As Sporty’s lead aviation course and video producer, Bret is usually flying an interesting airplane, and often with a camera rolling. He oversees the development, production and distribution of over 30 aviation courses from Sporty's, including the Private Pilot Learn to Fly Course. He is a flight instructor and check airman at the Sporty's Academy flight school and a senior captain on a Cessna Citation.
There are 2 unusual attitude maneuvers you’ll practice during your private pilot training, simulating the scenario of inadvertently flying into IFR conditions and ending up in a nose low descending or nose high climbing pitch attitude. This week’s tip shows how to recognize either condition and use the flight instruments to recover to straight and level flight.
Nearly every airplane has an airspeed indicator and it’s arguably the most important flight instrument in the panel. This week’s tip takes a look at how it works, the various types of airspeeds you need to be familiar with as a pilot and what the markings mean on the face of the instrument.
iPad Proficiency Check from Sporty’s and iPad Pilot News covers a wide range of practical topics on flying with the iPad and the ForeFlight Mobile app. Led by Bret Koebbe, Editor, iPad Pilot News and Vice President, educational programming at Sporty’s, this info-packed presentation will explore topics applicable to pilots of all iPad experience levels. […]
During your flight training you’ll practice several different types of ground reference maneuvers to help you understand the effect wind has on the airplane when flying close to the ground. Here we’ll take a look at s-turns across a road, giving you a pilot’s eye view on how to correctly fly the maneuver.
Join Sporty’s course development team as they demo the latest new features in Sporty’s 2021 Learn to Fly Course. This webinar recording shows all the new features in Sporty’s award-winning pilot training course how to use it to save time and money during your flight training. Presented by Sporty’s Eric Radtke and Bret Koebbe.
The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B for short) is designed to replace the ground-based radar system used by ATC to track air traffic throughout the US. This week’s tip explains how the ADS-B system works and how you can also benefit from in-flight traffic and weather services offered by the system.
The altimeter is a flight instrument that provides accurate altitude information to pilots and relies solely on outside air pressure. This week’s tip explores how the altimeter works, the various types of altitudes you need to know about and potential errors you may encounter while referencing the altimeter.
Most of your flight training will focus on the essentials of flying like stick and rudder skills, navigation and communicating on the radio. One item that’s often overlooked is what to do after landing on a cross-country flight and taxi up to the airport parking area. This week’s tip takes a look at the resources available to you at the FBO and some advice on how to take advantage of them.
The cross-country phase of private pilot training is an exciting time where you’ll learn the flight planning steps and flying techniques required to fly longer trips between two airports. While it might be tempting to navigate directly to the destination airport using GPS, it’s important that you first learn how to fly the trip first using the fundamental navigation techniques of pilotage and dead reckoning.
Sporty’s Learn to Fly Course has been a popular home study tool for decades, and is famous for its relentless pace of innovation. Every year, we add new content, new training tools, and technological enhancements. This year is no exception, with a host of upgrades that make training more engaging and more efficient. Here’s a look at some highlights.
