Video: flying the Waco biplane

For pure stick and rudder fun, it’s hard to beat the Waco YMF-5D biplane. While it features a lot of modern improvements, it also retains the magic of aviation’s early days: open cockpit, fabric-covered fuselage, and two sets of wings. Ride along in a Waco as this pilot takes it on a tour of Southern California and shows off the impressive avionics inside this vintage-looking airplane.

Video courtesy of Flying with Rich.

Webinar Video: Flight Simulators – Tools or Toys for Pilots

Flight Simulators have been a popular topic over the past year. Partially because of the new Microsoft Flight Simulator program, but also because new lines of professional equipment have debuted along with training programs. Through all the increased interest, can we qualify an at home flight simulator as a tool or a toy? In this webinar, Sporty’s own Chris McGonegle will discuss how pilots can best use a simulator at home, what programs are beneficial to the pilot community, and the resources we have to increase our abilities in the airplane. Chris covers what pieces of hardware work best for different experience levels, the one-year-old Microsoft Flight Simulator program, in addition to an in-depth review of X-Plane 11, Prepar3d, and Infinite Flight.

 

FAA updates sample knowledge test questions

FAA recently published updates to its sample knowledge test questions. Updates to pilot and instructor sample questions are available at https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/test_questions/.

 

Video: flying the Gulfstream G650

Few airplanes inspire envy like a Gulfstream jet, and the model sitting at the top of the company’s lineup is the large cabin, long range G650. Most private pilots won’t ever get to fly one of these beauties, but you can get a small taste of what it’s like in this video. Experienced pilot Fred George puts the G650 through its paces, including air work and use of the heads-up display.

Video courtesy of AviationWeek.

Video tip: how to recover from unusual flight attitudes

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.

This video clip is from Sporty’s complete Learn to Fly Course.

 

CFI Tips: Checklist Usage

In this installment of CFI Tips, Sporty’s Academy CFI, Dale Fargo, discusses why checklist usage is important and how checklist usage should evolve with experience. Hear what pilots are doing right and wrong as well as the universal priorities of piloting.