San Carlos Flight Center

Pursuing the instrument rating can be extremely challenging. It takes lots of training, studying, and commitment from the student and their instructor to master all the necessary skills and build the confidence to fly under IFR. What are some successful approaches to tackling this rating? What are some of the resources to use to study?

As pilots, we must know how to accurately plan for a cross-country flight. Join us for this in-person workshop at San Carlos Flight Center for a hands-on and scenario based learning experience. Senior CFI Herb Patten will show attendees the important elements of successful cross-country flight planning and walk you through your planning of a

Most people think of aircraft as things that fly high in the sky, well beyond the influence of ground effect.  But interestingly, some heavy transport vehicles are designed to skim the surface of the earth or the water, buoyed by the extra lift that ground effect provides. You may have heard of ground effect as

Prior to takeoff, pilots run the engine to a high power setting and confirm various system operation levels, including the ignition system. Occasionally, a rough or underperforming engine would result in the pilot abandoning the flight and taxiing back to the parking area. San Carlos Flight Center checklists include shorthand references to guide pilots what

NOTE: Since this event will involve active discussion, it will be held over Zoom and not broadcast via Livestream. Please RSVP by 12pm on the day of the seminar to receive Zoom meeting info via email before the event starts.   Most pilots like analyzing scenarios and trying to answer the age old question of what would

We love hearing about flights to interesting places and hearing the experiences of the pilots along the way. What went well? What did you see? What was different about operating there compared to airport hops around the SF Bay Area? San Carlos Flight Center invites in Nick Pliam, ATP, to share the story of this

You may be familiar with planning and accomplishing VFR and IFR flights within the contiguous United States, but have you ever wondered how long, overwater international airline flights are planned and executed? How do you aviate, navigate, and communicate over remote areas of the world? What if something goes wrong half way across the ocean?

It is a typical day in the Bay Area with low ceilings.  You are instrument current and ready to depart.  Filing your IFR flight plan you hesitate for a moment on the field for alternate airports.  You ponder for a moment to remember when are pilots required to file an alternate airport?  What constitutes an

You are on glidepath descending towards the runway and as you break through the clouds, you see the bright approach lighting systems verifying you’re on path to the runway. With so many different types of lighting systems, colors, and positions, do you really know their significance?  San Carlos Flight Center invites CFII Brian Eliot to