Aloft360 Blog
Practical guides on compliance, software, flight instruction, and running efficient flight schools, flying clubs, and aircraft operations.
How a military pilot converts wings to an FAA commercial certificate and instrument rating under 14 CFR 61.73. Steps, documents by service, and the MCN test.
TSA AFSP compliance for flight schools training non-U.S. citizens. What 49 CFR Part 1552 requires, the approval and renewal process, and what to track per student.
FAA Part 61 record-keeping for flight schools and CFIs. What endorsements are required, what records must be kept, retention periods, and how to make compliance automatic.
How to start a flying club from scratch. Legal structure, finding and financing aircraft, insurance, the membership agreement, operating systems, and the mistakes that kill clubs in year two.
Aircraft maintenance tracking software for owners, clubs, and flight schools. Inspection due dates, Hobbs-based alerts, squawk-to-work-order workflow, and fleet airworthiness at a glance.
Pilot currency tracking for flying clubs. BFR, 90-day rule, IPC, and medical, with booking-time enforcement so a lapsed member can't reserve an aircraft.
When a flying club outgrows Google Calendar, what replaces it. Conflict detection, self-service reservations, currency enforcement, maintenance blocks, and how the scheduling-to-billing handoff works.
Multi-engine training for the rating add-on and MEI candidates. Vmc factors, engine-out procedures, single-engine performance decisions, and what the checkride evaluates.
What the Private Pilot ACS requires DPEs to evaluate on the practical test, where students fail (mostly oral and decision-making, not maneuvers), and how to prepare.
How to pick a flight instructor. The signals that predict effective instruction — teaching experience, checkride pass rates, lesson structure, briefing depth — and the questions to ask before committing.
How CFIIs should structure instrument approach training. Why students bust minimums (workload, not knowledge), gate-based configuration, verbal callouts, and pre-made decisions.
How to earn your CFI certificate. Part 61 Subpart H requirements, what the FOI oral covers, the spin endorsement, and what the first year of instructing looks like financially and operationally.
Aircraft co-ownership done right. Cost sharing, scheduling, maintenance decisions, exit provisions, and the partnership agreement clauses that prevent the disputes that kill partnerships.
An honest walk-through of the first year of GA aircraft ownership. Real costs, surprises, the first annual, and the operational habits that matter long-term.