CFI Bootcamp welcomes new Camera Technology in the Classrooms - Welcome to the Owl!

The remote experience just got better at CFI Bootcamp.  We just finished making the Owl 3 camera available in the classrooms in all locations: Palo Alto, Miami, and Las Vegas.  The camera resembles a portable speaker.  It has its own speaker, camera, and microphone.  The unique feature of this camera is that it has a 360-degree view.  It also listens to who is talking and centers a camera view on that person.  It can support up to three people at a time, so it’s super cool to see who is talking or what two or three people are talking about.

The Owl connects just like any webcam.  On Zoom, it will place the 360-degree view on the top 20 percent of the Zoom video window.  Below that, it will automatically center on who is talking.  If more than one person talks, it will split the part of the screen below the 360-degree view into up to three windows that play side by side, centered on who is talking.  The audio is also great because the microphones are in the Owl camera near the students.

You can learn more about this technology by visiting https://owllabs.com/products/meeting-owl-3

The January 20th Power Hour was a real hit, and it was super fun.

The topic for last week was Life Without the E6B - “What a Wonderful World.”  The show was seen live by around 80 people.  It wasn’t mean-spirited, and it was fun.  Mike laid out the case for not teaching or testing it.  He also said that anybody who loves it to please continue using it.  At the show’s beginning, Mike played a short 2-minute video of the E6B and Taps playing in the background.  As the camera panned around, it was evident that this was in Arlington National Cemetery, so there was a note on the video that the E6B was placed to rest there.  After the Taps segment, the video showed Louis Armstrong talking for about 45 seconds, and in the breaks where he didn’t say anything, Mike put in things about the E6B, imitating Louis’ voice.  After that, Louis sang the first bit of “A Wonderful World,” and then the show started.

Mike allowed the audience to throw tomatoes at him during the show in the Chat.  He said to put a capital T for numerous tomatoes or a lowercase t for just one.  Some people got clever, found a tomato emoji, and sent that along.  Comments in the chat were substantial.  Mike began the show by saying that he usually doesn’t drink any kind of alcohol during the day unless there is a big sporting event.  Then he said that he would do it.  He told the audience that this show would be fun, real fun and that they were encouraged to “crack a cold one” if they weren’t going flying after the show.

There were a few good zingers in the show.  At one point, Mike said that the only time you’d ever need to use it would be when the Zombie Apocalypse comes or when Christians finally see Jesus coming back—all good fun.

You can find the outline for the show and a short clip here https://www.cfibootcamp.com/power-hour-lessons

Get ready for a New PHAK.

FAA announced that a new version of the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge will be out in June of this year—no word on what will be changed yet.  Traditionally, the FAA releases new handbooks and ACSs/PTSs in June.  There is no word on when the new ACSs will be released as the FAA has not yet published a new rule in the Federal Register about incorporating the ACSs into the FAR by reference.  It basically means that the ACSs will become part of the FAR by simply referencing them.  They have done this before with other regulations.  Anyway, we have our ears to the ground, waiting for indications.  In the meantime, look for the PHAK FAA-H-8083-25D to come your way in June.

Teaching Older Pilots - By Dr. Victor Vogel - Outline Available

On January 13, Victor Vogel presented to the Power Hour audience about teaching older pilots.  The presentation was well received.  He made many good points and gave very specific advice to people teaching older students.  An outline of his presentation is available here.  https://www.cfibootcamp.com/power-hour-lessons

If you haven’t attended a Power Hour, click this link to get instructions/times, etc.

https://cfibootcamp.kartra.com/page/Ejq161

ProTips

1. Use ADS-B internet traffic on ForeFlight to see how busy the airport or practice area is before you fly.  Remember that ADS-B is only required where a transponder is required and within 12 miles of the US coastline over the Gulf of Mexico from 3,000 to 10,000 MSL.  Even if it’s not required, many airplanes have ADS-B out, so it’s just another data point for your flight.

2. Get ForeFlight’s Performance Plus subscription.  Join SAFE, safepilots.org, and you get ⅓ off the price.  Performance Plus lets you teach the weather more interactively.  Go to imagery and show the student the surface analysis chart, then go to layers on the top left and turn on Wind (Speed), and using the slider bar on the right side of the screen, slide it to 10,000 feet or so.  You’ll see the winds animated with moving arrows and colors.  Correlate that to the surface analysis chart to show lows, highs, and fronts.  Performance Plus also has a 3D view, which is great for playing your flight in 3D before you fly it.  You can choose speeds of up to 20X.

3. If you are a CFI in training, join the Facebook CFI Study Group.  Dorthy Schick is the moderator, and it’s a place to ask questions without judgment.  In addition, every Tuesday at 4 pm Pacific time, they do a Zoom meeting to answer questions and allow some people to present something and be critiqued.  It’s an excellent resource!  Here is a link.  https://m.facebook.com/groups/272390677874261/