Flight Training - June 2013 - 46

CAREER PILOT»

there’s a delay associated
with the weather pictures
Unfortunately, accidents happen—and when they do, a little informayou get. It’s a great tool
tion can sometimes make a big difference. The Air Safety Institute's
for getting around areas
new video, Critical Information: The Passenger Safety Briefing, covers
of weather, but not for
often-overlooked items that should be part of every preflight paspicking your way between
senger briefing. You'll also get helpful survival tips from National
storms. For that, you need
Transportation Safety Board experts and learn the single best way to
onboard weather radar,
increase your odds of rescue. Download the Passenger Safety Briefand a good one at that.
ing card (www.aopa.org/asf/video/passenger-safety-briefing.html).
Radar paints a picture of
the weather in real time.
But there’s a learning
with a courtesy car and a decent
curve with radar that pilots need
restaurant nearby. By the time
to be familiar with—mainly the Tilt
you’re back from eating, all this
control, which aims the radar beam
weather will be through here,” he
up and down.
said. That’s all we needed to hear.
But just because you graduAnd he was right. We flew home in ate to an airplane that has radar
mostly clear skies.
doesn’t mean you can fly in stormy
When it comes to datalink, of
weather. General aviation airplanes
course, you’ve likely heard that
are hobbled by radar systems that

PASSENGER SAFETY BRIEFING

use a small dish, usually about 10
to 12 inches in width. Because of
this, they can’t transmit or receive
as much information as radar in
larger airplanes. In general, radar in
a GA airplane is good for about 40
miles of range. It’s also more prone
to shadowing, where a storm cell
could absorb all of the energy of
the radar beam—effectively hiding
storm cells that could be lurking
beyond. An airliner has a dinnertable-size radar dish pulsing a
large and powerful beam that can
snoop out storms hundreds of miles
ahead, with no shadowing.
Icing is another hazard that
scares pilots, and with good
reason. My brothers flew light
twins equipped for flight into
known icing (FIKI) conditions

CAREER ADVISOR

TRAINING WITH THE GI BILL

A recruiter has good news
» By Wayne Phillips

MATT, A SOLDIER serving in the military at Fort Hood, wrote to us about
the challenges he was having financing his flight training (“Career Advisor:
In the Army Now,” March 2013 Flight
Training). He wrote: “When I joined, I
elected to receive the GI Bill so I could
afford to pay for flight training when I
get out. However, by the sound of it, the

any military service member in touch
with Nathan to explore the possibilities.
Email us (careers@aopa.org) with your
situation and your base.—Ed.
I just read your article in response to
the young soldier at Fort Hood, Texas. As
a current Army recruiter ( for six more
months), I’m fairly well versed on military
benefits.

"IN THE PAST 18 MONTHS, THE GI BILL HAS PAID FOR MY
PRIVATE, COMMERCIAL, AND INSTRUMENT HELICOPTER
RATINGS...ON UNCLE SAM'S DIME."
GI Bill will only pay for certain ratings,
such as an instrument and commercial.
That would leave me on my own with
still having to work on multiengine and
instructor ratings, as well as getting an
airline transport pilot certificate to fly
one day with the majors.” Nathan, an
army recruiter, responded with his own
experience. We will be happy to put

46 /

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

FLIGHT SCHOOL BUSINESS
Information on the GI Bill is included
in AOPA's weekly email newsletter

The short answer is, yes! The GI Bill
will pay for 100 percent of your flight
training. In the last 18 months, the GI
Bill has paid for my private, commercial,
and instrument helicopter ratings. I am
currently working on the CFI and CFII
on Uncle Sam’s dime. What’s more,
I’m already approved to start work
on my airplane ratings, to include
instrument and multiengine. I’ve done
all of this on my GI Bill with not a dime
out of pocket.
You just have to do some research. If
you get questions from other military
veterans or people interested in potentially using the military to pay for flight
training, please feel free to forward them
to me. It would be an honor to help out
some other aspiring pilots.—Nathan

Flight School Business, which provides
information to flight school owners and

Wayne Phillips is an airline transport pilot with

operators (http:/flighttraining.aopa.

Boeing 737 and Falcon 20 type ratings. Send your

org/fsb).

career questions to careers@aopa.org and we’ll
publish the best ones here.

http://www.aopa.org/asf/video/passenger-safety-briefing.html http://flighttraining.aopa.org/fsb http://flighttraining.aopa.org/fsb http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

Flight Training - June 2013

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