The Prevalence Error - Why We Look but Do Not See November 2018 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...
The Middle-aged Aviator August 2018 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...
Cargo Cult Thinking July 2018 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...
FAR CHANGES THAT BENEFIT GENERAL AVIATION - BIG TIME! June 2018 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...
ACS Changes? Don't Celebrate Yet June 2018 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...
How Is Maneuvering Speed Determined? May 2018 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...
Why Maneuvering Speed Changes With Weight May 2018 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...
Why Vx & Vy Change With Altitude May 2018 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...
The Proper Attitude for Making a High Density Altitude Takeoff May 2018 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...