Flight Instructor Notes

Waltz of the the Ailerons or "Vales Des Ailerons" Introduction Before I begin this article we have to go back to the very basics. Back to one of the first topics covered during your theoretical training (or one of the first topics that will be covered during your training for all the yet to be aviators out there).  This topic is "Loads Applied to Aircraft Structures". The two main Loads that are relevant to today's topic are Bending and Torsion . Since this is a topic that you're reading on your free time, I will not bother you with endless lines of text describing aircraft loads. Instead, here's a picture that will do a better job at explaining the loads than my rambling. Aircraft Loads What is the "Waltz of The Ailerons" The Waltz of The Ailerons, nicknamed Vales Des Ailerons (VDA) by Airbus engineers, is a function developed by Airbus specifically for the A380. It has to be noted that a similar function is available on the A350 but due to o...

What is a Multi-crew Pilot License (MPL)? The MPL is a license that was introduced back in 2006, by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),  along with the new MPL course. The MPL Course is an airline-oriented flight training course that aims to introduce a new path into becoming a certified pilot ready to enter the airline workforce. The MPL is an airline and type (i.e. aircraft) specific license that has its advantages and disadvantages. You can think of an MPL as a Frozen ATPL license that allows you to fly on one specific aircraft and one specific airline until you are eligible to upgrade the license into an ATPL. After obtaining your ATPL there is no difference between your (you being a previous MPL holder) ATPL and the ATPL of someone who previously had a CPL. In this article I will go in details about  How to earn an MPL; MPL Course Structure; The advantages and disadvantages of an MPL; Conclusion.  I strongly suggest you go through the following arti...

Earning Your Pilots License This article is meant for those who are looking to begin training to obtain a Commercial Pilot's License (CPL) or a Frozen Airline Pilot's License (Frozen ATPL). If you have not read my previous article on the different pilots licenses, I would suggest you quickly go over it before continuing. The article can be found  here . Introduction Before I began my training I did a lot of research on where to do my training and I was overwhelmed by all the different courses / programs offered by flight schools. There seemed to be a plethora of different kinds of courses. There were "Zero to Hero" Courses, "Airline Pilot" Courses, "Modular Plus" Courses, "Ab-Initio" Courses, etc... It seemed to me that there was an endless stream of courses offered by different schools, but I could't really get my hand on what the fundamental difference, between those courses, was. I'm writing this article to help you get a bet...

What to Expect on Your First Training Flight Introduction So it is your first flight, you have finished all your theory, you've covered all the subjects and you're ready for your first training flight. Generally Effects of Control is the first exercise covered during your flight training. The main objective of the exercise is to allow the student pilot to experience the primary, secondary, and tertiary effects of controls, and to become familiar with how to counteract any undesirable effect. But from your perspective (you being the student pilot), this exercise is much more than that. This is probably the first time you will be in the actual aircraft. You will be experiencing all the different aspect of flying that you previously read about. Simple things like the confined space in the cockpit, ATC chatter, G-loading, and turbulence, will all contribute to create an overwhelming experience for some and hindering your ability to properly concentrate on the primary objective of t...

 Accident / Incident | Cessna 172 Crashes into Hangar Recently a video of a Cessna C172 Accident has been shared all over different social media platforms. Personally it was sent to me through Whatsapp, Instagram, and Youtube. For those of you who haven't seen the video yet you can take a look before we go through it and breakdown what happened and how it can be avoided.   Introduction A Cessna 172M Skyhawk (C-GJQB) was involved at an accident at Toronto's Buttonville Municipal Airport ( CYKZ ) on 24 August 2020. The aircraft was registered to Canadian Flyers International and was operated by a student pilot (sole occupant). The student pilot was on a solo flight conducting circuit training on runway 33. The accident happened during an attempted landing / attempted go around (I will discuss that later). What Went Wrong? Disclaimer: This is my personal view on what went down based solely on what is seen in the video that was shared. I would also like to stress that any critic...

Disclaimer Information contained in this post are not based on any specific ICAO member states' regulations. Instead I will be covering a generic approach to Pilots' Licences and detailing the most common licensing structure. All the licenses discussed in this article apply to both Fixed wing aeroplanes and helicopters, but I will be mainly focusing on fixed wing aeroplanes here. There are additional licenses that will not be covered here and instead will be covered in separate articles, including but not limited to, Student Pilots License (SPL), Multi-crew Pilots License (MPL), recreational/sports pilots licenses. This article will not discuss Ratings. Ratings will be discussed in a separate article. Licenses Private Pilot License (PPL) "The privileges of the holder of a PPL are to act, but not for remuneration, as pilot-in-command or copilot of any aircraft engaged in non-revenue flights." - ICAO Compliant State's Part-FCL A PPL is generally the most basic licen...