Recent content by Sonoran

Given that guiding principles are safe, simple and easy to fly, I’m surprised they’re considering retracts. The vid explains this as a natural extension of the “repositional” gear found on LSA float planes. Adding variable pitch props makes sense because they’re offloading that responsibility to...

Masks are effective because they effectively minimize the expulsion of droplets, and to a lesser extent aerosols. Virus particles aren’t shed from the mouth/respiratory system as bare virons, they’re shed in saliva/sputum so comparing viron size to mask pores isn’t very meaningful. Individual...

I think this guy trains out of KCHD: https://arizona-flight-training-and-instruction.com/, at least he used to. He's got some YouTube videos of some of his training: https://www.youtube.com/user/airfreddy1/videos. Even if he's no longer training you might call him anyway, he probably knows...

As I understand the recommendation for the preferred midfield entry it's to descend to pattern altitude on the 2mi outleg before making the 270 deg turn to the 45. There's no recommendation for a descending turn: "When well clear of the pattern—approximately 2 miles—scan carefully for traffic...

I'm in Tucson and got my PPL a few months ago, I'll just let you know what I've found: Southwestern at KE95 Benson has a number of instructors who are on referral and can use the FBO aircraft for training. It's a nice little untowered airport with very little traffic especially during the...

X-Plane 11 now supports VR natively, so you don't need Fly Inside anymore. A Rift or Vive VR headset will be more immersive, but it will be more difficult to use hardware peripherals and you will need a real good video card for that. Multiple monitors instead of VR will allow you to use add-on...

My advice for the route that would require the least challenging altitudes would be to fly South by SouthEast through the CA Central Valley (CA Hwy 99 or I-5) and cross the Sierras at Tehachapi pass (Left at Bakersfield, to Lancaster). The Bakersfield and Isabella MOA's will be your only...

Don't make the decision on how to train for an initial PPL based on avionics packages. Your PPL training is all about VFR flight and trying to "future proof" yourself by starting with a more advanced avionics package is not really important enough to be your deciding factor. At this point who...

Yes, it's a spring-loaded hydraulic cylinder (hydraulic lifter) that sits on top of the valve stem. It has a port that fills the lifter with oil when the (intake or exhaust) valve it's controlling is closed, then the port closes when the lifter is engaged to open the valve. This allows the...