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• The Power of Flight Simulators

  

  Flight Training on a Budget By Rod Machado Over a period of two semesters, a young college student with two intro flights in his logbook acquired approximately 60 hours of supervised training using a desktop flight simulator. Curious to test... read more

• The Prevalence Error - Why We Look but Do Not See

  

  Looking Good, but Seeing Little By Rod Machado Recently, I was having a difficult time seeing things that were in plain view. I was even thinking about visiting the Our Lady of Fatima Optometry Center, where their motto is, “If... read more

• The Middle-aged Aviator

  

   By Rod Machado Over the years, I’ve heard many stories about middle-aged pilots (45-65 years) who gave up flying due to a sudden onset of anxiety. Apparently this wasn’t induced by any specific aviation trauma nor inspired by the relatively... read more

• Cargo Cult Thinking

  

  By Rod Machado  Early in the 20th Century, pilots visited remote islands by air, dropping off goodies for Tarzan and Jane. On subsequent visits, these pilots noticed that the natives had built flimsy stick-and-twig replicas of their airplanes. Anthropologists named... read more

• Recent Changes to Part-61 and Why They Are FANTASTIC!

  

  By Rod Machado Am I happy about the recent changes to FAR Part 61? You bet I’m happy. These changes will be helpful to general aviation in much the same way a corkscrew is to a Frenchman on Bastille Day.... read more

• FAR CHANGES THAT BENEFIT GENERAL AVIATION - BIG TIME!

  

  The FAA has just released several "final new rules" that will have a positive effect on general aviation. The FAA deserves props for these changes and I want to be the first to congratulate them. You can read the rule making... read more

• ACS Changes? Don't Celebrate Yet

  

  Flight instructors! Remove those party hats, collect the confetti and deflate those balloons because this is no time to celebrate. Celebrate what? I'm speaking of celebrating the FAA's semi-reinstatement of full-stalls in the June 2018 Commercial Airplane ACS. It turns out that... read more

• How Is Maneuvering Speed Determined?

  
  
  

  If you've ever wondered how engineers find an airplane's maneuvering speed, here's your chance to understand the concept in non-technical terms. That's right! No math here. Sit back, relax and let Rod Machado help you better understand Va and how... read more

• Why Maneuvering Speed Changes With Weight

  
  
  

  In the previous video titled, "Understanding Maneuvering Speed," I explained how maneuvering speed helps prevent structural damage to the airplane. In this video, I explain why maneuvering speed changes with a change in the airplane's weight. You must watch the... read more

• Why Vx & Vy Change With Altitude

  

  If you've ever wondered why Vx (best angle of climb speed) and Vy (best rate of climb speed) change with altitude, here's a short explanation of the concept by Rod Machado read more

• The Proper Attitude for Making a High Density Altitude Takeoff

  

  Not knowing how to select the proper attitude for departure from a high density altitude airport means you might accidentally clip the top of tall pine trees near the end of the runway (or worse). This is no way to... read more

• Teaching Students How to Think Ahead of the Airplane

  
  
  

  Here is a simple but very effective behavior modification technique I've used with my students over the years to train them to think ahead of the airplane. It's based on the principle of associative conditioning. Use it to train your... read more