Flight Training - January 2013 - 18

PREFLIGHT»

TECH TIP

BY DENNIS JOHNSON

ATC training
Access radio communications anywhere
PILOTS NOW CAN LISTEN to live air traffic control on computers, smartphones, or tablet devices by going online (www.LiveATC. net). This website offers ATC feeds from many U.S. airports, and many international destinations. The busiest airports—New York; Chicago; Boston; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta—have multiple frequencies, including ground, tower, and approach/departure. Some specialized frequencies can be found too, such as New York’s helicopter controller. The website has also archived many interesting recordings, often taped during aviation emergencies, such as an airliner with smoke in the cockpit, an engine failure due to a bird strike, and stuck landing gear. It’s valuable to hear how a professional handles a real emergency. Any web-enabled device can stream these ATC transmissions and pilots can purchase a specialized application for Apple devices. Hours of communication can also be downloaded for listening when streaming is impossible from the website’s audio archive. This sort of eavesdropping can be great training that demonstrates real-world communications with the latest ATC radio terminology and procedures.

NEWS

Cessna Pilot Center program undergoes changes
CESSNA PILOT CENTERS will see their aircraft requirements ease as part of a number of changes the venerable manufacturer unveiled recently. What has historically been a requirement to have a two-year-old or newer Cessna on the flight line is being reduced to six years or newer. The network of Cessna-affiliated flight schools has shrunk considerably in recent years. As schools struggle to make balance sheets a little more balanced in a down economy, the move to reduce the age requirement is no doubt an effort on Cessna’s part to make being a member of the program more palatable.

But not all the changes are being taken as positive from the schools’ standpoint. Among the benefits of being a CPC has been the opportunity to exclusively offer the Cessna-branded training course, produced by King Schools. The significant reduction in affiliated schools has meant a reduction in sales for King Schools as well. Under pressure from the course maker to recoup lost sales and development costs, Cessna is now allowing the course to be sold to students outside the CPC network. Initial reactions to the changes have been mixed. One school owner who declined to be named said the loss of the exclusive right to sell the training

program was enough to make him want to pull out of the program. Others have been more guarded. Steve Graham, owner of Sunstate Aviation in Kissimmee, Florida, said he doesn’t agree with the decision to sell courses outside the network, but that maybe it would bring new students to the Cessna brand and the CPC program. Cessna’s Jodi Noah, the senior vice president of single-engine/propeller aircraft, said, “Expanding access to the Cessna Flight Training System simply expands the training experience to a broader audience and allows more new pilots access to learning the Cessna model.”

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Flight Training - January 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - January 2013