The Pre-Flight Briefing - Pilot Shop Blog

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and lethal threat in any piston aircraft cabin. With the NTSB urging pilots to adopt active alerting detectors, choosing the right device is a critical safety decision. To help you make the right choice, our team of experienced pilots put the top portable CO detectors to the test in real-world cockpit conditions. This guide provides our unbiased 2026 picks, shows you the FAA-researched best location for mounting, and covers the essential maintenance to keep you safe on every flight.

Modern cockpits rely on tablets, smartphones, and portable avionics—but keeping them powered requires a reliable aviation USB charging solution. This guide explains how aircraft USB chargers work, why TSO certification matters, and how the Stratus Power Max and Power Pro compare.

Looking for a jet you can fly with one pilot? This 2026 guide ranks the 10 best single-pilot jets with a comparison chart, key specs, and a buyer’s checklist—plus FAQs to help you choose.

Before we get into our list of the easiest planes to fly, it is only fair to point out that the concept of ease of flying is inherently subjective. Yes, there are certain characteristics that most pilots will look for and most designers will incorporate on an aircraft that is easy to fly, but there is no universal checklist. We are all different and our perceptions of the relative ease of flying a given aircraft will vary.

Imagine sitting in a cozy cockpit, surrounded by an array of gauges and instruments. It's like being in the captain's chair of your own adventure. But here's the catch: having all those gauges is great, but if you're not entirely at ease with them or don't know how to use them effectively, it's like having a treasure map without a clue. In this article, we'll take you on a journey through the ins and outs of altimeters.

On the ground, speed is relatively simple to measure, and vehicles like cars only measure one type of speed. Once you take to the air though, other factors like air density and wind come into play and must be accounted for. Accounting for and quantifying the impact of these factors is what led to the definition of the four different types of airspeed.

The pitot-static system is a pressure-based aircraft system that measures and compares ram air pressure and static pressure. That data is then transmitted to aircraft instruments in the cockpit, giving the pilot information on aircraft altitude, airspeed and vertical speed.

Unless they remember their ground school training, new pilots may be surprised at how their aircraft reacts as they engage their ailerons to make a turn. They may be caught wondering why if they were making a turn to the right, the aircraft suddenly seemed to have a mind of its own and pivoted to the left first. Sounds like it is time for a refresher on the topic of adverse yaw.

There is a certain mystique and allure about ultralight aircraft. They are reminiscent of the early days of aviation when would-be pilots built their own aircraft and took to the skies for their own test flights. Ultralights are affordable, exciting and building them from a kit evokes a sense of accomplishment and pride.

Curious about wingtip vortices and how they work? They’re spirals of air caused by pressure differences on an aircraft wing, creating induced drag that affects performance. Winglets, those angled extensions at the wingtips, help reduce these vortices and boost efficiency.

Let’s dive into the details!

Pilot students at Part 61 flight schools may begin training on analog instruments in their early days, but as they advance they will likely have the opportunity to experience glass cockpits. Glass cockpits use computer technology with features such as interactive moving maps.

However, some pilots prefer steam gauges because they are more affordable for general aviation aircraft use. In this article, we'll investigate—which is better, analog or glass cockpits?

Let's explore and find out!

Have you ever wondered why some planes can do acrobatic stunts while others can't? It all comes down to stability.

In this guide, we'll explain the basics of flight stability and how it impacts how an airplane flies. We'll cover three types of stability to help you understand how an aircraft behaves.

By the end, you will learn everything you need to know about flight stability characteristics and their importance in the design of aircraft.