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November 2011 Newsletter

Congratulations to:

Chris Eaves, Chris Lee and

Mike Marshall for soloing; Jake Alvi, David Ochoa and Luanne Sloan for passing their private checkrides and Steve Churchwell and Travis Grill for winning the drawing for a month's dues or an hour of instruction.

Rental rates lower

Fuel prices have gone down slightly, so our rental rates have decreased starting this month. Make sure to keep the planes clean and tied down securely with the master OFF after your flights to keep the rates low.

The Arrow is back on line!

Our retractable Arrow, N3700Q, is back on line after a long down time for a warranty repair. This is a fast, comfortable, long range (70 gallons of gas) airplane that is great for cross country flights. It is IFR equipped with an autopilot and a VFR Garmin GPS. If you haven't flown a retractable aircraft before, sign up to fly a short flight with an instructor and see what the plane is like.

Instrument flying introductory flights

Now that we are getting into some instrument flying weather, we have a special on an IFR introductory flight. If you take the introductory flight, you'll go over the instrument "scan" used in instrument flying with the instructor and then go up to fly an actual instrument approach into Sacramento Executive airport. You can decide if you want to do it in VFR or IFR conditions and schedule accordingly. The flight costs $99 and will give you a look at the instrument pilot's world. Instrument flight is challenging and thrilling. Give it a try. (Only one introductory flight per pilot at this rate.) FOR PILOTS WHO ATTENDED LAST MONTH'S INTRODUCTION TO THE INSTRUMENT RATING COURSE - you are entitled to a 10% discount on the introductory flight - just let us know that you attended the course when you pay for the flight.

N839SP out until March 2012

N839SP has been taken off line by the owner to get the engine overhauled. It is scheduled to be back on line in March.

Aircraft needed

Executive Flyers would love to have another 172 and a light twin on line. If you know of anyone with a fairly recent 172 or a Piper Seminole, Beechcraft Duchess or other light twin that they might want to lease to the school, please have them contact Ed through the office phone or email callaway at execflyers.com.

Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years

The office will be closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas day and New Year's eve and New Year's day. If you plan to fly on those days, make sure that you have your reservation on line two days before so that the keys can be made available to you. Deena has been stocking up on books, pilot supplies and other gift items. If you need something for a pilot (or if you are a pilot who needs something), check out the store to see if we have it. If we don't, see if Deena can order it for you. We have gift certificates good for flights and pilot supplies if you're not sure what to get for the "has everything" pilot.

FAA charts - free charts - for now

Click HERE to find free IFR enroute and approach (d-TPP) charts and VFR sectional and terminal area charts for download from the FAA. Click on "digital products" in the left column to go to the charts. The AOPA reported just this week that, "The days of inexpensive navigation and chart apps for your mobile devices appear to be numbered with the FAA's announcement that it will begin charging for downloads that were previously free starting April 5, 2012." We'll have to wait to see what happens.

Wind and rain and ducks and geese (not to mention pelicans)!

Fall has arrived with gusty winds, rain and migrating birds. PLEASE ensure that you tie the planes down tightly after each flight - snug up the chains and chock the wheels and lock the controls. The winds can easily get up to 40 knots in the storms and we don't want the aircraft being blown into anything. The geese and ducks are migrating south. Large flocks are easy to see and avoid, but single birds may show up suddenly. If possible, fly above any bird - they tend to dive when threatened. They do fly at night too, so don't fly below 2000 feet over the Yolo bypass when out at night and minimize your instrument approaches at night. May sure that you check the weather before any flight. Rapid changes in cloud cover and fog can occur, so get all the information you can. If you have a favorite flight planning/weather briefing program, email its URL to Ed at callaway at execflyers.com and I'll try to get it in a future newsletter.

Aviation Safety programs and schedules

The place to go for free aviation courses, announcements about upcoming FAA safety seminars and all items related to aviation safety is the FAA Safety Teams home page. Sign up to get notices about seminars by email. This is a great resource for keeping your flying just the way you like it - SAFE!

Items below are resource information that have been in the newsletter before - for your reference

List of aviation scholarships for AOPA members

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)gives several $5000 aviation scholarships to student pilots each year. They also publish a list of scholarships. You must be a member of AOPA to see THIS LIST. It is a good organization to belong to and you can find it at http://www.aopa.org .

Jeppesen VFR charts

Jeppesen, who has been making IFR charts for years, has started producing VFR charts that can be used in lieu of the government sectionals. They appear less cluttered and more oriented to actual flying (in the northern California sectional, the coast of California is oriented to the length of the chart, making it easier to plan a long N/S flight). We will have one on display in the office alongside a sectional for comparison. If you would be interested in purchasing them, let the office staff know so that we can start stocking them.

Medical application on line

You can submit your medical application on line and your doctor will be able to retrieve it when you go in for your exam. Saves time in the office which prevents the build up of "white coat" syndrome! Also keeps the data so that you just have to fill out the changes next year. Very handy. Click here or go to https://medxpress.faa.gov/ if that doesn't work.

Introductory and Discovery flights

If anyone asks you about learning to fly, let them know about Executive Flyers and tell them about our introductory and discovery flights. The introductory flight is $74 and includes a 30 minute flight with an instructor. The potential pilot can fly the plane or just enjoy the flight. The discovery flight is like a first flying lesson and costs $99. We ask that the person taking the flight be at least 16 years old. They will get pre and post flight ground training and learn the four fundamentals of flight in the air. We have gift certificates that someone could use to give either flight to a friend.

Executive Flyers Facebook page

If you haven't visited it before, go to our Facebook page at this URL and click on the "Like" button. If you are aware of upcoming events that other pilots might be interested in, please check the page and, if you don't see the event, post it there for everyone. As you all know, we've been here since 1980 and would like to stay for years more. Help us attract pilots and students by word of mouth, Facebook or whatever means you can. Thanks in advance.

You love flying - give a gift of flying to a non-pilot friend

All of us enjoy flying - some as teachers, some as students, some as recreational pilots and some as professionals. Many of us love to fly. Most of us learned at schools not much different than Executive Flyers. Maybe a bigger school or maybe a two plane "mom and pop" operation, but we all succeeded (or are succeeding) in becoming pilots. We know what the country looks like from thousands of feet in the air - the different colors of the ground during different times of the day and different seasons. We know the joy of controlling the aircraft and successfully completing a cross country flight to a vacation destination or just for a "100 dollar hamburger." We all know someone who has said,"I've always wanted to learn to fly." Do that someone a favor - take them flying to see what it's like. If they are interested in learning, you can get them started for $14! Buy them a gift certificate for $74 and if they join Executive Flyers and sign up for the private pilot program, we'll credit your account with $60. If your situation is such that you can't take them for a flight or give them the introductory flight, talk with them about the joys of flying and how you feel about it. Suggest that they take an introductory flight and give them the office number (916) 427-1888. If they are Facebook fans, tell them about our Facebook page, or our home page.

Aviation Safety

One of the best links for safety information, on-line courses, the new WINGS program and other pilot information is The FAASTeam's http://faasafety.gov. You should log on so that you can get updates on safety programs in your area. If you have any questions about the page, please drop Ed an email and he'll check it out for you.

Airport taxiway diagrams

To avoid runway incursions, you should have a taxiway diagram of any airport that you fly to with which you are not familiar. Use the URL for the FAA runway diagrams to find it. The actual URL is http://www.faa.gov/airports/runway_safety/diagrams/ if the blue click area doesn't work.