San Carlos Flight Center's Safety Seminars

By San Carlos Flight Center

Our series of informative aviation safety seminars now available in audio format!... more

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FAQs about San Carlos Flight Center's Safety Seminars:

How many episodes does San Carlos Flight Center's Safety Seminars have?

The podcast currently has 320 episodes available.

San Carlos Flight Center's Safety Seminars episodes:

April 20, 2020 Destination - American Southwest and the Tuscon Boneyard
Are you considering venturing to the American Southwest for an adventure of a lifetime? Along with expanding your flight planning knowledge, experience the joyous southwestern sights throughout the beautiful spring months, and experience a blast from the past touring the “Airplane Boneyard” in Tucson, AZ.
Long cross-country flights require plenty of planning all of which can be broken down to a few basics. How do you start? Join commercial pilot, ground instructor, and FlyOutGroup coordinator Dave Kramer as he discusses this long cross-country flight planning adventure. He will discuss his basic approach to preparation which includes route selection, alternate considerations in case of weather, and hints on how to have a memorable flying adventure. Long cross-country flights allow the pilot to see as many sights as they can. Dave will discuss sightseeing over many of the Southwest’s most pristine landmarks. The options are limitless and are ultimately up to you.
If you are interested in joining the FlyOutGroup trip in April to the “Boneyard” in Tucson Arizona and want to learn more about improving your cross-country flight planning skills, set your calendar to attend this seminar.
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1h 17min
April 16, 2020 Radio Communication Basics
Flying through SF Bay Area airspace requires a high degree of situational awareness and sophisticated radio skills. And yet, radio communication is rarely taught as a specific subject during private pilot training. Usually, new pilots just absorb what they hear on the frequency around them, both good and bad. Although some radio techniques are covered in ground school, rarely do student pilots get the time devoted to demystifying this often-confusing subject.
This presentation is meant to bridge the gap, to help newer pilots understand the structure of radio calls and how to improve their own radio skills, with plenty of chance to practice their skills. Dan Dyer a CFI will walk participants through a foundation of radio communication phraseology and use, from the basics through advanced ATC services. Learn how to make radio communication easier and safer for all pilots.
Don’t miss out on this seminar if you are struggling with your radio communications, or want to improve your radio.
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1h 35min
April 16, 2020 Weather Theory Refresher
Weather can play a huge factor in any pilots pre-flight planning and actual flight. Weather is a complex subject that can affect an aircraft’s performance, ability to generate lift, along with many other things. From the subtle forming of clouds, to thunderstorms and microbursts, how can you stay safe in the air?
San Carlos Flight Center invites CFI Russell Bowerman to cover the topic of weather theory. In this seminar he will provide a general outlook on weather and how it is created, how the coriolis effect affects weather, how to detect adverse weather patterns, fog, and much more. Be more confident on your next flight knowing that you have made the right decisions for your flight.
If you have ever had difficulties trying to grasp the complexities of weather, then this is the seminar for you.
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1h 16min
April 15, 2020 Flying the Bay Tour
Flying in the San Francisco Bay area is spectacular, a real privilege for local pilots. The Pacific Ocean, a dramatic coastline, beautiful hills, and many famous landmarks. As pilots, we are afforded a rare bird’s eye view that we long to share with our friends and family.So what exactly is a “Bay Tour”? And, how was it affected by last years Bravo airspace changes? How did it affect the Bay Tour, and what new implementations will require pilots need to take to account? Chief Pilot Dan Dyer will examine the airspace, explain the “Bay Tour” and how a pilot can accomplish one in the safest, simplest, most enjoyable manner. We’ll review the various overlapping airspaces in the area, the territories for each local ATC facility, and the routings most commonly used by Flight Center pilots and suggested by ATC. You’ll learn what options are available to you even if SQL ATIS has the phrase “San Francisco is not taking surface area transitions.”
If you are new to the Bay area, want to imagine the different sights you’ll see, or just want to improve your understanding of local airspace customs and procedures, please join us for this popular seminar.
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1h 39min
April 14, 2020 American Flight 587 and the Importance of Va
Sometimes we think certain things would never happen, until they do. For the majority of us pilots, we try to always prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.
San Carlos Flight Center invites Advanced Ground Instructor Michel Vidal-Naquet to talk about the investigation of American Airlines Flight 587 that crashed into a suburban neighborhood in New York in 2001. The NTSB determined that after encountering the wake turbulence of a preceding 747, the first officer applied a series of full alternating rudder inputs that led to structural failure and the separation of the vertical stabilizer. The aircraft was traveling at approximately 250 knots, that is 20 knots below VA for the Airbus A300 “What? But I thought flying below VA protected against structural damage?” This accident revealed a general misconception of the term VA within the pilot community. Does flying at or below VA always “guarantee” protection?
In this presentation, we will go over the accident and describe different contributing factors to the crash, as identified by the NTSB. We will then examine the concept of maneuvering speed and take a look at how VA is intricately defined by the regulations. Finally, we will review implications for GA pilots. We recommend all pilots to attend as we learn from this seminar and improve our safety in flight in the future.
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57min
April 02, 2020 Hayward for the Student Pilot
Flying to a new airport can bring its own sets of challenges, risks, and new procedures. For student pilots trying to branch out of their home airport, Hayward Executive Airport in the East Bay might seem the most suitable. What airport information is crucial to operating safely at Hayward? What specific things do you need to watch out for? What are the hot spots or things that may be confusing to a student or new pilot?
Herb Pattern, SCFC Assistant Chief Pilot will share his experiences of years of operating in and out of Hayward’s Class D airspace. He will discuss local procedures, pattern operations, special procedures, and where you can retain all this information for your flight. He also has samples of the radio calls you’ll hear when operating in the Hayward ATC environment, to help student pilots become familiar with important differences. After attending this seminar, students will have more confidence in operating safely at Hayward.
We encourage any student pilot to attend, and pilots of higher rating to attend too. Do not miss out on this seminar, learn how to gain confidence, operate safer, and know your A game.
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1h 12min
April 02, 2020 Emergency Signalling - ELTs and PLBs
Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) are becoming cheaper and more reliable. Why would a pilot need a PLB if they already have an onboard ELT? How would a PLB help a pilot in an emergency? What is a PLB anyway?
In this seminar, Herb Patten, SCFC’s Assistant Chief Pilot will explain the critical differences between PLBs and ELTs. He will review the history of the emergence of the regulations on ELTs, review accident data that highlights the problems and challenges of the original ELT design, describe the enhancements offered in the new 406-MHz ELT and how they function, and provide an update on proposed regulations for ELT requirements.
Most pilots are aware of the onboard Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) in their personal or rented airplane. Most know that the older models transmitted a distress signal on 121.5-MHz in the event of a hard landing. But how many know what frequency the new models transmit on? How does an ELT differ from a PLB? Do you know the differences in who receives your distress signal and how quickly?
Don’t miss this seminar if you want to be prepared in post-emergency landing situations, and how you can increase your chances of surviving through the use of ELT’s and PLB’s.
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1h 16min
April 02, 2020 Ground School Refresher - VFR Charts
Do you know how to identify where certain VFR reporting waypoints are on a chart? Do you know if the airport you are landing at has an operating beacon? Do you know if the airport you are landing at has pilot controlled lighting, or lighting at all? Or maybe if you just want a VFR chart refresher, this is the place for you to be.
VFR charts pack an extraordinary amount of material and represent a 3-dimensional world of terrain and airspaces in 2 dimensions. They describe graphically the earth as it looks to us pilots from the air. And no matter how much we study them and how good we get at interpreting them there is always something new or some little nuance that we didn’t realize. Lastly, they are fun. Who doesn’t enjoy looking at a map, especially an aviation one?
Join Russell Bowerman a CFI as he gives a ground school refresher. He will actively involve the audience in this fun review of VFR charts and point out interesting facts that you then can go out and impress your friends.
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52min
April 02, 2020 Cross Country Flight Plan Calculations
Planning for a long cross-country flight involves a lot of thinking ahead. There’s weather analysis, route selection, and planning for alternatives. There’s also the need to estimate flight time and fuel burn to meet FAA regulations for minimum onboard fuel. Seems easy right?
The only way to determine the amount of fuel you’ll need, is if you’ve already solved a host of other calculations. To be accurate, you’ll need to know ground distance, forecast winds, and aircraft performance information. You’ll also need to make some choices about altitude and route. Most pilots complete these series of calculations using grid sheets to guide their calculations, with cryptic columns label such as TH, DEV, CH, and ETE. At San Carlos Flight Center, we use a Cross-Country Flight Log sheet that makes it easy to understand the sources of information and the flow of calculations.
In this Ground School Refresher seminar, Flight Instructors Herb Patten and Dan Dyer will walk students through the variety of calculations need for each leg of flight that lead up to the final Fuel Needed number. If you are a new flight student confused about cross-country flight calculations or just need a refresher, please tune in.
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59min
April 02, 2020 NORDO in the Bay Area: How to Get Back on the Ground Safely
What might seem like a normal flight can change in an instant. Radio failures happen in the least opportune time, and your best-laid plans can change instantaneously. How are you going to handle the unexpected?
San Carlos Flight Center invites Michael Dutton and Stephen Heesacker CFI to talk about what happens when your radios fail you outside and inside of the SFO Mode C vail and how to get back home safely. As pilots, we normally only have one or two plans in mind, one to our destination, and one to an alternative airport given adverse conditions. However, what we do not plan for is what happens when our radios fail. We all have been taught to squawk 7600, and try to fly back in range of the light gun; but is that really the safest, and most efficient way to do so?
Come join for this unique opportunity to gain a new perspective on how to handle radio emergencies in flight. We invite all pilots to attend so we can be safer in the skies.
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44min

FAQs about San Carlos Flight Center's Safety Seminars:

How many episodes does San Carlos Flight Center's Safety Seminars have?

The podcast currently has 320 episodes available.