Mountainous terrain, high density altitudes, steep approaches, and much more face a pilots challenging journey to Colorado.  Luckily, upon arrival a pilot can be rewarded by gorgeous vistas, scenery, and outdoor activities to do with their families.  Planning a trip to such a demanding destination can require extensive planning and readiness; regardless, pilots must be thoroughly familiar with all things necessary to get them to Colorado safely and efficiently.

San Carlos Flight Center invites CFI Stephen Heesacker to talk about what a pilot might expect while on their journey to Colorado.  In this seminar, Herb will outline the possible routes a pilot might take, review area specific weather patterns, and review the extra emergency survival equipment a pilot might take on their way to Colorado.

If you are planning a trip to Colorado sometime this summer, or joining the Bay Area Fly Out Group (FOG) on their trip from August 26th to August 30th; this is a great opportunity to familiarize yourself with these procedures.  San Carlos Flight Center requires all participants flying to Colorado with FOG to watch this seminar.

We hope you will either consider joining us flying to Colorado as a part of our FOG, or venture there on your own accord.

Stephen Heesacker is a senior flight instructor at San Carlos Flight Center.  For Stephen, flying has always been a joy.  He has a degree in Physics and Aeronautics at San Jose State University and has competed on the San Jose Precision Flight Team and United States Precision Flight Team.  Find out more about Stephen at www.sancarlosflight.com or contact him at stephen@sancarlosflight.com.

San Carlos Flight Center (SCFC) is the SF Bay Area’s most dynamic flying club, committed to building general aviation thought safety, community, and adventure. AOPA has consistently recognized SCFC in their Best Flight School survey, most recently in 2019 as a Distinguished Flight School.

SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Space is often limited so it is important to sign up early. SCFC members may choose to watch the seminar live over the web at home, or recorded at a later date. Click here or contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access.

San Carlos Flight Center invites AGI Michel Vidal-Naquet to discuss how pilots can effectively use these rules of thumb in order to help them both on the ground, and in the air.  In this seminar, we will present a number of rules of thumb useful for both VFR and IFR pilots, and show how they come to be.  We will provide mathematical derivations based on elementary trigonometry principles and high-school level physics.  While the mathematical derivations will appeal to the curious, all attendees will gain a better understanding of the rules and will, hopefully, integrate some into their flying to make them safer pilots.

If you are looking to broaden your understanding of the formulas you use while flying, this is the seminar for you.

San Carlos Flight Center (SCFC) is the SF Bay Area’s most dynamic flying club, committed to building general aviation thought safety, community, and adventure. AOPA has consistently recognized SCFC in their Best Flight School survey, most recently in 2019 as a Distinguished Flight School.

SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Space is often limited so it is important to sign up early. SCFC members may choose to watch the seminar live over the web at home, or recorded at a later date. Click here or contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access.

San Carlos Flight Center invites Mark Covey, the Pilot Outreach Coordinator at the Truckee Airport to talk with pilots about terrain, best routes of travel, tower operations, and upcoming ADS-B ground stations being installed near the airport and its impacts on flight.  Truckee is a dynamic airport with noise abatement procedures, curfews, seasonal flight considerations such as density altitude, mountain wave, icing, wildlife and much more.  Mark will also briefly touch on some of the things one might want to do in Truckee, along with the services the airport provides to visiting pilots.

If you are looking to plan a trip to Truckee sometime this summer, join us to feel more safe, confident, and knowledgeable on your upcoming trip to Truckee.

Mark Covey has worked at KTRK for 6 years.  He started out on the ramp and moved into Aviation & community services as Pilot and Passenger Outreach Coordinator.  He is an instrument rated pilot and is currently training for his commercial license. He commonly flies the airport’s 2018 JT-A turbo diesel C172.  He is looking forward to presenting with the pilot community.

San Carlos Flight Center (SCFC) is the SF Bay Area’s most dynamic flying club, committed to building general aviation thought safety, community, and adventure. AOPA has consistently recognized SCFC in their Best Flight School survey, most recently in 2019 as a Distinguished Flight School.

SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Space is often limited so it is important to sign up early. SCFC members may choose to watch the seminar live over the web at home, or recorded at a later date. Click here or contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access.

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 owner and a CFI of the San Carlos Flight Center.  He has been instructing for 15 years, has 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 dan@sancarlosflight.com

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 over 1,500 hours and flown into at least 120 different California airports. He is co-founder of the Bay Area Student and New Pilot Support Group, and a board member of the Upwind Foundation, famous for its Upwind Summer Scholarship Program. In 2015, Herb was named a Master Instructor by the National Association of Flight Instructors.

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 2019 as a Distinguished Flight School.

SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Space is often limited so it is important to sign up early. SCFC members may choose to watch the seminar live over the web at home, or recorded at a later date. Click here or contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access.

Every flight has an associated risk, and pilots need to know how to either take on that risk or mitigate it.  However, when can a pilot notice when that risk is too much?  Will it endanger the flight?

San Carlos Flight Center invites AGI and CFI James Sloan to discuss practical risk management for all pilots.  In this seminar James will review several different useful frameworks for identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks along with sharing common scenarios where those frameworks can be put into practice.  There are many ways a pilot can handle a risky scenario, nonetheless, it should not be compensated for the safety of the flight.

If you are a pilot that wants to recognize how a risk can affect your flight; or if you just want to be a safer pilot, join us for this seminar.

James Sloan earned his PPL in 2002 and flew around the East Coast for a few years.  After several years off he joined SCFC in 2017 and has since obtained his instrument, commercial, advanced and instrument ground instructor, and flight instructor ratings. I currently have about 550 hours in single engine airplanes and own 1.6 Cessnas.

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 2019 as a Distinguished Flight School.

SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Space is often limited so it is important to sign up early. SCFC members may choose to watch the seminar live over the web at home, or recorded at a later date. Click here or contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access.

Join SCFC in inviting Alessandro and Brandan to highlight some of the important first steps to take after downloading ForeFlight, and how to get started.  In this seminar, we will cover the most efficient ways to use this helpful software, along with many of the helpful tools to help with your flight planning.  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 using one of the most popular EFB’s available to pilots.

(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.  Bring your tablet and show up to discover the best features for new pilots.

Alessandro Franco is a Private Pilot and the Director of Operations at San Carlos Flight Center. Alessandro was a recipient of the Upwind Summer Scholarship and has done all of his flight training at San Carlos Flight Center, including his training towards his Instrument Rating, which he is almost finished with.

Brandan Dadoun is a student pilot solo and SCFC’s Seminar Coordinator. He has completed the majority of his flight training at SCFC with over 100 flight hours.  He is an advocate for getting youth involved in aviation and is actively involved in many aviation programs.  He is an active volunteer at the Hiller Aviation Museum, and previously an active volunteer in the local EAA chapter.  Brandan loves teaching others when he is not flying himself.

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 2019 as a Distinguished Flight School.

SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Space is often limited so it is important to sign up early. SCFC members may choose to watch the seminar live over the web at home, or recorded at a later date. Click here or contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access.

Lukasz Zoromski has always been interested in aviation. Ever since going to Oshkosh Airventure as a kid, he got hooked on airplanes. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, he decided to make a career change away from a desk job and began flying with a goal to become a flight instructor. Now that he has achieved that goal, he strives to help new pilots achieve the same goals in a safe and fun way. New to the Bay Area, he is looking forward to flying in a new environment and meeting new people.

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 2019 as a Distinguished Flight School.

SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Space is often limited so it is important to sign up early. SCFC members may choose to watch the seminar live over the web at home, or recorded at a later date. Click here or contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access.

Join SCFC CFI Herb Patten for an insightful review of the aspects of selecting and filing an alternate airport.  This will include details buried in various FAA regulation and legal opinions.  The information in this seminar will prepare you to confidently determine when and how to select your alternate airport for your next IFR flight.

If you are wondering when, why, and how to select an alternate airport, join us for this seminar.

Herb Patten is the Assistant Chief Pilot at the San Carlos Flight Center, a CFI and an FAA certificated advanced and instrument ground instructor who teaches ground school at San Carlos Flight Center.  He is a commercial pilot with an instrument rating, with 2,000 hours and flown into and out of over 130 different California airports.  He is the current chairman of the Upwind Foundation, famous for its Upwind Summer Scholarship Program. In 2015, Herb was named a Master Instructor by the National Association of Flight Instructors.

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 2019 as a Distinguished Flight School.

SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs.  SCFC members may choose to watch the seminar live over the web at home, or recorded at a later date.  Click here or contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access.

It’s the day that every pilot awaits; the transition from student pilot to certificated private pilot.  For most, the FAA Practical Test or “checkride” is viewed as a terrifying but necessary right of passage.  A Designated Pilot Examiners (DPE) must test each student thoroughly on their aviation knowledge, control and mastery of the aircraft, and risk awareness and judgment.  Even if the student has been perfectly prepared by their instructor, the checkride is still the unknown and a point of concern.  Let’s change that.  With a guided look in the FAA’s Airman Certification Standards document, any student pilot can better understand what standards they will be held to and how to ace their checkride.

San Carlos Flight Center invites local DPE Scott Rohlfing to help student pilots understand what can be expected during a private pilot checkride and learn what they can do to be prepared and confident on their big day.  In this seminar, Rohlfing will relay what student pilots need to know before the checkride, and share tips from his previous experiences from other checkrides to make sure the same issues don’t arise on your checkride.  We have also asked him to review the different maneuvers and procedures that a DPE can request from a student pilot during the checkride so they can be ready to tackle anything.

If you are a student pilot that wants to be prepared, confident, and know what to expect on your checkride; you don’t want to miss this unique seminar.

Scott Rohlfing is a DPE in the San Jose FSDO District and has conducted over 500 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 15 years and an active political advocate against the closure of Reid Hillview Airport.

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 2019 as a Distinguished Flight School.

SCFC is committed to promoting safety in general aviation through our regular safety seminars and guest speaker programs. Space is often limited so it is important to sign up early. SCFC members may choose to watch the seminar live over the web at home, or recorded at a later date. Click here or contact a SCFC member service rep at (650) 946-1700 for more information about online access.