360 8 Flight Training Experiences to Make You a Better Pilot with Dr. Catherine Cavagnaro + GA News

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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News Stories

Mentioned on the Show
Video of Week: Dash cam view of Twin crashing landing on road
#156 Atlas Air 3591 Accident – Somatogravic Illusion
Humidity Article by CFI Alan Davis
Humidity & Density Altitude Calculator
AV8RGear.com Backpack Deal – $99.50 with promo code MAX
IFR Training Trips with Doug Stewart – NY area
West Coast IFR Training Trips with Field Morey

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358 How Shallow Turns Reduce Safety in the Traffic Pattern with Dr. Catherine Cavagnaro + GA News

Max talks with Dr. Catherine Cavagnaro about her article in AOPA Pilot Magazine on the dangers of “timid turns,” also known as “lazy turns,” and their potential to create hazardous conditions in traffic patterns. The episode covers the physics of turns, best practices for pilots, and how to avoid common mistakes.

The Problem with “Timid Turns”
Dr. Cavagnaro explains how timid turns often result from pilots’ reluctance to bank steeply due to fear of stalling, which ironically can create conditions for stall-spin accidents. She shares a real-life example of a pilot, Steve, who overshot final approach while flying too fast in the traffic pattern. His shallow bank angles—20 degrees onto base and 15 degrees onto final—exacerbated by a crosswind, led to a skidding turn. Though Steve managed to recover and go around, the situation highlighted a recurring issue: overly cautious maneuvers in patterns can compromise safety.

Turn Physics Simplified
Max and Catherine break down the physics of turns:

  • Turn Radius: The formula depends on velocity squared, divided by gravitational acceleration and the tangent of the bank angle. Speed has a much greater effect on turn radius than the angle of the bank. For instance, doubling speed quadruples the turn radius.
  • Bank Angle: A 30-degree bank increases stall speed by only about 7%, making it safe and effective for tighter turns in traffic patterns. Comparatively, a 20-degree turn has a 59% larger turn radius, while a 45-degree turn increases stall speed by 19%.

Common Misconceptions and CFI Influence
The pair explore why many instructors discourage steeper banks:

  1. Fear of Stalls: Some CFIs overemphasize safety, leading students to adopt unnecessarily shallow turns.
  2. Experience Gap: High turnover among flight instructors due to airline hiring demands results in less experienced CFIs perpetuating conservative practices.

Best Practices for Safer Traffic Patterns

  1. Optimal Airspeeds and Bank Angles: Catherine advises slower speeds and appropriate bank angles. For example:
    • Use 80 knots on downwind and 70 knots on base.
    • Employ 30-degree banks onto base and final to stay within the traffic pattern and avoid overshooting.
  2. Time on Base Leg: Leveling wings on base is crucial for situational awareness—checking runway alignment and scanning for potential traffic.
  3. Wind Awareness: Pilots should always assess wind direction and speed, using cues such
  4. as water ripples, smoke, and GPS data for ground speed to adjust their approach.

Circling Approaches and Industry Challenges
Circling approaches, especially in poor weather, are prone to overshoots due to proximity to runways at lower altitudes. Catherine points out that using the same visual references as in standard traffic patterns doubles the risk of overshooting. Both Max and Catherine cite examples of fatal overshoots during circling approaches, including:

  • A Learjet crash in San Diego caused by a 0.9-mile downwind at 140 knots.
  • The Truckee Challenger accident, where overshooting led to loss of control.

Max emphasizes that he avoids circling at night and prefers landing with a tailwind when feasible, provided the runway length allows.

Practical Tools and Techniques
For pilots aiming to perfect their traffic patterns:

  • Visual Estimation: Use landmarks or runway length to estimate distance from the airport.
  • Glass Cockpit Tools: Use GPS functions and range rings to calculate accurate distances.
  • Speed Discipline: Adhering to the correct approach speed, particularly in tailwind landings, is critical to avoid overshooting and ensure a safe landing.

High-Speed Aircraft in Traffic Patterns
The discussion highlights challenges posed by high-performance aircraft entering patterns at excessive speeds. Catherine recounts incidents involving Cirrus and Malibu pilots overshooting runways or entering parallel runways due to large turn radii. Max emphasizes the importance of slowing down before entering the pattern and avoiding autopilot use in traffic, as it turns too slowly for safe maneuvers.

Closing Thoughts
Dr. Cavagnaro stresses the importance of education and thoughtful decision-making to mitigate risks in traffic patterns. Pilots must balance speed, bank angle, and wind considerations to create safe and efficient approaches.

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Lightspeed Sierra Headset $699
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News Stories

Mentioned on the Show
Video of Week: Robinson R-22 flight close to boaters under investigation
How Apple iPhone Crash Detection works
The Cat That Took Down a Plane at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Catherine Cavagnaro YouTube Channel
Ace Aerobatic School
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256 Using Math to Fly Safely – Catherine Cavagnaro + GA News

256 Using Math to Fly Safely – Catherine Cavagnaro + GA News

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Summary
256 Max talks with Catherine Cavagnaro about aviation factors that increase by the square of airspeed or height above ground. These include lift, turning radius, and landing distance. Noise at the ground also decreases by the square of the height above ground. Max also shares a story of a pilot who nearly killed him and about a way that a person can unchain an aircraft when it’s parked on an incline.

News Stories

Mentioned in the Show
Puppy abandoned at SFO adopted by airline captain and family
FAA’s new Aviation Weather Handbook
Catherine Cavagnaro YouTube Channel
Ace Aerobatic School

Videos Mentioned
How NORAD Intercepts Enemy Aircraft Using Fighter Jets

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243 Watsonville mid-air crash, slips with Catherine Cavagnaro + GA News

243 Watsonville mid-air crash, slips with Catherine Cavagnaro + GA News
Discussion on the mid-air starts at the 22 minute point.

Your Cirrus Specialist. Call me if you’re thinking of buying a new Cirrus SR20 or SR22. Call 1-650-967-2500 for Cirrus purchase and training assistance, or to take my online seminar: So You Want to Fly or Buy a Cirrus.

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Summary
243 Max discusses the mid-air collision at Watsonville, CA airport. A Cessna 340 flew a long straight-in approach and was still at 180 knots when it hit a Cessna 152 that had just turned from base to final. That’s 60 knots faster than this aircraft has been on prior landings at Watsonville. All pilots and passengers were killed. Also, Max talks with Catherine Cavagnaro about slips.

News Stories

Mentioned in the Show
Watsonville mid-air crash story
ADSBexhange.com Ground Track for Watsonville mid-air
LiveATC.net
Catherine Cavagnaro YouTube Channel
Catherine Cavagnaro’s Ace Aerobatic School
AOPA Pilot Magazine Articles by Catherine Cavagnaro
Catherine Cavagnaro on Instagram

Max’s Books – Order online or call 800-247-6553 to order.
Max Trescott’s G3000 and G5000 Glass Cockpit Handbook
Max Trescott’s G1000 & Perspective Glass Cockpit Handbook

If you love the show and want more, visit my Patreon page to see fun videos, breaking news, and other posts in the Posts section. And if you decide to make a small donation each month,  you can get some goodies!

So You Want To Learn to Fly or Buy a Cirrus seminars
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232 Personal Minimums that Expand and Contract – Catherine Cavagnaro + GA News

232 Personal Minimums that Expand and Contract – Catherine Cavagnaro + GA News

Your Cirrus Specialist. Call me if you’re thinking of buying a new Cirrus SR20 or SR22. Call 1-650-967-2500 for Cirrus purchase and training assistance, or to take my online seminar: So You Want to Fly or Buy a Cirrus.

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Summary
232 Max talks with Catherine Cavagnaro about personal minimums and how some of those minimums may expand and contract based on pilot proficiency, while other remain constant. Catherine also shares a number of stories. In one case, a pilot who she gave a Private checkride, took off in low IFR in an airplane and instrument panel that were knew to him and he crashed and killed his family.

News Stories

Mentioned in the Show
Paul Bertorelli video – Ditching Survival Rates
FAA’s Personal Minimums Checklist
Cessna 182RG crash Gainesville, GA Search and download ERA21FA140
FAA’s No Go Medications List
Catherine Cavagnaro YouTube Channel
Catherine Cavagnaro’s Ace Aerobatic School
AOPA Pilot Magazine Articles by Catherine Cavagnaro
Catherine Cavagnaro on Instagram

Max’s Books – Order online or call 800-247-6553 to order.
Max Trescott’s G3000 and G5000 Glass Cockpit Handbook
Max Trescott’s G1000 & Perspective Glass Cockpit Handbook

If you love the show and want more, visit my Patreon page to see fun videos, breaking news, and other posts in the Posts section. And if you decide to make a small donation each month,  you can get some goodies!

So You Want To Learn to Fly or Buy a Cirrus seminars
Online Version of the Seminar Coming Soon – Register for Notification

Check out our recommended ADS-B receivers, and order one for yourselfYes, we’ll make a couple of dollars if you do.

Check out our recommended Aviation Headsets, and order one for yourself!

Get the Free Aviation News Talk app for iOS or Android.

Check out Max’s Online Courses: G1000 VFR, G1000 IFR, and Flying WAAS & GPS Approaches. Find them all at: https://www.pilotlearning.com/

Social Media
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Max Trescott is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.