As pilots, we love altitude. So much that we’ve created a bunch of different kinds of altitude: true altitude, absolute altitude, indicated altitude, assigned altitude, and two kinds of confusing ones – pressure altitude and density altitude. For many pilots, this can lead to a mental overload. Many pilots don’t have a working understanding of pressure and density altitude. Are they even real altitudes at all?

In this seminar, SCFC CFI’s introduce and explain the terms “pressure altitude” and “density altitude” and demystifies their meaning. Although the word “altitude” is used, these are clearly not measures of altitude. In fact, they are measures of atmospheric pressure and density just converted into units that pilots can understand. Confusing at first, yes, but once understood they serve a valuable purpose in determining aircraft performance.

Although few things are as important to a pilot as knowing the performance capability of the aircraft before taking to the skies, measuring the critical factor – atmospheric density – is not something that pilots can do directly. Instead we use rules of thumb, conversion factors, and our best understanding of how elevation, pressure, temperature, and humidity are interrelated. If you’ve ever opened your aircraft POH to the performance section and felt humbled, this seminar is for you.

Is this tiny nick on the propeller an airworthiness item?  How perfect does the paint need to be to keep the propeller balanced?  If my propeller isn’t completely broken, do I still need to send it to the shop?  San Carlos Flight Center has invited Samantha Bloodhart of Sullivan Propellers for an enlightening and educational presentation to promote awareness of safety related propeller and propeller governor issues.

Sam will review basic knowledge such as the design differences between the major manufacturers, fixed pitch vs. constant speed operation, realistic evaluation of condition that anyone can accomplish, and the inherent dangers of deferring propeller (or any other aircraft) maintenance.  She will discuss some of the common propeller Airworthiness Directives that are owner-operator responsibility (not just mechanics).  Finally, she will explain the differences between overhaul, dynamic balancing, and other major types of propeller/governor service.  This is all supported with numerous photos and years of anecdotes (some amusing and some amazing).

Propellers are an essential part of flight, and pilots should gain a better understanding about them.  If you want to gain more knowledge about what keeps you flying, we encourage all pilots to attend.

What is the most intense job interview you have ever had?  When you knew you really wanted the position but also knew that one wrong answer would get your resume deposited in the circular file.  For Commercial Pilots trying to enter the world of charter aviation and/or corporate flying, that first job interview may seem daunting.

SCFC has invited Ben Taber a Training Captain for Dreamline Aviation, to reveals the top questions used by intake recruiters to test Commercial Pilot knowledge.  Do you have what it takes?  Are you willing to risk your aviation reputation?  But seriously, some of you may be interested in a future career as a professional pilot.  We have invited Ben Taber, noted aviation lecturer, to share with us the intake questionnaire used in screening pilot applicants at his charter organization.  Passing this quiz is the first step in the hiring process.  It lets them weed out the future captains from the sky jockeys.

If you are ever wondering what a professional flying interview feels like, you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity to experience it yourself.

Flying in a 182 to the mountains might seem like the adventure of a lifetime, but how about flying a TBM 930 throughout Europe?  For one Bay Area pilot, this was one of the most challenging but yet rewarding experiences he’s ever had, and he is wanting to share it with all of you.

San Carlos Flight Center is pleased to invite ATP Tom McGrath to share his experience of flying across Europe.  Tom had to undergo many tireless hours of planning, flying, and waiting for weather patterns to clear by. He was one of the very few pilots who dared to take their single engine across the Atlantic Ocean to get to Europe and back to mainland America. Tom will cover the many ways that one pilot could’ve gone about this trip, the challenges he faced and how he overcame them.  With going to Europe across the Atlantic brings a whole new set of challenges; unpredictable winds, new ATC procedures, and limited options to land incase of an emergency. How did his training hold up? 

You won’t want to miss out on this opportunity to gain an insight on how a fellow pilot chartered across the unknown in an astounding journey that all pilots can learn from.

Students and new pilots are increasingly flying with computer tablets, and using software that replaces paper charts and documents with the digital equivalents.  These applications, such as ForeFlight, are extremely powerful and have a plethora of features.  For a pilot just beginning to use ForeFlight, the choices and options seem overwhelming.  Valuable features and capabilities can go undiscovered.

Join SCFC in inviting Alessandro and Brandan to highlight some of the important first steps to take after downloading ForeFlight, and how to get started.  In this seminar, we will cover the most efficient ways to use this helpful software, along with many of the helpful tools to help with your flight planning.  Some of these include how to set up performance profiles, weight and balance, how to use geo referenced charts, and set up your electronic logbook.  Through this seminar you will be able to gain more confidence on how to use one of the most popular EFB.

If you are just beginning to explore the features of ForeFlight and want to deepen your understanding on how to effectively use these great tools, you will want to attend this seminar.  Bring your tablet and show up to discover the best features for new pilots.

A pilot learns to fly using the whole brain.  Ground knowledge has to be absorbed and understood, and complex muscle memory skills need to be acquired to the point of mastery.  Flight Instructors sometimes note that in reality the student teaches themselves to fly, and the instructor is only responsible for creating a safe training environment and a structure to move things along.  By the time a pilot passes the Private Pilot checkride, he or she has developed a rich knowledge base, and a number of fluid reflex control movements that safely move the aircraft from ground to flight and back to the ground.

CFI Dan Dyer thinks a lot about the human brain, and how student pilots acquire and retain knowledge and skills.  He studied Cognitive Science at UCLA, and uses that background to develop effective structured training programs for San Carlos Flight Center.  In this seminar, we will divide the world of piloting into two very different brain function tools - procedures and zones.  Procedures are step-by-step tasks used to accomplish a specific goal.  Zones are the mental steady states a pilot goes into while keeping the aircraft within a specific range of performances.

Join us for a brainy discussion that may give you a different way of thinking about the things you do while flying.

One engine is good.  Two are better.  A multi-engine rating opens up a whole new set of aviation opportunities.  Have you ever wondered what it takes to upgrade your ASEL to an AMEL?  Or maybe you've wondered how much additional knowledge and training it could possibly take to operate a twin-engine aircraft safely?  Bring your curiosity and join us to find out.

San Carlos Flight Center CFII Brian Eliot will present a seminar designed to introduce ASEL pilots to the world of AMEL.  He will walk the audience through the basic requirements found in FAR Part 61, including both knowledge items and flight skills, and then dive more deeply into the required flight proficiency items in terms of preflight inspections, ground operations, maneuvers, and emergency procedures.

Whether it’s in your near future or still in the dream phase, plan to join us for this informative safety seminar all about transitioning to Multi-Engine Aircraft.

Meeting the requirements for a new FAA pilot certificate is a huge accomplishment that gives the certificate holder an exciting set of privileges. However, terms and conditions apply: there are limitations to what a newly minted pilot can do with their certificate.

Join CFI Kyle Smathers as he presents an overview of the limitations of pilot certificates up to the commercial certificate. In addition to the regulations listed in CFR 14, there are also letters of interpretation that government legal teams have published to clarify the meaning of the regulations. Just because you think a regulation means something, doesn’t mean the government representatives think that it means the same thing.

Help yourself from inadvertently running afoul of government regulations by familiarizing yourself with what materials dictate the limitations on your certificate.

There is a great sharing of information and stories whenever two or more pilots come together.  Hangar talk has a long history in passing down tips and advice from one generation to another.  Everyone makes mistakes… even high-time pilots or the Chief Pilot of a flight school!  

Dan Dyer is Owner and Chief Pilot of San Carlos Flight Center and has thousands of hours of flight experience.  It’s fair to say that over a career that long, he’s made a few mistakes.  Like everyone, we all learn from our mistakes; and in this seminar, we have invited Dan to recount some of his worst flying mistakes and walk participants through the lessons he learned from them. Learn about how to prevent them from happening to you, but also how to grow and become a better pilot as a result.

Learn from the best in this interactive way to learn how to prevent these mistakes to you, in turn making you a safer, more competent pilot. A good pilot is always learning, and it’s best if you can learn from the mistakes of others.

Pilots new to the SF Bay area sometimes feel uncomfortable communicating with controllers in busier Class B and C airports.  Let’s address that.  Let’s talk about radio communications and help each other overcome fears, operate more safely, and smooth the work of Tower and Approach Controllers.

In this seminar, San Carlos Flight Center continues our radio communications series, this time focusing on general aviation operations at Class Bravo and Charlie airports.  SFO, OAK, and SJC come with a whole new set of challenges for GA pilots; increased traffic loads operating in the airspace, more frequency congestion, different entrance requirements, and a whole lot more.  This seminar can help you to become a more effective communicator within class B and C airspace, and prove to the controllers that you got it under control.

You surely won’t want to miss this seminar if you have ever felt uneasy operating within Class B or C airspace. This seminar is guaranteed to make sure that all pilots will feel safer on their next flight into these airports, don’t miss out.