Every student dreads the FAA knowledge exam. Getting through it requires time with your instructor, time in a classroom environment, or some self-study. Pro Aviation Trainers is trying to meld a few of those options with a virtual ground school.
Many students do well in an intensive classroom setting, but not everyone has always had that option. Now they do with the Pro Aviation Trainers online ground school. The concept is a simple twist on the traditional classroom ground school, in which the same course is taught live and online. Students log in and have access to the presentation slides and reference material. A certificated instructor leads the course, and students can interact and ask questions.
The interface is easy to understand and the information is good, if not terribly sophisticated. Pro Aviation Trainers is a great solution for anyone who doesn’t want to or can’t participate in a local class.
Price: $279 to $349, depending on level of purchase
Contact: www.proaviationtrainers.com
Jeppesen Mobile FliteDeck VFR
An application for the rest of us
The biggest surprise in Jeppesen’s Mobile FliteDeck VFR may be that it’s from Jeppesen, a company not exactly known for being quick or responsive to market demands. But give credit where it is due, because Jeppesen has absolutely nailed it with its newest iPad offering.
The trend in mapping and flight planning iPad applications has long been to cram as many features as possible into one application and then sell that same application to all pilots, regardless of the type of flying they do. Jeppesen is the first to acknowledge the fact that not every pilot has an instrument rating—and many of those who do, don’t use it regularly. Mobile FliteDeck VFR is a delightfully restrained application based on the company’s VFR + GPS charts. These were a great product at the wrong time, but with Mobile FliteDeck VFR, the company has figured out a way to use the basic design of the charts in a more modern format.
The application gives VFR pilots exactly what they need—charting, preflight weather, basic flight planning, and airport data—and nothing they don’t. The charts aren’t digital versions of the FAA’s sectionals, but rather Jeppesen’s own VFR-optimized charts that are considerably easier to use. Best of all, the application is database driven. This may sound insignificant, but how many times have you sat there waiting for a chart to load on an iPad application? That’s because the files are massive. It also means zooming is limited to the digital equivalent of a magnifying glass. With Mobile FliteDeck VFR, the charts load almost instantly and when you zoom in on an airport, for example, the whole presentation changes to one that’s optimized for that depiction. There’s no more switching between airport diagrams and charts.
Mobile FliteDeck VFR is a superb application that every VFR pilot should consider, and I’d venture to say most IFR pilots would use it often as well.
Price: $49 per year
Contact: www.jeppesen.com; Apple App Store
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