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June 2008 Volume 2, Issue 6 |
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 Welcome
to Reach For The Sky, EAA's monthly
e-newsletter written and created for people who
are interested in learning how to fly. Among the
featured items this month: Certificated Flight
Instructor Steve Krog takes you through the
airport traffic pattern and explains how
understanding this important aspect of flying
will help you safely make takeoffs and landings
and Rose Dorcey, EAA assistant editor, tells how
Abbey Curran, Miss Iowa USA 2008, was turned on
to aviation through an "unusual" gift
in this month's "A Personal View."
We encourage you to forward this edition to
someone who might like to receive it. And
remember, you don't need to be an EAA member to subscribe.
In
this issue ...
- Traffic
Patterns and Good Landings, by Steve
Krog, CFI, Editor
- What You're Asking:
Questions for the instructor
- A Personal
View: Physical challenges won't stop
Miss Iowa, by Rose Dorcey
- Aviation
Glossary: Learning the language of
flight
- This
Month's Poll: How many training hours
did you have before solo?
Note: If you're a
pilot just starting out and would like to share
your story, or if you have a question about
flight-training, drop us an e-mail at LearnToFly@eaa.org.
Traffic
Patterns and Good Landings
By Steve Krog
In
past issues we've discussed and practiced the
maneuvers for understanding the airplane and the
effects of wind. Now, it's time to move to the
next phase of flight training.
Knowing,
understanding, and flying the traffic pattern is
critical to making good landings and for flight
safety. You'll never fail a check ride with an
examiner if you decide to make a "go
around" rather than attempting to salvage a
good landing from a poor approach! Read
more
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Q&A:
What you're asking
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| Common
questions for the instructor from beginning flight students
Q. :
I read and enjoyed your article about
ground reference maneuvers. I'm having a
hard time with them. It is hard for me
to be patient in the upwind segments as
these can be much slower because of the
slower ground speed. The downwind
segments tend to be more rapid. The
brain wants equal time segments for each
90-degree arc.
A. It takes patience. Try
to visualize what the airplane is doing
as you practice your "S"
turns. Think about where you want the
airplane to be and then make it go
there.
Q. I
am considering taking flying lessons but
am wondering about several things: 1.)
Is it worth considering a sport pilot
license since the cost is so much less?
2.) Where would I find a good,
reputable, and certified sport pilot in
my area?
A. Congratulations on your interest in
learning to fly. I must warn you, it can
be quite satisfying as well as
addictive! Deciding to pursue a sport
pilot over private pilot rating will
depend on what types of flying you plan
to do. While sport pilot is more
economical, it's more restrictive. If
you think you'd be doing a lot of area
pleasure daytime flying, then sport
pilot would be the way to go. However,
if you want to do cross-country flying,
flying at night, or take more than one
passenger at a time, you'll want to go
for  your
private pilot. I suggest taking about
6-10 hours of flight training and then
make your decision, as the training is
nearly identical for both ratings up to
that point.
To locate
a sport pilot instructor and/or school,
visit www.sportpilot.org/instructors/index.html.
Q. May's "A Personal View"
story by Amy Gesch asks what elephants
have to do with flying (not Dumbo).
Here's a possible answer spotted in
Thailand (The Thai Flying Club).
A. Well, now I've seen just about
everything. That's quite a
"tug" that the Thai Flying
Club uses to move aircraft about.
More
questions
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A Personal
View - Physical Challenges Won't Stop Miss Iowa |
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By Rose Dorcey
For her 16th
birthday, Abbey Curran, current Miss Iowa USA,
received a gift of flight lessons - a gift she
admittedly wasn't thrilled about. It came from
her dad, who was always giving her
"crazy" gifts. For aviation
enthusiasts, flying lessons may not seem crazy
at all, but for Abbey, who had no previous
interest in aviation, it seemed unusual. Then
again, Abbey said her dad would often give gifts
she didn't ask for; gifts that were meant to
challenge her. Like the time she told her dad
she didn't like hockey, so he gave her hockey
tickets. "Have you ever been to a hockey
game?" he asked.
Abbey went ahead
with the flight lessons, which may wind up
leading to a new career direction for the
20-year old sophomore at St. Ambrose University
in Davenport, Iowa.
"I plan to
get my degree in public relations but would like
to be a commercial pilot - or maybe even fly in
air shows," she said. "I didn't want
the lessons at first, but I took them, and I
loved it." Read
more
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| Aviation
glossary
aspect
ratio
- The
ratio of the span of the wing to its chord. The
aspect ratio of a tapered wing is found by
dividing the square of the wingspan by its area.
geared
propeller
-
A propeller driven from the crankshaft through a
series of reduction gears. This allows the engine
to operate at an efficient speed while holding the
propeller RPM in its efficient range.
maximum
takeoff weight -
The maximum design weight of any aircraft on
takeoff without exceeding its load factor (MTOW).
thrust
-
A
forward force that imparts momentum to a mass of
air behind it.
more
glossary terms >>
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This
month's poll
Last
month's poll: We
asked, "What flight training manuals
do/did you use?" The results were
almost evenly split between King (25 percent),
Gleim (24 percent), and Jeppesen (24 percent).
12 percent of you responded "ASA" and
the remaining 15 percent responded
"Other." Got an idea for an aviation
poll question? Send an e-mail to dheimos@eaa.org
and you might see it in an upcoming edition of Reach
for the Sky.
View the complete results
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EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh 2008 is almost here!
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Visit
the Learn to Fly Discovery Center
 Planning
to attend EAA AirVenture Oshkosh this year? You're
cordially invited to visit the Learn to Fly Discovery
Center, hosted by EAA and the National Association of
Flight Instructors (NAFI). The center will provide
inspiration, information, guidance, and a community of
support for people like you who want to pursue the dream
of becoming a pilot. CFIs will make presentations, answer
questions, and discuss the steps, training, knowledge, and
skills required to pursue the world's most exhilarating
pastime-flying for fun! Plus, EAA will be providing free
sport pilot student pilot certificates to EAA members.
Look for us near the EAA Welcome Center, at the corner of
Knapp St. Road and the main taxiway west of AeroShell
Square.
Discount
on advance admission purchase ends June 30!
 If
you're planning to attend EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008,
July 28-Aug. 3, you can purchase your tickets in advance
through the AirVenture website. And if you do so by June
30, you'll save money in the process. For all the details,
visit www.airventure.org/tickets.
Visit the EAA
AirVenture website for everything you need to know
about "The World's Greatest Aviation
Celebration."
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Join the EAA
Facebook group
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 We
invite you to join the official EAA Facebook group, “EAA - The Spirit of Aviation.” Whether you’re an EAA member
or not, joining the group allows you to share pictures and
video, send personal messages, discover others who share
your passion for aviation, and participate in lively
discussions on what's happening in the organization. Visit the Young
Eagles website for instructions on how to sign up.
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A moment to
join, a lifetime to fly
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 If
you’re preparing to become a pilot, the EAA
community is here for you. Membership gives you
access to the collective passion, knowledge,
experience, and support of 170,000 members
worldwide. You'll get to participate in EAA
events, connect with fellow members, and have
access to the tools and resources to get you
airborne. Join the fun by visiting http://www.eaa.org/membership/benefits.asp
today.
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Reach for the Sky - EAA's Guide to Learning
to Fly and Light-Sport Aircraft
|
 EAA’s
guide to learning to fly and light-sport aircraft
is a resource to help anyone take the first
steps toward becoming a pilot. Whether you want to
have fun in a powered parachute or one day want to
command a Mars mission, Reach for the Sky is a
great place to start. It is
available
as a PDF
that will take a few minutes to download with a
high-speed connection.
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