The Pilot’s Way
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Bartow
Today I finally succeeded in my efforts of trying to wake up early at the weekend. Actually it was a good reason to do it: much more chances to fly cross-country wherever you want before thunderstorm activity. Today I was going to Bartow. It is an airport in about 70 miles to the South-East. Close…
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Lake-City
At the weekends I used to fly from the early morning, but this Saturday I decided to sleep some more: it is not a good idea to fly if you’re tired. Today the weather was good, so it was possible to fly to Lake-City. So, why that place? First of all, the weather is much…
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High-Performance Airplane
Commercial pilot license requirements contain 10 hours of complex airplane flight time (at least it was so in 2018 – as far as I know, now only technically advanced aircraft time is required). Complex airplane means the one with a retractable gear, flaps and constant-speed prop. But from the April 2018 it is not required…
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Spin Training
Spin Training is a part of the flight instructor course, but I suppose that this training is useful for all pilots. Of course it’s better to recognize approaching spin in advance, but sometimes shit happens anyway, and it’s good to know what to do in that case. In theory the process is not very hard:…
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Fly-in Breakfast
Today we had a fly-in breakfast at one of the airports nearby, in about 1h of flight. This airport does not have a communication frequency, so in these cases in Florida we should use either 122.9 or 122.75. In our case it was 122.9. In spite of arriving rather early, we heard a lot of…
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Navigating around Thunderstorms on the Way to Gainesville
As I already mentioned, I encountered an issue preventing an IFR flight with the school’s black N4642J due to an oil temperature problem. However, the weather conditions were still suitable for flying, and another aircraft became available. By 2:30 pm, there was still an opportunity to make a flight to Gainesville and back. The weather…
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Navigating Summer Skies in Florida
Summer in Florida proves more challenging than winter for flying. While it’s generally feasible to fly year-round (as we can see in nearly all flight school ads), the extended daylight hours in winter contrast with the limited 2-3 hour windows in summer, sometimes nullifying flying altogether. Anticipating thunderstorms around 2-3 pm became my routine every…
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Embarking on Multi-Engine Adventures
I’m embarking on my multi-engine flights. The FAA CPL mandates 10 hours in a “complex airplane”. It means retractable gear, constant speed prop and flaps. Now it changed, but in 2018 this requirement was still in effect. I was set on obtaining the Multi-Engine (ME) rating anyway, and decided to accrue my complex hours in…
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Chasing Tranquility: Embracing an Early Morning Flight to Apopka Airport
The summer weather in Florida presents challenges, but early morning flights usually offer a serene escape from turbulent clouds and thunderstorms. Today I chose one of those mornings to fly. Although visibility was not perfect compared to later in the day, it remained acceptable. I cherish these morning flights for their tranquility, cooler temperatures, and…
What do you think?