Paul Jurgens
Paul Jurgens is a Chief Instructor at Sporty's Academy. He holds a multiengine ATP certificate with a Cessna Citation type rating along with commercial privileges in single-engine land and sea airplanes, gliders, and hot air balloons. Chief Jurgens holds instructor ratings for single & multiengine airplanes, instrument airplanes, & gliders. He also has instructing privileges in hot air balloons by virtue of his commercial certificate.
How Long Will It Take?
A question that often arises here at the flight school is, "How long will it take me to earn my pilot's certificate?" Our answer to this question is a less than definitive, "It depends."
Preflight Like It Matters
A thorough preflight is critical. When you learn to fly, one of the first things that your flight instructor will teach you is what to look for on the airplane before your go fly. Performing a preflight inspection of the aircraft is often one of the first things that your instructor will "solo" you on as well.
Round-Dial or Glass, Which Is Right for Me?
A question that often arises with new student pilots, when there is an option, is, "Should I train in a round-dial airplane or one...
Become a Part of the Community
Congratulations, you are either on your way or about to get started on your journey to becoming a pilot. As you begin this adventure,...
Common Aircraft Fuel Myths
There are a number of fuel related myths and misrepresentations floating around the general aviation industry. While I can't touch them all, I hope to provide some enlightenment around a couple of them in this post.
Back to Basics – Weight and Balance
A recent news story told the tale of an aircraft accident where six adults had loaded themselves into a single engine Piper and taken...
FAA announces complex aircraft change
As you may have heard, earlier this week the FAA announced a policy change that went into effect on Tuesday, 4/26/2018, which eliminates the...
Still More Out with the Old, In with the New
Over the last few years, I have written a couple of posts about the demise of old weather products and the introduction of their...
Legacy Navigation Systems
Today, many pilots navigate using GPS as their primary navigation source. There are older navigation systems such as NDB and VOR that continue to have a place in today's National Airspace System (NAS) but whose prominence is beginning to fade. I am calling these legacy navigation systems and the point of this post is to explain what is happening to them.
Is WINGS the Answer?
First, I would like to say that I think that the FAA WINGS - Pilot Proficiency Program is a wonderful and valuable resource. It...
