Grizzly Bear Aviation

02/22/2026

When: March 3-4, 2026
Where: Aerospace Centre of Excellence, Lakeland, Florida

Entries are FREE. Registration required.

For those who are keen to catch the action of the Now and the Future of Flight Training, this would be The Place to be at. Thanks to Master-CFI from and attendees-at-large of for casting some rays on this conference. If you can attend, do thyself the favour!

Migration is the leading conference for aviation educators, bringing together flight training organizations, flight instructors, K-12 aviation educators.

01/30/2026

Well Understood Wisdom by the Author.

The fatal Challenger accident in Bangor last week sounds eerily familiar to me.

Last winter, I was contracted to act as a safety pilot on a flight from Elmira, NY to Miami, FL in a client’s Citation. Upon arriving at the aircraft, I noticed frost adhered to the top surface of both wings and much of the fuselage. The owner advised that he had ordered a bucket of hot water and a mop to remove the frost. I reminded him that the temperature was -8°F and that any water applied would likely freeze on contact or shortly thereafter. I recommended that the jet be properly de-iced using the FBO truck.

He replied, “I have the clearance, and we’ll be in the air in minutes—well before the hot water has a chance to freeze.”

My response to him was simple: “I’m not going if we don’t properly de-ice this bird.”

Fortunately, he realized why he had brought me in the first place, and we ordered proper de-icing. The departure was uneventful.

Last week, it appears that a Challenger departing Bangor, ME may have encountered a similar scenario. While the aircraft was de-iced, too much time may have elapsed before takeoff for the de-icing fluid to remain effective. Investigators are examining the type of fluid used, its holdover time, and how much time passed before departure. They are focusing on the possibility that wing icing during takeoff may have caused a stall shortly after liftoff.

Takeaway: Two other aircraft advised ATC that their safe de-icing window had closed and elected to taxi back for additional de-icing. The Challenger crew possibly heard this exchange but chose to forgo further de-icing. The FAA prohibits departure with frost or ice adhering to certain parts of the fuselage, wings, stabilizers, or control surfaces, and engine inlets. It requires that the PIC visually inspect for frost and ice—and physically touch the surfaces to confirm their condition. This technique was taught to me decades ago, and it has served me well ever since.

Rest in peace, fellow aviators.

Fly safe, friends ✈️

01/06/2026

on Departure. by Single-Pilot.

10/09/2025

A glance at my DGCA-India CPL makes my aura and surroundings fill this masterpiece-audio track by Air India, Shankar Mahadevan & crew.

Air India Boarding Music depicting rich classical dances of India.

03/27/2025

Absolutely agree with the put down here. Be a seeker of Crosswind and Abnormalcy Training and Testing, and scared be not!

Should Checkride Applicants be Expected to Fly on Windy Checkride Days?

Investigators say last month, a Delta CRJ-900 regional jet was approaching short final at Toronto Pearson Airport in Canada. The fairly new First Officer was instructed to fly a faster approach speed than usual to compensate for wind gusts but failed to maintain the higher airspeed as the CRJ crossed the threshold. This resulted in a high sink rate, causing the aircraft to touch down hard on the landing gear. Additionally, there was a significant side-force likely due to poor crosswind correction technique which may have led to the gear collapsing, resulting in a crash.

Last week another Delta regional jet and yesterday a United CRJ-200 jet both experienced similar wind-related situations but were fortunate to avoid the same outcome. In both cases, the aircraft suffered wing strikes but managed to land without further incident. Three similar incidents in less than a month is not a coincidence—it is a training and testing deficiency .

Takeaway: Although the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) test crosswind skills, these conditions are rarely properly assessed during checkrides. Applicants often discontinue a checkride when winds exceed 10 knots or gusts are present, waiting for a perfect day to demonstrate their landing abilities. Many of these pilots go on to face landing mishaps when encountering the same winds they avoided during training and testing.

Pilots should actively seek high crosswind and gust conditions (within aircraft limits) under the guidance of an experienced instructor, practicing until the correct technique becomes second nature. This recurrent crosswind training should be repeated at least annually to ensure proficiency.

Don’t fear the wind—train for it. Remember, it's better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than to be in the air wishing you were on the ground.

Fly safe, friends. ✈️

09/19/2024

Training, CRM, Recurrent Training, Strong Knowledge Base…

The only and correct way to deal with emergencies.

First Officer Emily Wiprud, an Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 pilot, recalls the terrifying moment a door panel blew out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft mid-air ...

06/07/2024

Rolling.... Camera.... ACTION!

Non-Critical-Engine (Eng-2 / RH-Eng) Inoperative ILS Approach into Abbotsford.

This clip is taken from an ILS RWY 07 simulated OEI (non-critical engine) approach post the FAF (final apch fix) made in a Diamond Twinstar at CYXX - Abbotsf...

04/24/2024

In early June, my man, Steven McDowell, his wife Susan and several other Private Pilots will be flying to Charlottetown, PEI to join the Give Hope Wings 2024 Annual fundraiser campaign. Over five days, they will be flying to Sydney NS, Moncton NB, Edmunston NB, Victoriaville QC, Timmins ON, Killarney ON, ending the flights in Goderich ON.

Steven has been a for Hope Air over the years. The charity is laser-focused on helping people in need of that they otherwise would find difficult to make in the Great White North! As a volunteer pilot, Steven gets to combine his nonpareil love of flying with helping others. This would be his first time flying for and his peers at COPA Flight 26 and Canadian Owners and Pilots Association would love for this fundraiser to be successful.

Hope Air is an organization that arranges travel for people in remote communities to and from medical treatment in major centres (Toronto, London, Ottawa, etc). These people are often unable to travel the long distances to receive treatment due to the distance, time, and cost of travelling from, say, Northern Ontario to the hospital in metro-city centres where treatment is available. Hope Air often arranges travel by commercial airlines, but general aviation (small aircraft) pilots like Steven often help by flying into smaller airports that don't have a commercial aviation service.

Please consider that which you could to:
https://support.hopeair.ca/ghw2024/steven-mcdowell

N.B. : Written with inputs from Steven.

I’m taking part in Give Hope Wings – an epic flying adventure with an important purpose.This year's Give Hope Wings Expedition is a multi-aircraft series of flights consisting of three regional expeditions: Western, Prairies and Eastern, taking place in June of 2024. As part of the expedition, I...

01/20/2024

Beginning This Dream Tutoring and Mentoring Journey on SuperProf!

$30/h : I hold a Transport Canada CPL-ME-IR and a FAA CPC and have 500 hours of fixed wing powered flight experience. Nonetheless, I deeply value the...

01/20/2024

Dear Friends, Fam & Foes,

If Anyone You Know Needs Help with Flight Training Planning, or 1-on-1 Tutoring, I am Your SuperProf!

01/20/2024

ATTN: Ladies & Gentleman, we have lost one engine, and going to land on just the other. Buckle up and don't fool yourself!

This clip is from a recent mock flight test I undertook prior to attending my ME flight test. The instructor gave me a simulated Left-Engine on Fire scenario...