There are worse ways to get to work.

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Most people get to work in their land-based vehicles. That isn’t always the case for me, especially since most days I am going to an airport anyway. It is a pretty special thing to have an airport greet you as the sun comes up in the morning and you embark into the air, defying gravity, on the way to start your day.

The view from Charlie is a pretty special one on a clear, calm morning such as this. I can’t help but marvel at how calm and smooth the morning was. Even in this 75-year-old Stinson, the flight was largely hands-off as I worked through my first cup of coffee enroute.

Thanks to Charlie for the great ride to work today! There are certainly worse ways to get to work.

 

ID’ing Still Critical on Approaches – Take the Hints

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Not long ago I was on a flight during which we were setting up to fly an ILS approach at South Bend, IN (KSBN). The aircraft had a glass panel, a G1000 to be specific, and the approach was programmed into the system after selecting the airport and approach we desired.

But things weren’t going quite as they should normally.

There were hints to this effect however. Hints that a good instrument pilot or CFI-I should be taking into their scan and would cause them to ask some questions, namely, what the heck is wrong and am I going to be even able to continue this approach.

 

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U.S. ATP Certificates Issued by Month (2017 – 2022)

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In a continued effort to track ATP pilot certification numbers, I am sharing with readers the current status of production over the past 5 years on a monthly basis of ATP certificate issuances in the United States. The table below is graphically telling as to the two major dips we have seen, first when the rules changes took place from the “1500-hour” rule change and the industry retrenched on its efforts and methodology for training and testing ATP pilot candidates, and secondly, as the effects of COVID-19 brought the training to a near complete halt for a short period of time.

We can see from that point that training has again increased, but we still are experiencing limited numbers of ATP pilot certifications due to the constraints we have in the overall training system with how we produce ATP pilots.

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Wings Industry Network Launches New E-Z Wings Site to Make Wings Credit Easier

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The Wings Industry Network has released a new application that makes it easier to issue, request, and administrate FAA Wings Credit in the FAA Safety Program.
CFIs, DPEs, and students can access this site at https://www.ezwings.net. You create an icon on your Home Screen in iOS or bookmark it as desired.

Here’s a list of E-Z WINGS highlights;
– Student Activities – NEW – first time ever and very exciting!
– Every Category and Class included
– All Initial / Add-on Certifications Included
– Organizational Activities Option – checkout the CAP activities
– Request Credit Option
– Validate Requested Credit Option
– Give Credit Option
– 99% of activities are for a phase of WINGS
– Total of 198 options
– Simple, intuitive, quick access

Coming in future versions;
– APIs to faasafety.gov for better user experience
– Endorsements: high-performance, tail-wheel, complex, high-altitude, winch-tow, etc.
– Type ratings
– In-person seminar credits – no email address to collect and enter
– And more!