percent above the legal driving limit. In that regard, he is a huge proponent of using the autopilot whenever possible. Another concept that is difficult for even airline pilots to utter is “unable,” especially for a weather avoidance situation.

For single-pilot IFR operations, as a change in mindset regarding alternate airport selection, Reeves’ recommended technique is to pick three airports rather than the legal requirement of usually just one. First, select a point on the route approximately halfway to the destination. Then locate an airport near that point with adequate facilities—fuel, hotels, dining, transportation, etc.

With today’s availability of obtaining onboard weather data, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if the destination’s ceiling or visibility begins to deteriorate. Why hassle with the stressful tasks of a potential holding pattern, a missed approach, and a flight to an unscheduled destination with less fuel in the tanks? Divert early to the halfway point airport instead.

Using this technique, the destination alternate is used as a contingency for a disabled airplane on the runway or other such unpredictable circumstance.

The third alternate airport is for takeoff. For airline operations, a takeoff alternate is only required if the weather is below landing minimums. With single-pilot IFR operations, a takeoff alternate is used if a mechanical or other such problem occurs and a return to the departure airport is not a practical option.

So, where did the pink shirt idea come from? Apparently, Reeves had decided to change his usual attire at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh. Considering his flight instruction focus, someone appropriately called him “GPS”—Guy in the Pink Shirt.

Some may find fault with all or parts of Reeves’ techniques, but you have to agree that they are based in sound logic and practicality. He is certainly receptive to other opinions as he combines conventional aviation training with innovative thinking.

In that regard, that’s why pink is the new magenta.

This column first appeared in the September 2023/Issue 941 of FLYING’s print edition.

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