The Pilot’s Way
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First Solo Flight: A Milestone Moment in My Aviation Journey
Finally, the day arrived – I flew my first solo today, a crucial milestone for any pilot. Prior to the solo, I had flown over 10 patterns with my instructor and another three with the examiner. The examiner stayed on the ground with a handheld radio and provided very clear instructions beforehand: if he were…
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From Above: Land in Sight!
We have been flying a lot of aerodrome patterns lately, trying them out in different aerodromes to get a richer experience. While I am improving, my instructor is not completely confident in my flying, and so he doesn’t want to let me fly solo just yet. Perhaps if I had only one instructor from the…
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Exam Success: Reflections on Passing the EASA PPL Written Exams
Today, I passed the remaining written exam subjects for my private pilot course. I described my first attempt here. One nice surprise was that retaking the exams is totally free in the Czech Republic. I had assumed that I would have to pay for each attempt, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this…
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Exploring Karlovy Vary from the Air: Flying to the Controlled Airspace
Karlovy Vary is a stunning location, with its lakes and buildings appearing even more breathtaking from a bird’s eye view. As part of my private pilot training curriculum, I had the opportunity to fly to the CTR (control zone) today, and I was taken aback by the high workload. Although the flight was almost identical…
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Exploring New Aerodromes: A Pilot’s Perspective on Grass Runways
I enjoy exploring new aerodromes as they may appear similar, but each one has its unique characteristics. While I acknowledge that my experience as a pilot was still limited when I wrote this post, I believe this holds true for much more experienced pilots as well. I’ve already shared my thoughts about grass and concrete…
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Grass or Concrete: Which is Better for Landing and Why It Matters
Which surface is better for landing? For some reason, I prefer concrete. While grass is softer and results in an easier and gentler touchdown, concrete is flatter and smoother. Moreover, taking off from a concrete runway is definitely better. However, I understand the importance of gaining experience on grass strips, particularly for bush pilot jobs.…
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Leveling Up: Improving My Landings on a Grass Strip
I had a lot of landings on the grass. In fact, I had REALLY a lot of landings on the grass. Today, I flew patterns on the aerodrome with a grass strip. During my flight today, I made many landings. The main takeaway is that I finally feel like I am in control of the…
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My Hang-Gliding Adventure: Dreaming of Future Flights
Today I finally flew a real hang-glider after spending some days flying trainers. It was an aircraft with an 18-square-meter wing. My first impression was fantastic, as I was in the middle of the recommended weight limits! In Russia, I only flew training hang-gliders manufactured by Aeros with a 16-square-meter wing, so I was a…
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Navigating Tight Spaces: Coordinated Turns for Successful Landings
What’s necessary for a good landing on a small landing area? Correctly estimating altitude, wind, applying proper wind correction, and making coordinated turns with predictable altitude loss are all key. Today I practiced these skills, except for wind estimation, which was easy thanks to the many windsocks on the hill. I started with 45-degree turns…
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