A random but growing collection of useful tips and content
INOP equipment, a brief video that explains it well
Some of my favorite training courses are provided by Bold method. Superb content. Hundreds of great articles. Here are some great ones:
Getting ready for your checkride? Here are some tips on how to stand out.
I still on a regular basis see instructors teaching slow flight based on a fixed number. It's not. Your stall speed is always different based on temperature, winds, weight, even how clean your airplane is that day. So always as a first step in slow flight, find where your initial stall indication is, then fly -0 and +10 as your limits. I like to go 5 above horn as it gives you the biggest buffer on both sides to work with. Here is a DPE confirming this is the right way to do it.
Commercial checkride? We all expect higher standards. Here are some great tips from Carol. a DPE.
Weather
7 Steps To Make The Perfect Crosswind Landing BOLD METHOD
When you're on final at a towered airport, ask ATC for a wind check — you'll get an instantaneous reading instead of the averaged ATIS value.
How To Make A Perfect Crosswind Takeoff BOLD METHOD
Full aileron into the wind on the takeoff roll, then ease it off as the controls become effective. Most people don't put in nearly enough on initial roll.
How To Fly A Perfect Short Field Landing BOLD METHOD
A steeper-than-normal approach takes more flare authority. Practice the sight picture; it is genuinely different from a normal landing.
How To Make An Awesome Soft Field Landing BOLD METHOD
Bleed weight off the wheels — not onto them. The mains should kiss the surface while the wing is still mostly carrying the airplane.
How To Time Your Flare For A Perfect Landing BOLD METHOD
Look to the far end of the runway, not the numbers. Peripheral vision picks up the sink rate better than your central vision does.
Maintain Directional Control After A Crosswind Touchdown BOLD METHOD
The landing isn't over when the mains touch — that's when most crosswind upsets happen. Keep flying the airplane all the way to the tie-down.
Simple Landing Techniques To Avoid Runway Excursions BOLD METHOD
Pick an aim point and a touchdown point and commit to both. Floating past your touchdown point is the precursor to almost every excursion.
Quick Tips: Short Field Landings BOLD METHOD
Use the manufacturer's recommended short-field approach speed. "A little extra for safety" turns the short field into a long float.
How To Make A Perfect Soft Field Landing Every Time PILOT INSTITUTE
Keep some power in through touchdown. Cutting it cold puts the nosewheel on the mud.
6 Maneuvers You Should Practice On Your Next Flight BOLD METHOD
A great rotation list for those "I have an hour, what should I work on?" days.
The 4 Steps Of Spin Recovery (PARE) BOLD METHOD
Power idle, Ailerons neutral, Rudder opposite, Elevator forward. Memorize it cold — you won't have time to look it up.
Spin Recovery: What's The Purpose Of Each Step? BOLD METHOD
Understanding why each PARE step works makes it stick better than rote memorization.
Stall Recovery: 6 Common Mistakes BOLD METHOD
The biggest one I see: pilots try to fly out of the stall with power before reducing the angle of attack.
Cross-Controlled Stalls — How To Prevent Them BOLD METHOD
The classic skidded base-to-final turn. Worth practicing at altitude so you recognize the feeling before it bites you down low.
Tips To Avoid A Stall-Spin Accident In The Pattern BOLD METHOD
Rudder and angle of attack — not bank angle — are what kill people in the pattern.
How To Prevent Disaster On Your Base-To-Final Turn BOLD METHOD
If you blow through final, go around. Tightening the turn with bottom rudder is the setup for a stall-spin.
Why VFR Cloud Clearance Requirements Exist BOLD METHOD
Those numbers aren't arbitrary — they're the time-to-see-and-avoid an IFR aircraft popping out of a cloud at closure speed.
Class E Airspace, Explained BOLD METHOD
Most of the airspace you fly in is Class E. Worth knowing exactly where it starts and ends.
Special VFR: How To Use It BOLD METHOD
A useful tool to get into or out of a Class D with a low ceiling — just don't use it as a substitute for an instrument rating.
If AWOS Reports IFR But It's VFR — Can You Legally Fly? BOLD METHOD
A great regs-vs-reality question. Read it once and you'll never get caught flat-footed on the checkride.
6 Of The Most Hazardous Weather Conditions For IFR Pilots BOLD METHOD
An IFR ticket is not a license to launch into anything.
Inadvertent Thunderstorm Encounter — What To Do BOLD METHOD
Counterintuitive but right: hold heading, slow to maneuvering speed, and ride it out. A 180 inside a cell can break the airplane.
Is It Ever Safe To Fly Underneath A Towering Cumulus? BOLD METHOD
Short answer: no. The article explains why "I can see through to the other side" is a lie your eyes are telling you.
Instability: The Key To Growing Thunderstorms BOLD METHOD
Lapse rate, lifted index, K-index. The vocabulary that makes weather briefings actually useful.
How To Read METAR And TAF Reports PILOT INSTITUTE
A clean walkthrough of the whole string, group by group. Good for showing a student or refreshing your own memory.
How To Read A TAF — Private Pilot's Guide PILOT INSTITUTE
TEMPO vs. PROB vs. BECMG — the difference matters more than people realize when picking an alternate.
Density Altitude: What It Is And How It Affects You BOLD METHOD
Pressure altitude corrected for temperature — and your airplane only cares about density altitude, not what the elevation sign at the FBO says.
How Density Altitude Caused A Crash Shortly After Takeoff BOLD METHOD
An NTSB walkthrough that makes the abstract numbers feel real.
The 5 Types Of Altitude, Explained BOLD METHOD
Indicated, true, absolute, pressure, density. Knowing which one you need when is half the battle.
3 Rules-Of-Thumb For Flying In Hot Weather BOLD METHOD
Roughly +10% takeoff roll per 1,000 ft of density altitude. Easy enough to do in your head on the run-up.
5 Rules Of Thumb Every Pilot Should Know BOLD METHOD
The kind of back-pocket math that makes you look like you know what you're doing in the cockpit.
How Airplane Lift Works PILOT INSTITUTE
Bernoulli vs. Newton — both are right, and the article does a nice job explaining why people argue about it anyway.
Principles Of Flight — The 4 Forces, Simply Explained PILOT INSTITUTE
A clean refresher on lift, weight, thrust, and drag and how they're never quite balanced the way the textbook diagrams suggest.
What Is Drag? — A Main Flight Force Explained PILOT INSTITUTE
The induced/parasite distinction is the basis for why your airplane has a best-glide speed at all.
Deadstick Landings: How Pilots Handle Engine-Out Emergencies PILOT INSTITUTE
Best glide, pick a field, run the flow, then talk on the radio. In that order.
Plane Engine Failure: Why It Happens And What To Do PILOT INSTITUTE
A forced landing is an energy problem: you have altitude and airspeed to spend, and you need to spend them at the right place.
Carburetor Icing: Causes, Symptoms, And Prevention PILOT INSTITUTE
Most likely between 20°F and 70°F with visible moisture. A "warm humid summer day" is the textbook setup.
How To Make Your Initial Call To ATC BOLD METHOD
Tower wants the whole package up front; Approach and Center want a quick "who and where" first, then they'll come back to you.
7 Tips To Make Better Radio Calls BOLD METHOD
Think the call through before you key the mic. Half a second of silence beats five seconds of "uhhh."
11 ATC Phrases You Should Know BOLD METHOD
"Line up and wait," "expedite," "resume own navigation" — if any of these surprise you on first hearing, read this.
6 Steps To Improve Your Radio Calls BOLD METHOD
Listen for two minutes before transmitting at a new frequency. You'll learn the rhythm of the controller and the traffic.
A Flawless Traffic Pattern At A Non-Towered Airport BOLD METHOD
Position reports + altitude + intentions. CTAF calls without your altitude are missing the most useful piece.
Incorrect Pattern Entry Leads To Mid-Air Conflict BOLD METHOD
A real-world example of why the "straight in from 10 miles" entry is rarely a great idea at a busy non-towered field.
The Dangers Of Runway Incursion — And How To Prevent Them PILOT INSTITUTE
Three questions before crossing any hold line: where am I, what was I cleared to do, where am I going?
How To Avoid Pilot Deviations And Runway Incursions PILOT INSTITUTE
Hot spots exist for a reason. Pull up the airport diagram and look at them before you taxi.
The 8 Types Of Illusions Explained (ICEFLAGS) PILOT INSTITUTE
Inversion, Coriolis, Elevator, False horizon, Leans, Autokinesis, Graveyard spiral, Somatogravic. Trust the instruments.
How Do Pilots See At Night PILOT INSTITUTE
Rods, cones, the off-center viewing trick, and why a red flashlight matters. Useful even if you fly mostly day VFR.
The Different Types Of Spatial Disorientation PILOT INSTITUTE
Recognizing what kind of disorientation you're in is the first step to overriding it.
How To Brief An Instrument Approach, In 10 Steps BOLD METHOD
A repeatable flow turns approach briefings from a fishing expedition into a 90-second routine.
Aircraft Holding Procedures, Explained BOLD METHOD
Parallel, teardrop, direct. Draw it on the back of a sectional once and it'll click.
Sources: Bold Method · Pilot Institute
Inspired by aleman.us/useful-tips.