Learn to Fly

So you’ve started flight training, but it’s just not working the way you expected. You’ve got a sinking feeling that you and your flight instructor just aren’t communicating like you should—or you have a downright distaste for spending any time at all with this person who is serving as a primary mentor in your aviation […]

If you’ve talked with pilots who acquired their initial tickets before 2015—and especially those who learned to fly in the 1970s, ’80s or ’90s—you may find they refer to the knowledge exam with a certain amount of disdain. “Just get it over with.” “It’s a multiple-guess test.” “It doesn’t apply to real flying.” They come […]

Flying may be a dream you’ve had since childhood, or maybe it represents a new challenge later in life waiting to be conquered. You know it will be exhilarating to enjoy the freedom general aviation will give you, but you may think the cost of such freedom is out of reach. While the privileges that […]

Check out our reviews on the top tools for aspiring aviators.

“When should I begin training to become a professional pilot?” That’s a question that regularly pops up from people new to the aviation industry. The best answer is, “Now is a pretty good time.” That rather-blatant nudge to get moving is meant to highlight the lag time between a person’s ­commitment to the profession and […]

On the day you earn your private pilot certificate, a transformation takes place. You became a pilot when you soloed the airplane for the first time, but now you are a pilot recognized by the greater world. You’re able to do a lot with your new privileges. Maybe you have a few in mind, such […]

While this article comes from our Learn To Fly issue published in late 2019, and pilot hiring is on hold for the foreseeable future, it’s a great time to plan for and work towards an aviation career so that you’re poised to act when the current situation changes. By now, you have probably heard the […]

I’ve always been partial to simplicity when attempting to solve life’s biggest challenges, and for me, learning a new language has been one of the toughest I’ve ever undertaken. What I didn’t realize when I learned to fly was that I was also taking on a new language, “aviation speak,” as well. I was young […]

When it comes to working through the highs and lows of funding an aviation-centered education, every dollar helps. This week, California Aeronautical University (CAU), the Bakersfield, California-based private, post-secondary school announced some serious scholarship money for students who apply to its Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics degree program. A CAU news release said, “CAU is […]

We all know that as density altitude increases, there is a corresponding decrease in the power delivered by our airplane’s engine and the effectiveness of our propeller. For a typical non-turbocharged light single-engine airplane, this can result in a takeoff roll that’s 25 percent longer for every 1,000 feet of elevation above sea level. The […]