Air Facts

JULY 15, 2024

I did a checkride in 30 knot winds in the flatlands of Kansas, almost straight down the runway. It felt like pushing it for that airplane, but checkrides are so hard to schedule I went. The prevailing wind at Boulder Airport (KBDU) is easterly, while at Rocky Mountain Metro Airport (KBJC) only nine miles away, it is westerly.

Knot 98

Knot Crosswind Rudder Turbulence 98

iPad Pilot News

DECEMBER 10, 2024

On one extreme, some teach that students should only use paper sectional charts and perform all calculations by hand through the checkride, barring the iPad from the training environment. As with most things, the practical answer falls somewhere in the middle.

Flight Plan 97

Flight Plan Groundspeed Checkride Pilot 97

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 25, 2025

Doubling your groundspeed quadruples the impact force. Then, head into the wind to reduce groundspeed and hang the airplane in the branches in a nose-high attitude. The beauty of SBT is that it contextualizes your traditional checkride tasks in missions that mimic the type of flying you will actually do. Do you know why?

Pilot 59

Pilot Descent Approach Thrust 59

Air Facts

MARCH 10, 2025

Its true that the Private Pilot ACS now allows EFBs to be used on checkrides, but show up to a checkride with your nav log on an EFB, and you’ll get the same questions you’ll get with paper. Its a must for the checkride. When I hear their complaints about paper nav logs, I hear something else. But theres more.

Checkride 52

Checkride Density Altitude Calibrated Airspeed True Airspeed 52