IFR pilots must have a thorough understanding of the charts they use. Pilots who have been flying IFR for years may be familiar with Jeppesen IFR Charts. Instrument students and newer IFR pilots may be more familiar with Aeronav, published by the FAA. Both of these providers of charts offer their own ways of relaying information.

San Carlos Flight Center invites Senior Flight Instructor, Travis Bender, to lead a discussion between FAA and Jeppesen charts and their application and use in IFR conditions. While the charts may look very similar at first glance, Travis will dive into the differences between the two and how you can effectively use each.  Jeppesen charts’ advantages include ease of access to information and more details, but at a premium cost, while the FAA charts offer a free resource available to everyone. 

Join us to learn about the advantages and disadvantages of both of these chart providers, and make a more informed decision on which to use whilst flying IFR.

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.

Great aviators are shaped by the lessons they learn from others. Every flight brings new challenges, and the most experienced pilots have faced them time and again. By listening to their stories and insights, we can all grow into better, safer pilots.

San Carlos Flight Center is proud to welcome retired Captain Bennett Taber, who brings knowledge from more than 35 years of experience in the skies. In this seminar, Captain Taber will reflect on key learning moments from his professional career, share best practices, and discuss how every pilot can strive for excellence. He will highlight the importance of attention to detail, its impact on flight operations, and the value of mastering the basics.

There is only so much one can learn from the classroom and our routine flying. Join us to learn how to fly your best from a seasoned aviator.

Capt. Bennett Taber was a check airman and training captain with over 35 years, 30,000 landings, and well over 19,000 hours of air charter experience throughout the western United States. His first 500 hours of flying were conducted in Alaska. Captain Taber managed flight operations and charter sales for Dreamline Aviation in the San Francisco Bay Area and was a company Training Captain in all models of Beech King Air aircraft.

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.

As a pilot, you probably learned at an airport centered around General Aviation, filled with small trainers and an occasional jet. Maybe you encountered a larger Class Charlie during your training, where you shared the taxiways with various business jets and airliners. However, many GA pilots shy away from Bravo and large international airports. At first glance, these airports may seem restricted to large multi-engine aircraft; however, you’re still able to land a Cessna at these airports!

SCFC invites Senior Flight Instructor, Travis Bender, to share what he has learned flying Cessna 172 and 182s into Bravo airports like San Francisco and Honolulu, as well as international hubs like Vancouver and Victoria. Travis will cover what it is like to plan a general aviation flight to a major hub, revealing the hurdles and operational hoops you might encounter. He’ll then walk through various arrival and departure procedures to expect, while also highlighting the unique features at large airports you might have only heard about in ground school.

You’ll walk away with the knowledge needed to feel confident operating at busy Bravo and Charlie fields. For those aspiring to fly jets for a career, this seminar is also a great primer for learning about airport operations.

Travis Bender is a Senior Flight Instructor 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, instrument training, and mountain training. Prior to instructing, Travis worked in sustainable procurement for a large Silicon Valley company.

For many pilots, the adventure stops at Private Pilot, which allows them the freedom of taking family and friends on flights to any airport of their choice. Some may add on an instrument rating, to protect the ability to depart and arrive on days with clouds that would stop a VFR-only pilot.

Some pilots want more. For pilots who want to make a career change into aviation, the next steps are often through the Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor certificates. Before taking the leap to start advanced training, you may want to find out more about what the timeframe and workload is required to complete those certificates.

San Carlos Flight Center has asked Senior Instructor Derek Vejby to discuss the process of training for his commercial and flight instructor certificates. In this seminar, Derek will highlight the steps he took to train and prepare for those two checkrides, and will review the prerequisites for the ratings, the maneuvers you must master, and the relevant knowledge that must be acquired. A Commercial Pilot certificate calls for extensive familiarity with all things related to flying, and a Flight Instructor certificate requires pilot mastery of flight skills and all knowledge areas. Many pilots will be surprised to find that thorough, complete Private Pilot training like what is done at the Flight Center sets about 70% of foundation required on which Commercial and CFI are built.

For anyone looking to train towards a career in aviation, join us for this seminar to hear what is in store for you.

Derek Vejby is an SF Bay Area local and Senior CFI with the San Carlos Flight Center. In almost 2,000 hours of instruction given in both the VFR and IFR worlds, he continues to be an ambassador for aviation safety and airmanship excellence. He considers it a privilege to be able to cultivate and share his experiences through which others may learn and connect.

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.

As a result of the 4th of July holiday weekend, there will be no SCFC seminar on Saturday, July 5th.

Please join us for our next seminar on Wednesday, July 9th at 7pm for “Who is Really in Control? You or Your Autopilot?”

We hope to see you there!

-SCFC Seminar Team

GA pilots know something about flight planning, but Part 135 charter pilots have to do much more to plan and dispatch a flight.

San Carlos Flight Center invites long-time charter captain Bennett Taber to introduce us to the ways that professional charter companies reduce risks to the flying public and comply with a number of FAA regulations. In this seminar, Ben will explain how the rules imposed on charter operations were created to reduce risk to life and property, along with explaining why you are forbidden to offer your flying services to the general public.

Capt. Bennett Taber was a check airman and training captain with over 35 years, 30,000 landings, and well over 19,000 hours of air charter experience throughout the western United States. His first 500 hours of flying were conducted in Alaska. Captain Taber managed flight operations and charter sales for Dreamline Aviation in the San Francisco Bay Area and was a company Training Captain in all models of 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 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.

A safe flying adventure, requires a safe pilot and a safe airplane. As pilots, we do what we can to inspect the plane before flight and to return it to the flight line in the same condition in which we found it. Mechanics who service and maintain aircraft we fly often have a deeper perspective. What can an experienced mechanic tell pilots and airplane owners that can improve our care and handling of the aircraft?

Tim Davis, a mechanic member of the SCFC Maintenance Team certified with Inspection Authority has offered to share with us some insights from the past few months of servicing SCFC fleet and outside aircraft. Some of the airplane care tips are for pilots, and some are for airplane owners who do preventative maintenance on their own planes. Do you know what adjustable item in the cockpit is the one mostly easily damaged inadvertently by pilots? Is there really a right way to clean the windshield? Is there a pilot role in propeller care?

Pilots of all levels can learn from hearing stories from mechanics, especially those who are able to communicate important topics to pilots who want a deeper understanding of how to protect and care for our aircraft. We hope you’ll join us.

Tim Davis has been an Airframe and Powerplant mechanic at San Carlos Flight Center since 2020. A Bay Area native, he worked as a Quality Analyst for Electronic Arts and Blizzard Entertainment before completing aircraft maintenance training at City College of San Francisco and earning his A&P certificate.  In 2024, Tim earned his IA and is now a senior member of the SCFC Maintenance 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. 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.

The Pacific Northwest is a hub of aviation industry and innovation, and what better way to experience this cosmopolitan region than in the air? However, with a major international airport, multiple military bases, an international border, and rapidly shifting weather patterns, flying in this airspace isn’t easy to navigate.

San Carlos Flight Center invites CFIs Travis Bender and Herb Patten to delve into Seattle Airspace, flying across the US/Canada border, and different ways a Bay Area Pilot can reach the region. This seminar will break up the complex area into smaller areas so it can be interpreted and flown easily for any pilot hoping to fly in the region. In addition, we will also discuss proper procedures for cross-border flying, as well as how to handle some of the unique challenges of flying in the region, such as terrain and weather. Finally, they will highlight how to fly from the Bay Area to the Pacific Northwest VFR.

If you are hinting at flying to Seattle or Vancouver in the near future, this seminar will help you get there efficiently and safely. It is also a great primer for those attending our FlyOutGroup trip to Seattle and Canada in July.

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 an instrument-rated commercial pilot who 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 2025, Herb was named a Distinguished Flight Instructor by AOPA.

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. He also spent four years flying in the Pacific Northwest while attending college at the University of Puget Sound.

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.