San Carlos Flight Center invites Brian Eliot, CFII, to share a select set of approach plates for their unique procedures. He will cover how to identify unique approach procedure notations and sift through the clutter to identify the vital differences.

While you may not actually fly one of these approaches, getting a broader exposure to some of them will make you a more informed instrument pilot.  We will use examples of approaches from around the country. Join us to be a more prepared, and knowledgeable instrument rated pilot.

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.

SCFC invites CFI Dan Dyer to share some of the educational exercises he used when working with students to improve their landings, that San Carlos Flight Center instructors have collectively dubbed to as “landing games”. They include various low passes, takeoff, taxi, and landing challenges, each designed to create the right practice environment for a student to teach themselves hand-eye coordination skills by trial and error. Dan’s years of experience as a flight instructor were informed by his education in cognitive science and his passion for understanding how people think and learn. These targeted landing exercises may seem unusual at first, but each is a way of breaking apart the complicated skill of landing into component skills that can be built up.

If you are a new flight instructor looking for a way to help your students move past roadblocks in their skill acquisition journey, we invite you to join us for this presentation. The topic may also be valuable for private pilots looking to better understand the individual skill components that build up to landing excellence, or to student pilots who want to better understand the challenge their instructors are having in “teaching” landing.

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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Flying in and out of the many airports in California 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.  

This seminar is the third in a series of SCFC’s Radio Communication Safety Seminars and focuses on non-towered radio communications. Although Federal Aviation Regulations don’t require pilots to make radio calls at non-towered airports, it is strongly advised for safety. This seminar will help newer pilots understand the structure of radio calls for non-towered airports and how to improve their own radio skills. 

Herb Patten, Chief Pilot AGI and CFI and Dan Dyer, CFI will walk participants through a foundation of non-towered radio communication phraseology and use, from the basics through advanced. Learn how to make radio communication easier and safer for all pilots.

This will be an important seminar for pilots struggling with radio communications. If this is you, plan to attend. Build your confidence, and be the pilot you want to be. 

Dan Dyer is the founder of the San Carlos Flight Center, and has built the motto of Safety, Community, and Adventure for over 8 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 [email protected]

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 Brandan Dadoun, commercial pilot, to share his experience transitioning into the professional flying environment. In this seminar, Brandan will highlight the key differences present between recreational and professional flying such as crew resource management, structured use of checklists, and adapting to larger, more complex turbine powered aircraft. Brandan will emphasize how any pilot can benefit from incorporating these new techniques and many more into their flying. After learning some things the hard-way during his career progression, he hopes to share his teachable moments for all pilots to hear.

If you want to hear more about how you can learn from the professional flying environment, or are curious about starting your career as a professional aviator, join us for this 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.

San Carlos Flight Center invites CFI Daniel Sanchez Ruiz as he walks us through how pilots can administer basic first aid and what life saving tools you should bring along with you. In this seminar, Daniel will discuss basic first aid techniques and give real-life examples of how to handle bandaging, splinting, problems equalizing pressure in the ear, burns and hypoxia. These examples are things any pilot can encounter during their flight, or stranded in a wreck site. Daniel will share his experience to ensure you are prepared to handle these stressful and challenging scenarios if you should encounter them.

Every pilot should have a knowledge of how to treat themselves or their passengers in case of an emergency, and have a thorough systematic thought process of going about it. Join us to feel confident about these techniques on your next flight.

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 Travis Bender to share stories from the two of three checkrides that he has passed to date, and details of how he handled his experience failing one. How was he notified? How did the examiner react? What training did he do between the failed checkride and the successful pass on his second attempt? In this seminar, he’ll explain how to work with your instructor to get you back in the air, and what ways you can practice your skills before the next checkride attempt. Travis will conclude with ways to turn a failed checkride into a learning opportunity and a chance to grow as a pilot.

For those who are planning on taking a checkride soon, or have failed a checkride, you won’t want to miss this seminar.

Travis Bender is a commercial pilot who learned to fly at the Flight Center. He is actively working on his CFI rating and leads the Marketing and Events team at SCFC. When he’s not at the airport, Travis currently works in a strategic finance role at a major Silicon Valley company.

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.

If it has been awhile since you sat through ground school, you may be due for an airspace refresher. In this safety seminar, we will review the different classes of airspace that are found in the United States.  We’ll cover their shapes, sizes, operating rules, and also cover special use airspace. Want an easy way to keep confusing Class G airspace rules memorized, use the Flight Center’s method that teaches there are 3 types of Class G airspace, Class G-low, Class G-mid, and Class G-high. Do you know the differences between them? Where would you look it up? What happens to Class D when the tower closes? How well do you know airspace?

This safety seminar is open to current and aspiring Private Pilots, and will be of particular interest to students pilots and those who are preparing for a flight review. You will leave the seminar with a renewed understanding, and probably a few memory aids to take with your on your next flight.

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 California in both piston and turbine-powered aircraft. In 2021, Brandan was recognized 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 invites CFI Michael Dutton to walk through his journey of becoming a flight instructor. In this seminar, he will provide a high-level overview of the certificate, the applicable regulations and requirements necessary for the rating, and a summary of the training process. This certificate takes time, and should not be rushed. Each CFI candidate must be willing to fully dedicate their time to being an effective teacher. From developing thorough lessons plans to right-seat flying and comprehensive knowledge on a variety of topics, there are no ways to shortcut this process.

The CFI certificate can be one of the most rewarding experiences of a pilots career. Join us to see if you are up for the challenge.

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.