This month…

I am involved with a few local aviation organizations that meet at various times and dates during the month. March 4 was the Long Beach Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT’s) monthly ‘meet and greet’, where the controllers meet and socialize with fellow pilots, at a venue on the Long Beach Airport. Not a ‘formal meeting’. Casual. No particular agenda, except maybe get answers to ATC related questions. Just ‘get to know’. This month was at the LA County Sheriff’s Dept. Aero squadron. They operate a fleet of helicopters to do their job, covering the more than 4,000 sq. mi LA basin from the air, serving and protecting the citizens, as needed. Last month was at a tenant’s corporate hangar. I don’t know of many other ATC facilities that do this. They also have a monthly newsletter that I sometimes contribute to, and a Facebook page.

I have attended a few of these, and they are fun and always draw a crowd. They typically go from about 8am until around 10. They serve coffee and breakfast items. There’s frequently upwards of 100 or more. Is it the free coffee and munchies? It’s a fun chance to meet and greet other aviators in a casual setting and make new friends! Pictured above is the Eurocopter A350. 

One young man I found myself talking to, was telling me about his flight training experience while working on his instrument rating, which is required to be able to fly in the clouds, like the airlines do. I was appalled as I listened in horror to his story, and how some instructors are training pilots now! 

He was telling me that one of his instructors, whom he is no longer working with, had significantly changed the syllabus, jumping right into the later, advanced stages of training, and completely skipping the initial, building blocks stages!! Hmm. Is this how some instructors are training pilots now? I was shocked and immediately pointed out several problems with the changes his instructor had made. And he agreed. I compared flight training to building a house. Say what?? There’s no comparison? Think again. With a house or any kind of structure, you have to build the foundation FIRST, right? He instructor had skipped that, going right to the advanced training. Hopefully this is a RARE occurrence! But this is just one example of things that can happen in flight training. Pictured above right is the Eurocopter’s modern glass-cockpit. No more ‘steam gauges.

I gave him my card and told him to please get in touch with me if he has any training questions. So far I have not heard from him. Hopefully he is doing ok. 

So last week was a busy week for me with several aviation activities. On Tuesday, March 3, I drove to Riverside to speak to EAA Chapter 1712. They had reached out to me, because their scheduled speaker had canceled. Some of them meet for dinner before the meeting at a local family- owned Italian restaurant, and for my efforts, they treated me to dinner. The food and company were good! 

The meeting was well attended, with about 40 in attendance, and instead of creating a presentation, which I normally do, I decided to have some fun with one of many online quizzes. I had my laptop connected to the internet, and the display was projected on a a large screen. So, I used some of Boldmethod’s interactive quizzes and we had fun with those. This resulted in a group discussion, which was my goal, to get the audience involved! We discussed several VFR scenarios, with questions and answers. 

Their website is  www.boldmethod.com  Are you familiar with them? They have been around for years. They send out weekly emails with a fun quiz attached to test your knowledge. 

Then on Tuesday, March 10 was SoCal Pilots monthly meeting. They meet in the Admin. building at John Wayne Airport, on the west side of the airport. They always have a safety topic, that counts for FAA Wings Credit. And then on Thursday, March 12, was EAA’s Chapter 7, which I am also a member of. It’s a fun and informative meeting, covering a wide range of aviation activities. We have a mix of members, from very young to ‘older’, like me! All are aviation enthusiasts! Always fun!

There’s more but I’ll leave it at that for now. I try to attend these aviation activities when possible.  It’s always fun to mingle with other aviators. The camaraderie is great! And I always learn something! 

And, next week on Tuesday, March 17, I am doing a presentation at Fullerton Airport, for the Fullerton Airport Pilots Association. My topic? SOPS for IFR flying. 

Finally, if you need an experienced instructor to work with you, in YOUR AIRPLANE (I only work with aircraft owners), to improve ‘rusty’ IFR or VFR piloting skills, provide avionics training, add your instrument rating, or anything else, I AM available! I will travel to YOUR location. Contact me for more information.

Fly safely! 

John