The Wind Triangle, the E Six B, and Solving for Heading and Groundspeed Before You Ever Point the Nose Down the Runway
Learn how to solve the wind triangle with an E6B to find your heading and groundspeed before every cross-country flight.
Traffic Pattern
Flight training and pilot development with Pattern. Practical techniques, checkride preparation, weather decision-making, and the skills every pilot needs from student to ATP.
The Winds and Temperatures Aloft Forecast, the Nine Nine Zero Zero Code, and Reading the One Line That Tells You Which Altitude Will Actually Get You There
Learn to decode the winds and temperatures aloft (FB) forecast and pick the cruise altitude that actually saves you time and fuel.
Class Bravo, the Upside-Down Wedding Cake, the Clearance You Have to Actually Hear, and the Thirty-Mile Mode C Veil
Class Bravo airspace explained: why you must hear 'cleared into the Bravo,' how the wedding-cake floors work, and the 30-mile Mode C veil.
Decoding the METAR, the Surface Observation Line You Read First and the Remarks Section Everybody Skips
Learn to decode a METAR front to back - from the station ID to the remarks section most pilots skip - so you can brief real weather fast.
Decoding the TAF, the FM, BECMG, TEMPO and PROB30 Groups, and the Cross-Country Where the Line Between Legal and Grounded Lived in One Change Group
Learn to decode a TAF's FM, BECMG, TEMPO, and PROB30 groups and turn the forecast into a confident go/no-go decision.
FAR Ninety-One Point One Fifty-Five, the VFR Weather Minimums, and the Three-Cornered Cloud Clearance Rule Every Pilot Memorizes and Half of Them Get Backwards
A clear breakdown of FAR 91.155 VFR weather minimums, the 3-152 cloud clearance rule, and how the numbers change by airspace and altitude.
FAR Ninety-One Point One Seventy-Five, the Approach Ban, and the One Thing That Legally Lets You Leave Minimums and Land Off an Instrument Approach
FAR 91.175 requires three conditions before you can descend below DA or MDA and land off an instrument approach - here's what they are.
Slow Flight, the 2016 ACS Rewrite, and the Maneuver You Now Fly With the Stall Horn Silent
How the FAA's 2016 ACS rewrite changed slow flight - and how to fly it to standard with the stall horn silent.
Steep Turns on the Checkride, the Forty-Five Degrees of Bank Where Altitude Quietly Bleeds Away, and the Back Pressure Nobody Tells You to Add
Master steep turns for your private pilot checkride with the back pressure, bank, and rollout techniques examiners actually want to see.
The Diversion, the Thumb-and-Finger Distance Trick, and the Groundspeed Math the Examiner Springs on You Halfway Through Your Cross-Country
Master the private pilot checkride diversion with a fly-first flow, finger-and-thumb chart tricks, and two-miles-a-minute mental math.
The Impossible Turn, Engine Failure Right After Takeoff, and Why the Turnback Back to the Runway Kills More Pilots Than the Trees Ahead
Radio Hangar explores The Impossible Turn, Engine Failure Right After Takeoff, and Why the Turnback Back to the Runway Kills More Pilots Than the Trees Ahead.
The One Hundred Seventy-Eight Seconds, the Illinois Study on VFR Into Clouds, and the Chain of Small Yeses That Kills a Pilot Who Never Meant to Fly Into the Weather
Why VFR pilots have about 178 seconds after flying into a cloud, and how the PAVE and 3P tools break the decision chain that gets them there.
The Positive Exchange of Flight Controls, the Three Words That Keep Two Pilots From Both Letting Go at Once
Learn the FAA's three-step positive exchange of flight controls - the simple verbal habit that prevents two pilots from both letting go at once.
Adverse Yaw, the Ball and the Yaw String, and Why Rolling Into a Turn Swings the Nose the Wrong Way First
Adverse yaw swings the nose the wrong way when you roll into a turn - here's why it happens and how to cancel it with coordinated rudder.
FAR Ninety-One Point One Thirteen, the Right-of-Way Rules, and Who Actually Yields When Two Airplanes Want the Same Piece of Sky
Understand FAR 91.113 right-of-way rules - who yields when two aircraft converge, meet head-on, overtake, or land - and why.
Mayday and Pan-Pan, the Two Radio Calls That Tell a Controller Exactly How Much Trouble You're In
Learn when to call Mayday vs Pan-Pan, the exact radio format to use, and how to practice both before an emergency ever happens.
Picking Your Checkpoints, the Pilotage Skill That Turns a Line on the Chart Into a Flight You Can Actually Follow
Learn how to pick unmistakable checkpoints for cross-country flight so your planned course line becomes a flight you can confidently follow.
The Five Hazardous Attitudes, the Antidotes You Say Out Loud, and the Night Flight Where Get-Home-Itis Almost Won
Learn the FAA's five hazardous attitudes, the spoken antidotes for each, and how personal minimums prevent get-home-itis accidents.
The Stabilized Approach, the Five Hundred Foot Gate, and the Go-Around You Decide Before You Ever Need It
Learn the stabilized approach, the 500-foot gate, and why deciding to go around before you fly prevents most landing accidents.
The Washington D.C. Special Flight Rules Area, the Flight Restricted Zone, and the Online Course You Have to Take Before You Ever Point a Nose Anywhere Near the Capital
What the DC SFRA and Flight Restricted Zone are, and the free FAA course you must take before flying VFR within 60nm of Washington.