Spatial disorientation accounts for less than 10% of fixed wing GA accidents; but among those, the fatality rate is 90% - a horrible statistic that hasn’t declined in the past two decades even with significant advancements in avionics. Host Rob Reider chats with Dave Speranza, who at the time was a non-instrument-rated pilot who inadvertently found himself in IMC. He’ll share how it affected him and how he handled the situation. 

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A “time-saver” offered by ATC might not have been a good idea for the pilot and his wife en route to the Bahamas, putting them farther over water than they’d like and into weather they didn’t expect. Instrument-rated private pilot Kevin Reick shares that story with host, Rob Reider, and another from his instrument instruction when the cockpit got as dark as the night sky they were flying in.

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If you’ve ever “busted an altitude, inadvertently gone into a restricted area or other controlled airspace or something else that could get you in trouble with the FAA, they’ve offered an “out.” It’s the FAA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System and it could save you some heartburn. It’s more commonly known as the NASA report - if you’re not familiar with it, this episode of ILAFFT will be an eye-opener.

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As pilots, we’re taught to trust our instruments - trusting our feelings can lead to problems. But in an airplane you know very well, if there’s a strange sound or vibration, trusting your feelings might be the right thing to do. One pilot, experiencing this situation, convinced an A&P mechanic to double check a recently completed repair. What he found was a botched job that could have resulted in a catastrophic situation.

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VFR Traffic Advisories, also known as “flight following,” is a service that is provided by ATC, workload permitting. But it can also be a life saver. In today’s episode, we’ll hear how controllers assisted a pilot who needed help when his engine started running very roughly and he began to lose altitude over terrain that was not at all conducive for a forced landing. The pilot was grateful for the help controllers provided.

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Join Rob Reider on episode 113 of Flying Magazine's I Learned About Flying from That podcast as we meet a pilot who, fresh off earning his commercial certificate, accepted his very first flight for hire: ferrying an early, "very ragged" Cessna 150 from Connecticut to Florida. What seemed like a straightforward job quickly devolved into a tale of significant lapses in aeronautical decision-making. Bob Kamm shares just how ragged the plane was, what he had to overcome to make the flight, and what he learned about ADM!

Join host Rob Reider for episode 112 of I Learned About Flying From That with John Price, who, nearly 40 years ago, embarked on his first solo flight into Class C airspace as a student pilot. This cross-country journey became an indelible experience, despite challenging conditions like clouds, an unfamiliar airport, and situational confusion. Though family finances prevented John from earning his private pilot's license, his story is packed with invaluable 'back to the basics' lessons for all aviators. Discover how a moment of "right pavement, wrong direction" shaped his understanding of flight, proving that some lessons are learned best through experience.

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Join host Rob Reider in Episode 111 of I Learned About Flying From That, featuring acclaimed air show pilot Anna Serbinenko, the "sky dancer". Anna recounts a harrowing incident during her Canadian Arctic Aviation Tour in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. After a successful performance, her routine post-landing 360-degree bow with air show smoke turned into an "oh sh*t moment" due to gusty, shifting winds. Anna shares the critical lessons learned, including the importance of never relaxing too soon and the need for counterintuitive control inputs in unexpected situations.

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Host Rob Reider interviews Pete Egan from Ireland about a harrowing flight. Pete was in the backseat of a plane not certified for instrument flight, scud running along the River Shannon from an airport near Dublin to Limerick. Despite a weather briefing recommending against VFR flight and the departing airport reporting less than VFR minimums, they took off. What they almost encountered could have cost them their lives. Discover how this incident taught Pete crucial lessons about aeronautical decision-making and the dangers of "get there-itis".

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In I Learned About Flying from That, Episode 109, host Rob Ryder features experienced pilot Mark Brooke, who recounts a harrowing incident from August 1979 during his air taxi days, when a seemingly easy flight from a grass field near London to Leeds became a "nailbiter". Mark, then an instructor building hours for his commercial license, faced a series of converging "holes in the Swiss cheese lined up scenarios". His predicament stemmed from fuel mismanagement – opting not to take on more fuel initially and later skipping refueling at Leeds due to cost and a belief he had enough for the return trip. This was compounded by deteriorating weather, including a warm front with a dropping cloud base and persistent rain that Mark initially underestimated, changing winds that created a strong headwind on the return flight, and a late departure causing darkness to set in quicker than expected. Low on fuel, in worsening weather, and unable to get radar assistance from a closed air force base, Mark found himself "boxed in" with no easy diversion options, lacking an "out". The tense situation culminated in an emergency landing at White Waltham Field, a World War II-era grass airfield with no lighting, where a dedicated club member, Paul, arranged for cars to light the runway with their headlights. Mark's critical takeaways from this experience include the importance of never passing on an opportunity to take on fuel ("with fuel you got time and with time you got options"), being aware of the "dangerous time" for PPL accidents around 500 hours where pilots can become overconfident, always respecting the weather, and crucially, always leaving yourself an out in airmanship.

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Welcome to episode 108 of Flying Magazine's I Learned About Flying From That podcast, featuring Jose Acevedo, a private pilot and military aircraft mechanic stationed at Travis Air Force Base, who holds high performance, complex, and commercial ratings despite a "circuitous route" to his private pilot ticket due to military deployments and training inconsistencies. Jose shares two critical "I Learned About Flying From That" incidents: the first involved a flight to Lake Tahoe in a TV20 Trinidad where he faced severe density altitude issues at the 6,200+ foot elevation airport on a hot day, resulting in an extremely close takeoff from an 8500-foot runway and teaching him the importance of better planning and avoiding "get-home-itis". The second incident, on a return flight from Monterey in a Piper Archer 3, saw him encounter an isolated, unexpected cloud covering his home airport (Oscar 88) as civil twilight ended, leading to a denied landing request at Travis Air Force Base and his subsequent decision to declare an emergency at a more complex airport, Concord. This experience taught him the vital lesson of being assertive with air traffic control for assistance, an act which, without FAA repercussions, even led to a change in standard operating procedures at Travis AFB allowing aero club aircraft to land there in emergencies. Host Rob Reider emphasizes that changing weather—whether winds, temperature, or clouds—is often the root of such stories, underscoring the necessity for pilots in command to be aware and make informed go/no-go decisions.

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