Hi all!
Good news across the board for us GA Pilots! It seems that, according to the AOPA, that GA Accidents reached a 40 year low in 2007. This information, compiled from the NTSB also informs us that there was a decrease in GA related accidents of 30% in the past year.
This brings up the AOPA's Air Safety Foundation. They offer these cool online courses, and even live ones, and many are good for Wings Credit. I highly recommend them. 16 of the 22 courses qualify for both the AOPA Accident Forgiveness Program and the FAA Wings Program.
Keep flying!
-Martin A. Lessem, JD
PP-ASEL, HP, CXL
AOPA Project Pilot Mentor
Passed 100 hrs!!! (116.1 at the moment)
Friday, May 2, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Just to pass the time
| What military aircraft are you? F-15 Eagle You are an F-15. Your record in combat is spotless; you've never been defeated. You possess good looks, but are not flashy about it. You prefer to let your reputation do the talking. You are fast, agile, and loud, but reaching the end of your stardom. |
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My Recent Flight, Thoughts on Flight Training and my Next Podcast!
Hello all!
So recently I told you I was taking a flight and didn't really know where. I will now let you in on *why* I didn't know where. Part of the problem on the 19th of May was that I was hoping my father would join me. If he had, I would have tried a bit harder to fly out to the Hudson VFR Cooridor. However, the other problem that day was that the Pope was in NYC, and they had moving TFR's all over the place. Now, none of them were over the Hudson, but some of them came close. So, as I was alone, I went to Lancaster instead and visited the pilot shop (One of the best in the Philly area in my opinion) and also to have lunch. While I was there, a plane came in which was going to carry Senator Clinton to her next Campaign stop in Pittsburgh.
All in all, it was a good flight. It was relaxing, it was fun and I managed to get some good swag from the store.
As I was flying home, I realized how lucky I am. I can fly airplanes. Now I realize this may not be a major revelation, but I learned how to fly. And then I remembered an interview I had heard with the actor John Travolta. In that interview, he claimed that he would never have learned how to fly if not for Scientology. To that I tell him, and anyone reading this, horse hockey! (To quote Col. Potter of M*A*S*H fame) Learning to fly is a combination of five factors.
1) Money
2) Time
3) Dedication
4) A sense of adventure
5) Money
Yes, money is listed twice, and I will explain why.
1) Money - You need to be able to pay for the lesson, the plane rental, the instructor, the insurance and the gear. It isn't cheap.
2) Time - You need to have the time to learn. This cannot be done in a day. The FAA alone mandates 40 hours minimum before you can take your Exam, so that precludes this from happening in a day no matter what you do.
3) Dedication - If you don't want to learn, you won't. It is, in a sense, part of time as dedication takes time.
4) A sense of adventure - Let's be serious for a moment. We who fly do it for the adventure. We do it to call up primordial memories of the Wright Brothers, of Leonardo Da Vinci's early designs or even just the Greek Myth of Icarus.
5) Money - Yes. You need money. Once you have your private pilot certificate, the money doesn't stop flowing. As a matter of fact, it may flow more, especially if you buy a plane. Think of the maintenance involved in that.
So, can you learn to fly by Religion (Any religion, not just Scientology)? The answer is simply no. No religion can teach you to fly or make you better at it. Sure Scientology may have study techniques, but I'll bet you good money that if John Travolta had been a poor schmo making $40,000 a year, being a Scientologist wouldn't have helped him get his pilot's certification at all. Without the money to afford the lessons, the time to take them, the dedication to see it through and the internal sense of adventure, John Travolta would have been a pedestrian. John, I respect you as a pilot. Please wake up as a person and get out of that greedy cult.
And now, my next Podcast! Assuming weather permits, I will do my next Podcast from Niagara, NY!! Right at the famous Falls!! Keep your ears open, it should be up sometime in mid May. Also I will be talking about some usefull things you should keep in your flight bag and trying to get an Interview with someone at my local FSDO so stay tuned!!
Keep flying!
-Martin A. Lessem, JD
PP-ASEL, HP, CXL
AOPA Project Pilot Mentor
Passed 100 hrs!!! (116.1 at the moment)
So recently I told you I was taking a flight and didn't really know where. I will now let you in on *why* I didn't know where. Part of the problem on the 19th of May was that I was hoping my father would join me. If he had, I would have tried a bit harder to fly out to the Hudson VFR Cooridor. However, the other problem that day was that the Pope was in NYC, and they had moving TFR's all over the place. Now, none of them were over the Hudson, but some of them came close. So, as I was alone, I went to Lancaster instead and visited the pilot shop (One of the best in the Philly area in my opinion) and also to have lunch. While I was there, a plane came in which was going to carry Senator Clinton to her next Campaign stop in Pittsburgh.
All in all, it was a good flight. It was relaxing, it was fun and I managed to get some good swag from the store.
As I was flying home, I realized how lucky I am. I can fly airplanes. Now I realize this may not be a major revelation, but I learned how to fly. And then I remembered an interview I had heard with the actor John Travolta. In that interview, he claimed that he would never have learned how to fly if not for Scientology. To that I tell him, and anyone reading this, horse hockey! (To quote Col. Potter of M*A*S*H fame) Learning to fly is a combination of five factors.
1) Money
2) Time
3) Dedication
4) A sense of adventure
5) Money
Yes, money is listed twice, and I will explain why.
1) Money - You need to be able to pay for the lesson, the plane rental, the instructor, the insurance and the gear. It isn't cheap.
2) Time - You need to have the time to learn. This cannot be done in a day. The FAA alone mandates 40 hours minimum before you can take your Exam, so that precludes this from happening in a day no matter what you do.
3) Dedication - If you don't want to learn, you won't. It is, in a sense, part of time as dedication takes time.
4) A sense of adventure - Let's be serious for a moment. We who fly do it for the adventure. We do it to call up primordial memories of the Wright Brothers, of Leonardo Da Vinci's early designs or even just the Greek Myth of Icarus.
5) Money - Yes. You need money. Once you have your private pilot certificate, the money doesn't stop flowing. As a matter of fact, it may flow more, especially if you buy a plane. Think of the maintenance involved in that.
So, can you learn to fly by Religion (Any religion, not just Scientology)? The answer is simply no. No religion can teach you to fly or make you better at it. Sure Scientology may have study techniques, but I'll bet you good money that if John Travolta had been a poor schmo making $40,000 a year, being a Scientologist wouldn't have helped him get his pilot's certification at all. Without the money to afford the lessons, the time to take them, the dedication to see it through and the internal sense of adventure, John Travolta would have been a pedestrian. John, I respect you as a pilot. Please wake up as a person and get out of that greedy cult.
And now, my next Podcast! Assuming weather permits, I will do my next Podcast from Niagara, NY!! Right at the famous Falls!! Keep your ears open, it should be up sometime in mid May. Also I will be talking about some usefull things you should keep in your flight bag and trying to get an Interview with someone at my local FSDO so stay tuned!!
Keep flying!
-Martin A. Lessem, JD
PP-ASEL, HP, CXL
AOPA Project Pilot Mentor
Passed 100 hrs!!! (116.1 at the moment)
Friday, April 4, 2008
General thoughs and upcoming Flight
Hello all,
So these are some general thoughts on planes and flying.
On of the things you always want to do, especially if you fly mainly for business or transportation, is to remember to get up there and just fly for fun. Rent a plane, or take your own, and just hop in and fly. No destination. No plan. Just fly. Remember why we do this. For each of you it is different, but I do it for fun. I love to fly. Love it.
On the 19th of this month I have a plane scheduled. I have zero plans as to where I am flying. I am just going up. If I am joined by my father I may take him to the Hudson VFR Corridor, or I may not. There are so many possibilities in this area that almost any flight will be fun.
Anyway, just flet like I had to blather on a bit :)
Keep flying!
-Martin A. Lessem, JD
PP-ASEL, HP, CXL
AOPA Project Pilot Mentor
Passed 100 hrs!!! (113.3 at the moment)
So these are some general thoughts on planes and flying.
On of the things you always want to do, especially if you fly mainly for business or transportation, is to remember to get up there and just fly for fun. Rent a plane, or take your own, and just hop in and fly. No destination. No plan. Just fly. Remember why we do this. For each of you it is different, but I do it for fun. I love to fly. Love it.
On the 19th of this month I have a plane scheduled. I have zero plans as to where I am flying. I am just going up. If I am joined by my father I may take him to the Hudson VFR Corridor, or I may not. There are so many possibilities in this area that almost any flight will be fun.
Anyway, just flet like I had to blather on a bit :)
Keep flying!
-Martin A. Lessem, JD
PP-ASEL, HP, CXL
AOPA Project Pilot Mentor
Passed 100 hrs!!! (113.3 at the moment)
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Episode 7!! - Finally here!
Hi again to my loyal and devoted listeners,
It is fially here! The newest episode of the The Private Pilot!
In this episode I go into some information you should think about with IFR Cross Countries. Especially how they can change and what you can do to plan for them. Also I cover some things to consider when buying an airplane and finally checklists.
Here is the link:
http://ia341039.us.archive.org/2/items/MartinA.Lessem_JDThePrivatePilotEpisode7/PilotPod7.mp3
Please enjoy and as always, feel free to comment!
Keep flying! And stay safe in the skies
-Martin A. Lessem, JD
PP-ASEL, HP, CXL
AOPA Project Pilot Mentor
Passed 100 hrs!!! (113.3 at the moment)
It is fially here! The newest episode of the The Private Pilot!
In this episode I go into some information you should think about with IFR Cross Countries. Especially how they can change and what you can do to plan for them. Also I cover some things to consider when buying an airplane and finally checklists.
Here is the link:
http://ia341039.us.archive.org/2/items/MartinA.Lessem_JDThePrivatePilotEpisode7/PilotPod7.mp3
Please enjoy and as always, feel free to comment!
Keep flying! And stay safe in the skies
-Martin A. Lessem, JD
PP-ASEL, HP, CXL
AOPA Project Pilot Mentor
Passed 100 hrs!!! (113.3 at the moment)
Friday, March 14, 2008
An Update!!
Hi to all my devoted readers/listeners!!
Ok, I have been ad, and haven't been updating this as often as I should. This weekend, I wil be recording a new show, and assuming the uploads methods still work, I will have it up on Sunday.
I wil tell you about my IFR Cross-Country Flight I did, I will talk some more about night flying an I will talk about currency.
Soon I will have an interview up with a former Airline Pilot with International experience.
Keep flying! And stay safe in the skies
-Martin A. Lessem, JD
PP-ASEL, HP, CXL
AOPA Project Pilot Mentor
Passed 100 hrs!!! (113.3 at the moment)
Ok, I have been ad, and haven't been updating this as often as I should. This weekend, I wil be recording a new show, and assuming the uploads methods still work, I will have it up on Sunday.
I wil tell you about my IFR Cross-Country Flight I did, I will talk some more about night flying an I will talk about currency.
Soon I will have an interview up with a former Airline Pilot with International experience.
Keep flying! And stay safe in the skies
-Martin A. Lessem, JD
PP-ASEL, HP, CXL
AOPA Project Pilot Mentor
Passed 100 hrs!!! (113.3 at the moment)
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