The shirt-tail cut is one of aviation's oldest traditions - a small square of fabric cut from a student's shirt after their first solo, tracing back to open-cockpit biplanes.
RampAOPA's Flight Training Experience Awards open for the 2027 cycle on September 1, giving students a data-backed way to choose schools and instructors.
TowerThe positive three-way exchange of flight controls prevents the deadly two seconds when nobody is flying the airplane. Here's how to do it right.
PatternThe positive exchange of flight controls is a three-step verbal handoff that ensures exactly one pilot is always flying the airplane.
PatternFlight training is only tax deductible when it maintains skills for your current aviation job - not when it qualifies you for a new career.
TowerThe first solo shirt-cut is aviation's oldest student milestone ritual, tracing back over 100 years to WWI-era open-cockpit training and the moment an instructor no longer needed to hold on.
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