Most pilots have an operational knowledge of the most common runway signs and markings, but if you travel to a larger airport, are you knowledgeable about some of the less common signs and markings? If it has been awhile since you sat through ground school, you may want to join us for a refresher on airport signs and markings. In this safety seminar, we will review the common markings and signs as well as delve into other less common but still important signs and markings.

This safety seminar is open to current and aspiring Private Pilots, and will be of particular interest to student pilots and those who are preparing for a flight review.

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.

San Carlos Flight Center invites King Air Captain and check airman Ben Taber to discuss the idiosyncrasies related to the G1000 avionics. In this seminar, Taber will highlight things that pilots should be aware of while operating planes equipped with these avionics. The G1000 often has airspace lines that aren’t depicted on the MFD, flight plan entry restrictions, invalid weather depictions, no radio altimeters, and countless other complications while operating under IFR.

Join us as you learn about these new things that might’ve never appeared to you while flying this aircraft.

Capt. Bennett Taber is a check airman and training captain with over 35 years and 18,000 hours of air charter experience throughout the western United States. His first 500 hours of flying were conducted in Alaska. Captain Taber manages flight operations and charter sales for Dreamline Aviation in the San Francisco Bay Area and is a Dreamline Training Captain in Beech King Air aircraft.

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.

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The G1000 instrument panel for small aircraft has been certified as a class III EFB (no paper required in the cockpit) for years. Pilots trust the G1000 avionics as a reliable source to deliver information while in flight; but there are many intricacies that many pilots do not know about. Safety requires a full discussion of some specific choices Garmin made in system design, to prevent encountering something the pilot was preferred for.

San Carlos Flight Center invites King Air Captain and check airman Ben Taber to discuss the idiosyncrasies related to the G1000 avionics. In this seminar, Taber will highlight things that pilots should be aware of while operating planes equipped with these avionics. The G1000 often has airspace lines that aren’t depicted on the MFD, flight plan entry restrictions, invalid weather depictions, no radio altimeters, and countless other complications while operating under IFR.

Join us as you learn about these new things that might’ve never appeared to you while flying this aircraft.

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.

So what exactly is a “Bay Tour”? What airspace is present along the Bay Tour, and what new implementations will require pilots to take into account? Join CFI David Agranovich to examine the airspace, explain the “Bay Tour” and how a pilot can accomplish one in the safest, simplest, most enjoyable manner.

In this seminar, we’ll review the various overlapping airspaces in the area, the territories for each local ATC facility, and the routings most commonly used by Flight Center pilots and suggested by ATC.  You’ll learn what options are available to you even if SQL ATIS has the phrase “San Francisco is not taking surface area transitions.”

This is a thorough discussion of the regulations and procedures used in flying a San Francisco Bay Tour through Class B and C airspace. If you are new to the Bay area, want to imagine the different sights you’ll see, or just want to improve your understanding of local airspace customs and procedures, please join us for this popular seminar.

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.

In this safety seminar, we will review the recommended procedures and best practices while operating at non-towered airports. Including arrival, approach/departure, landing, and ground operations. We will review regulatory requirements, recommended operations, and communications procedures for operating at an airport without a control tower or an airport with a control tower that operates only part time. The presentation will also discuss traffic patterns, communications phraseology, and operational procedures for use by aircraft.

So if you are going to lunch at Watsonville, flying to Byron for fuel, doing crosswind landings at Tracy, heading to the Estrella Warbirds Museum at Paso Robles or for any other reason at any other non towered airport, this seminar will be of particular interest to you.

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.

San Carlos Flight Center invites Commercial Pilot Brandan Dadoun to discuss his recent flights into Santa Barbara and share with us what pilots flying into Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (KSBA) need to know. In this seminar, Brandan will summarize flight planning including special considerations for pilots operating in the vicinity of Santa Ynez mountains. He’ll help familiarize us with operations at a busy Class C airport with constantly changing weather patterns, and give tips on what to do after you land. Brandan’s demonstration will include the use of flight planning tools such as ForeFlight, SkyVector, and AviationWeather.Gov to ensure you have familiarized yourself with all aspects of your flight.

If you ever considered venturing to Santa Barbara, this will be an informative head start to your flight planning.  We hope you can join us.

Brandan Dadoun is a commercial, multi-engine pilot and SCFC’s Seminar Coordinator. He has completed the majority of his flight training at SCFC with over 500 flight hours and has extensive flying experience throughout the West Coast in both piston and turbine-powered aircraft. In 2021, Brandan was awarded by the FAA for his achievements in promoting aviation safety. Outside of flying and presenting, he enjoys playing the saxophone and staying active.

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.

San Carlos Flight Center invites Technical Sergeant Gordon Lynch to discuss the Travis RAPCON and its ATC services. In this seminar they will cover how Travis accommodates basic service to VFR aircraft, and the benefits of receiving VFR flight following within their airspace. They will also explain some of the ways that Class E airspace relates to Travis AFB, and why it’s important to be talking to Travis RAPCON while operating in their airspace. Lastly, how pilots can be direct, clear, and concise on the radio while talking to ATC.

The presenters are also eager to take questions from the GA flying community. If you have ever wondered about the approach operations at Travis AFB, or if you want to learn more about their services and experiences; you won’t want to miss this seminar.

Technical Sergeant (TSgt) Thomas Gordon “PJ” Lynch has had a wealth of experience serving as an Air Traffic Controller across the world. He has served in both the terminal control and radar environments in Georgia, Turkey, Portugal, Qatar, and most recently at Travis Air Force Base in California as head of ATC Standards and Evaluations. He has always enjoyed educating pilots and controllers and improving the pilot-controller relationship.

Staff Sergeant (SSgt) Derek “DK” Calmeyn is a Radar Approach Controller and Tower Watch Supervisor at Travis Air Force Base in California. He is excited to share his knowledge with the surrounding pilot community.

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.

San Carlos Flight Center invites Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE), Scott Rohlfing, to share with applicants how a detailed approach to flying can set them apart from the rest of the applicants. DPEs do not just evaluate an applicant on their ability to perform within ACS skill standards, but the way they behave in practice, the risks they take, and their overall aeronautical decision making. In this seminar, learn how to develop good flying practices through the attention to detail. The Airmen Certification Standards refers to many of the following details as evaluation criteria including, the proper and consistent use of checklists throughout every phase of flight, the positive exchange of flight controls, real time weather briefings, the usage and familiarization of all installed equipment in the aircraft, and much more. Learn to be aware of the way you operate and the bad habits you’ve already developed as a fledgling pilot. These details, individually may not fail you on a check ride, but collectively they will end in a notice of disapproval or worst case, an NTSB investigation or Pilot Deviation. Make it your mission to become a detail-oriented, safe and competent pilot.

Join us for this unique opportunity to hear from a DPE on how you can improve the way you fly, and feel confident about your next practical test.

Scott Rohlfing is a DPE in the San Jose FSDO District and has conducted almost 1,000 practical tests.  As a Gold Seal Flight Instructor he has given more than 6500 hours of dual instruction to CFIs and pilots of every level.  When not evaluating airmen or providing training, Scott has been a corporate pilot for 17 years and an active political advocate against the closure of Reid Hillview Airport.

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.

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Earning a pilot certificate means getting a ticket to learn. But how do you learn without making mistakes? Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment. More advanced ratings provide exposure to challenging situations. In particular, pilots transitioning to the airlines train to deal with challenging scenarios and to work with others to safely make the right decisions.

San Carlos Flight Center invites Airline Captain Jessica Reinschmidt to share lessons learned from the airlines. In this seminar, Jessica will discuss how her complex training prepared her to perform under pressure, effectively work with others, and practice proper resource management both inside and outside of the flightdeck. Learn from real life examples recognizing hazardous scenarios, how to handle them, and knowing which resources to use.

We encourage everyone to join us for this unique opportunity to learn from an experienced aviation professional, ask questions, and improve your skills.

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.

San Carlos Flight Center Chief Pilot Herb Patten investigates the different types of weather products available to pilots. In this seminar, we will take a look at what’s new on Aviation Weather Center, aka aviationweather.gov. We will explore some recent changes to the prognostic charts, turbulence forecasts as well as some other useful products. We will also explore the replacement for the Area Forecast, the “Graphical Forecast for Aviation,” which offers a wealth of features available for pilots.

Be more weather aware on your next flight, and join us for this safety seminar.

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.