This made it into my inbox today. After every flight, Quantas pilots fill out a form, called a “gripe sheet,” which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems; document their repairs on the form and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said…
I just got a copy of “Visualized Flight Maneuvers Handbook” (for high wing aircraft) today and had a chance to take a look at it. You can consider this book to be a cheat sheet for all the maneuvers you will need to do to get your license. They cover everything from pre-flight to some…
Just discovered another difference between American and Canadian airspace rules. In the states you do not need to file a VFR flight plan regardless of where you are going. In Canada, you must file a VFR flight plan if your destination will be further than 25NM away from your aerodrome of departure. I also noticed…
If you are flying under VFR you can pretty much do what you want. Climb, descend, turn, at will. You don’t need to let anyone know (unless you are in uncontrolled airspace… where you have to announce your new heading/altitude on the UNICOM frequency to let others know in case there is a conflict). What…
So I had my medical exam today. I opted to get tested for a Category 1 Medical Certificate (which is the one with the most restrictions). The event was pretty painless: – Answered questions about my family history, if I am taking any medication, and how much alcohol I drink each week (I said “maybe…
The aviation industry is littered with acronyms. I am actually struggling right now to increase my internal glossary to be able to parse all of these three and four letter words. A commercial pilot is not one that fly’s for the big air carriers – those are known as Airline Transport Pilots and they are…
I got a workbook the other day (the companion workbook to “From The Ground Up”). I started working on it. I know I will probably be doing this again when school actually starts, but I can’t wait. Answering the questions in the book actually makes what i’ve read sink in. I’ve been able to answer…
One of the most important items a pilot must carry with him is his pilot logbook. The logbook is used to record all of the flights that the pilot has performed. They record such items as: Date and Time of Flight Type of flight (day, night, IFR of VFR flight) Role of pilot (pilot in…
For the past few weeks or so, I’ve been listening to local Air traffic controllers chatting to various aircrafts in and around Toronto. At first it just started off as pure curiosity. However, now, I’m making an effort to spend a few hours a week listening to the chatter in an effort to get a…
One of the pre-requisites for the Seneca flight program (and for even flying) is a “medical certificate”. There are multiple levels of this certificate, each with their own requirements. I am going to get tested for the highest level (level 1). This is the same level that commercial pilots require and its the level that…