Tips for Fuel Efficiency

I hate to join the rest of the world and continue to complain about gas prices, but since we don't fly gliders I feel I must. AOPA did an article recently about keeping your fuel burn low when operating an airplane, and if we can all adopt some of these habits it will make Airlake Flight Training's prices less volatile!

As a reminder, flight schools base their hourly rate on an average fuel burn for the aircraft. If your attitude is one of, "I rent the airplane wet, I can burn as much fuel as I want!", our margin shrinks and the prices you pay are more likely to rise. The N-models burn 6.5 gallons per hour when leaned out in cruise. Full rich they burn around 9.5. Those 3 extra gallons per hour cost us $15 dollars that are not figured into our rate. Ouch...

We track fuel consumption on a monthly basis and our airplanes actually do quite well. I only offer this post as a reminder that we're all in this together. We appreciate every flight by every customer!

Check out the article here...

Barry

Airlake in the News!!!

Recently I had the pleasure of flying with a columnist from ThisWeek Newspapers. Erin put together a fantastic article highlighting Airlake Flight Training and our goal of introducing new pilots to the world of aviation. It also mentions the $59 Introductory Flights we offer. Check it out here!

Barry

Spring wind!

In case you haven't noticed, it's windy... That's not such a bad thing, though. It just means it's time to hone your crosswind skills. If the wind's down the runway, you likely have a considerable headwind component. This means that your approach will change. If you fly a normal approach into a strong headwind, you'll end up consistently low throughout your approach. Try turning base earlier, so your final leg is shorter. Because your groundspeed is so slow, you'll spend the 'normal' amount of time on final, but cover less distance. Experiment with this; set up uncomfortably high (expecting a go-around) and see where you end up. You'll probably be surprised how steep you can descend!

Unfotunate News

Well, the Memorial Day event has been canceled. Unforeseen issues came up and the plug was pulled. I will look into planning a May cookout or some sort of gathering. Sorry, I don't have any P-51s, though.

Barry