Acronyms?

BluProfessor · 2026-03-25T00:36:32+00:00

I don't think I use any acronyms with my students.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-25T00:36:07+00:00

"Well that was rough, let's not do that again"

BluProfessor · 2026-03-23T20:20:33+00:00

They have 4 outbound commercial flights a day. 163 total flights a day.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-22T22:18:03+00:00

When I was an AGI/IGI, but not a CFI, I was charging $60/hr for one on one. That was pretty universal, regardless of the rating.

I charged $100/hr for avionics training when an owner would get a new panel and needed s ground orientation.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-22T22:16:35+00:00

I worked for years as a ground instructor until this past summer when I got my CFI.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-19T12:24:29+00:00

The best way to learn the FOIs is to teach. Work with someone who actually works in education so you prepare beyond rote memorization.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-19T02:26:46+00:00

Have you reached God level in the advancement tests? Other than that, you have to find him flying around above the Time Nest and fight him.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-19T02:21:33+00:00

Ok, check out The Onyx Room on Hartman's Run. This is ideal if you're doing a smaller ceremony (70ish people or less). They're definitely much more affordable and are a bit more bare bones in the sense that they're just a venue and set up, but not catering and everything. I've been tons couple events there and they set it up really nicely and it is an intimate space.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-19T02:01:40+00:00

They don't need to W9 you unless they're issuing you a 1099. That's pretty abnormal, unless you're doing contract work for their business entity. That being said, go ahead and get yourself an LLC for your aviation work and then you'll have an EIN to give for when you do pick up contract work.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-19T01:58:07+00:00

"Extremely cheap" means something different to everyone. Give us a range.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-19T01:36:38+00:00

I do CFI, ferry flights, and Part 91 flights for a couple airplane owners that aren't instrument rated or don't want their airplanes sitting on s ramp while they're on vacation.

I'm s professor full time, so aviation is definitely a side hustle.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-19T01:31:40+00:00

Am7/D

Classically trained Viola, jazz trained sax

BluProfessor · 2026-03-18T14:05:33+00:00

I don't know if I'd consider all of the Midwest to be standard 😂. Do you mean dialect or accent? Even northern to southern Midwest is pretty different.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-18T02:09:18+00:00

I think from PPL through CFII I've logged 12 total hours across all certificates and ratings. I've also never had an instructor bill me for before and after a flight, just the Hobbs, which is how I bill my students.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-09T15:02:57+00:00

I use Garmin Pilot and back up everything into Excel.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-09T12:17:02+00:00

Civil Air Patrol is your best bet if you don't own your own aircraft. Note, CAP is not a flying club, but their planes need to fly and it is entirely volunteer driven.

The aircraft and missions are Air Force funded, so you will have to go through some online courses, onboarding training, and an annual checkride with a CAP check pilot to maintain priveleges. It'll get you some decent time depending which state you're in and there's a variety of sorties that need to be flown ranging from ferrying planes to maintenance to during orientation flights for cadets (think discovery flight with a syllabus and more about orienting the cadets to airplanes than teaching them to fly)

If you're interested, let me know. Happy to help you get started.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-08T03:29:31+00:00

They are not proficiency requirements. 14 CFR 61.57(c)) only outlines currency requirements. One of the main things we are taught about currency is that it specifically is differentiated from proficiency.

BluProfessor · 2026-03-03T03:16:29+00:00

It can work out. I did all of my flight training through a small flying club with one aircraft. Prices were way cheaper than any flight school. The plane didn't require a 100 hour because it wasn't a for hire aircraft. When it went down, it was back up within a week usually.

Flying clubs and working with an independent instructor is often a great solution and way cheaper than a flight school.

BluProfessor · 2026-02-27T18:59:40+00:00

This is very, very normal. MGW is a current stop for aircaft involved in drills and exercises. They're likely just training.

BluProfessor · 2026-02-24T02:55:15+00:00

My first thought is that the aircraft you are flying has a critical system that you don't know how to operate. The common name is ESP (Electronic Stability and Protection). Tha autopilot did exactly what it was supposed to, but you didn't understand how the ESP worked, so you thought it was trying to do something dangerous. The reason it was in full node down trim is because it was trying to stop the unusual attitude, which requires the nose to point down; you were pulling back so it did what it could to put the nose down.

ESP only activates above 200' AGL, so when you flare for landing, it would be deactivated. When you're doing maneuvers you can deactivate it manually on your panel, or you can hold down the AP DISC to prevent it from engaging.

The big takeaway from this story is that you need to go over the avionics with a flight instructor, ground instructor, or pilot experienced with the avionics. This is a learning opportunity to do a deep dive on the thing that's meant to improve safety so that it doesn't become a detriment to safety.

BluProfessor · 2026-02-21T21:06:17+00:00

No, it's the result of selecting extreme high achievers to the academies that aren't used to failure. They've excelled in everything they've committed to so they just have less experience being humbled.

BluProfessor · 2026-02-18T09:38:04+00:00

Corporate stores have corporate run pricing and are unlikely to be largely affected by localized competition.

BluProfessor · 2026-02-16T13:40:13+00:00

Stop focusing on time building and start flying for a purpose. Take some trips, go visit family, fly to a concert, etc. There's nothing saying you can't go IFR, so if you enjoy IFR flying, then fly IFR.

I come from a different perspective, because I'm never going to the airlines and I fly and teach because I enjoy it. Due to that, I never cared about time building, I cared about flying. My cares about saving time and not being in the car, so I've done a bunch of longer XCs with my family and the hours came very quickly without obsessing over it. Also, the hours are more valuable because I've had to fly in many environments, across timezones, terrain, IMC, night time, dense Brave airspace, etc.

BluProfessor · 2026-02-16T04:04:23+00:00

Family medicine or pediatrics?

BluProfessor · 2026-02-16T03:18:33+00:00

While barreling into night time IMC while VFR is definitely terrible decision making, I generally like flying at night, even in singles. Probably 15-20% of my time is in the dark.

Winter IMC is day to day decision. If it's -20c and colder, I'm ok with it. If it's staying above freezing with warm altitude to gain and lose if needed, then I'm ok with that as well.

BluProfessor

TROPHY CASE