From the Flightdeck – James McBride
Stable Approach From my position, sitting behind the two pilots making their approach to land, I could see that things were not going well. The B737 was well above the glideslope, not yet configured for the final descent and with way too much energy. The airspeed was eye-wateringly high and they were only just inside the limit speeds to deploy the flaps. Needless to say, as their instructor I was more than a little curious about how...
Recreational flying training resumes in England, while devolved nations remain grounded
After an unprecedented three-month shutdown of the vast majority of the UK’s flight training industry, the long-awaited news that Government was changing its advice to the flying schools of the UK came at around midday on 26 June. The message from David Harding, (Department for Transport Deputy Director, General Aviation, Skills, Safety and CAA Division), to General Aviation associations was succinct and to the point: “I can confirm...
Bicester Gliding Centre closes
On 04 July, as other flying clubs in England re-opened following an easing of coronavirus lockdown measures, Bicester Gliding Centre, once one of the busiest flying clubs in Europe, closed its doors for the last time at the historic airfield. The club, which had been in place at Bicester Airfield since the 1950s, did not renew its lease with the airfield operators, Bicester Motion, citing that the new terms made operating out of the...
Online classrooms set to stay?
Bristol Groundschool (BGS) says that it is adapting its teaching style during lockdown to include online and recorded video lessons. This enables it to offer a distance learning solution to both new and current students studying at home via their laptops and tablets. Their distance learning suite now includes: A content generation and management training system Their online question bank – bgsonline Live webinars and recordings, all...
EASA grants first type certification for electric trainer
During June, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency announced the certification of an electric airplane, the Pipistrel Velis Electro, the first type certification worldwide of a fully electric aircraft, which the Agency claims is an important milestone in the quest for environmentally sustainable aviation. “This is an exciting breakthrough,” said EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky. “This is the first electric aircraft EASA has...
