Flight Nerd Weekly Briefing
The latest updates to help you prep for FAA exams and enjoy the world of aviation!
Stalls and Spins: Mastering the Edge of Controlled Flight
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For many new pilots, the words "stall" and "spin" can sound intimidating. After all, they involve losing lift and an aircraft behaving in ways it normally shouldn’t. But with the right understanding and practice, stalls and spins become just another part of a pilot’s skill set—helping build con...
Jun 15, 2025
Ground Reference Maneuvers: Mastering Wind and Wings in Small Aircraft
Ground reference maneuvers are essential exercises that teach pilots how to control an aircraft while compensating for wind. These maneuvers help pilots develop coordination, maintain a consistent flight path, and understand how wind affects an aircraft’s movement over the ground. Whether you're ...
Jun 08, 2025
Coordination in Flight: Keeping Lift Balanced in Small Aircraft
Flying a small aircraft isn’t just about pointing the nose where you want to go—it’s about maintaining coordination to ensure smooth, stable, and efficient flight. Coordination refers to the proper use of ailerons, rudder, and elevator to keep the aircraft balanced, particularly during turns. Wit...
Jun 01, 2025
Dynamics of a Turn: How Small Aircraft Use Lift to Bank and Roll
Turning an aircraft might seem as simple as tilting the wings, but there’s a lot more happening behind the scenes. When a small aircraft enters a turn, lift, gravity, and inertia all interact in a delicate balance. Understanding the dynamics of a turn is essential for smooth, coordinated flight a...
May 25, 2025
Torque and Lift: The Twisting Force in Small Aircraft
When we talk about lift, we often focus on wings, airflow, and angle of attack—but there’s another force at play that every small aircraft pilot must contend with: torque. Torque is a rotational force created by the engine and propeller, and while it doesn’t directly generate lift, it has a signi...
May 18, 2025
Flaps: The Hidden Lift Boosters of Small Aircraft
Flaps are one of the most useful tools a pilot has for controlling lift, drag, and airspeed, especially during takeoff and landing. These seemingly simple hinged surfaces, located on the trailing edge of the wings, can make a huge difference in how an aircraft performs. For small aircraft, flaps ...
May 18, 2025
Trim Control Surfaces: The Secret to Effortless Flying
Flying an aircraft requires constant adjustments, but wouldn't it be nice if the plane could hold steady without the pilot wrestling with the controls? That’s exactly what trim control surfaces are for! Trim systems allow small aircraft to maintain a desired pitch, roll, or yaw attitude with mini...
May 18, 2025
Control Effects and Stability: Keeping Small Aircraft in Balance
When flying a small aircraft, every movement of the controls affects how the airplane responds in the air. But staying in control isn’t just about moving the stick or yoke—it’s about understanding how those movements interact with the forces of lift, stability, and aerodynamics. In this article, ...
Apr 27, 2025
Axes of Control: How Small Aircraft Move Through the Air
Flying isn’t just about going up and down—it’s about controlling movement in three dimensions. Every aircraft, from a simple trainer to a high-performance aerobatic plane, moves around three primary axes of control: pitch, roll, and yaw. Understanding these axes is essential for pilots to manage ...
Apr 20, 2025
Center of Pressure vs. Center of Gravity: Balancing Lift in Small Aircraft
In aviation, keeping an aircraft stable and controllable requires balancing two important points: the center of gravity (CG) and the center of pressure (CP). While both affect how an aircraft flies, they serve different roles in aerodynamics. Understanding their relationship is key to mastering l...
Apr 13, 2025
The Region of Reversed Command: When More Power Equals Less Speed
In most areas of flying, adding power makes an aircraft go faster. But in certain situations—like slow flight and steep approaches—pilots experience something counterintuitive: adding power is required just to maintain altitude and avoid slowing down further. This phenomenon is known as the regio...
Apr 06, 2025
Thrust and Lift: The Dynamic Duo of Small Aircraft
When it comes to keeping an aircraft in the air, lift does the heavy lifting—but it wouldn’t be possible without thrust. Thrust is the force that moves an aircraft forward, allowing air to flow over the wings and generate the lift needed for flight. Without thrust, wings would be useless, and air...
Mar 30, 2025
Flight Nerd Weekly Briefing
