That’s right, episode #2 of the four part series on the Faulty Approach and Landing has been released and is ready for your aviation-viewing pleasure. This episode deals with Timing factors which mainly relate to how a pilot times the flare or roundout during the final portion of an approach. Ballooning, bouncing, floating, and nose-strikes are all hazards that a pilot needs to identify and correct during the flare. Remember, if any of these errors render your approach unstable or just give you that sinking (or floating) feeling, act as a real, competent pilot would and execute a go-around. Enjoy this episode and be ready for episode 3 of Faulty Approaches and Landings which is in the works right now. Also enjoy the photos sent in from Shane Petersen - one is an aerial photo of a sea of ice in the north Pacific Ocean - crazy. Have Fun and Fly Safe!

UND Instructor Mike Lents is at it again. This time Mike has written a script that breaks down the FAA’s new “Faulty Approaches and Landings” topic into small, manageable sections. This first episode will be episode number one in a four part series which breaks down every variable that could cause a normal approach to turn faulty and cause the pilot to make some very serious and timely decisions. Entitled “Faulty Approaches: Energy Management”, this lesson should help to make any pilot more aware of the energy-related threats that are faced during every approach and how to correct for those threats to ensure a consistent, safe and stabilized approach. And don’t worry, we mention it a bunch in the video, but remember that if you are ever flying an approach that just doesn’t feel right and you believe it has become unstable, abandon any attempts at correcting the situation and simply go-around and try the approach again. Landings are never meant to be saved. Enjoy the episode and keep sending in those Fan Photos to undaerocast@aero.und.edu or bottini@aero.und.edu Have Fun and Fly Safe!

The latest HD AeroCast episode is here! As we all continue to tune and perfect complex maneuvers in the Cessna 172, here’s a good opportunity to pause and review a basic, but very crucial fundamental flying skill: The Normal Approach and Landing. Mike Lents, a UND Aerospace flight instructor, has written a script that deals with the procedures that must be solidified in a pilot’s mind in order to master the very landing techniques that you will have to rely on at some point during every flight. These procedures are organized according to UND Standardization guidance and will be a great review for seasoned pilots and a key learning tool for student pilots who are just beginning to tackle the challenge of landing an airplane safely on every flight.

Check out the Fan Photos at the end sent in by Rodolfo from Brazil. He’s taken some great shots of Rio De Janeiro from the air along with an amazing pic of the famed Ipanema Beach. Also, Paula from Grand Forks has sent in some great photos of flying….well…..pretty much everywhere from Florida to Alaska. Good luck on your next flight. Use this latest episode to feel confident on your next landing - especially with passengers watching.

Here’s a big heads-up for all of you UND pilots that keep that Grand Forks airspace busy day in and day out. As you may have noticed, Fed Ex has replaced their old Boeing 727’s with the larger Boeing 757 as their primary cargo vehicle servicing the Grand Forks International Airport. Due to its size, weight and wing design, the 757 has always been a notorious producer of severe wake turbulence. With this in mind, we on the UND AeroCast staff have produced this Video Safety Bulletin to help you, the pilot, refresh your knowledge about wake turbulence and to lend you some guidance concerning the procedural steps that must be accomplished in the event that you would ever encounter wake turbulence during flight. And though we may be attempting to address this specific Grand Forks Airport concern directly, this video applies to any pilot who will ever fly in an environment and in airspace that could possibly pose wake turbulence hazards due to the close proximity of heavy aircraft. Enjoy the video and let us know if you have any questions or comments. Remember, when it comes to wake turbulence, AVOIDANCE is the key to keeping you, your passengers, and your aircraft safe.

Our gratitude goes out to Udo Müller for sharing his great photos of Berlin from the air. If you’re a UND AeroCast fan, we’d love to see and share your photos. Remember, comments on our series and fan photos can be sent to undaerocast@aero.und.edu Thanks for watching, Have Fun and Fly Safe!

Take note of the “Edition 2″ which has been released for the previous “Non-precision Approaches” episode. Edition 2 deals with changes to the UND Aerospace Standardization Manual in regards to callouts which need to be made at different points during the Non-precision Approach profile. New graphics and descriptions have been added to this video to describe the changes and additions to the Standardization Manual.

Yes, its been awhile, but the AeroCast has been on its own ‘Summer Break’. But here we are, back with a huge episode dedicated to teaching the pilot the finer points of flying a Non-precision Instrument Approach. As most pilots know, flying can’t just be blue skies and sunshine. This video has been designed to make you more comfortable with the sequence of procedures that a pilot must follow to get their airplane from the enroute environment, down through the clouds, and to a safe touchdown square on the touchdown zone. For all of you UND Aerospace instrument students, this episode is a perfect primer that should be reviewed before the next meeting with your instructor and before your next IFR flight.

Thanks to Dr. Harro Heilmann all the way from Stuttgart, Germany for sending in some incredible pics of the Swiss Alps, two different German castles and the summit of the Matterhorn - that looks like an amazing place to fly!

Keep those photos coming everyone. Enjoy this episode and keep sending those comments and suggestions to undaerocast@aero.und.edu or bottini@aero.und.edu Have Fun and Fly Safe!

This second Video Safety Bulletin has made use of recent data collected at UND Aerospace and is disseminating this data in a dynamic video to illustrate the risk of possible tail strikes occurring during the takeoff and landing phases. While this risk is prevalent in any UND Aerospace aircraft, even transport category aircraft are susceptible to striking a tail if certain conditions exist. Keep the tips offered in this video in the back of your mind on your next flight and never miss an opportunity to avoid a tail strike by executing a smooth go-around.

The AeroCast staff would like to give a shout-out to Eric Basile from Roscoe, Il and to Attilio De Luca from Rome, Italy for sending in the latest batch of fantastic Fan Photos. Thanks fellas!
Have fun and fly safe!

Day in and day out, UND Aerospace flight operations exercises one of the best safety cultures in the country. As an extension of that commitment to safety, a “Video Safety Bulletin” will interweave with the training topics on the broader AeroCast series as an effective way to promote our safety culture and keep our students and instructors constantly up to date with the latest developments in safety-sensitive flight training issues.

Bulletin #1 deals with converging VFR departures on close parallel runways. All UND Aerospace students and instructors should review this bulletin before their next flight lesson and discuss in their pre-brief the plan to actively mitigate the risks involved with this issue. Enjoy the episode and let us know what you think of this new series by emailing the UND AeroCast staff at undaerocast@aero.und.edu

Also, be sure to check out the great Fan Photos sent in by Jackie Foster, Jason Hanson and Eric Klopfenstein - fantastic as always.

As the UND Aerospace fleet continues its transition to the Cessna-172, exacting standardization across our large group of flight instructors and students is the main concern of the flight department. The latest episode entitled “Checklist Procedures and Resource Management” is designed to start every UND pilot off on the right foot the first time they show up to fly these brand-new airplanes. Using this episode in conjunction with the expanded checklist procedures from the UND C-172 standardization manual will be the perfect primer for any pilot getting ready to fly the Cessna.

As you watch the video, don’t be afraid to pause along the way in order to study different animated flows and checklist procedures. If you are a student new to the C-172, use this video in conjunction with the UND Aerospace online checklist procedures trainer so that you have your flows down by the time you show up for your first lesson. Knowing all of your flows will make your first flight smoother and a lot more fun.

Thanks to everyone who submitted fan photos - keep ‘em coming. If you have any comments about the episode or the series in general, as always, let us know what you think by leaving a comment on our iTunes page.

Enjoy the episode, and have fun on your next flight!

Let’s face it, as we begin our flight training, most, if not all of us will be doing quite a bit of flying in small, single-engine aircraft. At UND Aerospace our entire fleet is maintained to meet the highest standards of airworthiness and safety. In other words, we could not feel more confident in our machines every time we fly. Still, those machines are powered with one engine, and so this video is dedicated to that highly-unlikely event that every pilot keeps in the back of their mind each and every time their wheels leave the ground. Though extremely rare even the best-maintained aircraft is susceptible to an engine failure during flight in which the pilot must rely heavily on previous training and experience in order to successfully execute a forced, power-off landing. UND CFI Anthony Bottini takes you through the necessary steps that should be in the back of YOUR mind the next time you fly, because the best pilots will ALWAYS have a plan.

For the viewer’s convenience, this latest High Definition (HD) AeroCast episode has been released in two versions, a “Large” and “Small”. (”Large” and “Small” refers to the file sizes) The Large will work great and look great on your computer, while the Small version is meant to really “pop” on that iPod/iPhone while taking up less storage space. Enjoy the episode, and don’t forget, we on the UND AeroCast staff loooooovvvvveee the attention, so hop on iTunes, go to our “UND AeroCast” page and tell us what you think by leaving a comment and a rating - every little bit helps:)

Smack dab in the middle of our 40th Anniversary, UND Aerospace has let the cat out of the bag and introduced the addition of the newest member of a fleet of over 100 aircraft. As of July, 2008 UND Aerospace started the process of transitioning its fleet of primary trainers, comprised of the Piper Warrior, over to brand-new 2008 Cessna 172SP’s. This latest AeroCast episode gives an inside-out look at UND’s new single engine trainer. This episode also marks the beginning of the UND AeroCast being presented in HD. (Now you won’t have to waste screen space on those cool new iPhones and iPod Touches when you watch the AeroCast.)

In keeping with our recent traffic pattern/landing theme, the UND AeroCast has released the Warrior Standardization episode for the Soft-Field Approach and Landing. Mike Lents is filmed in this episode demonstrating Soft-Field Landing techniques that every student must practice and master prior to operation into any airport that doesn’t have pavement. If you have any questions or comments about this or any other UND AeroCast episodes, send them to undaerocast@aero.und.edu Enjoy the episode!

OK, so its been awhile, but the UND AeroCast is back at it and this time UND Aerospace Lead Flight Instructor Mike Lents teaches the UND Warrior Standardization procedures for performing high performance Short-Field Approaches and Landings. In this episode, Mike draws upon his years of experience teaching students the Short-Field Landing technique in both tailwheel and tricycle-gear aircraft and discusses the key points involved with performing a safe and successful Short-Field Approach and Landing. A huge thanks goes out to Steve Kulhman for sending in his video sign-off from Ontario and to Stephan Gerhardt for the amazing flying photos. Keep sending ‘em in, we’re running low! Whether watching from your computer, iPod, iPhone or whatever, enjoy the latest UND Aerospace AeroCast training addition and stay subscribed for more great aviation video-podcasted episodes.

Hurry up and wait!!! That’s right its time to learn the UND-Standardized IFR Holding Pattern. Even though most people fly airplanes to go fast, there are times that we are required to fly those airplanes fast, but in a racetrack pattern over and over again. A while back, “gerchagrin”, left a comment on our iTunes Music Store page requesting a video on holding patterns. gerchagrin, here you go buddy, and thanks for the comment - we always value the viewer comments on our UND AeroCast iTunes page. If you like what you’ve been seeing (or have some critiques), head on over to the iTunes music store and tell us what you think about the series and what you would like to see in the future. Contributing to this episode are Rob and Matt who sent in another funny video sign-off and Jeff, a UND Alum, who sent in some amazing flying pics from his time flying a Cessna Caravan. Thanks a bunch guys. Enjoy this newest IFR episode and as always, stay tuned for more UND AeroCast video flight training episodes from UND Aerospace and the University of North Dakota.

From upwind to final approach, this UND AeroCast episode takes the student pilot for a ride through a standard Traffic Pattern on runway 35L at the Grand Forks International Airport. The UND Aerospace student pilot can use this episode as yet another tool in the UND Aerospace library for developing the knowledge required to fly a safe and successful traffic pattern. For this episode Jerry Benda took a quick break from fueling the UND Aerospace fleet to share a video sign-off with us. Enjoy the great Decathalon flying photos from Neil in Grand Forks, ND.