For some, a good internal compass—not the literal kind but the figurative one—makes it easy for you to identify the moves to make to set you on course. For others, pursuing the dream of learning to fly may feel too abstract to turn into reality.

First off, what does “learn to fly” mean for you? Is it the ability to fly for yourself, with friends and family, for a business, or to own an airplane? Or is it the first stage in an aviation career?

Either way, you start with an initial pilot certification—either a light sport or private pilot certificate—as your first goal. That will give you the ability to fly a light airplane with one engine, about the same size as a car (with wings). And you can generally take a couple of people with you essentially anywhere in the United States—and abroad, in a U.S.-registered airplane.

We’ll talk about how you do that and some other ideas to consider along the way in this special section on learning to fly in this issue. It’s really up to you how far you want to take this dream.

But to kick things off, here are our top 10 key elements to transforming your fantasies of flight into action. It will be your move next.

1. Pick the Right Kind of Influence(r)

That’s a mentor, not a person you follow on Instagram. Yes, we love to follow the latest and greatest exploits of pilots (or those posing as pilots) online, on all the socials from TikTok to YouTube. And there’s some great stuff out there in the metaverse. But there’s also a lot of garbage and a lot of stupid pilot tricks posing as cool flights to try for yourself.

That’s why finding an IRL person to talk with about your pilot journey is so important. Arguably this person should not be your instructor (we’ll get to that in a sec), and often it shouldn’t be a family member. You want someone with experience as the kind of pilot you want to be—and a good sense of who you are so they can help guide you through the rough spots.

They can also help you separate the awesomeness from the “don’t-try-this-at-home” videos out there.

• READ MORE: Sporty’s Launches 2024 Learn to Fly Courses

2. Choose a Good Instruction Program

This can be a flight school, university or college program, military appointment, or local Civil Air Patrol, Commemorative Air Force hangar, or EAA chapter-led course. Think about what appeals to you, as well as what you have access to near your home base.

You may be willing to set aside a couple of years of your life and move to a different part of the country—or world—to go after ratings with a specific college or academy, if you plan to pursue an aviation career. But for most folks, the initial certificate should come close to home. That’s going to (typically) cost less money and time to achieve.

3. Identify How You Learn Best

Everyone has a style in which they absorb—and retain—information best. This will drive what instructor you pick and how you structure your personal approach to training. While you may think, “I love watching videos,” that may not ultimately be the best way for you to learn. Even for visual learners, taking in data passively allows a lot of the critical stuff to skip off the surface after you’ve hit pause.

Most people need to hear, see, and do in order to process—and for actual learning to occur. That’s why good training programs deliver the info in several ways, and then ask you to check your recall with questions or application of the material.

4. Find an Instructor Who Speaks to You

As we established in No. 3, everyone learns differently—and this has a direct bearing on whom you should choose as an instructor. While you may have that initial person chosen for you if you’re in a structured training program, you almost always have some flexibility to change instructors if there are concerns.

Here’s the big one: You need to understand what this person is trying to tell you on the ground before you get into the airplane. If you have trouble understanding them because of a language barrier, take steps to correct that. If you have other reasons that they fail to get critical information to you while flying, that’s just as big of an issue.

Make a change, if you need to. You and your CFI won’t be best friends, necessarily, but you should be able to conduct a pleasant business-style relationship with that kind of positive rapport.

• READ MORE: FLYING Launches Learn to Fly Kit

5. Take the Knowledge Test

In the process of getting your certificate, you’ll take both a knowledge exam (known as the “written,” though it is almost always conducted online) and a practical test or check ride. If you knock out the knowledge test, you assure yourself of two things—first, that you have assimilated a good portion of the information you need to master to understand what’s going on during your flight lessons, and second, you will have conquered any test anxiety that you have in order to achieve a passing score.

You can take the course online to prepare yourself, or you can work within the syllabus of your training program to achieve it. But checking this box early will tell you a lot about how you’ll do for the remainder of your training.

6. Save Up for Solo

Flight training costs money. Whether you are self-funding (read, paying your own way) or securing funds from your parents, a grant or scholarship, or other sources, you’ll need between $10,000 and $18,000 to complete an initial course, depending on where you are in the U.S. and what kind of airplane you fly.

It really hurts your training progress if you have to pause during the course because you’ve run out of money. This is especially true during the phase before your first solo flight—when a lot of concepts come together for you to master. Therefore, you need enough funds to complete about 20 hours of dual flight, so that you don’t have to pause for that reason before you solo and lose ground that will take more time to relearn.

7. Set Aside 10 Hours a Week to Learn, Minimum

Flight training extracts a time penalty as well as a cost—and you will gladly immerse yourself in the magic of flight if you can do it. But if you’re learning to fly while outside of a full-time university, college, or academy program, you will need to be honest about the time you can allocate to ground study and flights.

For most, 10 hours makes for a good minimum weekly investment. If you can’t commit this much time each week, between home study and flight/ground lessons with your instructor, hold off on the commencement of training until you can. You’ll save money and frustration in the long run.

8. Know You’ll Plateau

Everyone who has ever learned to fly has leveled off in their learning. Instructors call this a “plateau”—but it doesn’t have to feel like a brick wall. It may be your life. It may be the weather. It may be landings you just can’t get dialed. But it will happen to you.

If you know this from a logical standpoint—that something is just going to take your brain longer to integrate, for whatever reason—you’re less inclined to feel frustrated or discouraged when it happens. You can address it by taking a weekend off, flying with another instructor, or just going up for fun.

Sure, it will still get you down. But even Bob Hoover had his bad days.

9. Prep for the Check Ride

There are a wide range of practical test preparation guides that will help you understand all you need to know in order to pass the check ride when the time comes. Having command of the material will help you combat any nervousness you feel on the big day.

But what other important elements are there to consider? You need to eat (a light meal) and drink (water is best) and rest well. In the days leading up to the test, you may toss and turn a bit the night before, but that won’t stymie you if you’ve gone into the home stretch with gas in your tank. Also, make sure you take at least one practice exam with another CFI. They will help find any weak spots and give you more confidence that it isn’t just luck propelling you forward.

10. Make Your Next Dream Come True

Once the check ride is over, don’t let your dream end there. Leave yourself one wish unfulfilled, so that you have something to strive for. It may be buying an airplane, working toward taking your family on a vacation flying, or pursuing an instrument rating. We’ll give you all the ideas you need in the pages of FLYING—so keep those issues coming too.

This feature first appeared in the March 2024/Issue 946 of FLYING’s print edition.

The post Learn to Fly in ’24: Helping Your Pursuit of the Dream appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Signs of a Learning Plateau

We learn by drill and repetition, but if you fly consistently—at least twice a week—and don’t seem to be making progress as measured against the syllabus and airman certification standards, you could be on a plateau. These are particularly common just before the first solo. This is why there are so many people who get frustrated and quit when they are “just about to solo.” Instead of quitting, try asking for a change of instructor, if only for an evaluation flight. This different perspective might be what you need to help you get past the logjam.

I had the opportunity to be the evaluation instructor for a learner who had 12 consecutive hours of “pattern work” that took place over two months, but had not soloed yet.

I asked his primary CFI what the issue was with this learner. Was it a lack of consistency in his flying? That is a big one. Some days the learner flies to check ride level; other days it’s like they forgot how to fly.

• READ MORE: Don’t Quit After Your First Solo

I expected to hear he dropped the airplane to fly the radio, didn’t use his checklist, came in too high, etc. Instead, the CFI replied with a shrug, “He’s just not ready.” This was not helpful. A CFI is supposed to identify the soft spots and have a plan to fix them.

I asked the learner what he felt the problem was. He replied he didn’t know, as the CFI didn’t really talk during the flights, so the learner was under the assumption he was doing everything right. He was puzzled as to why he had not soloed yet.

There were a few surprises. During the takeoff roll the learner tossed the checklist into the back seat and left it there for the duration of the flight. He pushed the throttle full forward then grabbed the yoke with both hands. He never touched the trim wheel during the flight. Instead he kept both hands on the yoke and seemed to be fighting the airplane. He missed the crosswind call but made the downwind, base, and final calls. He recited the GUMPS check (gas, undercarriage, mixture, power, safety items) and pulled the power to 1,500 rpm at midfield then put both hands on the yoke for landing.

Rather than smoothly adjusting pitch, power, and trim to maintain a stable approach, he wrestled the yoke, which made approaches anything but stable. I was surprised when he added the last notch of flaps when the PAPI was showing three red, one white. I called for a go-around, and we departed to the practice area.

As we climbed to a safe altitude, we discussed what had just happened. He said he was taught to always land with full flaps, and he had not been instructed about the use of trim, so he needed two hands to control the airplane. In the practice area, I demonstrated how to fly a pattern at altitude using the checklist (pulled from the back seat), using trim, and having my left hand on the throttle and my right hand on the yoke. I think I even had my pinkie sticking out to show how light of touch you could have in a properly trimmed Cessna 172.

We practiced flying different airspeeds in different configurations, with me reading the checklist as if we were in the pattern. Obviously my approach was much different than his regular instructor, and this—the additional communication—was what he needed.

Tips for Getting Off the Learning Plateau

Some learning plateaus are the result of overtraining. Learning to fly is very much like playing a sport. You sometimes need to take a break both mentally and physically to allow learning to take place. If the learner is flying twice a day, five days a week but still hasn’t soloed, it may be due to overtraining. Review FAR 61.87 to make sure the requirements for solo are met, take a day off or two, then get back to it.

• READ MORE: Practice Makes Pilots

Incomplete learning can also create a plateau. The learner who thought he always needed to land with full flaps didn’t know the purpose of them was to allow a steeper angle of descent without an increase in airspeed. He didn’t ask his first instructor why he needed to add flaps to land. This was a hint his ground knowledge needed some shoring up, which it did. He hadn’t started ground school yet because his instructor told him it wasn’t time for it yet. To address this he was assigned homework before each lesson on systems, weight and balance, aircraft performance, aerodynamics, airspace, etc. The ground study improved his confidence, and it wasn’t long before his flying improved and he soloed.

Other Ways to Break the Plateau Logjam

Take a fun flight. Head out to the practice area and do the maneuvers the learner likes the best or go looking for landmarks. A clever CFI can introduce pilotage during this flight. These flights should be a review and often more relaxing for the learner.

Never do more than three consecutive flights solely consisting of pattern work in one week. If you haven’t had a breakthrough in three hours, go back out to the practice area and work on the fundamentals of aircraft control and procedures by flying a landing pattern at altitude with 1,000 feet agl being the floor.

For CFIs: Have the learner teach the pattern and landing back to you. Having them verbalize the process all the way around may give you insights as to what their challenges are and help you determine ways to correct them. You may find that when they put it in their own voice, learning takes place.

The post The Learning Plateau Is Always Challenging appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

This tradition is symbolic of the day when the student is cut loose from the instructor’s grip. Often these shirttails are framed and hung on a wall, to be displayed for other students and pilots to see. 

Aeroswag, an aviation e-commerce website, wants to create a new tradition where student pilots can commemorate their first solo with a printed version of the sectional from their home airport duplicated onto a number of gift items, including cell phone cases, coffee mugs, stickers, notepads, water bottles, and socks. The idea is that the student pilot can show off their aviation accomplishment in a meaningful way. 

While the student’s first solo flight is one of the primary use cases of Aeroswag’s custom sectional items, pilots also order products from their home base or other favorite airports. 

The process of ordering a custom printed item with the selected airport is simple. The website immediately recognizes where the user is located using Google’s mapping function, then displays the area airports on the sectional in the area. If they wish to select an airport outside the area, they can easily move the sectional map to another location. 

The user selects their home or favorite airport, clicks it, and sees the sample images of items with the sectional embedded onto the product catalog. The user chooses the items they want, and they are mailed to them a few days later. 

I decided to test out the process, ordering socks, stickers, notepads, and phone cases for a few of my favorite airports. I found the process simple and now have outfitted my cellphone with a phone case that has the Chattanooga (KCHA) sectional and a pair of socks that feature the Solberg Airport (N51), the airport I fly out of when spending time in New Jersey during the summer. 

Aeroswag also has a large catalog of aviation related images and gifts and hopes to offer custom “long-tail” gifts for pilots and the aviation community. 

The post Aeroswag Turns Sectionals into Aviation Mementos appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Recently, I’ve seen a question surface which I’m perhaps uniquely qualified to answer: Is there an advantage to starting flight training before graduating high school? How young is too young? Is there an ideal age?

Technically there is no minimum age to start flight training, a fact I discovered as an aviation- stricken 13-year old who had just taken the stick for the first time on an EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) Young Eagles ride. I called the local FSDO (Flight Standards District Office) and managed to get a hapless inspector on the phone; he confirmed that one must be 16 years old to solo and 17 to earn one’s private pilot certificate in an airplane (14 and 16, respectively, in a glider), but there is no minimum age to begin dual instruction with a flight instructor. 

“Can you reach the rudder pedals in a Cessna 150?” he asked. I didn’t know. A week later, an introductory flight confirmed that I could, with the aid of a pillow. I started taking lessons, scrimping and saving $56 (!) for an hour of dual at the end of each month. I soloed on my 16th birthday and passed my private pilot check ride on my 17th. Today, at the age of 41, I’ve been flying more than two-thirds of my life and have some 15,000 hours of flight time—nearly two full years spent airborne.

In retrospect, I’m a little ambivalent about the path I took. It worked for me because I was utterly obsessed with flight at 13 years old and too impatient to wait a few years—actively flying kept me focused through my teen years. Considering the fact that I was a broke kid paying out of pocket, starting early helped spread the cost over four years. Had I waited, it’s quite possible my interest and my scant earnings would have wandered. And yet I’m keenly aware that the way I did it was less than efficient, and isn’t necessarily the best path for every interested youth.

Law of Recency

Any flight instructor will tell you that a month between lessons is way too long (“law of recency”).

You forget a great deal over a month, particularly when the skill is so fresh, meaning that each subsequent lesson wastes time reteaching things. In my opinion, the most efficient pace for learning to fly is one to two lessons a week. Starting early means that even if you retain the information well, you are likely to exceed the required hours by a good bit. In 1997, I soloed at 32.4 hours (having averaged 11 hours a year until then), and the next year, I got my private at 71.6 hours. Those were well above-average numbers back in the pre-TAA (technically advanced airplane) age. If you’re looking for maximum efficiency, I would not start as early as I did—I’d wait until 15 or 16.

That said, I do think that taking flight training before graduating high school is an excellent idea for any youth interested in a flying career (including those planning on a military track). I’ve taught primary students in both traditional and accelerated settings, and I rather strongly feel that the private certificate shouldn’t be rushed, because it introduces so many new skills and fundamental knowledge that will be built upon over the course of one’s career. 

For anyone considering a pilot career, private pilot training should afford one the chance to fall in love with flying and assess whether you’re well suited to it, without the pressure of having already entered a collegiate program or aviation academy. I’ve come across too many recent stories of primary students getting utterly burned out before they’ve even experienced the magic of their first solo cross-country flight.

Now, it’s true that some programs won’t give you full credit for a private certificate earned outside of a Part 141 or collegiate setting. In my case, a local community college gave me full credit for my private while I was in high school, which allowed me to transfer into the University of North Dakota’s flight program without taking their private pilot test course. If this is not an option for you—and you have your heart set on a program that is not transfer-friendly—consider training at your local FBO just through your first solo, perhaps during your senior year of high school. It will give you a good taste of what flying is about, and will likely allow you to go through your subsequent school’s private pilot course in the minimum allotted hours (a rarity these days). If you are aiming for a military flight slot, prior flight experience will give you a leg up over other applicants in the ultra-competitive selection process and rigorous initial training.

Sustaining Motivation

Looking back at my early flight training, I realize that those first few years of monthly lessons served more to keep me interested and motivated than anything, and there are cheaper ways to do that. One of the best is the Civil Air Patrol’s cadet program, so long as you don’t mind its quasi-military flavor (which varies considerably by wing and squadron, according to the tastes of the local commanders). Another is the Experimental Aircraft Association; most chapters involve youth in building and restoration projects, which is an excellent way to gain aviation knowledge while meeting local pilots and getting invited to fly in their airplanes. Many chapters also offer scholarships for youth flight training. For those who live near a soaring club, gliders offer a fantastic introduction to the fundamentals of flight in a communal setting. And lastly, flying with friends and family who are not instructors can be a cost-effective option in one’s early teens and prior, even if you can’t log the hours. Any prior experience will make subsequent flight training more effective, giving you more bang for your buck.

All this said, if you or your child is an aviation-obsessed early teen or preteen who just can’t wait to start lessons, and you can make it work financially, there is nothing in primary training that a reasonably intelligent kid can’t readily grasp. Learning to fly delivers a great deal of enjoyment and confidence at an age when “grown-up” activity options are generally limited. I’m grateful that my parents gave me the freedom to fly as early as they did; as a result, I have a lifetime of flying to look back on, with many fond memories throughout.

The post What Is the Right Age To Start Flight Training? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

At age 17 years and 64 days, Rutherford landed in Sofia, Bulgaria, Wednesday after departing from that city six months ago to begin his record-setting journey. 

It took Rutherford, who’s been nicknamed “Mack Solo” on social media, 142 days to pilot a single-engine Shark Aero ultralight—sponsored by ICDSoft—across four continents at a total distance of 29,225 nm. 

The Shark Aero was designed under the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ultralight parameters that allow for an unrestricted top speed and complex-aircraft elements, such as retractable gear and a controllable-pitch prop. As such, the Shark Aero is operated under the experimental exhibition class in the U.S., as it doesn’t adhere to the FAA’s stricter LSA designation.

As an EASA ultralight pilot, Rutherford limited his flights to daytime only in the aircraft which had a maximum speed of 300 km/h (162 knots). Poor weather conditions sometimes forced him to cut his flight plans short and land in unexpected places.

“It’s been absolutely incredible,” he told CNN, although he said he ran into “some difficult patches.”

“The Sahara desert was incredible. Kenya was incredible, I was able to fly over national parks and see all the animals,” Rutherford said. “That’s what makes this journey a nice thing to go through and an amazing experience.”

The previous male record holder according to Guinness—U.K. pilot Travis Ludlow—circumnavigated last year at 18 years, 150 days old.  

Born in June 2005, Rutherford was actually only 16 when he first started his trek on March 23. 

Guinness has now declared him:

• the youngest person to circumnavigate the world by aircraft solo (male)
• the youngest person to circumnavigate the world by microlight solo (male) 

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A post shared by MackSolo (@macksolo2022)

Posting frequently on Instagram, his account became a personal logbook of sorts, providing explanations of pilot-related details, such as density altitude in Dubai. 

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A post shared by MackSolo (@macksolo2022)

Rutherford’s older sister, Zara Rutherford, also made the history books this year, when she circumnavigated the globe in an ultralight aircraft—taking one additional day than her brother to finish the journey. “She really was an inspiration for me,” the younger Rutherford told CNN.

Challenging Headwinds

Starting out in Sofia, Rutherford’s flight path took him towards the Mediterranean and then across the African Sahara, the Middle East, and Asia. 

One of the most challenging parts of his trek, according to Guinness, took place in the North Pacific, after taking off from the Aleutian island of Casco Cove. During the 10-hour, open-water leg of the trip, headwinds and rain forced him to land on a desolate island called Attu, which was described in a post on his Instagram account. 

“Mackinson Crusoe was now on an uninhabited island, surrounded only by boarded-up buildings, battle relics, and memorials telling of the immense amount of lost souls to the place…Although the scenery was breathtaking,” the post said. 

From there, Rutherford pushed on, flying through the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, followed by his final leg in Europe. 

‘Work Towards Your Dreams’

Rutherford was drawn to flying naturally, thanks to his parents, who are British and Belgian. His father works as a ferry pilot, while his mother holds a private pilot certificate, according to Guinness.

“I have known for certain I wanted to fly since I was eleven,” Rutherford told Guinness. “But no matter what background you have, I believe it is never too early to work towards your dreams and you shouldn’t limit yourself by others’ expectations. 

“I’m definitely going to carry on flying,” he told CNN. “I’m not entirely sure in what place in aviation—just that I’m going to keep flying. I’m thinking something like the air force, but I’m not 100 percent sure on anything.” For now, Rutherford said he’s “just going to focus on school and try and catch up as much as I can.”

The post Teen Pilot Becomes Youngest To Fly Solo Around the World appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

It seems pretty straight forward—unless the PIC is a student pilot on a solo flight, and they are flying on the endorsement of their flight instructor. If the student PIC makes a bad decision that results in an FAR violation, or an incident or accident, you better believe their CFI is going to hear about it.

Did They Know They Weren’t Supposed To Do That?

Communication of expectations is key. This is why it is so important for CFIs to put the limitations for solo flight in endorsement in the learner’s logbook and for the learners to abide by those limitations. When the CFI endorses you, they are stating that you have the skills, knowledge, and the ability to be responsible to respect the endorsement and its limitations.

Solo endorsements are aircraft model specific; for example, you might be endorsed to solo in the Piper Cherokee, and later, after model-specific training, get an additional endorsement for solo in the Cessna 172. There will be limitations on the weather: crosswinds no greater than (insert value), ceiling and visibility restrictions, etc. As your experience builds, your CFI will adjust those limitations accordingly, provided you remain responsible.

The word responsible is key here. You have just been entrusted with an airplane—that’s an awesome privilege that you worked hard to get.

Schools Have Their Own Rules

Some flight schools have particular operational rules that renter pilots must abide by, and these can be referenced in the solo endorsement, such as “solo student pilots will abide by (name of flight school rules).” Any FBO policies can be written into a school’s training course outline (especially if the school operates under Part 141) or they can be dictated by the business’s insurance carrier. For example, although student solo at night is not prohibited by the FAA, a school might have it in the rules that student pilots flying solo must be on the ground an hour before sundown because of an issue that happened in the past (e.g.: when a student pilot found himself out after dark, got lost and flew into Class Bravo airspace without permission because he couldn’t see the landmarks that he used in the daytime to avoid it.) 

CFI, Protect Thyself 

“Ask yourself if you could defend it on the witness stand.” These sage words were said to me by a chief instructor, who, judging by his demeanor when he dropped this nugget of knowledge, must have been on the witness stand at least once. 

A few years after he told me that, there was an incident involving a pilot I had flown with at another flight school but had not endorsed. The chief pilot of that school called me asking for information about the pilot who had an off-runway excursion as the result of bad judgment. I replied that I had released him as a client after a few flights as he would not listen to me or follow instructions (hold short means HOLD SHORT); therefore, I was obviously not the right instructor for him.

The ability to follow instructions is a big part of being a pilot, and when the CFI puts in the limitations: “the pilot shall obtain weather briefing, and determine aircraft performance and weight and balance per FAR 91.103 before flight,” it’s not just a suggestion.

Some schools require the learner to fill out a worksheet to prove they’re complying with FAR Part 91.103 before they embark on a flight, recording information obtained during the weather briefing, aircraft performance, fuel on board, weight and balance, and the pilot’s intentions during the solo flight: remaining in the pattern; maneuvers in south practice area; flight to airport XYZ for towered airport practice, etc. 

Some pilots may balk at the idea of doing this ‘homework’ just for a few laps in the pattern—but don’t blame the business. Again, blame the pilot in the past who did something silly with one of their airplanes.

CFIs who teach under Part 61 might include “student must notify CFI prior to flight” in the limitations. A text message like “south practice area between 10 am to 12 pm” is sufficient. When you are flying on our ticket, we—and our flight school—would like to know where you are. Most learners respect the responsibility of this and some go the extra mile, sending pre-takeoff and post-takeoff selfies, letting the CFI know what they did on their flight. 

Once I received a text about an upcoming solo flight, which was disconcerting because the President was visiting that day and we were under a TFR. “Have you checked NOTAMs?” I queried, hoping the answer was “not yet.” (Eyes rolled skyward) Please, please, please tell me I taught her better than this, I thought. A few minutes later, I received a reply: “No flying for me today! Presidential TFR! Don’t want to end up dating BIG SUZY at the women’s penitentiary! LOL.”

Learning had taken place.

The CFI Giveth and Can Taketh 

If the learner violates the solo limitations or does something dangerous, the CFI who provided the endorsement can void it just as quickly. This is rare, and not something a CFI does lightly—it is much better to counsel the learner to address the transgression. However, if the learner presents as the poster child for hazardous attitudes: anti-authority, invulnerability, and macho—and in the CFI’s opinion, lacks either common sense or airmanship, the CFI is well within their rights to void the endorsement and remove solo privileges.

• LEARN MORE: Previous Editions of “What a CFI Wants You to Know”

This is done by writing VOID across the endorsement. The CFI should then document this change in the learner’s solo status by photocopying and/or taking a photograph of the voided endorsement and noting the date that it was pulled. If the learner is a renter, the FBO or school may also simply refuse to do business with them—sometimes, depending on how egregious the learner’s transgression is, the chief CFI may call other flight schools in the area to warn them about this person. (The chief that told me about the witness stand metric did this a few times when we worked together.)

It is a little trickier if the learner owns their own airplane. The CFI can void the endorsement, but you can’t take away the learner’s airplane.  If the learner continues to fly without a solo endorsement and is caught, the CFI has proof that they withdrew the learner’s privileges, and the matter is now in the hands of the FAA.

The post Respect the Limitations of the Solo appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Your instructor will appreciate it if you take ownership of your training by insisting on and following a syllabus. The first part of the syllabus will consist of tasks listed under FAR Part 61.87—the aeronautical knowledge and skills required for solo flight. 

Your instructor needs you to understand that learning to fly an airplane is not like learning to drive a forklift or a stick shift—it takes more than an afternoon to learn the maneuvers and procedures required for solo flight, and even more time to become suitably proficient in them.

Solo flight also requires aeronautical knowledge that is demonstrated on a test created and administered by the instructor, and the test addresses the student’s knowledge of the application sections of Parts 61 and 91, airspace rules and procedures where the solo flight will be performed, flight characteristics, and operational limitations for the make and model of aircraft to be flown. The FAR explains the test must be administered by the student’s authorized instructor, who at the conclusion of the test reviews all incorrect answers with the student before authorizing the student to conduct a solo flight.

Learners who have not become familiar with 61.87 often get frustrated, wondering why they aren’t allowed to solo, and they may jump from instructor to instructor, trying to pressure someone into soloing them. For the student, this can be expensive and time consuming, because often the new CFI will begin training from scratch, as they do not know what has already been covered. Or they simply want to be sure the learner understands the procedures and required knowledge, because the learner is flying under the CFI’s certificate. If something goes wrong and there is an accident or incident, the CFI who signed off the learner for solo will likely be having a discussion with the FAA, because under Part 61, the CFI is responsible for the learner’s actions. 

To my fellow CFIs, do not be surprised if your parent’s voice comes out of your mouth when and if you have to talk to a learner about a transgression. 

Please understand that the pre-solo knowledge test is geographically specific—remember this if you soloed in one area and are now training in another. Expect another test and another signoff. Your instructor will want to know where you obtained your answers. “Because my instructor told me,” and “Google” are not recommended responses. One of the most interesting pre-solo knowledge tests I had to grade included information about towered airport operation in Miami. The learner was in a hurry to solo so he Googled “pre-solo knowledge test” and copied the answers word for word. However, his solo was to take place at a non-towered airport outside of Seattle so the responses were, at the very least, inappropriate. 

Pushy learners may try to take advantage of inexperienced instructors. But it’s not just the newly minted CFIs who are unfamiliar with Part 61.87. 

Not too long ago, my local airport was abuzz when a recently retired Boeing 777 captain who returned to flight instructing part-time, and signed off a learner for solo after one flight in the pattern. The CFI was trying to be a nice guy. The learner, who had trouble with multiple aspects of 61.87, had burned through all the other CFIs at the school and was positively giddy when he got the solo endorsement “from the new guy.” 

This came back to bite the recommending instructor a week later when the learner had a bit of a meltdown in the practice area because there were so many other airplanes out there and no control tower. The learner was not familiar with the use of the air-to-air frequency used to self-announce maneuvers in the practice area, and had been trying to talk to other airplanes on the tower frequency for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA). 

• LEARN MORE: Previous editions of “What a CFI Wants You to Know”

Another misconception is that you have 90 days after your first solo to finish the private pilot training requirements or else you have to repeat all the pre-solo training. This is not accurate. If you do not finish the requirements for private pilot certification within 90 days, your instructor can readily give you another 90-day endorsement. 

There are some learners who try to milk this system—one aircraft owner had been working on his private pilot certificate for more than a year and had multiple solo endorsements. This was in “The Before Time,” when check rides were easy to schedule. Finally, his instructor told him, “No more endorsements—it was time to put on his big boy pants and take the check ride.” He passed on the first try.

The post The Things You Need to Know Before You Solo appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In a short video posted on social media Monday, Rutherford’s frosty breath illustrated the biting 24-below-zero temperature that greeted her in the city of Anadyr after her safe passage across the Bering Strait.

The composite-built Shark Aero microlight that Rutherford is flying is a high-performance, two-seat tandem ultralight aircraft with retractable gear and a two-bladed, variable-pitch propeller. It is powered by a Rotax 912 ULS 100 hp engine, which allows it to achieve cruise speeds of up to 140 knots, one of the fastest in its category.

Rutherford has now crossed the international date line. According to her website, she’ll require 30 more stops to complete her trip.

Early Tuesday, Rutherford made it to Magadan, Russia, after a six-hour, 25-minute flight over the Siberian Arctic tundra from Anadyr. From Russia, Zara will fly to Korea, Indonesia, India, the Middle East, Europe, and back to Belgium, where she plans to arrive in early December.

Zara is 77 days into a trip that was originally planned to last 45. Compounding weather delays caused Rutherford’s initial Russian visa to expire, grounding her in Nome.

The current record holder, Shaesta Waiz, completed her own trip in 2017 at age 30, taking 145 days to do so, owing in part to her planned outreach events via her non-profit, Dreams Soar, but also as a result of various weather and mechanical delays.

Earlier this year, 18-year-old Travis Ludlow from the United Kingdom earned the record of youngest man and person to fly solo around the world, which he was able to do in 44 days. Should Rutherford complete her trip, she would reduce the male-female gap from 11 years to 11 months.

Additionally, she would be the first woman to circumnavigate the globe in a microlight, and the first person from Belgium to do so in a single-engine aircraft.

Rutherford had more than 130 solo hours logged prior to departing on the flight.

• READ MORE: Pilot Attempting Around-the-World Flight Crosses Atlantic
• LIVE: Follow FlyZolo’s Journey

The post Pilot Attempting Around-the-World Flight Hits Halfway Point appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Zara Rutherford wants to be the youngest woman to fly around the world solo, as FlyZolo. She has completed the Atlantic crossing, the first major hurdle along the way.

The 19-year-old Belgian pilot is flying a Shark Ultralight single-engine airplane approved in the rough European equivalent of the light sport category, with a maximum takeoff weight of 600 kg, retractable gear and a variable-pitch propeller. The Shark has been used to set speed records in the category, in France.

Shaesta Waiz was 30 years old when she set the current around-the-world record for youngest woman pilot in 2017.

Rutherford comes from a family of pilots, and she had more than 130 solo hours logged prior to departing on the flight.

She departed from Kulusuk, Greenland (BGKK), Rutherford and aimed for Narsarsuaq (BGBW), then onto Canada, arriving in Goose Bay, Labrador (CYYR), on Monday after 8.5 hours of flying time. After a rest day Tuesday, she will continue on to Montreal, Quebec (CYHU).

Her planned route takes her through several stops in the U.S., including:

• New York (KJFK)
• First Flight Airport in North Carolina (KFFA)
• Jacksonville, Florida (KJAX)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (KFLL)

From there, she heads south through the Caribbean and Mexico before looping back into Arizona and California. Rutherford will cross over to Asia via the Bering Strait, from Alaska to Russia.

Follow her journey on the FlyZolo site or on Facebook

The post Pilot Attempting Around-the-World Flight Crosses Atlantic appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

One of the most valued intrinsic benefits to having contributed to this publication for almost 15 years has been the opportunity to interact with some special and unique people. Individuals that were the subject matter of this column have remained a fond and integral part of my writing.

On most occasions, we part ways with a smile and a handshake, and then our lives move forward. But in some circumstances, I am fortunate enough to develop a relationship that endures past this column. Tim Knutson and his family are one of those relationships.

The February 2004 Jumpseat column was a story that focused on an event that involved Tim, Tim’s 3-year-old son, and a 92-year-old former World War II instructor pilot. As a brief recap, I had been invited to witness the former WWII instructor fly Tim’s N3N biplane after a 60-year time lapse. It was a magical experience.

But the story morphed beyond the nostalgic event into a tale of flying legacies. David Niven, the 92-year-old flight instructor who helped save the lives of many WWII pilots through his tutelage, was an integral part of the story.

Tim’s dad and best friend, John Knutson, who had succumbed to stomach cancer at the young age of 56, was part of the story. It had been an afterthought for John to consider an airline career because he originally thought of flying airplanes to be just a fun activity. The fun activity progressed through North Central Airlines, Republic and then Northwest.

Owen, Tim’s son, also became part of the story simply because he would inherit the opportunity. With 12 years having passed in a flurry, the baton was now being handed to the same child who had persevered as a toddler despite an early predilection for airsickness. And the same child, who hadn’t even attended nursery school yet but could recite the entire dialog of The Great Waldo Pepper, was to solo on his 16th birthday.

Once again, I was invited to participate in another lifetime experience. On this occasion, the invitation was not presented to me as a magazine writer, but rather as a friend and unofficial member of the Knutson family. Having experienced the selfless nature of this family, I could not have been bestowed a higher honor.

When I first met Tim, he was a B-737 copilot for my airline. He eventually transitioned to the B-777 as a first officer. More recently, he added a fourth stripe to his uniform as an MD-80 captain. In his spare time, between managing the family farm, supervising the lives of two 
children with his wife, contributing to his local church, helping his neighbors, promoting aviation in his community, maintaining contact with his friends, volunteering time to our pilots union, and flying for the airline, he squeaked out a few moments for fun.

Among the stresses of the past decade’s trials and tribulations involving our airline’s future, Tim’s career was almost cut short with the discovery of a serious medical issue. He was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, which intermittently causes an irregular heartbeat rhythm. With the potential to be grounded forever, he opted for a relatively new surgical procedure with the support of his wife, Dawn. Fortunately, the surgery has proved successful.

I mention this medical crisis not to evoke empathy for his plight, but rather to note how it defines Tim. Despite the fact that he was confronted with the possibility of never being able to fly, he maintained a stoic resolve throughout the entire process. To understand his character, I highly recommend watching the five-minute YouTube video that describes Tim’s circumstances. But be forewarned: Have a box of Kleenex nearby.

Moving ahead to present day, Owen’s solo event became the catalyst for a weekend with friends. Jay and Sandy Rud had flown their 172 to the Knutson farm from their home in Illinois. Jay was a former chief pilot and is currently a B-787 check airman. Interestingly enough, we all had civilian backgrounds, and we were all airplane owners with taildragger experience, an untypical combination for airline pilots.

My wife and I were told that for the evening of our arrival, pizza was on the menu. Ordinarily this would not be worth mentioning, but when it is baked in an actual industrial-size pizza oven located in your friend’s hangar, it tastes just that much better. Tim had endeared himself to the owner of a pizza restaurant in Queens, New York. When he was not being called out on a trip, Tim had waited out his days away from his crash pad at our New York crew base as a reserve 777 first officer learning how to make pies. Does it get any better than that?

Although it had been a relatively mild winter, February in Wisconsin was true to form. Temperatures barely hovering in the teens with a stiff breeze and good 8 inches of snow had me thankful for thermal underwear.

On a positive note, the conditions allowed me the opportunity to try out a pair of skis — attached to Tim’s J-3 Cub, of course. Despite my humbling performance, no ice fishermen were harmed in the process. As a matter of fact, they were rather nonplussed, most likely an indication that they were accustomed to such antics.

The day of Owen’s birthday solo arrived with only one hitch. In anticipation of the event, Tim had brought his son to the local AME a few months prior. Unfortunately, a stipulation within the FARs doesn’t allow the medical certificate to act as a student pilot certificate unless the applicant is within 30 days of his or her 16th birthday. The medical exam couldn’t be undone.

The solution: A designated pilot examiner (DPE) had to issue a separate student pilot certificate. The original plan was to fly to the airport where the DPE was located, but low ceilings in the morning thwarted the effort. Instead, the mission became a road trip — an hour and a half each direction. The soon-to-be student pilot demonstrated his stress level with a nap on each leg.

Most of us have fond memories of our first solo and our first solo airplane. Owen got the opportunity for just a little more. Not only did he solo off his own farm airstrip like his dad, but he also got to solo five airplanes on the same day. His conquests: a C-172, Aeronca Champ, C-150, C-182 and J-3 Cub.

The Cub possessed an important sentimental value. Recently restored, it was the same airplane flown by Tim on his first solo 32 years earlier. Using Tim’s words, “In a sense, Dad soloed both of us.”

All of Owen’s landings were well executed. Despite the cold, his audience cheered every landing. The muted claps of gloved hands greeted all five solo performances. But although the day was special, it was just the official checkmark for the FAA. It wasn’t Owen’s first rodeo.

Despite the 16-year-old’s casual coolness and nonchalance, his grin betrayed him. Owen was well aware that he had accomplished something significant, not only for him but also for his dad. Perhaps because the day involved a multitude of cameras with a multitude of shutter clicks, Tim successfully fought back tears. But we all knew they were there.

I had asked Owen if he was considering an airline career. He didn’t respond with overjoyed enthusiasm, but the idea was certainly a possibility. Perhaps having his dad absent at football games, not present to light the tree on Christmas morning, or hearing him discuss pay cuts and bankruptcy made Owen wiser than his years. Regardless, Owen admitted, in his own words, airplanes were in his blood.

At the end of the day, there is no mistaking Owen for Tim’s son. For the moment, high school, the Green Bay Packers, hunting and fishing with his Uncle Scott, making his grandmother shake her head with a smile, and flying airplanes for the pure joy of it are Owen’s priorities.

It is my sincere hope that no matter Owen’s course, he will strive to be at least half the man his father has become. Once again, quoting singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg from my February 2004 Jumpseat column, both Owen and Tim are “a living legacy to the leader of the band.”

The post Jumpseat: A Tale of Flying Legacies, Part 2 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.