The audiobook is a great supplement to Machado's handbook but does not replace it. While the first eight chapters can stand alone, the remainder will refer you to diagrams in the printed handbook at relevant times. We found the audiobook perfectly suited to a review, before either a checkride or a flight review. It would be indispensable to someone who travels a lot and could use it to learn during time that otherwise would be unproductive.
Material like Chapter 17, "Pilot Potpourri," seems to be enhanced by the audiobook format.
Listening to this great collection of informational nuggets, we picked up on several excellent tips that we'd missed when reading the handbook several years ago. Useful things, like Machado's admonition that new students obtain their FAA medical certification early in their training -- that way, they have more time to fix any problems that may crop up. And Machado's preference for the Toynbee maneuver over the Valsalva for clearing blocked eustachian tubes -- pinch your nostrils closed and then simply swallow, instead of trying to force air out through your nose.
Published by the Aviation Speakers Bureau, the CDs are packaged in a rugged binder. Although it does not include the printed book's illustrations, a comprehensive description of each track -- printed on heavy cardstock -- is provided in the back of the binder, making it a snap to find specific subject areas. --Mike Collins
Price: $149.95. For more information: 800/437-7080; www.rodmachado.com
Sporty's GPS Techniques DVD
Sporty's has updated the GPS Techniques installment of its Air Facts series on DVD to include glass-panel technology as featured in the Garmin G1000 and Avidyne FlightMax Entegra systems. In-flight footage using a Cessna 182T and Cirrus SR22 provides practical applications of the new technology. The two-program DVD also includes "GPS Approaches," which takes the viewer through the intricacies of the GPS approach, and "GPS En Route," which examines the full potential of GPS, whether panel mount or handheld.
Price: $25. For more information: 800/776-7897 or 513/735-9000; www.sportys.com
WingX from Hilton Software
A PocketPC-based application for personal digital assistants (PDAs) that really sings is WingX, a flight planning, E6B, and reference program now available from Hilton Software through King Schools. Developer and company president Hilton Goldstein wanted an aviation program that would do everything he wanted it to do -- and with a doctoral degree in computer science and a flight instructor background, he had the means to do the job.
WingX is in fact a suite of applications; at its core is a weight-and-balance program that was the first one Goldstein developed. The application can utilize more than 330 aircraft models downloadable via personal computer or PDA Internet connection. Along with the graphical envelope display is the option to switch to a bar display showing centers of gravity relevant to each phase of flight based on fuel burn, and warnings when you come within a certain percentage of the aft or forward CG limits.
The route planning application calculates pertinent course, distance, and time figures, and a status bar correlates the route with Part 61 and 141 cross-country distances for those logging time toward a certificate or rating. The dynamic flight navigator sequences through each leg of the route and displays the closest three VORs and frequencies.
Airport, navaid, and fix information can be accessed, and runway layout information will be incorporated in future versions (we tested version 1.6). Sunset and sunrise times let you know when to expect night flying and include a cross-reference to the pertinent regulations. An E6B function allows you to make calculations and conversions.
Speaking of regs, a Pilot Expirations application helps you to track your currency once you get your certificate -- and the expiration dates of your GPS databases. A Documents application contains FAR parts 1, 43, 61, 91, 119, and 141 and NTSB 830, as well as weather contractions and local and toll-free flight service station phone numbers.
WingX comes in three editions: Pro, XL, and X6B. The Pro version contains all applications listed above, while the XL version does not include the sunset/sunrise information, dynamic flight navigator, and pilot expirations. The X6B includes the E6B program plus the airport/navaid/fix information, FARs, and documents. WingX version 1.6.5 was scheduled to begin shipping in June with a weight and balance summary page, integrated help functions, and an updated user manual. Future enhancements include compatibility with Microsoft Smartphone and a landscape display option.
Price: $79.95 Pro; $49.95 XL; $29.95 X6B. Contact: 800/854-1001 or 858/541-2200; www.kingschools.com or www.hiltonsoftware.com
Sport Pilot Encyclopedia
One goal behind the Sport Pilot initiative is to make learning to fly a light aircraft for recreation easy. The easier the process is, the sooner the budding aviator is on his or her way to adventures in the sky.
So it stands to reason that training materials for nascent sport pilots should be easy to digest and fun, while still imparting the necessary regulations, rules of thumb, and laws of physics that every pilot needs to understand. David Schlafman, a 25-year gold seal flight instructor, is the brain behind FAAEZTest's Sport Pilot Encyclopedia, an all-in-one reference for sport pilots studying for the practical and knowledge tests. Rather than spending a lot of capital on a glossy presentation -- which Schlafman saw as moot since test materials need to be updated on a frequent and regular basis -- he developed Sport Pilot Encyclopedia in a newsprint tabloid format.
The amount of information that's packed inside this publication is simply amazing. The tabloid is about the size of a summer copy of Trade-A-Plane (the yellow aircraft classifieds that you see lying around the FBO), and it contains all the pertinent test questions, Schlafman's witty explanations, and appropriate references to the Aeronautical Information Manual, federal aviation regulations, and other FAA publications.
Schlafman peppers his learning prose with accident reports and what pilots can learn from the fumbles of their fellow aviators. He also utilizes some mild adult language, so buyer beware. But the style is humorous and will certainly appeal to pilots bored with standard dry textbooks and government missives. He also includes valuable advice on a variety of related topics, among them choosing a flight school, aircraft operating procedures, and obtaining a decent weather briefing.
Sport Pilot Encyclopedia is revised "every time the FAA issues a new test," according to Schlafman. He encourages user feedback and promises to list as future contributors those who add to the publication (or alert him of any errors).
Price: $9.95. For more information: 800/729-7503 (to order through The Pilot Shop); www.pilotshopusa.com or www.faaeztest.com
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