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.

SCFC invites back CFI Dan Dyer, whose passion for effective instruction and for landing in particular give him the perfect vantage point to help us pull apart the issues behind what a stabilized approach is. Dan will share his journey as a pilot and some of the mistakes he made along the way to building landing proficiency, and how for many years his understanding of “stabilized” was working against him. As an instructor, he had to rebuild the thought process behind flying a final approach and has found a way that is easier for new pilots to think about aircraft control on final, including what he believes is the most effective order of operations on final and on short final.

If you are a new student struggling with landings, or even if you’re an advanced pilot that wants a different way to think about the control paradigm that sets you up for the perfect landing, join us to hear this new approach to stabilized landing.

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.

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Most people have flown in a jet as a passenger. A few people have flown jets in a flight simulator. But very few have actually acted as pilot in command of a jet aloft. The process to obtain FAA authorization to pilot a jet is not an easy one. It takes skill, advanced training, and a comprehensive review of systems and operations to fly them. All pilots of jet-powered aircraft must be appropriately type rated by a make/model basis, and the process to obtain them is not easy.

San Carlos Flight Center invites ATP and CFI Russell Bowerman to provide an overview of the training required for a type rating, such as the one needed to fly a jet. In this seminar, he will discuss the prerequisites, training documentation, and extensive processes he went through to receive his EMB 145 type rating. Additionally, Russell will give examples of how thorough and systematic training processes used by the airlines can help all pilots in the safer operation of their aircraft, or during training for their next rating. Whether that is incorporating flows, crew resource management, or adhering to checklists, every flight deck can benefit from these professional flying techniques.

We encourage all pilots to learn from this unique training experience and realize the undertaking of this comprehensive training.

Russell Bowerman has always maintained an interest in aviation, visiting aviation museums, taking sightseeing flights, and staying up to date on all the newest fighter jets and airliners.  After receiving his Private Pilot Certificate in 2018, he decided to make a career of it, attaining his Commercial and CFI ratings. Russell has been teaching and loving it ever since. Beyond flying, he really enjoys travelling and feels lucky to meet new people and learn about their diverse backgrounds in the process of flight training.

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.

Join SCFC in inviting commercial pilot Brandan Dadoun to 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.

**(Note: ForeFlight can be quite overwhelming with features, but basic Internet connection and iPad operation can also be overwhelming.  While we hope to talk extensively about ForeFlight, this IS NOT a technical support seminar for basic Internet connectivity and iPad use.)**

If you are just beginning to explore the features of ForeFlight and want to deepen your understanding on how to effectively use these great tools, you will want to attend this seminar. Have your tablet handy and discover this powerful tool available for pilots.

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 450 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 (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 Captain Ben Taber with over 18,000 hours of flying to highlight the importance of ASRS reports. Through his collection of ASRS reports, Ben will categorize them into areas from which all of us can learn. In this seminar, Ben will focus on his experiences depicted within his reports and target certain specialty areas. The presentation will conclude with an overview of how to file an ASRS report and the process that follows.

ASRS reports are confidential, voluntary, and non-punitive meaning all pilots should utilize this system. Whether it’s your first time hearing about ASRS reports, or your dozenth report, this is a seminar you won’t want to miss.

Capt. Bennett Taber is a check airman and training captain with over 20 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.

Come spend an afternoon with Daniele Ferlito, a current Air Traffic Controller at SFO Tower. Daniele will talk you through the do’s and don’ts of VFR pilots transitioning through the dense Class B airspace around the SF Bay Area, along with delving into daily operations at SFO. Learn how to safely transition along one of the many transition routes, avoid jet traffic, and how to effectively work with controllers.

After the seminar, you’ll have more confidence the next time you call up San Francisco Tower with a bay tour request. If you’ve ever wondered how ATCs make decisions on the fly and keep our airspace moving quickly and safely, this is a great chance to learn more!

Daniele Ferlito is an Air Traffic Control Specialist at San Francisco Airport. Born and raised in Italy, he lived there until age 11, and has been in the Bay Area since ’94. After a year at UC Davis he joined the Marine Corps, interested in aviation. (’03-’08) He then signed up for the air crew, ended up in air traffic control not knowing what it was. After a 16-week air traffic academy in Pensacola, FL, 3.5 years as an ATC at MCAS Camp Pendleton, 7 months deployed in Iraq, and an 8-week FAA ATC academy in Oklahoma City, brought him to SFO Tower in 2010. He is a dedicated controller and committed towards making GA pilots informed and safe while operating around class B airspaces.

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.