Picking 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.
Patterncross-country planning
The 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 NOTAM you scrolled past and the closed runway waiting at your destination
Learn how to efficiently read and interpret NOTAMs so you never arrive at a closed runway or miss critical flight safety information.
PatternThe E6B wind side and the wind correction angle that keeps your cross-country from drifting into the next county
Learn how to calculate wind correction angle using the E6B flight computer to keep your cross-country flight on course.
PatternReading the TAF and the twenty-four hour forecast that tells you what the weather will do before you get there
Learn how to decode a TAF step by step, from FM groups to TEMPO and BECMG, and use it to plan safer cross-country flights.
PatternThe family reunion two hundred miles away and the three decision gates that keep you alive
Use the three-gate decision system to manage go/no-go choices on cross-country flights and avoid the VFR-into-IMC trap.
PatternReading the TAF and knowing exactly when your weather window opens and closes
Learn how to read a TAF and identify your weather window for safe cross-country flight planning.
PatternTemporary Flight Restrictions and the invisible walls hiding on your cross-country route
Learn how to check for TFRs, plan around them, and handle in-flight restrictions on your cross-country flights.
PatternFAR ninety-one dot two eleven and the oxygen rules that change everything above twelve thousand five hundred feet
FAR 91.211 requires crew oxygen above 12,500 feet after 30 minutes, above 14,000 feet immediately, and passenger oxygen above 15,000 feet.
PatternThe Chart Supplement and decoding an unfamiliar airport before you ever see the runway
Learn how to read the FAA Chart Supplement to decode any unfamiliar airport before you fly there.
PatternGo-around decision making - the save you practice but rarely fly
Learn when and how to execute a go-around, and why briefing it before every approach is the decision-making edge most pilots miss.
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