Flying Safely At Night
2025-10-29 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
On November 2nd, Daylight Savings Time will end, and with it comes early nightfall. For those of us who work a regular 9-5 schedule, early nightfall means an increase in night flying time. How current are your night skills? Maybe it’s time to focus on what is different between day VFR and night VFR flight.
Obviously, less ambient light adds challenges for anything requiring eyesight. This includes preflight inspection, taxi safety, obstruction avoidance, IMC recognition and avoidance, cockpit resource management, and a number of other things. Most familiar to pilots is probably the differences in landing. The sight picture of a normal approach to a runway is very different with reduced external visual cues from night. Flashing lights can help or hurt pilot attention and recognition.
So should night flight be avoided? Not necessarily. Night flight brings with it reduced ATC workloads, often calmer winds, cooler temperatures that help performance, and the ability to spot traffic from farther off. Your decision about flying at night can be aided by attending a Night Flying Refresher seminar like this one.

Herb Patten is the Assistance Chief Pilot at the San Carlos Flight Center, a CFI and an FAA certificated advanced and instrument ground instructor who teaches private pilot ground school at San Carlos Flight Center. He is a commercial pilot with an instrument rating, has flown over 4,000 hours in more than 150 different California airports. He is the current chairman of the Upwind Foundation, famous for its Upwind Summer Scholarship Program. In 2024, 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 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.

Under the Cowling Workshop
2025-11-01 09:00 - 10:30, 2026-01-31 09:00 - 10:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
CFI Herb Patten ground school student 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 training plane 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.

Energy Management - A Different Approach to Flying
2025-11-05 19:00 - 20:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
Pilots think differently than physicists. Physicists approach flying the way they do other studies of mechanical motion, with an understanding of mass, speed, force, work, and energy. Values and relationships accumulated over the years describe the interaction of bodies in motion, in a way that allows scientists and engineers to make predictions about their behavior. Yay, science!
Pilots inside cockpits moving through space are more often concerned with the task of flying, what action of the controls causes the aircraft to climb, descend, turn, or remain straight and level. Our perspective is often focused on our little picture, on the stuff we touch inside the cabin. But much can be gained from taking the big picture look at flying, and especially approach to landing, from the perspective of an energy scientist. This is the Energy Management approach to landing.
In this presentation, join SCFC Founder Dan Dyer as he brings us a big picture overview of how energy is created, consumed, used, and transferred in aviation. How can an understanding of chemical, kinetic, and potential energy inform our skills as pilots? Which flight control most easily transfers energy back and forth between potential and kinetic? Where does the energy go?
A good pilot is always learning. Join us if you want to improve your landings by coming at it from an entirely different angle.

Dan Dyer is the founder of the San Carlos Flight Center, and has built the motto of Safety, Community, and Adventure for over 12 years. 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. Find out more about Dan at www.sancarlosflight.com or contact him at dan@sancarlosflight.com

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. 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.

SQL Tower Tour (1 of 3)
2025-11-08 09:30 - 10:00
Are you curious about what happens in the tower at an airport? Would you like to increase your knowledge of how air traffic is managed at the San Carlos airport?
The KSQL Air Traffic Manager has offered to host small groups of pilots to meet the tower controllers and take a tour of the San Carlos tower. During the tour you will get to see firsthand how the tower controllers update the ATIS, keep track of planes arriving and departing, as well as use radar to help manage the flow of traffic around San Carlos class Delta airspace.
The tours are approximately 20-25 minutes in length. Registration is required.

SQL Tower Tour (2 of 3)
2025-11-08 10:00 - 10:30

SQL Tower Tour (3 of 3)
2025-11-08 10:30 - 11:00

IFR Departure Procedures
2025-11-12 19:00 - 20:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
IFR departures are one of the most poorly-understood and under-taught topics in IFR flight. The process of getting safely from the surface, avoiding surrounding obstacles, to the safety of the en route IFR structure, all while operating at maximum performance configuration, lower speeds, and high pitch attitudes can be daunting. IFR airports can have many different departure procedures. Do you know which one you can expect?
In this safety seminar, CFI Herb Patten will review the selection of instrument departure procedures. He will provide a publication roadmap to these procedures and review the critical safety items, as well as what to typically expect in common practice. This program is a must for pilots working on their instrument rating, or working to stay current with instrument departures.

EAA Chapter 20 Young Eagles @ SCFC
2025-11-15 09:00 - 11:30, 2026-01-17 09:00 - 12:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
SCFC is hosting EAA Chapter 20 for their Young Eagles event, with volunteer pilots offering flights for young people aged 8-17.
Learn more about Young Eagles from the EAA’s website.

IFR Currency – The Devil in the Details
2025-11-22 12:00 - 13:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
There is a thin overcast layer at 800 at your destination and you are ready to fly the ILS which shouldn’t be too hard with the light IFR conditions, but are you legal? What is that regulation about IFR currency and what are the specifics?
Join Herb Patten, Assistant Chief Pilot at San Carlos Flight Center, for this “Devil in the Details” review of IFR currency. In this seminar Herb will take an in-depth look at the regulations instrument rated pilots must follow to maintain their IFR currency (e.g., six approaches within the last six months). What counts as an approach? What are the requirements for tracking and holding?. What is meant by “holding”? Can these tasks be flown in a simulator?
Don’t let the lengthily-worded regulations confuse you. This seminar should help you “clear the approach” as we clarify some of the ambiguity in the regulations.

Herb Patten is the Assistant Chief Pilot at the San Carlos Flight Center, a CFI and an FAA certificated advanced and instrument ground instructor who teaches the instrument ground school at San Carlos Flight Center. He is a commercial pilot with an instrument rating, has flown over 4,500 hours in more than 140 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.

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.

Chief Pilot Tells All – How to Get a CFI Job
2025-12-03 19:00 - 20:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
It seems like there are two groups of people who become flight instructors: pilots who love to share the art and skill of flying with new students, and pilots who love to share the art and skill of flying with new students while building hours toward a career in the airlines.
If you’re a new instructor, you may be facing the challenge of finding a school to align yourself with. The industry fluctuates wildly, with sometimes too many instructors and sometimes not enough. In the past year, flight schools have been flooded with new instructors as airlines temporarily shut down hiring, leaving many instructors teaching years past the time they originally thought. So what’s a new CFI to do? How do you get your foot in the door?
We asked SCFC Chief Pilot Dan Dyer to share some of his experiences on the hiring side, to give insights that may help new CFIs better position themselves in the tight job market. He’s been a flight instructor himself for over twenty years and has been hiring instructors at San Carlos Flight Center for thirteen years of that. He’ll review how the Flight Center looks for new instructors, some common deficiencies he’s seen in CFI applications, and help CFI applicants put their best foot forward. How to handle in-person and Zoom interviews? How to come prepared for a flight test? What research to do before you apply, and what to ask for during negotiations.
This is an interesting look behind the scenes of one General Aviation business. It is designed mostly for new instructors, but anyone may find these tips useful in future job searches. Join us for a better understanding of what makes a quality flight instructor.
Dan Dyer is the founder of the San Carlos Flight Center and has built the motto of Safety, Community, and Adventure for over 12 years. Dan was an instructor for over 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. Find out more about Dan at www.sancarlosflight.com or contact him at dan@sancarlosflight.com
This seminar will be open to all, both in-person and virtually. While we encourage in-person attendance, those watching virtually can join the livestream page at 7 PM PST. You may utilize the “Ask a Question” button and submit questions to the presenter.
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. 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.

Women in Aviation: Special Talk with Alaska Airlines' Chief Pilot, Kim Gabrelcik
2025-12-06 11:00 - 12:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
SCFC’s Women in Aviation group is excited to invite you to a truly inspiring event as we welcome Kim Gabrelcik, Chief Pilot (SFO Base) at Alaska Airlines, to the Flight Center. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear first-hand from a top leader in commercial aviation—particularly meaningful for anyone interested in attending the airlines or interested in leadership positions throughout their career. Kim will share stories of her career journey, discuss the leadership challenges and opportunities facing female aviators today, and take audience questions at the end.
Why you don’t want to miss this:

Gain insight into how Kim built her career up to the Chief Pilot role at the SFO base of Alaska Airlines.
Learn about what leadership in a major airline looks like and what skills and mindset helped her get there.
Network with fellow women and professionals in aviation, ask your own questions, and get inspired for your next step.
Enjoy a relaxed, welcoming setting with snacks—so bring your appetite and your aviator curiosity.

Anyone and everyone is welcome. Feel free to bring a friend or colleague who might benefit from hearing Kim’s story—in particular if they are studying aviation, instructing, or interested in airline operations.
Please RSVP below so we can plan a headcount for snacks.
Kim Gabrelcik is the Chief Pilot for Alaska Airlines’ San Francisco base, where she leads a team of pilots operating out of one of the airline’s most dynamic West Coast hubs. With a degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a distinguished career spanning multiple flight and leadership roles, Kim has built a reputation for operational excellence, mentorship, and commitment to aviation safety. Throughout her career, she has served as a captain, line-check pilot, and flight operations leader, helping develop the next generation of airline pilots while supporting Alaska’s pilot workforce and high standards of performance. Kim is also deeply dedicated to community outreach and advancing aviation career pathways, particularly for women and young people interested in aerospace. Her leadership, passion for empowering future aviators, and dedication to building an inclusive flight deck make her an inspiring voice within the industry and a role model for aspiring pilots everywhere.

Weather Services Workshop
2025-12-10 19:00 - 20:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
Are you checking the weather before your flight simply by looking at METARs? Have you struggled with trying to get a comprehensive view of weather? Are you looking to get an understanding of ways to conduct a weather briefing?
If you are a student pilot or recent pilot trying to better understand options for accessing weather for a flight then join us for this workshop to learn more about weather briefings. We will use a cross-country flight scenario and walk through the process of gathering relevant weather for a flight. We will show you how to get aviation weather information from www.aviationweather.gov, ForeFlight, 1800wxbrief.com and by speaking to a flight service station weather briefer.
If you want to better understand how all these sources of weather fit in a briefing, join us for this interactive session.
Herb Patten is the Assistant Chief Pilot at the San Carlos Flight Center, a CFI and an FAA certificated advanced and instrument ground instructor who teaches the private pilot and instrument ground school at San Carlos Flight Center. He is a commercial pilot with an instrument rating, has flown over 4,000 hours in 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.
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.

Seaplane Rating – When, Why, Where and What to Expect
2025-12-13 12:00 - 13:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
Getting your first rating as a pilot is a major milestone and with it you enjoy many privileges that land-locked humans don’t have. You can fly to many destinations directly that are arduous to get to when using conventional transportation. That first rating is often for a Airplane Single Engine Land. But what if you are yearning for an adventure to land on a lake or other body of water?
San Carlos Flight Center invites Commercial pilot Sal Valdes that just recently obtained her seaplane rating along with Mary McEnroe, recipient of the Women Making a Splash scholarship to share their experience with flying seaplanes. In this seminar they will share the reasons why they embarked on a seaplane rating. Sal and Mary will provide insight into where they did their training, how to prepare for the seaplane rating it and what the training involved.
If you have ever dreamed about landing on water and experiencing the additional freedom provided by a seaplane rating, please join us for this event. It just may inspire you to take that step to advancing your skills by adding a seaplane rating to your pilot certificate.

FlyOutGroup LA Trip Recap – Flying in, around and through LA airspace
2025-12-17 19:00 - 20:30
Last month, several planes from San Carlos Flight Center ventured down to Southern California to experience flying around and through the various Class Bravo and Charlie airspace in that area. The goal was to experience first hand how to navigate what looks like a maze of airspace.
This seminar will be a recap of the trip and include details of how they successfully navigated through this busy airspace. The panel will also share their experience of flying into several of the bucket list airports in Southern California including Santa Monica, Long Beach, John Wayne and Catalina.
If you are considering venturing into Southern California, you will want to join this seminar to hear first hand what it is like to navigate and communicate in that area.
Travis Bender is a Senior Flight Instructor at San Carlos Flight Center. He currently holds a CFI/CFII certificate and earned the majority of his certificates here at the Flight Center. Prior to instructing, Travis led sustainable procurement efforts for a large Silicon Valley technology company.

Flight Center Holiday Party
2025-12-19 19:00 - 21:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
The SCFC pilot community will gather annually to celebrate our shared experiences and accomplishments. Mark your calendars for Friday, December 19th at 7:00 PM, as we host our annual Holiday Party and Member Appreciation Night. Get excited for a festive celebration featuring music, food, and aviation-themed beverages!
This is an excellent opportunity for you to meet and greet fellow members, staff, and instructors. Whether you’re a seasoned pilot who’s been with the Flight Center for years or a newcomer, this event is for everyone. It’s a fantastic way to kick off the new year and strengthen the bonds within our community. Everyone is welcome, regardless of whether you train at the Flight Center or fly your own plane. We’re thrilled to have you join us and learn more about how the Flight Center can be an integral part of your aviation journey.
Food and drinks will be provided, and you’re more than welcome to bring guests along. Embrace the festive spirit by donning your favorite holiday attire. Let’s raise a toast to the incredible flying we accomplished in 2025 and eagerly anticipate the exciting adventures that await us in 2026!
To ensure there’s enough food and drinks for everyone, RSVP below. Your presence will make this event even more special and memorable.

Aviation Colleges Panel
2025-12-20 12:00 - 13:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
There are many great options for students looking for a college aviation program. Many colleges offer programs designed to prepare students to join the aviation industry by providing training to become pilots or air traffic controllers. These colleges operate under FAR Part 141 and provide an FAA-approved curriculum.
To aid local high school students, SCFC will be hosting a panel discussion on collegiate aviation programs. We have invited in pilots from a handful of the most prominent aviation college programs in the country to share their experiences. How do the programs differ? What should a new student know when evaluating these programs? Come and ask our panelists about their reasons for selecting the school they chose and how their experience lived up to the expectations.

Young Aviators Workshop
2026-01-03 09:00 - 13:00
Are you a teenager interested in aviation but not sure where to begin? Are you looking to share your passion with aviation with other like minded young people?
The Flight Center invites all high school students to attend this workshop to learn about aviation. This event provides you the opportunity to discover the steps of becoming a pilot and career options, how to read and interpret aviation charts used by pilots, hands-on experience with aircraft engines and systems, as well as aviation scholarship opportunities.
If you are a budding young aviator we welcome you to participate in this event. Lunch is provided.
This event is a workshop for high school students and not eligible for the Seminar Engagement Program.

Investigating Aircraft Ownership at San Carlos Flight Center
2026-01-07 19:00 - 20:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
Like many flying clubs, some members of San Carlos Flight Center have purchased a plane and added it to the Club’s fleet. The decision may be tied to a number of factors: pride of ownership, a desire to get more involved in aviation, to learn even more about aircraft maintenance and upkeep, and for some people – income tax advantages.
Have you ever considered owning a plane? Because of the size of the investment and the risks associated, it helps to learn as much as you can about the process before diving in.
San Carlos Flight Center invites Chief Pilot and airplane owner Dan Dyer to share his experiences as an airplane owner, and working with club member who owner their own planes. Sixteen years ago, Dan bought his first airplane and began the process of learning how to own and manage airplanes. Since then, he’s purchased a total of 7 planes, some for personal use, but many became part of the Flight Center fleet. In this seminar, Dan will discuss how to choose the right airplane for your mission profile, how to navigate the purchase process, and what to consider when inspecting a potential airplane.
Private ownership of an airplane is exciting but comes with many costs and challenges for a new owner. Join us to hear how having your plane in a club fleet can offset your costs and tap into the Flight Center’s professional management.
If you ever considered purchasing your own airplane and want to hear firsthand about airplane ownership and learn from the experiences of others, join us for this unique opportunity to become enlightened about airplane ownership.

Dan Dyer is the founder of the San Carlos Flight Center and currently the Chief Pilot. He founded the Flight Center on the motto of Safety, Community, and Adventure. 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. Find out more about Dan at www.sancarlosflight.com or contact him at dan@sancarlosflight.com

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.

Workshop: Cross-Country Planning
2026-01-10 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 in-person 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.
Due to the nature of the workshop, this is an in-person event. No live stream will be available.

Hypoxia Training by the FAA - Postponed
2026-01-14 08:00 - 16:15, 2026-01-15 08:00 - 16:15, 2026-01-16 08:00 - 16:15, 2026-01-17 08:00 - 16:15 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
*** Due to a transportation issue, the FAA has postponed this event ***
Learn how you react to lack of oxygen by experiencing the FAA Portable Reduced Oxygen Training Enclosure (PROTE).
The PROTE is a traveling altitude chamber capable of producing hypoxic environments at ground level by reducing oxygen in the environment for the purpose of training aviation professionals.
One of the common symptoms experienced in a hypoxic environment is a reduction of cognitive function. Students are given math problems and puzzles to solve while in the chamber and are instructed to take note of their symptoms since low oxygen can affect people differently. These exercises help students identify their individual symptoms. Learning how hypoxia effects them in a PROTE chamber allows pilots and students to identify if they are low on oxygen while flying.
Requirements

Must be 18 years of age
Must possess a valid FAA Medical Certificate or Basic Med
Must have a government issued ID such as a Driver’s License, Military ID, or Passport.
Attendees must arrive 30 minutes prior to their scheduled sessions.

Anyone without the required medical and ID or that shows up late will forfeit their slot.
Sign up online here.

Upwind Scholarship 2026 Information Session
2026-01-17 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 17th 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.

Preparing for your FAA Practical Test – Straight Talk from DPE Jim Higgins
2026-01-21 19:00 - 20:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
It’s the day that every pilot awaits; the transition from student pilot to certificated private pilot. For most, the FAA Practical Test or “checkride” is viewed as a terrifying but necessary right of passage. A Designated Pilot Examiners (DPE) must test each student thoroughly on their aviation knowledge, control and mastery of the aircraft, and risk awareness and judgment. Even if the student has been perfectly prepared by their instructor, the checkride is still the unknown and a point of concern. Let’s change that. With a guided look in the FAA’s Airman Certification Standards document, any student pilot can better understand what standards they will be held to and how to ace their checkride.
San Carlos Flight Center invites local DPE Jim Higgins to help applicants understand what can be expected during a practical test and learn what they can do to be prepared and confident on their big day. In this seminar, Jim will relay what pilots need to know before the checkride, and share tips from his previous experiences from other checkrides to make sure the same issues don’t arise on your checkride. We have also asked him to review the different maneuvers and procedures that a DPE can request from a student pilot during the checkride so they can be ready to tackle anything.
If you are a pilot that wants to be prepared, confident, and know what to expect on your checkride; you don’t want to miss this unique seminar.
Jim Higgins is a DPE in the San Jose FSDO with 35 years and 10,000 hours of CFI, Charter and Airline experience. He currently splits his time between giving checkrides and flight instructing as a CFI from his home airports of San Carlos and Palo Alto. When he’s not flying, Jim likes to escape up to Tahoe skiing in the winter and camping in the summer.

Flying Across the US, Part 1: A low-hour VFR pilot’s perspective
2026-01-24 12:00 - 13:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
Four months after receiving his pilot’s license, SCFC member Bob Turcott embarked on a multi-week, around-the-country solo flight. In this presentation, Bob will cover topics such as reasons to consider making such a trip; suggestions for low-hour pilots to develop the necessary proficiency; useful gear; cool airports; his worst decisions; helpful attitudes; and a few life lessons that were encountered along the way.
Anyone who pushes heavy objects – such as planes – risks Achilles tendon rupture, especially if done in a thoughtless way. Unfortunately, this is what Bob experienced, 2,800 miles from home. Since the consequences of this injury are severe, even potentially career-limiting for pilots, Bob will review this clinical entity in detail. In the process, he’ll touch on useful general information, such as an approach to evaluating competing treatment options, as well as information that’s of particular interest to pilots: how to reduce the risk of tendon rupture while moving a plane.
About the speaker: Bob first soloed as a high school student in a used, 1970’s era hang glider he acquired through a classified ad. After a handful of flights, it became apparent even to him that self-teaching was probably not the wisest approach, so he set aside his glider and instead focused on ground school, eventually earning a PhD in Electrical Engineering/Signal Processing from Columbia and subsequently an MD from Stanford. He went on to become Board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology. In the process, he resumed hang gliding, but with modern equipment and formal instruction. His personal best was a four-hour flight with 3000’ altitude gain above launch in the foothills of the Sierras. Though no longer professionally engaged, Bob’s fond memories of his career include working with veterans as a general cardiologist, conceptualizing and implementing novel approaches to chronic implantable hemodynamic sensing, and contributing to the development of a diffuse optical tomographic system for the real-time detection and decoding of brain activity using a noninvasive, wearable device. Physical ability permitting, Bob hopes to obtain instrument, glider, and seaplane ratings, explore light aerobatics and backcountry flying, and complete the around-the-country trip he began in 2025.

Cape Cod to San Carlos: Westbound Across America
2026-01-28 19:00 - 20:30 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
SCFC member Jerry Birn was living vicariously through the cross-country adventures of his friend, SCFC member Bob Turcott, as Bob winged his way across America in BYF41 (N1483L). Then out of nowhere, lightning struck (figuratively), Bob tore his achilles and the plane was stuck on Cape Cod. Recognizing a unique opportunity, Jerry flew the plane back to San Carlos in three and one-half days, logging true “cross-country” time.
Jerry is an instrument-rated commercial pilot. He will focus on the aeronautical decision making that went into planning for and making a fast trip across the country, including the unique challenges of weather, unfamiliar terrain, new airports, and setting and continually reevaluating reasonable personal safety limits. Whether you are a new pilot interested in venturing farther afield from the Bay Area, or a seasoned pilot ready to embark on longer, multi-day flights, each of the five legs of Jerry’s flight offers interesting lessons. Join us to hear about Jerry’s unexpected adventure from Cape Cod back to the Bay Area.
You surely won’t want to miss this seminar if you are planning to go on a long cross-country trip, improve your flight planning, or you just want to learn more about the adventures of a fellow pilot.
Jerry Birn, a retired lawyer, earned his private pilot and commercial certificates in the late 1970s. After a brief hiatus of four decades, he returned to flying three years ago under Herb Patten’s guidance and has participated in the flight center’s summer trips to Colorado and the Pacific Northwest the past two summers. He still believes in paper approach charts and thinks that GPS is cheating.

Women in Aviation @ SCFC January Meeting
2026-01-31 11:00 - 12:00 | San Carlos Flight Center, Select a Country:
Join SCFC Women in Aviation for our monthly meeting on January 31st from 11:00-12:00! We will be doing vision boards for the new year, discussing volunteer opportunities, and enjoying bagels and fresh fruit. Come join us to kick off the new year with community and connection! Anyone and everyone is welcome.
