Palmer Airport from the north.

KLBE Airport

General information about Latrobe's Palmer Airport can be found on their home page. You can locate KLBE on the Detroit Sectional chart and find frequency, runway, and other airport info by following these links to Skyvector.com.

Safety

FAA Safety

The FAASTeam at the Federal Aviation Administration provides courses, seminars, and other resources in their Safer Skies Through Education program. Included on this site is the WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program, “based on the premise that pilots who maintain currency and proficiency in the basics of flight will enjoy a safer and more stress-free flying experience.”

If you have any doubts about the value of recurrent training then be sure to read this Report on the Effectiveness of the WINGS - Pilot Proficiency Program prepared by the FAASTeam Outreach Program Manager.

Air Safety Institute

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association sponsors the Air Safety Institute promoting aviation safety thru interactive courses, accident analysis, safety seminars, and more. Be sure to read the 22nd Joseph T. Nall Report of Accident Trends and Factors, a review of general aviation aircraft accidents that occurred during 2010.

Pilot Training

Private Pilot Ground School - DVD or Online

Here are three Private Pilot Ground School courses available on DVD or online. The DVD versions allow you to study without an internet connection but the content is static, while the online versions can be updated by the vendor to reflect changes in the regulations.

At Sporty's Pilot Shop search for "Private Pilot Flight Training Course" and choose the Online, iPad/iPhone, or DVD course that fits your needs.

If you prefer King Schools click the Airplane Private Pilot Knowledge Test from their menu and then Private Pilot Knowledge Test Course. You'll have the option of purchasing either DVDs for PC or online for PC or Mac.

Another choice can be found at Jeppesen's JeppDirect. Select Training from their menu, then Private Pilot (FAA) from the sub-menu, and finally Private Pilot Online Training and Test Prep: FAA Written Exam.

A word of caution on the online courses: one of our members who purchased an online version reports that the video stream wasn't well compressed and that the presentation paused frequently when using Verizon's low tier DSL offering. He recommends that you have at least a 3 megabyte internet connection before choosing any of the online courses.

FAA Written Exam Practice Tests

If you've previously passed your FAA written test and don't need a ground school course, or if you just want assess your knowledge, you can find several free practice tests on the internet. Try searching on Google for "faa private pilot written test practice" (don't include the quotes when searching). Here are a few found by Google in July, 2012: Exams4Pilots, RisingUp Aviation, Webexams, and even at the FAA.

Administrative

Medical Certificate

As of October 1, 2012 Aviation Medical Examiners will no longer be offering paper 8500-8 forms in their office. You must complete your application for a medical certificate ahead of your appointment using the online MedXPress system, and you need to carry your confirmation number with you to the physician's office so he can locate your application on the FAA's servers. Visit the FAA MedXPress site to register and to complete the form.

Before logging onto the MedXPress site the first time you can watch this excellent video produced by the EAA demonstrating how to use the new system.

Armchair Flying

GPS Simulator

While on the ground you can practice the Garmin GNS 430W with Garmin's 400 Series Simulator. Note that your computer must be running the 32-bit version of Windows as this sim will not work on 64 bits. A complete set of manuals for the 430 can be downloaded from the manufacturer, and Steve Lehar at Boston University has created a series of exercises to guide you through practice sessions on the simulator.

Other Instrument Simulators

Luiz Monteiro's instrument simulator lets you practice using the VOR, HSI, RMI, and ADF. Adobe's Flash browser plug-in and a reasonably fast CPU are required to run these sims.

A more basic Java-based VOR simulator written by Tim Carlson will work on less capable computers.

Preflight

FAA Approved Self Briefings

If you have a Student Pilot's License (or a third class medical certificate) or above then you can register for the Data Transformation Corporation DUAT or Computer Sciences Corporation DUATS systems for FAA-approved self briefings. An FAA Flight Service Station telephone briefing can be obtained at 1-800-WX-BRIEF and is recommended even if you self-brief.

General Weather Information

NOAA's National Weather Service Aviation Weather Center is a good place to get general aviation weather information including current METARs and TAFs, and the Weather Underground has useful civilian weather forecasts.

VFR Flight Planning

If you're a member of AOPA then you can use their full-featured planner without additional charge; the advertisement supported site FltPlan doesn't require membership but does encourage you to register in order to get the full set of features; and Seattle Avionics offers DUAT Voyager, a free version of their full Voyager Software System.

Postflight

Discussion Group

The flying club has a forum on Google Groups to allow us to continue to interact when we're not together at the hangar, the Greensburg meeting room, or social events.

We're located at PFC on Google Groups.

This forum is private to those who have registered, but you don't have to be a club member to participate. If you have an interest in the Pittsburgh Flying Club and would like to have access to our discussion group, then introduce yourself to our moderator by selecting the join button at the link above and he'll take it from there.

Club Aircraft Reservations

The flying club uses a commercial web-based reservation system, aircraftclubs.com, to schedule its aircraft. Once you're a member you'll be assigned a logon id and password.

The small town of Cassville, WV has produced at least three pilots and one webmaster.