Julie Boatman

Learning to fly a single-engine piston-powered airplane starts your journey in aviation in a place from which you can take any next step that you wish—or lead you to a lifetime of flying satisfaction on its own. Your basic licensing path takes you to the private pilot certificate, and most people complete this training in […]

Learning to fly light sport aircraft—and those falling within the class called ultralights or microlights in Europe—opens up an affordable world of flying. Finding the right kind of airplane and flight training provider for you can make the difference in ensuring your enjoyment of the pursuit. In the United States, light sport aircraft fall into […]

Learning to fly a rotorcraft or helicopter opens up flying into places that other aircraft can’t reach. As a professional helicopter pilot, you can fly for rescue and emergency medical services (EMS) or executive transport, among many options. The rotorcraft category of aircraft includes helicopters, as well as autogyros and gyrodynes . You’re most likely […]

Learning to fly a turboprop aircraft takes you the next step up in your capability. Turboprop airplanes offer a number of performance and safety enhancements that allow you to fly a wide variety of missions not possible in piston-powered airplanes. Single-engine turboprop airplanes make for the simplest transition, though you’ll probably need to complete a […]

Learning to fly drones and unmanned aerial systems or vehicles gives you the tools to range far afield from your current position. Amateur drone pilots capture perspectives on the world not possible from the ground, and professional UAS or UAV pilots develop skills that apply to other aspects of aviation. If you have purchased an […]

Learning to fly gliders introduces you to flight without relying upon an engine—in general terms. A glider is typically shaped like an airplane but with wings that have a higher aspect ratio (meaning they’re longer and thinner) in order to maximize the glider’s advantage using lift. Glider categories sort into self-launch or motorgliders, aero-tow, or […]

Learning to fly a jet paves the way to your career—or makes it possible for you to fly faster, more capable aircraft on your personal or business missions. While very few people learn to fly initially in jet aircraft—even military pilots typically begin in single-engine piston or turboprop airplanes—with today’s light jets that can be […]

Thirty years ago, on July 19, 1989, Captain Al Haynes and the crew of a United DC-10 made the best of a stunningly bad situation and brought Flight 232, flying from Denver to Chicago, into a landing at the Sioux City International Airport in a manner that saved 184 lives. An uncontained failure of the […]

Aircraft Performance Group has a laser focus on the segment of the market it feels it knows best: the light to midsize jet that is operated by a single pilot or crew, or a small corporate flight department. To this end, it debuted last fall its iPreFlight Genesis app, optimized for the iPad, that gives […]

Most of us learn best through the hands-on application of knowledge. You see this throughout aviation as you apply what you’ve learned in ground school to your actions in the airplane. Take it another step further: What if you had the opportunity to learn about aircraft design, create your own airplane in sophisticated software, and […]