Free educational guides on real-world flying, alongside our software. Free to read, no account needed, written by pilots. Thirty-six guides up so far, with more on the way.
A complete, ground-up guide to VHF Omnidirectional Range navigation: the physics behind how a VOR produces a radial, reading the CDI and OBS, intercepting and tracking a course, cross-fixing your position from two stations, chart symbols, and a worked cross-country scenario. Includes 17 practice questions with a full answer key, two of them scenario-based.
What each of the six primary flight instruments measures, the pitot-static and vacuum systems behind them, how each one fails and what that failure looks like on the panel, and how to scan them without fixating on any single gauge. Includes 16 practice questions with a full answer key.
How to actually read a VFR sectional: scale and grid, airport symbols, airspace boundaries, obstruction and terrain markings, navaid symbols, airways, special use airspace, and a worked example tying it all together.
How to brief any approach plate the same way, every time: the briefing strip, plan view, profile view, the difference between DA and MDA, reading the minimums section, and the missed approach, with a full worked example.
How GPS actually computes a position, RAIM and WAAS explained, the different RNAV approach lines of minimums, waypoints and flight plans, and why cross-checking GPS against a backup source still matters.
Route and checkpoint selection, dead reckoning, the wind correction triangle, true versus magnetic versus compass heading, fuel planning and reserves, and building a usable navigation log.
A complete, ground-up guide to the U.S. National Airspace System: the six classes, special use airspace, temporary flight restrictions, chart symbols, and the equipment and clearance rules that govern where you can fly.
How a thunderstorm forms, what's happening inside it at each stage of its life cycle, how to read reflectivity on a radar screen, and why the picture on your display is older than it looks by the time you see it.
Decoding aviation weather reports and forecasts field by field: wind, visibility, weather phenomena codes, sky condition, altimeter setting, and the TAF change groups (FM, BECMG, TEMPO, PROB) that describe how conditions evolve, with two fully worked examples.
Why even a small amount of ice degrades performance disproportionately, rime versus clear versus mixed ice, induction icing, anti-ice versus de-ice equipment, FIKI certification, and a practical avoidance and escape strategy.
Mechanical, thermal, frontal, and mountain wave turbulence, clear air turbulence, standard intensity categories for PIREPs, and the actual flying technique (attitude over altitude, maneuvering speed) for getting through it safely.
How wingtip vortices form, why heavy, slow, clean aircraft produce the strongest wake, how vortices sink and drift, and practical avoidance technique for takeoff, landing, and the pattern.
Standard phraseology from the ground up: call structure, the phonetic alphabet, talking to ground, tower, approach, and center, what must be read back verbatim, non-towered CTAF calls, and lost communications procedures, with a full worked flight from taxi to landing.
Pressure altitude versus density altitude versus true altitude, the physics of why thin air hurts performance, how to actually compute it, and its concrete effects on takeoff distance, climb rate, and engine and propeller output.
Why CG matters, the arm/moment equation behind every weight and balance problem, the CG envelope, effects of forward/aft CG and overweight operation, and a fully worked loading example.
Density altitude compounded by terrain, ridge crossing angles, canyon turning radius, box canyon avoidance, mountain wave and rotor turbulence, and terrain-aware route planning.
Why a stall is an angle-of-attack event, not a speed event, the four basic stall types, why load factor matters, standard stall and spin recovery, and why the base-to-final stall/spin is the deadliest version of this scenario.
Engine-out yaw and Vmc, the critical engine concept, why single-engine performance is far less than half, feathering, identifying the failed engine, and accelerate-stop/accelerate-go distances.
Crosswind components, the crab and sideslip methods, the transition to touchdown, aileron technique through rollout, gusty wind adjustments, and when to go around, with a fully worked example.
The five legs, standard pattern altitude, left versus right traffic, the standard 45° entry, spacing and sequencing, and why the go-around is the normal, professional response, with a full worked example.
Two genuinely different problems and their techniques: maximizing climb angle and minimizing landing distance for short fields, and protecting the nosewheel and keeping the aircraft rolling for soft fields.
How night vision physiology actually works, dark adaptation and off-center viewing, airport and aircraft lighting, the black hole approach illusion and other night-specific illusions, and currency requirements.
The fixed priority order for any power loss: best glide speed, landing site selection, the engine-out checklist flow, why the "impossible turn" earns its name, and how the plan changes with altitude available.
What a NOTAM actually is, the different categories, decoding the abbreviated format, FDC NOTAMs and TFRs, and an efficient review workflow so preflight planning doesn't turn into a wall of text.
The full U.S. certification ladder from Student through ATP, how ratings and endorsements differ from certificates, category/class/type ratings, and medical certificate requirements.
Hypoxia types and symptoms, time of useful consciousness, the FAA's specific altitude and time oxygen thresholds, pulse oximeters, and cabin pressurization and rapid decompression basics.
What SVFR actually authorizes, where it's available, the reduced weather minimums, requesting a clearance, the night/instrument rating requirement, and the real risk tradeoffs of using it.
The ACS as the real syllabus, prerequisites and endorsements, the oral and flight portions, standards and tolerances, unsatisfactory performance and discontinuance, and how to actually prepare.
ADS-B Out versus In, the 1090ES and UAT data links, TIS-B traffic and free FIS-B weather, where equipage is required, and the real limitations worth knowing before trusting the cockpit picture.
The four-stroke cycle, dual magneto ignition, carburetor versus fuel injection, mixture and leaning, carburetor icing, and how to actually read the engine instruments in your scan.
Battery and alternator roles, the master switch, buses and circuit protection, reading the ammeter and voltmeter, and how to recognize and handle an alternator failure in flight.
Gravity versus pump-fed delivery, the fuel selector and boost pumps, sump and water checks, fuel exhaustion versus starvation, and why fuel gauges alone shouldn't be trusted for flight planning.
Blade angle as a variable transmission, how the governor holds a selected RPM, throttle versus propeller control, correct power-setting sequencing, and why the order matters for engine health.
The accident chain, PAVE and IMSAFE, the five hazardous attitudes, the 5P model, personal minimums, and why get-there-itis and sunk-cost thinking are among the most cited factors in weather accidents.
The category hierarchy, head-on, converging, and overtaking rules, landing priority, why right-of- way isn't a safety guarantee, and the visual scanning technique that actually finds traffic.
Hold-short lines and mandatory signage, reading the airport diagram before taxiing, clearance readback discipline, common incursion scenarios, and why "stop and ask" beats continuing while unsure.