Airmanship

According to the aeronautics dictionary, airmanship is the combination of knowledge, skills and attitude required to operate the aircraft safely in all foreseeable situations. So, being a private pilot is basically all about airmanship.

In order to fly safely the pilot has to know about limitations to the performance of the aircraft in a number of flight situations as well as about the so called human factor - the physical and psychological effects that occur in flight and the corresponding limits to the performance of the private pilot.

The following pages cover the area of knowledge about flight planning and flight safety including weight and balance calculations and aircraft checklists as well as knowledge about the human performance factor.

Load factors describe an aircrafts operating limits. These limits and how they apply to different flight situations belong to a concept of which the pilot should have a clear understanding.

Compliance with the weight and balance limits of any airplane is critical to flight safety. The following page will provide background information into some of the reasons why weight and balance conditions are important to the safe flight of an airplane and give a basic understanding of how to do weight and balance calculations.

Aircraft Performance: This page discusses the factors that affect aircraft performance, which includes the airplane weight, atmospheric conditions, runway environment, and the fundamental physical laws governing the forces acting on an airplane.

Flight planning is at center stage of good airmanship. This page compiles the main steps in flight planning.

Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM) is a systematic approach to the mental process used by airplane pilots to consistently determine the best course of action in response to a given set of circumstances.

Aeromedical Factors As a pilot, it is important to stay aware of the mental and physical standards required for the type of flying done. This page provides information on medical certification and on aeromedical factors related to flying activities.