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.
Visual approach slope indicators use a combination of white and red lights next to the runway to help pilots verify they are flying the correct approach angle to the runway. This week’s video takes a closer look at 2 types, VASI and PAPI, to show you how they work and what the various indications mean.
Instrument approaches are designed to guide pilots to the runway in IFR conditions when the visibility and/or ceilings are low. In this video, we’ll review the different types of instrument approaches and the information you’ll find in each section of an instrument approach chart.
Class C and D airspace will surround airports that can handle a moderate amount of air traffic. This means there are some important restrictions to remember any time you’re operating within – or underneath this airspace. In this week’s video tip, we review how Class C and D airspace works, what you need to do to fly legally in it and how to stay safe.
The flight deck of every airplane includes a collection of flight instruments that display important information, like airspeed, altitude, heading and turn information. In this video we’ll go over the standard 6 instruments you’ll find in a Cessna 172 and how to interpret their indications.
There are several new flight maneuvers to learn during Commercial Pilot Training. One of the new ground reference maneuvers is called Eights on Pylons, which involves flying a figure 8 pattern over the ground while varying the aircraft’s altitude in order to maintain a defined visual reference to preselected reference points, called pivot points, or pylons.
Sporty’s courses are the ideal pilot training companion – everything you need to prepare for your written test and earn your certificate or rating, with ground school, test prep, and real-world training all in one easy-to-use system. Students enrolled in Sporty’s courses enjoy free lifetime updates to both content and features available across all online, mobile app and TV platforms. Here’s a quick rundown covering the latest set of updates added this month.
The winter flying season is officially here, which means we have a new set of challenges to deal with while flying in sub-freezing temperatures. Flight training doesn’t need to stop in the winter though; in fact the colder months provide some great opportunities to expand your knowledge on weather and aircraft operations in less than ideal conditions.
This week’s tip covers a topic that all pilots need to know: power-off stalls. Learn how to practice them the right way, and how the location of the center of gravity (CG) affects stall speed.
The airplane preflight inspection is performed before each flight to ensure that all the required paperwork is on board, that the airplane systems are working properly and that the correct amount of fuel and oil are in the tanks. It’s your chance to really look the airplane over inside and out to assure yourself that it’s ready to fly, because once you’re airborne, you just can’t pull over in case something goes wrong.
Most students today prefer to use an electronic E6B flight computer when planning a flight or preparing for the FAA knowledge test. The electronic E6B is actually the evolution of a mechanical E6B flight computer, often referred to as a whiz wheel. While the mechanical E6B may take a little longer to learn compared to its electronic counterpart, the learning process is a fun challenge.
Sign up for our FREE email newsletter. Every three weeks our team of flight instructors shares advice and video tips to help you become a safer pilot.