Pilot Shop Blog - Aviation Products, Education, History and More

Sunny summer days look inviting, and it’s true that you can enjoy a cross-country excursion on a warm day, but hot weather flying takes a little extra forethought and preparation. A plane that’s sitting out on the tarmac baking in the sun can quickly become swelteringly hot. The same is true in the air for a low-wing aircraft with lots of windows.

We can’t all be in real-world cockpits every day, so the next best option is a personal flight simulator. Home flight simulator setups can be as basic as the simulator software paired with your existing computer keyboard and mouse although serious flyers typically include dedicated hardware components like yokes, throttle quadrants, and rudder pedals in their simulator configurations. It is all up to you.

In our world of increasingly digital cockpits, the iPad is a useful tool for both professional and general aviation pilots. Gone are the days of flipping through multiple paper sectionals on a long cross-country flight. Many pilots have embraced the Apple iPad, iPad mini, or another tablet device in lieu of paper charts for flight planning, in-flight navigation and more.

It’s the day you’ve been preparing for and perhaps also dreading. You’re excited to officially become a private pilot, and there is just one more major hurdle you need to jump through in order to do it – you need to pass your checkride.

During a night flight, you will want a reliable and consistent way to illuminate your instrument panel. While newer aircraft will come with pre lit instruments, there are plenty of ways you can upgrade your existing instrument lights.

They are some of the most recognizable pieces of outerwear, and these iconic jackets are known not only for their style but also for their history. With distinctive lines and a storied past, they are so much more than just another piece of clothing.

The views from the cockpit are magnificent, and no matter how well we describe them to our friends and family back on the ground, it is hard to paint the picture. Imagine being able to take them all along for the ride. Now we can do just that when we record our flights using an airplane camera.

The ultimate combination of function and style, sunglasses have been an integral part of a pilot’s image since 1936 when Bausch & Lomb developed the first pair of “aviators.”

A pilot kneeboard is one of the cockpit essentials that every pilot from a first-time student to a seasoned ATP needs for each flight. At its most basic, a kneeboard is an organizational system that straps onto your thigh and serves as a readily accessible and highly visible place to organize charts, documents, paperwork and digital devices. Styles vary and your choice of kneeboard will depend on what tools you will be using most in your cockpit.

Effective communication is one of the tenants of safe flying, which means that radios play a key role in every cockpit. Often referred to as air band avionic radios, aviation radios come in 3 different types – ground station (obviously not meant for in-flight), panel mount and handheld.

Non-pilots may view flight simulators as nothing more than glorified video games, but serious pilots recognize and appreciate the value of the hands-on training opportunity. With flight time at a premium, the ability to build instrument flight rules (IFR) hands-on skills from home can be a powerful career-boosting asset.