Category: Airplane

  • IR Part 141, lessons 7 and 8: Brush Up and Radio Navigation

    Lesson 7 is a review of all previous lessons, focusing mainly on airplane control and unusual attitudes. Lesson 8, on the other hand, is completely new and focused on navigation, particularly VOR interception and tracking. The theory is easy, but in practice, the workload is pretty high, especially the first time when you need to…

  • IR Part 141, Lesson 6: Radio Navigation and Maneuvers

    Today’s weather is pretty challenging, with occasional wind gusts up to 15 knots. Apart from that, everything is great, and we’re going to fly at about 3000 feet, where the air is less turbulent. Today, I flew a different airplane, and I had the impression that it was not properly trimmed and tended to turn…

  • Partial Panel Flying: Dealing with Instrument Failures

    For every pilot, it’s crucial to deal with any system failure promptly. Recognizing failures and taking corrective action can be vital, especially in bad weather. Today’s lesson was about flying without some instruments, a technique called “partial panel.” In practice, the instructors covered some instruments, and I had to perform the usual maneuvers, including stalls,…

  • Choosing the Best Place to Obtain a Pilot License: Considerations about Flight Schools in Europe and the United States

    For every professional pilot, the first step is a Private Pilot License (PPL). The second usual step is an Instrument Rating (IR), which allows one to fly in worse weather. Currently, I am at this stage, but what’s next? For various reasons, I decided to learn to fly in Europe and in the US. Australia…

  • Revisiting Crosswind Landings and Unusual Attitudes Recovery

    The airplane I flew today was great, but the weather wasn’t ideal. Crosswinds and gusts of up to 15 knots weren’t something a beginner pilot dreams of. We made a couple of landings, but one of them had to be aborted due to a gust of wind we encountered at about 100 feet above the…

  • Flying a 737: My Experience with Instrument Flying

    I’m proud to say that I flew a 737! It was so cool that I’m going to tell all my friends about it! Okay, not exactly. It was not a Boeing 737, just a small Cessna with the registration number N737HW. But hopefully I’m on the way! Actually, the airplane itself flew a little worse…

  • My Long-Awaited Return to the Skies: First Flight in Florida

    After dealing with all the necessary legalities for studying in the US, I finally have the opportunity to fly again! However, it’s not without its challenges. There are four new factors that I have to work with: it’s been a while since I’ve flown (since August), I’ve never flown a Cessna 172, I’ve never flown…

  • Getting Started with Flight Training in Florida: Medical Exams and Fingerprinting

    Getting a US medical examination was my first priority after arriving in the US. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to fly legally. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to visit the doctor yesterday, so I spent most of the day sleeping. I’m guessing it was just jet lag. This morning, I finally made it to the…

  • Starting Flight Training in the US: My Journey and Plans Ahead

    The blog is still alive, and I’m happy to report that I’m still pursuing my flight training. I haven’t made any post in a while, but that’s only because I’ve been studying hard (although not the EASA subjects) and waiting for my visa to be approved. For those who are interested in flight training in…

  • Chasing My Aviation Dreams: Pursuing an Instrument Rating in the US

    It has been a long time since my previous post, but that’s because almost nothing was happening. I have been studying a lot, and it’s really hard to remember all this stuff. I have decided to obtain an Instrument Rating in the US as well. Whenever I had some free time, I was looking for…