How to Fly: ACTUAL Soft Field Takeoff + Confined Airport https://t.co/t1U4ihgGLD via @YouTube #aviation #flying #learntofly #howtofly #studentpilot #PPL

CFI course update ✈️ Didn’t want to rush it just to hit a date. ~7.5 hours of content so far, built to help future CFIs feel confident — and backed by a growing community. 👉 https://t.co/KPGMBQEUks 🎧 Bose headset giveaway coming

Ask yourself on every flight: If an examiner or airline captain suddenly sat in the right seat right now, would I be proud of how I just ran that pre-takeoff checklist and called the tower? If the answer is “not really,” that’s the gap to close. Confident takeoffs don’t start

The checklist is also a mindset check. When Sienna runs hers, I’m listening less to the words and more to the pace: Is she rushing? Is her voice shaky? Is she skipping callouts? That tells me more about her readiness than the items themselves. Students: how you run the checklist

If you’re an instructor, standardize the flow before the paper. Teach a logical cockpit flow (left to right, top to bottom, or however your school chooses), then back it up with the printed checklist. The checklist is the referee; the flow is the play. Sienna first touches each

One simple training rule I use: “No checklist, no clearance.” The airplane must be configured and confirmed *before* we ever ask ATC for anything. That way, when the tower says, “Cleared for takeoff, no delay,” the student isn’t trying to do configuration, radios, and centerline

Rushing this step is how pilots end up in avoidable “events”: wrong runway, wrong departure, mis-set trim, fuel selector in the wrong position, transponder forgotten, mixture not full rich for departure. None of those failures are dramatic in the moment—they’re the quiet result

With Sienna in the 172, we run the checklist, then we pause. I have her put her hands in her lap, look outside, breathe, and mentally rehearse the takeoff and first 1,000 feet. Only after that does she call tower. Many students reverse that order: call first, then scramble to

Before every takeoff, ask yourself: “If the engine quit at rotation, what would I wish I had double-checked?” That’s what the pre-takeoff checklist is really for. Controls free and correct, trim set, instruments in the green, fuel on the proper tank, flaps as briefed. Done

Checklists first — then talk to tower. That one habit can change your entire flying mindset. In the Cessna 172, I teach Sienna not to even *look* at the push-to-talk until the pre-takeoff checklist is complete, out loud, and cross-checked. Radios are communication. Checklists are

Whether you’re a CFI or a student, ask yourself: what would have to be true, specifically, for the instructor to go completely silent from the numbers to touchdown? Write that standard down, train to it on purpose, and treat every pattern as a rep toward that hands-off, truly

A powerful training move for instructors: deliberately plan “quiet legs.” No coaching unless safety is at risk. Let the student run the radios, configure, correct, and debrief afterward. The goal isn’t a perfect landing—it’s a pilot who can think, decide, and fly without you

Think through your last few patterns: where do things start to unravel? • Downwind: spacing, checklist, and power setting? • Base: overshooting/undershooting the turn? • Final: chasing airspeed or runway, struggling with the flare? Drop the hardest leg for you

For students: you don’t suddenly “earn” a hands-off landing. You build to it by taking ownership early—running the checklists without being asked, making your own radio calls, deciding when to turn base/final, and verbalizing your own corrections. Independence in small tasks

For CFIs: when do you go truly hands-off on final? Is it when the student: • Holds target airspeed within a few knots • Anticipates, not reacts, with small corrections • Can brief and execute a go-around on their own • Manages radios and checklists without prompts

The common denominator in these “perfect” training landings? Aviate → Navigate → Communicate. Students who lock in pitch + power first, trim aggressively, and commit to a stabilized approach usually find that everything else—radio calls, checklist flow, and confidence—falls

This is the kind of flight every instructor hopes for: in a 172, the student flies the full pattern, controls airspeed, configures on time, makes clear radio calls, and lands cleanly without a single word from the CFI. That’s not luck—that’s what deliberate training looks like.

POV: Your CFI is completely hands-off on final and you roll on a smooth touchdown. No prompts, no coaching, just quiet monitoring from the right seat. When should training get to this point for a student? #flighttraining #studentpilot #cessna172 ||

What part of crosswind landings stresses you the most—flare, alignment, or rollout? Reply with your answer, and I’ll turn the most common ones into specific drills you can use in your next lesson. Follow for more real-world training from the cockpit, not just the textbook. ✈️

If you’re a student pilot, try this on your next windy day: ✍️ After the flight, write down: – What you saw (sight picture) just before each bounce – What your hands/feet were doing – What you felt in your seat (sink, float, yaw) You’ll start to “map” feel →

If you’re a CFI, ask during debrief: “Which landing today taught you the most—and why?” You’ll often hear students talk about the ugly one: the crosswind that surprised them, the bounce that woke them up, the go-around they finally chose. Lean into those. Replay the approach,