Ground School | Learn to Fly Canada

Aircraft Navigation Lights

Aircraft Position Lights

Airplane Lighting
During night hours, no person shall operate an aircraft unless it has lighted position lights. These are referred to as Navigation Lights or commonly known as Position Lights. Navigation lights don’t actually help the pilot navigate. They are used to help pilots to locate and determine the relative position of other aircraft nearby in

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Reciprocal Runway Math Made Easy

Reciprocal Runways – 180 Degree Opposites

Runway Numbering
The diagram shown here displays a 4,000 foot long (75 foot wide) runway with two ends. Each end of the runway is labelled with a large number. The actual pavement would have these large numbers painted on the runway at the threshold for each end of the runway. In this example, we see

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Aviation Phonetic Alphabet

ICAO – International Civil Aviation Organization

T is for Tango!
As a student pilot, you will need to learn how to talk like a pilot.

“Pilotspeak” includes a Phonetic Alphabet. This is based on the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) standardized phonetic alphabet. This may also be referred to as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet.

International Language
English is the International Language of Aviation.

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Aviation Light Gun Signals

ATC Light Signals from the Tower

Traffic Light Signal
Even before you learned to drive, you knew about the Traffic Light Signal. Red for Stop. Yellow for Caution. Green for Go. Traffic on the streets would be chaos if drivers and pedestrians did not understand and obey these simple and well known traffic signals.

Quick Joke
If you know

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VFR and IFR Cruising Altitudes

What Flight Level should I cruise at?

Is Fifteen Feet O.K. for my Cruising Altitude?
Viper North owner Jeff “Biscuit” Lewis flys his Czechoslovakian designed Aero Vodochody L-29 Delfin jet at 15 feet above the deck. How’s that for a cruising altitude?

Pilots must be aware of Cruising Altitudes for both VFR (Visual Flight Rules) and IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) flight.

Automobile Analogy
Here’s a

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Airspeeds, V-Speeds, Vx, Vy, Vs0, Vs1, Va, Vno, Vfe, Vne...

Airspeed Limitations, Manoeuvring Speeds and Performance

Alphabet Soup?
Aviation Acronyms can seem like Alphabet Soup!

With Airspeeds and V-Speeds, there are dozens of Aviation Acronyms for the student pilot to learn and remember.

Your Aviation Acronym Decoder begins with some talk about Velocity.

V is for Velocity
Important aviation Airspeeds are identified and defined using standard terms. Scientists and Engineers refer to

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Aerotech Private Pilot Ground School Course

Transport Canada Written PPL Exam Prep

Study for the Transport Canada Written Exam
Aerotech, located in Mississauga, Ontario, has designed and produced a Complete Private Pilot Licence (PPL) Ground School Course. This interactive course is a CD based, user-paced, self-study program to help the student pilot study and prepare for the Transport Canada Written Exam.

Transport Canada Exam
Early in

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Six Pack - The Primary Flight Instruments

Cessna 172 Instrument Panel

Before the days of Glass Panels, this was a typical General Aviation Instrument Panel.

Even with the trend towards only Glass Cockpits, the basic Flight Instruments remain the same.

The Six Pack is not a half-dozen beers, and it’s not a well toned and muscled belly. Instead, Pilots know the 6-Pak refers to the

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How I Aced the PSTAR Exam!

Pass the Private Pilot PSTAR Exam with Flying Colours!

PSTAR Exam
Before you can SOLO, a Student Pilot must pass the written Transport Canada PSTAR Exam. This exam tests the student pilot’s knowledge of Air Regulations and Air Traffic Control Procedures. This ensures the student has a sufficient understanding of the necessary CARs (Canadian Aviation Regulations) and AIMs

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