Destination: Catalina
Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California, offers stunning Pacific island vistas, miles of hiking trails, and a tiny runway perched precariously on the top of a dynamited mountaintop. With the beautiful surroundings and scenery, pilots can easily get distracted from what’s below.
To better understand the flight challenges associated with this airport, San Carlos Flight Center asked Senior Instructor Herb Patten to discuss what pilots need to know when flying into Catalina. In this seminar, he will cover what unique flight planning considerations are needed when venturing to Catalina, including local arrival and departure procedures, open water flying considerations, route selection for IFR and VFR pilots, and transiting the LA Special Flight Rules area. He will review weight and balance, fuel planning, and discuss the facilities, services, and associated fees at the Airport in the Sky (KAVX) atop the island. There are lots of things to do once you are there, and he will share some of those highlights.
Catalina can serve as a perfect day trip for most pilots, but for those willing to do the advance planning and safety management. Join us for this unique opportunity to understand Catalina Airport operations, and how you can fly there safely.
This is a great seminar for FlyOutGroup pilots planning to do the Catalina FlyOut coming up May 30-31.
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 a instrument-rated commercial pilot that 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 2023, 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 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.
Radio Communications 1: Radio Basics
Flying through SF Bay Area airspace 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.
San Carlos Flight Center invites senior instructors Herb Patten and Dan Dyer to bridge the communication gap, help newer pilots understand the structure of radio and how to improve their own. The presentation will begin with a review of radio communication phraseology and use. What part is structured? What part is unstructured? What words are good official phraseology, and what words are considered jargon, slang, or poor grammar?
If you are new to radio communication or just want a great review to fill gaps in your pilot education, please join us for this unique opportunity.
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 a instrument-rated commercial pilot that 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 2023, Herb was named a Distinguished Flight Instructor by AOPA.
Dan Dyer is the founder of the San Carlos Flight Center, and continues to be involved in the Club as Director of Operations. 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. He currently oversees hiring and training of SCFC’s Flight Instructor 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. 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 of over 400 recorded safety seminars.
Ground School Refresher: VFR Charts
| VFR charts pack an extraordinary amount of material and represent a 3-dimensional world of terrain and airspaces in 2 dimensions. With such a wealth of information, do you really know how to read them? For example, do you know how to identify where certain VFR reporting waypoints are on a chart? Or can you determine if the airport you are landing at has an operating beacon, pilot controlled lighting, or lighting at all?
San Carlos Flight Center invites CFI Brad Daughtry to give pilots a refresher on VFR charts. He will entertain you while educating you about common as well as uncommon VFR charts symbology. In this seminar expect a thorough investigation of these charts, the related symbology, and interesting facts that you could use to impress your friends. Throughout the presentation, Brad will provide many real-life examples and allow the audience to follow-along looking at charts on their own. While you may know the basics, there is always something new or some little nuance that we didn’t realize. All pilots can benefit from a refresher on VFR charts, so join us to refresh your memory and learn more.
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| Brad Daughtry is a CFI at San Carlos Flight Center. He first became interested in aviation during a trip to Alaska when he saw all the bush planes flying around the state. From that point, he wanted to learn to fly. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a degree in Finance, and moved back to the Bay Area to work in San Francisco. After working in SF, he decided to pursue an aviation career and moved to Florida’s Space Coast to complete his flight training. Outside of flying, Brad enjoys mountain biking, skiing, and hiking. He is excited to help aspiring pilots learn to fly.
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| 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. Livestream access is free for everyone, but recorded seminars are available solely to members at a later date. Contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access to our web archive. |
** Postponed ** A Day in the Life of SQL Tower ** Postponed **
What, you want me to do the radio and fly? To a student pilot, radio communication is a task that seems daunting. Interpreting the meaning of what is being said on the radio is not easy. The language seems terse and there is often a pressure to not mess up when it is your turn to talk.
SCFC has prided itself on effective radio communication and has presented many safety seminars on radio communications. In this seminar, we will listen and decipher a days worth of radio communication at San Carlos. We will highlight common as well as uncommon messages to bring a deeper understanding of radio communication to the pilot community.
If you have been looking for opportunities to improve your radio pedigree/IQ, this is a seminar that you will want to attend.
Capt. Bennett Taber is a check airman and training captain with over 20 years and 16,000 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.
About San Carlos Flight Center:
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.
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.
Private Pilot Checkride Stories
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.
| For most pilots, the first checkride is the most intimidating one. It can be a nerve-wracking experience decoding the ACS and sitting through the glare of the designated pilot examiner. With thorough preparation and an understanding of the process, you will feel more at ease.
San Carlos Flight Center invites a round-table of three newly-minted Private Pilots to share their journey in becoming a pilot. In this seminar they will each provide their own overview of their training experiences, how they prepared for their checkrides, some pitfalls to avoid, and how they worked with their instructors to ensure they were ready for the practical test. This is a great opportunity to hear from multiple perspectives, giving you the insight you need as you approach your big day. Join us to hear more about the checkride experience, how to prepare, and have an insight into the first step of becoming a certificated pilot.
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. |
California Mountain Flying Trip Recap
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.
| This summer, FlyOutGroup pilots took part in a multi-day training event to the Sierra-Nevada Mountains with stunning views while learning to fly safely at high elevation. Pilots faced many challenges on this journey including navigating challenging terrain and weather conditions. In this seminar, you’ll hear first hand from a pilot that completed the journey along with the CFI that provided the training. They will share the details of the trip and what was learned from this mountain flying adventure.
San Carlos Flight Center invites Private Pilot Garrett Held and his CFI Brian Eliot to discuss some highlights from their training trip in the mountains. The seminar will include discussions on travel experiences and practical training topics such as mountain flying, high-altitude conditions, route changes, and cross-country flight planning. The details of the upcoming trip will be shared so you can understand the details of the next amazing experience. If you are interested in learning about mountain flying or joining the next Mountain Flying Training Trip, join us for a trip recap and preview of this exciting adventure. |
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| Garrett Held is an instrument-rated private pilot with a little over 200 hours. He initially earned his private pilot in 2001 at San Carlos Airport and stopped flying shortly after, he started flying again in 2021. When not flying he works in computer security for a large financial technology company.
Brian Eliot is San Carlos Flight Center’s Assistant Chief Pilot and resident expert for IFR training and Garmin G1000 avionics. He has been flying since 1995 and received all his training in the Bay Area. Brian previously worked as a broadcast engineer, a software developer, and taught computer science at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He regularly presents at San Carlos Flight Center safety seminars and has a reputation for making complex concepts easy to learn and understand.
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. |
Sightseeing in Los Angeles for Pilots
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.
| Los Angeles is a great destination for SF Bay Area pilots. From its beautiful beaches to landmarks and large skyscrapers, there is a lot for GA pilots to see and do. The surrounding area is home to an extensive and dense airspace system full of transition routes, and airspace corridors which can be a challenge the first time they are encountered. As pilots we have the luxury of seeing sights from the air; but have you ever considered putting your SF Bay Tour mastery skills to the test with a sightseeing tour of Los Angeles?
In this seminar, SCFC invites back Dave Kramer, a commercial pilot and advanced ground instructor, who has traveled extensively in the Los Angeles area, to cover the safe and correct ways to transition the busy Los Angeles Class B airspace while on a sightseeing tour. He will discuss how to stay away from heavy LAX traffic, special use airspace, and stay situationally aware in the LA Basin. Dave will share his stories of transiting through Los Angeles airspace and how to see some amazing Los Angeles landmarks from the sky. If you are planning to join the FlyOutGroup for their upcoming trip to Southern California, we encourage you to begin your research into this complex airspace. You’ll be better informed and more confident flying over some of Los Angeles sights. Don’t miss out on this unique learning opportunity.
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| Dave Kramer MD, is an instrument rated, tailwheel, complex and high performance endorsed commercial MEL pilot as well as a basic and instrument ground instructor with an interest in weather. He has been flying since 2012, has over 2100 hours of which over 1500 have been in the IFR system. He also enjoys long cross country flying, night flying and flying in the LA area.
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| 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. |
Cross Country Flight Planning Workshop
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 pilots we must know how to accurately cross-country flight plan. Join us for this in-person workshop at San Carlos Flight Center for a hands-on and scenario based learning experience. Chief Pilot 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.
We encourage any student pilot working on their cross-country flight planning or rusty pilot to attend this workshop. |
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Herb Patten is the 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 2,500 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 2023, 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. |
Math for Pilots: Volume 1
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.
| Of all the skills required to be a safe pilot, few people would put mathematics very high on the list. But being able to calculate speeds, fuel amounts, weight and balance locations, allows the pilot to stay on top of critical performance information. There’s no calculus, set theory, derivatives, or other advanced math concepts, so all that is really needed is a solid ability to do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
So why do some student pilots struggle with the math? We’ve invited Advanced Ground Instructor Dan Dyer, to present some tips on surviving the harder math encountered on the way to a Private Pilot certificate. He’s picked two areas that students often stumble with, and has created a presentation to walk us through surviving the calculations without getting lost or making mistakes. One of the areas of trouble is interpolation, which is often needed to use airplane performance charts and some weather forecasts. The other is a lack of understanding of the power of dimensional analysis and its use for cross-county flight planning calculations. Dimensional analysis is a focus on units and unit conversions, and can unlock even the hardest flight planning challenge. Additionally, Dan will emphasize taking things slowly and writing everything down as a way of avoiding the simple mistakes that most people make on the FAA Knowledge Test. If you love math, and the powerful tool it gives us to understand the universe, we hope you tune in. If you hate math, and are looking for ways to squeak by enough to become a safe pilot, we hope you tune in. It should be an interesting look at a tiny, oft-feared area of knowledge on the path to becoming a pilot.
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]
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. |
Full Moon Flyers – Nut Tree (VCB)
| A unique destination, Nut Tree Airport (VCB) in Vacaville is located right next to a major shopping and dining center. A former amusement park, the Nut Tree area is now home to numerous dining options, making it a great place to travel to and satisfy all kinds of appetites.
On Friday, September 29 at 7 PM, let’s meet up at the Nut Tree airport and walk to the dining area. The flight is easy, but picking a restaurant is the hard part, with options ranging from BBQ to pizza, ramen to vitamin bowls, and sushi to Mexican food. Once you’ve secured the airplane at transient parking, walk to the south side of the hangars to the west, through the gate, and then follow the pathway to the shopping and dining center. |
After your meal, treat yourself to Fenton’s Ice Cream, which is known for its one-of-a-kind creations and flavors, and is a popular place for residents of Solano County. Grab ice cream for the walk back, or enjoy dining on their patio. The airport is lit at night, and it’s easy to pick up flight following with Travis Approach. Need to work on your night landings? Concord, Napa, and Oakland are within a fifteen-minute flight away. Like other FOG events, RSVP on our website, and please indicate if you can take passengers to allow student pilots and other aviation community members to participate. Hope to see you there! |
