FAR ninety-one dot two thirteen and what you are actually allowed to fly with when something on the panel is broken
Learn the four-step process under FAR 91.213 to determine if you can legally fly with inoperative instruments or equipment.
PatternPattern
Leaning the mixture in cruise and the red knob most student pilots are afraid to touch
Learn when and how to lean the mixture in cruise flight to save fuel, protect your engine, and pass your checkride.
PatternPicking your VFR checkpoints and the landmarks that disappear at altitude
Learn how to pick VFR checkpoints that actually work from the air, not just on a sectional chart.
PatternThe rough-running engine over the Appalachian ridgeline and the three questions you answer before you do anything else
A three-question decision framework for handling a rough-running engine over remote terrain, from diagnosis to diversion.
PatternThe short-field landing on the checkride and the airspeed you let creep up on final that costs you the numbers
Master the short-field landing checkride maneuver by fixing the real problem—airspeed control on final approach.
PatternThe standard briefing from Flight Service and the six sections you need to hear before you go
Learn the six sections of a standard FSS weather briefing and how to use each one for smart go/no-go decisions.
PatternBuilding the navlog by hand and the six columns that keep you found when the GPS quits
Learn to build a VFR cross-country navigation log by hand using six essential columns that keep you on course when GPS fails.
PatternFAR ninety-one dot two eleven and the supplemental oxygen rules that change what you can do above twelve thousand five hundred feet
FAR 91.211 sets three altitude thresholds for supplemental oxygen — here's exactly when pilots and passengers must have it.
PatternPilot reports and the weather observation from someone who is actually up there right now
Learn how to read and file PIREPs, the most underused tool in your preflight weather briefing.
PatternThe crosswind landing on the checkride and the side-slip you abandon five feet above the runway
Learn why abandoning crosswind correction in the flare is the top checkride bust and how to hold the side-slip all the way to touchdown.
PatternThe engine runup you rush through and the magneto drop that is trying to tell you something
Learn what your magneto check RPM drops actually mean and why the differential matters as much as the individual limits.
PatternThe ramp at the divert airport and the second decision that undoes the first good one
The most dangerous decision after a weather diversion is the second one—deciding when to leave the unfamiliar ramp.
PatternFAR ninety-one dot two oh five and the equipment list your examiner will absolutely ask you to recite from memory
Master FAR 91.205 with the A TOMATOFLAMES and FLAPS mnemonics for required VFR day and night equipment.
PatternThe Graphical Forecast for Aviation tool and the big-picture weather page most student pilots have never opened
The Graphical Forecast for Aviation (GFA) shows big-picture weather across your entire route — here's how to use it.
PatternThe heading you planned versus the heading you fly and the five corrections between your plotter and your compass
Learn the five corrections that convert a true course from your sectional chart to the compass heading you actually fly.
PatternThe oil streak on the belly you find during a fuel stop a hundred and fifty miles from home
How to assess and respond to an oil streak on your airplane's belly during a fuel stop away from home.
PatternThe power-on stall on the checkride and the wing drop you fix with the wrong control
Avoid the most common power-on stall checkride failure by using rudder, not aileron, to correct a wing drop during recovery.
PatternTrimming for hands-off flight and the death grip on the yoke that is making everything harder
Stop fighting the yoke and learn to use trim properly so the airplane flies itself through every phase of flight.
PatternFAR sixty-one dot fifty-seven and the currency requirements that decide whether you can legally carry your family this weekend
FAR 61.57 requires three takeoffs and landings in 90 days to carry passengers, with stricter rules for night flight.
PatternThe forward slip to landing and the rudder input that saves you when you are too high on final
The forward slip to landing is your best tool for losing altitude on final without gaining airspeed—here's how to fly it correctly.
Pattern