The Airman Certification Standards (ACS) spell out the performance standards that you'll need to meet during your private pilot test. It's important that you take time during your flight training to familiarize yourself with this document and use it to help gauge your progress. This week's tip takes a closer look at a few examples of the specific knowledge, skills, risk management elements and performance metrics found in the Private Pilot ACS.

Learning to effectively communicate with a control tower often presents a challenge to student pilots, since it requires additional multitasking during an already busy time of flight. One of the best ways to learn is to listen to other pilots on the radio, and this week's tip follows a Cessna 172 pilot as he works with both ground control and the tower to taxi and takeoff from a Class D airport.

You’ve probably heard that “you can stall an airplane at any airspeed and any attitude.” It’s true, but it sure doesn’t make much sense. In our latest video tip of the week, we tackle angle of attack, a critically important but often misunderstood topic. You’ll learn what it really means, how to visualize it in flight and what the new generation of AoA gauges shows.