Max Trescott welcomes back Dr. Catherine Cavagnaro to discuss enriching aviation experiences, further ratings, and the value of ongoing pilot education. The conversation flows through personal stories, training tips, and ideas to help pilots enhance their skills while having fun in the process.
Family Traditions and Adventure Flying
Catherine begins by sharing her unique family holiday tradition of gifting experiences instead of physical items. Her children select adventures, such as flying to Fredericksburg, Texas, to see a midget submarine or Chicago to view a U-boat. These adventures often involve flying in her airplane, blending her love for aviation with family time. She emphasizes the lasting value of shared experiences compared to material gifts.
Flight Training as a Gift to Oneself
Max and Catherine transition into discussing ways pilots can invest in themselves through flight training. Catherine, a self-described “training junkie,” encourages pilots to identify areas where they need improvement and consider advanced training or certifications as “gifts” to themselves. She highlights her own journey, including obtaining a glider rating, which taught her invaluable lessons about best glide speeds and unpowered landings—skills often overlooked in powered flight.
The Benefits of Instrument and Commercial Ratings
The discussion delves into the practical and intellectual benefits of pursuing an instrument rating. Catherine describes how instrument training enhances precision, multitasking, and situational awareness, making pilots smoother and more deliberate. Max agrees, noting how instrument skills improve pilots’ pre-arrival planning and overall preparedness.
For the commercial rating, Catherine recounts a formative moment during her training when her instructor taught her to avoid abrupt power changes that passengers might feel. This attention to passenger comfort epitomizes the commercial mindset—being authoritative yet smooth in handling the aircraft. Max adds that commercial training also addresses subtleties like avoiding “riding the brakes” on taxi, improving both performance and passenger experience.
Specialized Training for New Skills
Catherine highlights the value of specialized courses that are both educational and enjoyable. She emphasizes several areas of training:
Spin Training: Often misunderstood, spins are essential for improving a pilot’s confidence in handling stalls and recovery. Catherine advocates for full spin training to reduce pilots’ fear and build a deep understanding of stall dynamics.
Mountain Flying: Mountain flying courses teach critical skills like canyon turns, which differ significantly from maneuvers like Chandelles, and prepare pilots for the unique challenges of high-terrain operations.
Tailwheel Training: Flying a tailwheel aircraft refines rudder use and directional control, forcing pilots to develop peripheral vision for takeoffs and landings. Catherine describes it as fun and transformative, sharing her own experience transitioning from a Piper Cub to a Cessna 185.
Seaplane Rating: Seaplane training, typically completed in a few days, offers a quick and rewarding new skillset, often requiring travel to regions like Florida, Minnesota, or the Pacific Northwest.
Real IFR Training for Practical Use
Catherine critiques the narrow focus of typical instrument training on approaches, leaving pilots underprepared for real-world IFR travel. She advocates for immersive IFR courses, where pilots spend several days flying cross-country, learning about enroute planning, departure procedures, and altitude selection. Max highlights instructors like Doug Stewart (East Coast) and Field Morey (West Coast), who offer multi-day IFR adventure trips, including a notable 25-hour Alaska experience.
Advanced Avionics Training
Modern glass cockpits can overwhelm pilots without proper training. Catherine shares her experience upgrading her Bonanza with a fully modern panel and how targeted avionics training helped her optimize its use. Max agrees that avionics are a weak area for many pilots since certifications often neglect them. He advises pilots to spend hours on the ground with powered avionics, learning to configure displays and recover from errors. Both encourage CFIs to specialize in avionics training to meet growing demand.
The Value of Lifelong Learning
Max and Catherine conclude by encouraging pilots to embrace continuous learning, whether through new ratings, specialized courses, or avionics mastery. They emphasize that nearly all these activities can satisfy flight review requirements while providing enjoyment and skill development. Catherine humorously shares that her ATP certification stemmed from needing a flight review—proof that pursuing growth often leads to unexpected achievements.
Key Takeaways for Pilots:
- Prioritize experiences over things: Adventure flying creates lasting memories.
- Use flight training as a gift to yourself: Focus on skills that need honing.
- Ratings like instrument and commercial improve precision, multitasking, and passenger comfort.
- Specialized training—like spin, mountain, tailwheel, or seaplane courses—adds tools to your pilot toolbox and can be completed quickly.
- Invest in real IFR training to become confident in using your aircraft for cross-country travel.
- Master your avionics: Spend time on the ground optimizing and learning your systems.
- Lifelong learning in aviation keeps flying exciting and makes you a safer pilot.
Dr. Cavagnaro and Max agree that embracing new challenges not only sharpens flying skills but also brings immense joy. Whether it’s spin training, advanced IFR, or avionics mastery, pilots are encouraged to pursue growth, learning, and fun in their aviation journeys.
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