What?

A new website?

I am about to start teaching flying again, and I recognize what a co-operative venture that is. Any teaching involves learning, and vice-versa. The classroom and the cockpit are venues where minds, styles, and experiences come together for the benefit of all.

From a practical point of view, there is a lot of material to be exchanged, modified, and discussed.

Why?

I have 19,000 hours of flying and 3500 hours of instruction. Many brave pilots who taught me have retired. Some have already passed on, taking their experience with them. The apprenticeship system that I enjoyed is in retreat. I am concerned that a lot of knowledge essential to aviation safety may get lost.

How?

A WordPress site can accept content from any number of users. The plan is to invite students to be Authors on the site, so they can post blogs on the aviation subjects – licences or ratings – they are working on or have completed.

Further on, we can incorporate the plug-in BuddyPress so the site becomes a specialized social network, allowing sub-groups, discussion, and private messages, à la FaceBook.

Even further out, perhaps a Wiki capability could be added, so that co-operatively the group could build and maintain a library of aviation-related knowledge.

I invite your comments.