The Library · 57 picks
The best of the web,
with Jan's take.
A random but growing collection. Every link has a one-line takeaway, so you get the point even before you click.
Checkride & Instructing
- VideoHow to stand out on your checkride ↗
- VideoCommercial checkride tips from Carol, a DPE ↗We all expect higher standards on the commercial.
- VideoINOP equipment, explained ↗A brief video that explains it well.
- VideoSlow flight is not a fixed number: a DPE confirms ↗Find your initial stall indication first, then fly −0/+10. I like 5 above the horn: the biggest buffer on both sides.
- VideoHow Riley got his private pilot license from scratch ↗What training with Jan is actually like.
Takeoffs & Landings
- Boldmethod7 Steps To Make The Perfect Crosswind Landing ↗On final at a towered airport, ask ATC for a wind check: you get an instantaneous reading instead of the averaged ATIS value.
- BoldmethodHow To Make A Perfect Crosswind Takeoff ↗Full aileron into the wind on the roll, ease it off as the controls get effective. Most people don't put in nearly enough.
- BoldmethodHow To Fly A Perfect Short Field Landing ↗A steeper approach takes more flare authority. Practice the sight picture; it is genuinely different.
- BoldmethodHow To Make An Awesome Soft Field Landing ↗Bleed weight off the wheels, not onto them.
- BoldmethodHow To Time Your Flare For A Perfect Landing ↗Look to the far end of the runway, not the numbers. Peripheral vision picks up sink rate better.
- BoldmethodMaintain Directional Control After A Crosswind Touchdown ↗The landing isn't over when the mains touch. Keep flying all the way to the tie-down.
- BoldmethodSimple Landing Techniques To Avoid Runway Excursions ↗Pick an aim point and a touchdown point and commit to both.
- BoldmethodQuick Tips: Short Field Landings ↗Use the book short-field speed. "A little extra for safety" turns a short field into a long float.
- Pilot InstituteHow To Make A Perfect Soft Field Landing Every Time ↗Keep some power in through touchdown.
- Boldmethod6 Maneuvers You Should Practice On Your Next Flight ↗For the "I have an hour, what should I work on?" days.
Stalls, Spins & Slow Flight
- BoldmethodThe 4 Steps Of Spin Recovery (PARE) ↗Power idle, Ailerons neutral, Rudder opposite, Elevator forward. Memorize it cold.
- BoldmethodSpin Recovery: What's The Purpose Of Each Step? ↗Knowing why each step works makes it stick.
- BoldmethodStall Recovery: 6 Common Mistakes ↗The biggest one: trying to power out of the stall before reducing angle of attack.
- BoldmethodCross-Controlled Stalls: How To Prevent Them ↗Practice the skidded base-to-final at altitude so you recognize it down low.
- BoldmethodTips To Avoid A Stall-Spin Accident In The Pattern ↗Rudder and angle of attack, not bank angle, are what kill people in the pattern.
- BoldmethodHow To Prevent Disaster On Your Base-To-Final Turn ↗If you blow through final, go around.
Weather
- VideoCoriolis effect ↗
- VideoHigh and low pressure systems ↗
- BoldmethodWhy VFR Cloud Clearance Requirements Exist ↗The numbers are time-to-see-and-avoid an IFR airplane popping out of a cloud.
- BoldmethodClass E Airspace, Explained ↗Most of the airspace you fly in is Class E.
- BoldmethodSpecial VFR: How To Use It ↗Useful into or out of a Class D with a low ceiling; not a substitute for an instrument rating.
- BoldmethodIf AWOS Reports IFR But It's VFR: Can You Legally Fly? ↗A great regs-vs-reality checkride question.
- Boldmethod6 Of The Most Hazardous Weather Conditions For IFR Pilots ↗An IFR ticket is not a license to launch into anything.
- BoldmethodInadvertent Thunderstorm Encounter: What To Do ↗Hold heading, slow to maneuvering speed, ride it out. A 180 inside a cell can break the airplane.
- BoldmethodIs It Ever Safe To Fly Underneath A Towering Cumulus? ↗Short answer: no.
- BoldmethodInstability: The Key To Growing Thunderstorms ↗Lapse rate, lifted index, K-index: the vocabulary that makes briefings useful.
- Pilot InstituteHow To Read METAR And TAF Reports ↗A clean group-by-group walkthrough.
- Pilot InstituteHow To Read A TAF: Private Pilot's Guide ↗TEMPO vs. PROB vs. BECMG matters when picking an alternate.
Performance & Aerodynamics
- BoldmethodDensity Altitude: What It Is And How It Affects You ↗Your airplane only cares about density altitude, not the elevation sign at the FBO.
- BoldmethodHow Density Altitude Caused A Crash Shortly After Takeoff ↗An NTSB walkthrough that makes the numbers feel real.
- BoldmethodThe 5 Types Of Altitude, Explained ↗Indicated, true, absolute, pressure, density.
- Boldmethod3 Rules-Of-Thumb For Flying In Hot Weather ↗Roughly +10% takeoff roll per 1,000 ft of density altitude.
- Boldmethod5 Rules Of Thumb Every Pilot Should Know ↗Back-pocket cockpit math.
- Pilot InstituteHow Airplane Lift Works ↗Bernoulli vs. Newton: both are right.
- Pilot InstitutePrinciples Of Flight: The 4 Forces ↗
- Pilot InstituteWhat Is Drag? ↗Induced vs. parasite drag is why best-glide speed exists.
Emergencies
- Pilot InstituteDeadstick Landings: Engine-Out Emergencies ↗Best glide, pick a field, run the flow, then talk on the radio. In that order.
- Pilot InstitutePlane Engine Failure: Why It Happens And What To Do ↗A forced landing is an energy problem.
- Pilot InstituteCarburetor Icing: Causes, Symptoms, And Prevention ↗Most likely between 20°F and 70°F with visible moisture.
Radio & ATC
- BoldmethodHow To Make Your Initial Call To ATC ↗Tower wants the whole package; Approach and Center want "who and where" first.
- Boldmethod7 Tips To Make Better Radio Calls ↗Think the call through before you key the mic.
- Boldmethod11 ATC Phrases You Should Know ↗
- Boldmethod6 Steps To Improve Your Radio Calls ↗Listen for two minutes on a new frequency before transmitting.
Traffic Patterns & Runway Safety
- BoldmethodA Flawless Traffic Pattern At A Non-Towered Airport ↗CTAF calls without your altitude miss the most useful piece.
- BoldmethodIncorrect Pattern Entry Leads To Mid-Air Conflict ↗
- Pilot InstituteThe Dangers Of Runway Incursion ↗Where am I, what was I cleared to do, where am I going?
- Pilot InstituteHow To Avoid Pilot Deviations And Runway Incursions ↗Look at the hot spots before you taxi.
Night Flying & Vision
Instrument Flying
Sources: Boldmethod · Pilot Institute · YouTube. Links open in a new tab.