Teaching Flight Planning: Digital vs. Paper

Among the aviation blogs I follow, John Ewing’s Aviation Mentor is a favorite. He’s a northern California-based former freight pilot who left that business to return to instructing (already you’ve got to admire the guy, right?). His topics are worthwhile reading, the entries invariably well-written and annotated. That alone sets him apart. “A show about nothing” might have been a recipe for success on “Seinfeld”, but it doesn’t carry much water when you’re writing a blog. Anyway, he recently posted something thought-provoking about the increasing prevalence of digital flight planning tools, some of them so portable and powerful you can hold it in your hand and easily “plan” a flight from...

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On Instructing

Today, a bit of a rant — for which I will apologize in advance, my friends. Flying is just about the only avocation I can think of where people can be found spending their free time at work by choice. Think about that. In an office environment, folks typically get to work no earlier than necessary. Likewise, they leave as soon as possible when their work day is over and would never even entertain the idea of hanging out at the office on their day off. But in aviation? It’s the polar opposite. At the end of a long week spent at the airport, they’ll spend their day off… at the airport. This is a major shift in motivation from the average workplace, and it contributes to a positive attitude and happy demeanor there. Imagine an office...

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