All Rod's Posts

By Rod Machado When Bob stepped into his Cessna 172 on a recent Sunday morning, he had no idea how difficult it would be to apply power for takeoff. No, his airplane was...

Automatic Direction Finding (ADF) Navigation:On Not Being a Homing BoyBy Rod Machado It's been said that anyone who keeps an ADF unit in his airplane does so because he can't...

Pop psychologist Leo Buscaglia once said, “When you learn something new, you become something new.” This is a vivid description of the benefits of learning to fly.

By Rod Machado Here's the scenario: From your present position shown in the graphic above ATC says, "....taxi to Runway 19R via taxiway Whiskey, hold short of Runway 19R at...

In its 1965 Flight Training Handbook, the FAA dedicated over two pages of text to explain the concept of flight at minimum controllable airspeed (MCA)

By Rod Machado Every student wants a good instructor. That’s given. What’s often not understood by these same students is that good instructors also want good students. The problem is...

By Rod Machado Are you interested in sabotaging your flight training experience? OK, then let me help. Here’s how to do it. Before you begin your flight training, demand to...

By Rod Machado This is a actual letter I received from a student pilot along with my reply. Dear Mr. Machado: I don't know what to do. I'm a student...

   “Hey Rod, tomorrow I’m taking my little airplane out to see what it can do. I’ll see ya later.”   Those were the last words I ever heard my best...