Rich Acuff's Flying page

I love to fly, and I love to teach flying.

The Blue Angels during the 1992
show at Moffett Naval Air Station.
In 1992 I attended the last airshow at Moffett Naval Air Station. Like lots of people there, I was attracted primarily by the Blue Angels (and got some pretty decent photos). However, I was also very impressed by several of the "little plane" acts, including Sean D. Tucker and especially Patty Wagstaff. It made me start thinking more seriously about my life-long attraction to aviation, and I started checking around to find out how much it would cost to become a pilot and so forth. After interviewing several instructors at different clubs, I went on a demo flight in a Citabria, and, well, that was that. I was hooked big time.

After doing a lot of my own flying, I got involved with the EAA's Young Eagles program. It was such fun flying with the kids that I decided to become a flight instructor. So I did that in 1997 and have been teaching since then.

Qualifications

I like the colors and angles
of the Twin Commander's tail
against the sky.
I currently hold a Commercial Pilot Certificate with unlimited ratings for Single and Multiengine Land Airplanes and Instrument Airplane. I hold a current FAA Gold Seal Flight Instructor Certificate with ratings for Single and Multiengine Airplanes and Instrument Airplane. (Or, in plain English, I can fly and teach in most small airplanes that have wheels (instead of floats), in and out of the clouds.)

I have taught Private, Instrument, Commercial, and Instructor ratings. As well as ratings, I teach a lot of recurrency, helping pilots keep old skills fresh as well as learn some new tricks during Biennial Flight Reviews (BFR), Instrument Proficiency Checks (IPC), and Wings program phases. I have helped a lot of pilots transition to tailwheel, complex, high performance, and turbocharged airplanes. I have served as an Instructor for the Beechcraft Pilot Proficiency Program.

I'm not the kind of guy who takes things without question, and I've worked hard over the years to understand the reasoning behind the rules (both aerodynamic and bureaucratic). As a result, I tend not to pass down 3'rd generation rules-of-thumb. If you ask me "why?" and don't get a good answer, you don't pay.

I tend to be thorough. I've studied aviation accidents, and understand that a poorly prepared pilot is often the weak link in the accident chain. I strive to make sure my students will make good judgements to keep themselves out of harm's way, have the knowledge it takes to deal with any problems that come up, and the skill to execute any maneuver needed to keep them safe. The FAA's training requirements are collected along the way, but the standard I set is higher. If you want the cheapest, fastest way to a rating, I am not your guy. If you want to be a solid, safe, confident and competent pilot, I'm eager to help you.

My usual stomping ground is Palo Alto Airport and San Carlos Airport, but I'm willing to go to Hayward Airport, Reid-Hillview Airport, and San Jose Airport, and even further in a good cause. :-) My normal rate is $50 per hour I'm giving instruction, with special rates available for trips, prepayment, and especially attractive flying (new types and adventures).


These are the kind of instruction I do:
Citabria on short final at Palo Alto
(click the pic!)

Private Pilot

The "initial" pilot training. This is most often done in association with a flying club of some sort. I'm currently affiliated with Palo Alto Flying Club at Palo Alto Airport and West Valley Flying Club at both Palo Alto Airport and San Carlos Airport. However, I have also worked with several people who purchased a plane to use for training (and flying afterwards, too!)

I like the pure "feel of flight" experience that goes with training in a small tailwheel aircraft like the Citabria. That pure Stick and Rudder feel is wonderful foundation skill for any pilot.

I have also had good success working with people in more traditional trainers from Cessna 172 to Beech Bonanza, so good skills can be had, with disciplined training, in almost any aircraft.

Instrument Rating

Can you spot
San Carlos Airport?
The ability to play with clouds. :-)

Most of the instrument rating is about multitasking through various procedures. It is complex, but I use a building-block method, with extensive use of computer-based training aids to build up the skills and knowledge needed. As a result, I have been able to send almost all of my instrument candidates to their checkrides with little more than the minimum instrument time required by the FAA, and, more importantly, with the confidence to launch into instrument weather immediately.

I strongly believe in getting experience in actual clouds during training, and will seek out "bad" weather during training to build the experience and confidence needed to be Pilot In Command when the weather turns nasty.

If you are interested in flying in the clouds, I urge you to read this story of Joe Campbell's instrument training.

Advanced Ratings

What I've said above also goes for the Commercial, Multiengine, Instructor, and Airline Transport Pilot ratings. I want you to have the confidence to use and truly enjoy your rating.

Oh, check out this shot of me doing spin training.
My son David in
the Gee Bee racer replica
(well, a replica of the
replica...) at Oshkosh.

Non-rating Training

There are two things that make me able to help with more advanced systems and airplanes. First, I've flown on real trips with my friends and family in many of the faster, heavier, more capable airplanes. Second I've used my engineering background (12 years as a scientific programmer at Stanford) and studied the advanced hardware to learn the details that make a difference.
Using Oxygen in the Flight Levels.

Turbocharged Aircraft

I've put a lot of time into understanding the nuances of turbocharged aircraft, both in normal operation and when things go wrong. I'd be glad to help you with this often misunderstood area. Here's an article on oxygen and high altitude flying that high altitude pilots can use.

Advanced Systems

I'm familiar with and can teach many modern advanced avionics extras, including GPS (Garmin, King, UPS/Apollo, Northstar, Trimble; I especially like the Garmin 400/500 series), the Sandel EHSI, STec and King autopilots, Lightning detection, engine analyzers, and fuel computers.

T210 near Mount Shasta

Mountain Checkout

Flying in the mountains is fun and rewarding, but the odds can get stacked against you. Airplane performance is severely reduced, weather gets much tricker than in the flatlands, and options for landing if something goes wrong aren't easy to find, not to mention surviving until you can get back to civilization.

After a ground session, based on Sparky Immeson's Mountain Flying Bible, I can fly with you to a selection of mountain airports to help you experience mountain flying. This is often done with 2 students to share the expenses.
Citabria landing

Tailwheel

But if you've had it with fast and complex and want to return to more basic flying, I'd be happy to help you experience the simple playful joy of a stick, rudder pedals, and a big windows.

Ferry Flights, Aircraft Pickup, and Cross Country Support

I can help you pick up a new airplane and get up to speed (both for yourself and for your insurance requirements). Or if you just want help with a big cross country adventure (perhaps combined with some IFR training, for instance), I can help. I accompanied Jim Werle and Deb Lamere on two such flights (click to see the stories). Just for grins, here's the story of one of my colder flights in Ohio.
Me enjoying a Space Shuttle
simulator at NASA

Ultimate High

There are so many ways to enjoy flight, but arguably the ultimate expression of aviation is space flight. I'm very fortunate that my friend Kalpana Chawla has let me figuratively "tag along" on her space flight with STS-87 and STS-107.

Planes I Fly

Here's a list of planes I have non-trivial experience with (as of today; I'm always looking for more :-)

Note that I don't fly the Cessna 152. Just ornery that way I guess.

Contact

If you're interested in flying and I can help, please email me at Acuff@Dr-Amy.com or call 650-888-1313 (please, no solicitations).

Last updated February 4, 2004.
© 2002 Richard Acuff for all text and photos except NASA's; do not use without permission.