What’s better than a single hot air balloon? Dozens, all in one location. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta takes place this year Oct. 6-14, promising daily dawn patrols and morning glows, a mass ascension such as the one shown here, a race, twilight glows, fireworks, and more. Find out more at the website ( http://www.balloonfiesta.com/ ).
This Lockheed 12A Electra Junior–so called because it’s a bit smaller than the Lockheed Model 10E Electra that Amelia Earhart flew–became the 300th type of aircraft to grace Barry Schiff’s logbook. That’s not Barry in the captain’s seat–it’s Curt “Rocky” Walters, who pilots the aircraft for its owner, Ruth Holden of San Luis Obispo, California. Barry wrote about the Lockheed 12A for the February 2006 AOPA Pilot’s “Proficient Pilot” column.—Jill W. Tallman
It’s a glider! No, there’s an engine on top. A radial engine, at that! It’s a flying boat! No, not exactly. The Curtiss-Wright CW-1 Junior resembles all of these things in various ways–see how the pilot sits out in front, which gives him the same sort of visibility afforded to sailplane pilots; note also how the hull looks like that of an amphibious flying boat. But it’s actually an an open-cockpit landplane. As Barry Schiff writes in the June 2006 AOPA Pilot, the CW-1 Junior was produced in St. Louis, Missouri, competing against the Aeronca C-2, American Eagle’s Eaglet, and the Buhl Pup. Some 270 were built before the Great Depression brought production to a halt in 1932. Barry says the Junior is an airplane that’s “easy to fly, but not easy to fly well.”—Jill W. Tallman
It’s supposed to be a big secret–or maybe not–but formation flying for photo shoots is one of the coolest things an AOPA editor does. Here, AOPA’s Mike Fizer captures Dwayne Clemens and former AOPA Pilot editor Nate Ferguson in a yellow Husky 200-hp A-1B leading another Husky A-1B with tundra tires flown by Greg Largen and Alex Clemens.—Jill W. Tallman
This was our Photo of the Day on Friday, August 31, and while it’s not a very exciting image all by itself, it depicts an important aspect of a pilot’s checkride: the aircraft logbooks! If you wait until the morning of your checkride to review them, Murphy’s Law says you will find something that the examiner will not like: a missed 100-hour inspection, a pitot-static inspection that isn’t logged. Until you get that straightened out, no flying for you.
I asked the Facebook audience to share useful tips for taking checkrides, and here’s what they said:
I got a friend who was an examiner to give me a pre-checkride for my private. We ironed out some last-minute areas that I was weak on and my instructor hadn’t fixed. Just another set of eyes… and yes, I did pass my checkride the first time!–Christian Roberts
Maybe it seems like common sense to some, but I really appreciated my instructor walking the plane with me at the end of my training, making sure I actually knew what all of the antennas on the airplane did, and then he quizzed me the next lesson.–Brittney Miculka
Don’t be afraid to delay the flight. For my commercial checkride it was windy, gusting, and a line of dark clouds was rolling in. Decided to wait on the flight after passing the oral.–Mike Borkhuis
Double-check the weights. I was 15 pounds off on my empty weight during my checkride. I used the previous weight rather than the new one.–Neil Bradon
Tab or paper clip each page in your log book upon which you meet an individual requirement of a particular certification. IE; Tab the page where your 50th X-country hour is logged for your IFR ride. Tab where your 5 solo hours of night are completed for your Commercial etc etc. Doing so will make it easy for the DPE to locate each specific requirement thus not making him have to thumb through the entire log looking for one requisite. Treat that DPE like a king and spoon feed him everything so it’s as easy as you can make it for him to pass you.
CLEAR THE AREAS WHEN DOING MANEUVERS AND TELL HIM YOU ARE DOING SO. It’s amazing how many PPL, IFR and even commercial candidates don’t do this simple thing.
Additionally, paper clip your written test results, government issued ID and medical and or pilot certificate all together along with his payment and stick it in folder so its easy for him.
Finally…do your IACRA ahead of time so he does not have to wait for you to pour over your log computing Solo from PIC time etc etc.
There are more tips I can offer but these will go miles for you and are easy to do.
Finally (I mean it this time)- Come PREPARED. Study and know the material! –Cm Thrasher
Presentation and preparation is key. Highlight your sectional for a quick glance at information. Be confident.--Mario Merendon
Sectional, AF/D, FAR/AIM….and a proper flight plan is a must….–Cap Sandeepan Das (I think Cap means make sure you bring all these to your oral…)
Talk to someone else who has taken a checkride with your examiner. Examiners usually do very similar checkrides with small variations.–Nicholas Anhold
[A]nswer your questions with confidence. Stay calm. They are examining whether it not you can fly safely and have good ADM. And have fun, after all you are flying.—Jason Taken
Relax, enjoy meeting a professional pilot who would like nothing more than to sign your certificate. Also, your instructor didn’t sign you off without knowing you have what it takes.—Jack Britton
Don’t panic if you think, or even know, that you messed something up. No one will ever fly the perfect checkride! You just need to do well enough to pass–so put errors out of your mind and just focus on the next thing the examiner asks you to do. Good luck–you WILL pass!--Jeff Stephenson
Just remember the DPE is more scared of you than you are of him/her.–Matt Everett (I think Matt meant this tongue in cheek, but I know for a fact that my examiner was not more scared of me than I was of her.)
As always, if you missed out on this conversation you are invited to share your checkride tips in the Comments section below. Future checkride-dreading pilots will thank you.—Jill W. Tallman
AOPA’s 2006 sweepstakes aircraft was the Win a Six in ’06–a 1967 Cherokee 6 260. Refurbishments to the avionics included an Avidyne TAS600 traffic alert system, a Sandel SN3500 electronic horizontal situation indicator, and an S-TEC System Fifty-Five X autopilot and flight control system. A new interior gave the Six a club seating configuration. A five-color custom paint job was the icing on this beautiful cake. AOPA Pilot Editor at Large Tom Horne discusses the project here ( http://www.aopa.org/sweeps/2006/ ).—Jill W. Tallman
This Waco, photographed near Kentmoor Airpark in Stevensville, Marlyand, is not only a beautiful specimen of a biplane—she’s a cover girl as well. She graced one of the covers of AOPA’s paper Airports Directory. The shot actually used for the directory cover shows her on final to the turf runway at Kentmorr. The airspace over the Chesapeake Bay is her playground in this photo.—Jill W. Tallman
Often imitated, never duplicated, the Ercoupe is one of the nation’s quirkiest and best-loved GA aircraft. A brief history: It was born in 1939 (its designer, Fred Weick, later worked on the Piper Cherokee line). Weick gave it tricycle landing gear and trailing-link main gear to help make challenging landings tamer, and he limited elevator up-travel to help reduce the potential for a stall. Oh, and he did away with rudder pedals, and interconnected the ailerons to the rudders–so you steer it like a car. You can fly it with the canopy open, and AOPA Pilot Editor at Large Tom Horne swears that you can stick your arm out the window and turn the airplane that way. He wrote about it in the March 2012 issue ( http://www.aopa.org/members/files/pilot/2012/march/f_ercoupe.html?WT.mc_id=&wtmcid;&WT.mc_sect=gan ).—Jill W. Tallman
It’s not traditionally considered a trainer, yet several flight schools do offer the Cirrus SR22 for primary training. Many pilots who came of age using computers find the Cirrus glass panel display easier to grasp than traditional six-pack engine instruments.—Jill W. Tallman
This rare bird–said to be the only one in the nation flying—landed at Frederick Municipal Airport last week to participate in a photo shoot. The twin-engine Velocity experimental flew with two of its single-engine brethen.—Jill W. Tallman
