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Recent Comments:
Cockpit Chronicles: A farewell to Boston {Gadling}
Jun 19th 2011 8:59PM Hi Kent,
You mentioned foreign airlines that you may use for commuting. Do you or your employer pay the bill for those flights, or is there a deal worked out between the airlines?
JetBlue and Gadling are giving away two All You Can Jet passes {Gadling}
Aug 25th 2010 4:07PM I'd drop out of this semester of school and take a crazy vacation.
Plane Answers: So you want to be a pilot? Here's how. {Gadling}
Jan 16th 2010 5:35PM I must agree with the previous poster, Matt N., with how intense and time-consuming part 141 flight training coupled with a university can be. I'm currently studying at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona. Like Matt mentioned, if you want to experience very professional training and education, schools like University of North Dakota, University of Illinois, Western Michigan, Embry-Riddle and others are definitely the way to go.
Something that struck me about Embry-Riddle is that there are LOTS of people here who know exactly what they want to do after college. There aren't many people who come to the university with undeclared majors. So, what this means is that almost everyone is focused and professional in their studies. In many aspects, this is good; I haven't had any disruptive people in classes.
What it also means is that some people buckle under the pressure of simultaneous flight training and classroom education. I have six classes on campus, including Aerodynamics, Physics, Aviation Weather, and others. But none of these classes are in the morning- I have what is called a "morning flight block." In other words, I can have flights scheduled for me as early as 5:30 in the morning. So, switching gears so quickly- from sleep, to taking the shuttle to the airport (when it's still dark, mind you), to the precise procedures of flying, to riding the shuttle back to campus, to the creativity required for communications classes- can be very difficult sometimes, and is always exhausting. I've heard different numbers, but something like 30% of freshman students here do not return for sophomore year.
Don't get me wrong though, I LOVE the school. Embry-Riddle uses the same high standards with flying as it does for teaching in the classrooms. There are a number of other programs such as Engineering and Global Securities and Intelligence Studies. Yet, even in the Aeronautical Science program, I have had professors with PhDs instructing classes of 20 students. In fact, the dean of the College of Aviation teaches my Aerodynamics class. The dean knowing me by first name is absolutely wonderful.
On top of this, Riddle has recently revamped its career placement services. There are people here on campus whose jobs are to help students find summer internships, as well as jobs after school.
There are lots of opportunities for scholarships and grants at Embry-Riddle that can help defer costs some. My best advice to anyone who wants to come to this school is to keep grades up in high school. My current merit-based scholarship is covering roughly half of my tuition.
I hope this helps!
Plane Answers: 5 things to look for on your next flight {Gadling}
Nov 12th 2009 12:31AM There are a couple of websites that I really enjoy visiting before a flight.
The first is www.aviationweather.gov, the site that has all the undecoded aviation weather information for the 50 United States. My focus is mostly on the Terminal Area Forecasts for my departure and destinations (http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/tafs/). I also look at the winds aloft, prognostic charts, and radar images to get a sense as to what weather I'll be crossing.
The second is www.flightaware.com. I look to see if my flight has a proposed route posted (I'm not sure if it's the official or not), and I plot it the best I can on www.skyvector.com to see what sort of landmarks I'll be flying over, like the Grand Canyon.
It's fun to be a plane geek!
Plane Answers: Is there a pilot shortage coming? {Gadling}
Oct 19th 2009 1:50PM I must admit that there was a bit of a panic over that congressional bill last week here at Embry-Riddle. Yet some people higher up at the university here sent out emails emphasizing that some schools like ERAU would get exemption from the mandatory ATP rule. How many of us believed it would make any difference is still up in the air.
I'm a first year student, and I probably won't be looking for any sort of airline job until 2013. It seems that every faculty member here, every person at the career fair, and every flight instructor who can't find an airline job right now is telling us first-year students that we are in a wonderful position. I hope they're all correct.
Thanks for addressing this, Kent.
Happy Birthday Gadling! Enter to win FREE TICKETS to anywhere Virgin America flies! {Gadling}
Oct 15th 2009 3:06AM Happy Birthday, Gadling! Keep it up!
Gadling gets an exclusive look at Virgin America's cockpit technology {Gadling}
May 6th 2009 5:50PM Wow, I should have known. I live about two miles from that airport- I can pick up the tower on an Icom from the back of my house.
Gadling gets an exclusive look at Virgin America's cockpit technology {Gadling}
May 6th 2009 5:14PM Nicely put together, Kent. It looks like you filmed this at a red carpet event of some sort. Was that the maiden flight for that plane, or something like that?
Cockpit Chronicles: Groundhog day - The St. Thomas turn (with video) {Gadling}
Mar 12th 2009 6:26PM I'd say that the "Groundhog Day" effect happens with almost any line of work. You're lucky to have it with something as interesting as flying!
On a side note Kent, you always seem to mention in your posts that you were taking pictures above 10,000 feet, or with the parking brakes set. Are these rules that you are following set by the FAA or by American?
Plane Answers: Aircraft inspections, air filtration and stalls {Gadling}
Nov 5th 2008 7:30PM Thanks for the answer, Kent! Now, what to do about a CFI who insists on flying despite being infected with a cold...
