EAA Chapter 20 Young Eagles @ SCFC
2025-01-18 09:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
SCFC is hosting EAA Chapter 20 for their Young Eagles event on January 18th.
Learn more about Young Eagles from the EAA’s website.

Upwind Scholarship 2025 Information Session
2025-01-18 15:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
Every summer, San Carlos Flight Center holds a 9-week flight training intensive program for high schools students. SCFC is proud to partner with the Upwind Foundation, a local pilot-run non-profit that raises money to provide scholarships for students to complete the summer program. The Upwind Summer Scholarship Program provides a unique opportunity for high school students to become FAA-certificated pilots over the summer between their junior and senior years at no cost to their families. The program is made possible by the generosity of local pilots and aviation stakeholders. Learn more about the Upwind Foundation and Summer Scholarship Program here.
The Upwind Foundation is holding an informational meeting for prospective applicants to meet previous scholarship recipients and their parents, flight instructors, and other Upwind staff. This is a great opportunity to find out more information about the program, get answers to any questions as well as assistance with the application process. We look forward to seeing you there! The open house is on Saturday, January 18th at 3 PM. Click here to RSVP on the Upwind website.
The details of the informational meeting will be sent to all those that are registered.

Aviation as Portrayed in TV and Film
2025-01-22 19:00 - 20:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
Watching airplanes and helicopters as shown in TV shows and movies, is a mixed bag for a pilot. Sometimes, the joy of flying and the procedural integrity is high, and we get to share a bit of our flying world with others. However, more often the entertainment industry gets it very wrong, and we cringe through some pretty bad portrayals of both airplanes and helicopters in flight.
Helicopters have been a safe form of flying since the 1940’s, and with the proper training and preparation, they are perfectly suited to some specific flight missions. But they can be unforgiving to pilots who don’t take precautions to treat the aircraft with respect. But that doesn’t stop Hollywood from throwing The Rock or Will Smith behind the stick and launching into impossible aerobatics.
The portrayal of airplane flight is often less wrong, but still occasionally laughable. One recent TV show showed a computer glitch in a control tower computer that supposedly prevented all planes from landing. Because in movie world, that’s how planes land – ATC computers in the control tower do the landing. Big news to pilots who feel they have a larger role in that procedure.
For this presentation, CFIs Michael Dutton and Dan Dyer have pulled together a compilation of some of the stupidest representations of airplanes helicopters in film and television. Amateur pilots flying without any training, unsafe maneuvering, aerodynamic impossibilities, hazardous flight conditions, you name it, we’ll see it. After we view the Hollywood version, Michael and Dan will walk the audience through what is aerodynamically wrong and outright unsafe in what we saw on the screen. The difference between safe aircraft operation and what you see action stars use them will astonish you.
If you want to share our pilot’s eye look at TV and film and enjoy laughing at the mainstream entertainment, we hope you’ll join us.
Michael Dutton is a CFI, and CFII in fixed wing, with private pilot privileges in helicopters. He has been flying and working at San Carlos airport for over ten years, first working for the Flight Center before moving on to Airport Operations and now as Flight Instructor. His past work experience also includes time with NASA and San Carlos Airport administration.
Dan Dyer is a flight instructor and SCFC Director of Operations. He began over 20 years ago, has over 4,000 flight hours, and is the Bay Area’s local expert in crosswind landing instruction. He is known for finding simple and innovative ways to explain complex topics and regularly speaks on advanced ground school topics. He currently oversees hiring and training of SCFCs Flight Instructor team.

Under the Cowling Workshop
2025-01-25 10:00 - 11:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
CFI Herb Patten and Aviation Mechanic Charles Rudolf invite pilots and student pilots into the SCFC maintenance hangar for a closer look at airplane engines and systems, including details of the fuel, ignition, induction and more in this in-person workshop. This is your chance to look “under the cowling” in a way that goes deeper than your common preflight inspection.
As a pilot, you learn about airplane engines and systems from the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. That information is supplemented by details from your specific Airplane Flight Manual. So what more do you need to know? You crank the starter and everything works. But how does it work and how do the various systems such as the fuel, induction, and ignition work together to keep the engine flying? Ever wonder how the fuel flows from the tank to the cylinders? Or what happens when the air intake filter becomes blocked? Or what are the purposes of those tubes coming out of the bottom of the engine?
This in-person seminar will be conducted using a Cessna 172 with the engine cowling removed so you can get an up-close appreciation of the components of a typical, small single-engine airplane. Space is limited so don’t delay in signing up for this unique experience. You will walk away with a new depth of knowledge that most pilots don’t have.

PIREPs: Love Them or Lose Them
2025-01-29 19:00 - 20:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
Want to know what is actually happening up at altitude? The best way to get that is to hear from pilots who are up there. Pilot reports (PIREPs) are a crucial part of the weather picture. It doesn’t matter if we’re flying VFR or IFR, PIREPs are the nowcast of aviation weather: what’s actually happening out there.
In this presentation, SCFC invites in aviation legend Alan Marcum to share the why, when, and how of making PIREPs and the best ways to read and interpret them.
Alan Marcum, an instrument-rated private pilot, has been flying for over forty years and over 2,500 flight hours, and has delivered numerous FAA Safety Seminars on topics such as flying across the US and in-flight weather-based decision-making. He bases his Mooney at Palo Alto, where he learned to fly.
San Carlos Flight Center (SCFC) is the SF Bay Area’s most dynamic flying club, committed to building general aviation through safety, community, and adventure. AOPA has consistently recognized SCFC in their Best Flight School survey, most recently in 2024 as a Distinguished Flight School.
SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Livestream access is free for everyone, but recorded seminars are available solely to members at a later date. Contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access to our web archive.

What I Learned about Rudder Coordination in my First 600 Hours as a Flight Instructor
2025-02-05 19:00 - 20:30 | San Carlos Flight Center
The process of becoming a better pilot never ends, as SCFC Flight Instructor Henrik Vanitegem found out. Despite accomplishing his private, commercial, and flight instructor certificates, and accumulating hundreds of hours of flight time, there is so much more still to learn. Many instructors find that their own flying reaches a new plateau after the first few years of teaching others. Something about guiding a new person to what are fundamental flight skills forces you to take a newer, deeper look.
Such is the case for Henrik and rudder coordination. From his earliest days as a student, Henrik had been introduced to the concept of rudder coordination, but it took years as an instructor before he could approach the topic from a new direction. SCFC invites Henrik to reflect back on this first 600 hours as a flight instructor and give us his latest thoughts and understandings of rudder coordination, and how to improve the overall safety of your flight. Don’t wait 600 hours to hear this important topic.
Rudder coordination is a common weak spot for many pilots. In my safety seminar we will look at why we need to use rudder and when it should be used in flight to keep the aircraft coordinated.

Ground School Refresher: VFR Charts
2025-02-12 19:00 - 20:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
VFR charts pack an extraordinary amount of material and represent a 3-dimensional world of terrain and airspaces in 2 dimensions. With such a wealth of information, do you really know how to read them? For example, do you know how to identify where certain VFR reporting waypoints are on a chart? Or can you determine if the airport you are landing at has an operating beacon, pilot controlled lighting, or lighting at all?
San Carlos Flight Center invites CFI Brad Daughtry to give pilots a refresher on VFR charts. He will entertain you while educating you about common as well as uncommon VFR charts symbology. In this seminar expect a thorough investigation of these charts, the related symbology, and interesting facts that you could use to impress your friends. Throughout the presentation, Brad will provide many real-life examples and allow the audience to follow-along looking at charts on their own.
While you may know the basics, there is always something new or some little nuance that we didn’t realize. All pilots can benefit from a refresher on VFR charts, so join us to refresh your memory and learn more.

Brad Daughtry is a CFI at San Carlos Flight Center. He first became interested in aviation during a trip to Alaska when he saw all the bush planes flying around the state. From that point, he wanted to learn to fly. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a degree in Finance, and moved back to the Bay Area to work in San Francisco. After working in SF, he decided to pursue an aviation career and moved to Florida’s Space Coast to complete his flight training. Outside of flying, Brad enjoys mountain biking, skiing, and hiking. He is excited to help aspiring pilots learn to fly.

San Carlos Flight Center (SCFC) is the SF Bay Area’s most dynamic flying club, committed to building general aviation through safety, community, and adventure. AOPA has consistently recognized SCFC in their Best Flight School survey, most recently in 2024 as a Distinguished Flight School.
SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Livestream access is free for everyone, but recorded seminars are available solely to members at a later date. Contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access to our web archive.

SCFC Welcome Night
2025-02-13 18:30 - 19:30 | San Carlos Flight Center
If you’re recently joined the Club, you may have only met your instructor and one of our Front Desk agents. It’s time to meet some other students and pilots.
Join us on Thursday, February 13th at 6:30pm for San Carlos Flight Center’s Welcome Night to start the new year off right. We’ll welcome in our newest members and give you a chance to hear about all the other activities and events going on at the Club. It’s a casual event with food and some activities. The vibe is mostly welcome and get to know each other, and less like a formal classroom presentation (even though we have plenty of those on other nights!).
One feature of our Welcome Nights are the activity stations, designed for easy connection, each staff by a different SCFC club member. The activity stations this month will be:

Learning about Instrument Ratings,
Mechanic Show and Tell,
Local Landmarks Challenge, and
FlyOutGroup 2025 Showcase

To join us, just register for the event so we can have enough food and drink. Feel free to also bring friends or family who are interested in meeting Club members and finding out why SCFC is such a great place for flying.

2025-02 IMC Club SQL
2025-02-19 19:00 - 20:30 | San Carlos Flight Center
NOTE: Since this event will involve active discussion, it will be held over Zoom and not broadcast via Livestream. Please RSVP by 12pm on the day of the seminar to receive Zoom meeting info via email before the event starts.

Most pilots like analyzing scenarios and trying to answer the age old question of what would I do in that situation? Imagine if you could also hear the opinions of other pilots or get feedback on your approach to a situation. Well, that is exactly what the IMC Club provides.
Join the local EAA Chapter 20 IMC Club meeting to review a scenario and share in the discussions with fellow pilots. You will get an opportunity to hear other pilots’ analysis as well as the group critique of various solutions.
Whether you are a newly minted instrument rated pilot and anxious to learn from others or you are a seasoned pilot with experience to share, the IMC Club is a welcome home for both.
Learn more about IMC Club at http://www.eaa20.org/about.html

Brian Eliot is a Senior Instructor at San Carlos Flight Center and their resident expert for IFR training and Garmin G1000 avionics. He has been flying since 1995 and received all his training in the Bay Area. Brian previously worked as a broadcast engineer, a software developer, and taught computer science at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He regularly presents at San Carlos Flight Center safety seminars and has a reputation for making complex concepts easy to learn and understand.

About San Carlos Flight Center:

San Carlos Flight Center (SCFC) is the SF Bay Area’s most dynamic flying club, committed to building general aviation through safety, community, and adventure. AOPA has consistently recognized SCFC in their Best Flight School survey, most recently in 2023 as a Distinguished Flight School for the third year in a row.

SCFC is committed to promoting safety, community, and adventure in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Our seminars are free to watch when attended in person at our facility in San Carlos but live streaming and viewing recorded seminars are exclusively available to members. Click here or contact an SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access to our web library of over 500 recorded safety seminars and live-streamed content.

Approach Lighting Systems
2025-02-22 12:00 - 13:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
You are on glidepath descending towards the runway and as you break through the clouds, you see the bright approach lighting systems verifying you’re on path to the runway. With so many different types of lighting systems, colors, and positions, do you really know their significance?
San Carlos Flight Center invites CFII Brian Eliot to discuss the different types of approach lighting systems available at airports. Approach lighting systems guide pilots to safe landings in all weather, but particularly in inclement weather and instrument approaches to minimums. Approach lights have multiple design characteristics to aid in the transition from instrument to visual flight. Their successful use depends on the pilot’s knowing their layout and ability to identify them during an approach briefing. In this seminar, learn about the different types of approach lighting systems, how they work, and the importance they serve to pilots.
We encourage all instrument-rated pilots and those who are in training to attend this often under-taught subject matter.

Brian Eliot is a Senior Instructor at San Carlos Flight Center and our resident expert for IFR training and Garmin G1000 avionics. He has been flying since 1995 and received all his training in the Bay Area. Brian previously worked as a broadcast engineer, a software developer, and taught computer science at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He regularly presents at San Carlos Flight Center safety seminars and has a reputation for making complex concepts easy to learn and understand.San Carlos Flight Center (SCFC) is the SF Bay Area’s most dynamic flying club, committed to building general aviation through safety, community, and adventure. AOPA has consistently recognized SCFC in their Best Flight School survey, most recently in 2022 as a Distinguished Flight School.
SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Livestream access is free for everyone, but recorded seminars are available solely to members at a later date. Click here or contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access to our web archive.

IFR Alternates
2025-02-26 19:00 - 20:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
It is a typical day in the Bay Area with low ceilings. You are instrument current and ready to depart. Filing your IFR flight plan you hesitate for a moment on the field for alternate airports. You ponder for a moment to remember when are pilots required to file an alternate airport? What constitutes an acceptable alternate airport? What are the weather requirements at the alternate and when?Join SCFC CFI Herb Patten for an insightful review of the aspects of selecting and filing an alternate airport. This will include details buried in various FAA regulation and legal opinions. The information in this seminar will prepare you to confidently determine when and how to select your alternate airport for your next IFR flight.
If you are wondering when, why, and how to select an alternate airport, join us for this seminar.

Herb Patten is a Senior Instructor at the San Carlos Flight Center, a CFI and an FAA certificated advanced and instrument ground instructor who teaches ground school at San Carlos Flight Center. He is a commercial pilot with an instrument rating, with over 3,000 hours of experience. He led the development of the San Carlos Flight Center Instrument Syllabus. He is the current chairman of the Upwind Foundation, famous for its Upwind Summer Scholarship Program. AOPA has recognized Herb as a Distinguished Instructor numerous times including just recently in 2025.

San Carlos Flight Center (SCFC) is the SF Bay Area’s most dynamic flying club, committed to building general aviation through safety, community, and adventure. AOPA has consistently recognized SCFC in their Best Flight School survey, most recently in 2019 as a Distinguished Flight School.
SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. SCFC members may choose to watch the seminar live over the web at home, or recorded at a later date. Click here or contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access.

Prospective Pilot Workshop
2025-03-01 09:00 - 12:00 | San Carlos Flight Center
Are you interested in aviation but not sure where to begin? Are you looking to find out more about becoming a pilot with a group of others like yourself?
San Carlos Flight Center invites all prospective pilots to attend this workshop to learn about what it takes to become a part of general aviation. This event will explain the steps needed to become a pilot, show you how to read and interpret aviation charts used by pilots, and will provide a hands-on opportunity to see a training airplane and engine up close.
If you have a pilot passion burning inside of you, we welcome you to join us. Admission is free (with prior registration). Lunch is provided.
(This event is a workshop for adults interested in becoming a pilot.)

Global Flight Operations
2025-03-08 12:00 - 13:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
You may be familiar with planning and accomplishing VFR and IFR flights within the contiguous United States, but have you ever wondered how long, overwater international airline flights are planned and executed? How do you aviate, navigate, and communicate over remote areas of the world? What if something goes wrong half way across the ocean? Do the pilots have to stay awake the entire flight? Do you have to know Chinese to be cleared to land in China?

Join United Airlines Captain and SCFC Senior Instructor, Daniel Stellini for the inside scoop and a peek behind the curtain into what goes into planing and executing long haul flights to and from global destinations!

Daniel Stellini is a CFII, MEI, ATP and a United Airlines Captain with extensive experience from Cessnas to Boeing 777’s. A Gold Seal Flight Instructor and former High School Band Director, he has always had a passion for teaching, and is committed to developing safe and competent pilots.

SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Livestream access is free for everyone, but recorded seminars are available solely to members at a later date. Click here or contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access to our web archive.

Flying to Europe in a Cessna Mustang
2025-03-12 19:00 - 20:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
We love hearing about flights to interesting places and hearing the experiences of the pilots along the way. What went well? What did you see? What was different about operating there compared to airport hops around the SF Bay Area?
San Carlos Flight Center invites in Nick Pliam, ATP, to share the story of this flight from the East Bay to Northern Europe and back last year in his Cessna Mustang. The flight was from Hayward to Northern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, France, Italy, Austria, Norway and back in July 2024. Presentation will cover general considerations, flight planning, documentation requirements, insurance, flying the North Atlantic, differences in flying in Europe, and interesting places we visited.
Nick Pliam has been dreaming about flying to Europe for decades but never thought it would happen – until last summer. His wife and daughter took the airlines and met Nick and his copilot, a recently retired airline captain, in Marseille for their Europe adventures. Nick has an ATP, CFII and MEI ratings, and he shares a Hayward based Cessna Citation Mustang. The airplane is owned by Flying Pigs Aviation LLC; the company’s chief diversity officer, a minipig named Pignella, appeared as a flying pig in the January 2023 issue of the AOPA magazine.

Upwind Wine and Cheese Party and Silent Auction
2025-03-14 18:30 - 20:30
It’s that time of year again!
The Upwind Foundation and SCFC invite you to a fundraising Wine and Cheese Soiree on Friday, March 14th at 6:30 pm. All are welcome!
We will celebrate the summer of fundraising, complete our silent auction, and as a special treat, we will meet the winners of the 2025 Upwind Scholarship. Join us to celebrate with the winners and their families.
Please RSVP below so we can get a headcount for food and drinks.
View the Online Auction Site

EAA Chapter 20 Young Eagles @ SCFC
2025-03-15 09:00 - 12:00 | San Carlos Flight Center

2025-03 IMC Club SQL
2025-03-19 19:00 - 20:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:

A Mechanic Explains Runup Ignition System Checks
2025-03-22 12:00 - 13:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
Prior to takeoff, pilots run the engine to a high power setting and confirm various system operation levels, including the ignition system. Occasionally, a rough or underperforming engine would result in the pilot abandoning the flight and taxiing back to the parking area. San Carlos Flight Center checklists include shorthand references to guide pilots what performance levels are acceptable for flight, but a full understanding goes well beyond a few words on a checklist.
SCFC invites in Mechanic IA Charles Rudolf to share a mechanic’s deeper understanding of the ignition system and the performance metrics a pilot should be looking for in the runup area. What does proper operation look like? What performance drops are acceptable during magneto checks? What is happening under the cowling during various phases of runup? Rudolf will bring examples of tools mechanics use in testing magneto and spark plug health, and also a demonstrator rig he uses to deep train pilots on magneto system operation.
This is a great opportunity for a pilot to get a deeper, more meaningful understanding of critical engine operation well beyond what he or she can read in the PHAK. We hope all Flight Center pilots join us for this educational experience.

Ground Effect Vehicles
2025-03-26 19:00 - 20:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
Most people think of aircraft as things that fly high in the sky, well beyond the influence of ground effect. But interestingly, some heavy transport vehicles are designed to skim the surface of the earth or the water, buoyed by the extra lift that ground effect provides.
You may have heard of ground effect as a “cushion of air” you experienced on landing making you float halfway down the runway. You may not have realized that there have been a number of vehicles designed specifically to flourish in what’s normally a great inconvenience to us pilots.
SCFC Flight Instructor Noa Brown has been fascinated by this interesting class of aircraft for some time and has pulled together an interesting introduction into the various production vehicles that use this in the real world. Come and join us in our seminar where we take a more in depth look at ground effect and some unique and frankly bizarre ground effect vehicles.
Noa Brown has been with San Carlos Flight Center since last summer. He is a former aerospace engineer and got his degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. He is particularly interested in historical aircraft.

Workshop: Cross-Country Planning
2025-03-29 12:00 - 13:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
As pilots, we must know how to accurately plan for a cross-country flight. Join us for this in-person workshop at San Carlos Flight Center for a hands-on and scenario based learning experience. Senior CFI Herb Patten will show attendees the important elements of successful cross-country flight planning and walk you through your planning of a flight. Throughout the workshop Herb will incorporate various situations and challenges, and provide direct support.
The Cross-Country Flight Planning workshop will be based on a trip between two Bay Area airports. This is an interactive workshop with participants working in small teams to successfully plan a flight and create a navigation log that could be used to make the flight. It’s as real as we can make it, while students work through preflight planning decisions and factor in weather and fuel requirements.

Join us if you would like some practice with the flight planning process including using faa.gov to look up NOTAMS and TFRs, reviewing airport information available in the AFD and other sources, creating nav logs, determining fuel requirements, performing weight and balance calculations.

IFR Checkride: How I Prepared & Lessons Learned
2025-04-02 19:00 - 20:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
Pursuing the instrument rating can be extremely challenging. It takes lots of training, studying, and commitment from the student and their instructor to master all the necessary skills and build the confidence to fly under IFR. What are some successful approaches to tackling this rating? What are some of the resources to use to study? What should you expect during the training and practical test?
San Carlos Flight Center invites newly instrument-rated pilot to Kuni Migimatsu along with his instructor, Michael Dutton, to highlight their experiences pursuing the instrument rating. They will provide an overview of their training including the various tools, and resources they used along the way, as well as an insight into the instrument checkride. See how the Airman Certification Standards translate into what the ground questions and flight may look like. Finally, as with all things in the world of aviation, see how to handle unexpected situations when they arise, even on a checkride.
If you are an aspiring instrument pilot or a veteran aviator, join us to hear about what to expect and how to pass this checkride.

From Steam to Screen: Transition to a G1000 Aircraft
2025-04-05 12:00 - 13:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
As more aircraft are equipped with the computer display instrumentation ( aka “glass cockpit”), pilots trained on traditional analog instruments must adapt their flying skills and knowledge to fly these new aircraft. For a first timer, it can seem daunting, but with the right training most pilots adjust to the new instrumentation very quickly. They typically find tremendous value both from the increased situational awarenesss that a large multi-function display provides, as well as better access to engine monitoring, weather reports, and forecasts, and help for finding the right local ATC facility or Flight Service Station.
San Carlos Flight Center has invited CFI Nico Figueroa to present “From Steam to Screen: Transition to a G1000 Aircraft,” a safety seminar designed to ease the transition from traditional six-pack instrumentation to the G1000. In this seminar, Nico will introduce pilots to the primary differences between analog and digital cockpits, explain the functions and benefits of systems such as AHRS and ADC, and provide practical tips for safely transitioning from being a VFR private pilot in a six-pack aircraft to an instrument-rated pilot flying a G1000.
If you’ve never flown in a newer glass panel aircraft, we hope you’ll join us for this introductory presentation.
Nico Figueroa is a Certified Flight Instructor at San Carlos Flight Center with experience transitioning between traditional six-pack instruments and the Garmin G1000. He earned his Private Pilot certificate in high school, obtained an engineering degree from Santa Clara University, and is currently diving deep into G1000 functionality as he finishes his CFII training. Nico enjoys working with students at all levels of flight training and is particularly looking forward to helping pilots transition to instrument flying using advanced cockpit systems like the G1000.

Understanding Cessna 182 Systems
2025-04-09 19:00 - 20:00 | San Carlos Flight Center
For a private pilot who learned to fly in a C172 Skyhawk, stepping up to the Cessna 182 Skyland is a good challenge to broaden your skills. The larger engine allows you to take more passengers and luggage, and cover longer distances faster. As a natural extension to the Cessna 172, the Cessna 182 shares many operating similarities and most find the transition smooth. However, Skylanes have some differences in engine and powerplant that require more attention. Pilots checking out in the C182 must learn to manage the constant-speed propellor, and factor in the greater torque and increased need for engine temperature management of the later six-cylinder engine, and learn to use and additional engine cooling tool – cowl flaps.
SCFC invites in Travis Bender, CFI, to introduce the Cessna 182 systems to pilots, particularly those looking to transition from the Skyhawk. You’ll walk away with a good foundation to start earning your high-performance endorsement, while also learning what it takes to get checked out in the Flight Center’s 182 fleet. Attending this free seminar is a great way to reduce the ground training time with an instructor that you’d need as part of an aircraft checkout.
Join us if you’re interested in the next level of Cessna aircraft, and looking to get to your next aviation destination a little faster and with fewer stops.
Travis Bender is a CFI and CFII at San Carlos Flight Center. He earned his primary certificates right here at SCFC and now conducts training for student pilots through Flight Instructors, as well as high-performance checkouts and mountain training. Prior to instructing, Travis worked in sustainable procurement for a large Silicon Valley company.

Radio Communications 1: Radio Basics
2025-04-12 12:00 - 13:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
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.
San Carlos Flight Center invites senior instructors Herb Patten and Dan Dyer to bridge the communication gap, help newer pilots understand the structure of radio and how to improve their own. The presentation will begin with a review of radio communication phraseology and use. What part is structured? What part is unstructured? What words are good official phraseology, and what words are considered jargon, slang, or poor grammar?
If you are new to radio communication or just want a great review to fill gaps in your pilot education, please join us for this unique opportunity.
Herb Patten is a Senior Instructor at the San Carlos Flight Center, a CFII, an FAA certificated advanced and instrument ground instructor, and past SCFC Chief Pilot. He is a instrument-rated commercial pilot that has flown over 2,500 hours to more than 130 different California airports. He teaches private pilot ground school at San Carlos Flight Center, and is the current chairman of the Upwind Foundation, famous for its Upwind Summer Scholarship Program. In 2023, Herb was named a Distinguished Flight Instructor by AOPA.
Dan Dyer is the founder of the San Carlos Flight Center, and continues to be involved in the Club as Director of Operations. Dan was an instructor for 15 years, accumulated over 4,000 flight hours, and is the Bay Area’s local expert in crosswind landing instruction. He is known for finding simple and innovative ways to explain complex topics and regularly speaks on advanced ground school topics. He currently oversees hiring and training of SCFC’s Flight Instructor team.
San Carlos Flight Center (SCFC) is the SF Bay Area’s most dynamic flying club, committed to building general aviation through safety, community, and adventure. AOPA has consistently recognized SCFC in their Best Flight School survey, most recently in 2024 as a Distinguished Flight School for the fourth year in a row.
SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Livestream access is free for everyone, but recorded seminars are available solely to members at a later date. Click here or contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access to our web archive of over 400 recorded safety seminars.

Women in Aviation @ SCFC, April Meeting
2025-04-16 19:00 - 20:00 | San Carlos Flight Center
The women student pilots, pilots, and flight instructors of San Carlos Flight Center are coming together to begin forming a Women in Aviation chapter for San Carlos. You are invited to meet the group and share your love of aviation at a meeting on Wednesday, April 16th at 7 PM. The activities for this first meeting will include small group discussion and introductions, donuts, and will feature our April guest speaker, Alyssa Cova, a commercial pilot and flight instructor who found aviation after completing her education in business and now works as a pilot intern for United. Alyssa will speak about her success and challenges throughout her career. Join us to meet mentors, enjoy a sweet treat, talk airplanes, and spend quality time with the female aviation community at SCFC.
We hope to see you there!

EAA Chapter 20 Young Eagles @ SCFC
2025-04-19 09:00 - 12:00 | San Carlos Flight Center
SCFC is hosting EAA Chapter 20 for their Young Eagles event, with volunteer pilots sharing flights for young people.
Learn more about Young Eagles from the EAA’s website.

Thunderstorms: Formation and Avoidance
2025-04-23 19:00 - 20:00 | San Carlos Flight Center
Thunderstorms are powerful natural phenomena that can reek havoc to people and structure on the ground, and certainly present extreme airborn hazards to pilots of all types. Weather safety planning for both local and long-distance flights requires knowledge of how to avoid active thunderstorms and how to be aware of the conditions that could cause new thunderstorms to arise along your route of flight.
In this safety seminar, San Carlos Flight Center invites CFI Amelia Vaith to share her knowledge and experience of thunderstorms, to explore the formation of thunderstorms, the hazards they pose to pilots, and best practices for avoiding them. She will break down real-world scenarios, including some from her personal experiences, to highlight the risks of extreme convective weather and how to make informed decisions in-flight.
Whether you’re a student pilot or an experienced aviator, this discussion will provide practical strategies to enhance your weather awareness and keep you safe in thunderstorm-prone areas. We hope you can join us.
Amelia Vaith is a Flight Instructor at San Carlos Flight Center with experience flying in diverse regions, including Florida, which has the highest thunderstorm frequency in the U.S. She trained at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and has flown in a variety of challenging weather conditions, building a strong foundation in weather awareness and decision-making. Amelia is passionate about aviation safety, and enjoys sharing her knowledge to help pilots recognize, avoid, and safely navigate thunderstorms with confidence.

Back to Back ForeFlight - Two Seminars / One Day
2025-04-26 10:30 - 14:00 | San Carlos Flight Center
San Carlos Flight Center is putting together a day of ForeFlight training for pilots who are new to using this popular flight tool. ForeFlight continues to expand functionality and evolve its interface in a way that gives pilots many more options, but can be overwhelming to new pilots. We pulled together two of our ForeFlight presentations, separated by a half-hour lunch break. We hope you can join us.
Seminar 1
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
I Just Got ForeFlight, Now What?
Presenter: Herb Patten, Sr CFI
Herb Patten will highlight some of the important first steps to take after downloading ForeFlight, and how to get started. In this seminar, he will cover a basic introduction to the application including the most efficient ways to use the software. With so many different customizations, subscription plans, and ways to do the same thing, it can be overwhelming for many. 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. After this seminar you will feel confident in your basic abilities to navigate the application and have the resources to continue to learn from.
Herb Patten is a Senior Instructor at the San Carlos Flight Center, a CFII, an FAA certificated advanced and instrument ground instructor, and past SCFC Chief Pilot. He is a instrument-rated commercial pilot that has flown over 5,500 hours to more than 130 different California airports. He teaches the private and instrument ground school at San Carlos Flight Center, and is the current chairman of the Upwind Foundation, famous for its Upwind Summer Scholarship Program. In 2025, Herb was named a Distinguished Flight Instructor by AOPA.
Seminar 2
12:30 am – 2:00 pm
Cross-Country Flight Planning with ForeFlight
Presenter: JR Refuerzo, CFI
While in flight, ForeFlight has many useful features. But it’s also great on the ground before the flight, when you are preparing to go on a long cross-country trip and still making choices about how to do it safely and effectively. Join CFI JR Refuerzo to learn more about using this software to effectively plan a VFR cross country flight and become familiar with all available information regarding your trip. Learn about tools for route planning, researching airports along the way, and accessing preflight weather briefings.
JR grew up in South San Francisco and graduated from UCLA in 2019, beginning his flight training soon after. He earned his Private, Instrument, and Commercial Pilot ratings through the Flight Center and is excited to be teaching today as an instructor with the club. JR is passionate about producing safe, smart, and effective pilots and contributing to the community that helped get him achieve his aviation goals.
Please note:

You may choose to attend one seminar, or both.
There will be a 30-minute lunch break at noon. Sandwiches will be provided for members and guests who have registered for the event.
Please bring your tablet or phone with ForeFlight so that you can follow along during the presentations.
Due to time constraints we are unable to provide technical support to individual audience members.

Destination: Catalina
2025-04-30 19:00 - 20:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California, offers stunning Pacific island vistas, miles of hiking trails, and a tiny runway perched precariously on the top of a dynamited mountaintop. With the beautiful surroundings and scenery, pilots can easily get distracted from what’s below.
To better understand the flight challenges associated with this airport, San Carlos Flight Center asked Senior Instructor Herb Patten to discuss what pilots need to know when flying into Catalina. In this seminar, he will cover what unique flight planning considerations are needed when venturing to Catalina, including local arrival and departure procedures, open water flying considerations, route selection for IFR and VFR pilots, and transiting the LA Special Flight Rules area. He will review weight and balance, fuel planning, and discuss the facilities, services, and associated fees at the Airport in the Sky (KAVX) atop the island. There are lots of things to do once you are there, and he will share some of those highlights.
Catalina can serve as a perfect day trip for most pilots, but for those willing to do the advance planning and safety management. Join us for this unique opportunity to understand Catalina Airport operations, and how you can fly there safely.
This is a great seminar for FlyOutGroup pilots planning to do the Catalina FlyOut coming up May 30-31.
Herb Patten is a Senior Instructor at the San Carlos Flight Center, a CFII, an FAA certificated advanced and instrument ground instructor, and past SCFC Chief Pilot. He is a instrument-rated commercial pilot that has flown over 2,500 hours to more than 130 different California airports. He teaches private pilot ground school at San Carlos Flight Center, and is the current chairman of the Upwind Foundation, famous for its Upwind Summer Scholarship Program. In 2023, Herb was named a Distinguished Flight Instructor by AOPA.
San Carlos Flight Center (SCFC) is the SF Bay Area’s most dynamic flying club, committed to building general aviation through safety, community, and adventure. AOPA has consistently recognized SCFC in their Best Flight School survey, most recently in 2024 as a Distinguished Flight School for the fourth year in a row.
SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Our seminars are free to watch when attended in person at our facility in San Carlos but live streaming and viewing recorded seminars are exclusively available to members. Click here or contact an SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access to our web library of over 500 recorded safety seminars and live-streamed content.

Meet the Piper Dakota
2025-05-03 12:00 - 13:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
The Piper Dakota is the latest addition to the Flight Center fleet. It is a four-seat, fixed gear low wing plane powered by a Lycoming O-540 engine. How does this airplane compare to other airplanes in the Flight Center fleet? What missions would be ideal for the Dakota?. What is involved in upgrading your ride from the Piper Archer to the Dakota?
San Carlos Flight Center is pleased to introduce the Piper Dakota in this seminar. Join Herb Patten as he provides an overview of the key differences present in this aircraft compared to others of its class. He’ll explain the various mission profiles the aircraft is capable of, and the associated training and requirements for SCFC pilots.
Join us to learn more about the Piper Dakota. Whether you are interested in getting a checkout in this airplane or just want to learn about the details of the Dakota, you should attend this presentation.
Herb Patten is a Senior Instructor at the San Carlos Flight Center, a CFI and an FAA certificated advanced and instrument ground instructor who teaches the instrument and private pilot ground school at San Carlos Flight Center. He is a commercial pilot with an instrument rating, has flown over 4,000 hours and landed at more than 130 different California airports. He is the current chairman of the Upwind Foundation, famous for its Upwind Summer Scholarship Program. In 2025, Herb was named a Distinguished Flight Instructor by AOPA.
About San Carlos Flight Center:
San Carlos Flight Center (SCFC) is the SF Bay Area’s most dynamic flying club, committed to building general aviation through safety, community, and adventure. AOPA has consistently recognized SCFC in their Best Flight School survey, most recently in 2023 as a Distinguished Flight School for the third year in a row.
SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Our seminars are free to watch when attended in person at our facility in San Carlos but live streaming and viewing recorded seminars are exclusively available to members. Click here or contact an SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access to our web library of over 500 recorded safety seminars and live-streamed content.
This seminar will be held in person at SCFC, attendance is free and open to all. Web Members will still be able to access our seminars online, both live and recorded. Click here to learn more about the transition.
Interested in watching more of our presentations? View our growing library of over 500 recorded safety seminars available to view in our Members Only Seminar Library, available by clicking here.
