Aviation Memberships & Subscriptions

Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association

The AOPA’s mission is simple: “to ensure that the sky remains within reach of everyone who dreams of becoming a pilot.” To accomplish this, the AOPA does so many things that will benefit you as you progress in your training. First and foremost, they off a FREE six-month Student Pilot Membership that includes several valuable tools and resources to help you get started. This offer varies throughout the year so click around their webisite if the link doesn’t bring you to their current offer.

Join the AOPA for FREE

Sporty’s Pilot Shop

Sporty’s Pilot Shop is an excellent online resource for purchasing your essential equipment but it also offers a ton of useful information for the aspiring pilot. Our favorite feature is the FREE FAA Knowledge Test Prep for the Private Pilot. It features the entire Private Pilot Knowledge Test question bank and is an excellent way to study for, and pass the required written exam. Creating a FREE account allows you to sign up for their student pilot newsletter covering various topics.

Create a FREE Sporty's Account

ForeFlight

There are a few “electronic flight bag” apps but the most popular, and in our opinion the best, is ForeFlight. Everything you used to need to buy in paper form and buy again when it was time to update, is now consolidated into one subscription based service that keeps everything up-to-date for you. The $100/year Basic Plus package is all we ever needed but their advanced packages have even more features that many people love. You will need an Apple mobile device to utilize all of its features, but it’s hard to imagine flight training without ForeFlight - many flight schools require it.

Download the FREE 30-day Trial

X-Plane

Flight simulator programs have come a long way and depending on your budget, you can create a near-professional setup in your own home. But if you simply want to engage with the interface of a real airplane, learn some basic procedures, and get a virtual taste of flying, X-Plane offers a FREE trial download that does just that. No need to purchase a full set of flight controls, a simple USB joystick or even the computer’s keyboard will allow you to get into the cockpit of a plane very close to what you’ll be training in. You can orient yourself with the instruments, twist a few dials, push a few buttons, and perform some basic flight maneuvers.

*When you begin your instrument training, an at home simulator becomes invaluable for learning procedures and enhancing your situational awareness.

Download the FREE X-Plane 12 Trial