Chris McGonegle

Engine management or throttle control is what gives our aircraft the ability to leave the bounds of planet Earth, while also providing a method for administering the efficiency, speed, or phase of our flight. During my flight training my instructor asked me to conduct our flights as if we had a passenger in the back seat with a full, open cup of coffee. It wasn’t a time to crank and bank—we wanted it to be a smooth flight. Engine management (as well as primary control inputs) are what professional pilots prioritize to make sure their passengers have an uneventful and smooth trip.

The TPM or Throttle/Propeller/Mixture controls are a great emulator of what pilots use when controlling the engine instruments in a Cessna 172 aircraft. The vernier style (or push/pull style) takes up less space than the typical rotating levers found in most aircraft, and also makes small lever adjustments easy.

The Home Flight Simulation market has experienced a unique, maybe even rollercoaster ride over the last few years. At the E3 conference (Electronic Entertainment Expo) in June of 2019, Microsoft announced that a new Flight Simulator was in the works. The previous program was released almost 13 years prior, so the community was hungry for new simulation software. At the same time, a former product manager from Saitek/Logitech was launching a new brand and delivering a yoke with a honeycomb design as the logo in late 2019. And within six months of both these announcements, the world was quarantined and it was socially acceptable to stay inside all weekend and fly the digital skies. Flight simming was mainstream. Microsoft took advantage of the aligning stars and launched (many would argue prematurely) Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020—and a new chapter for the flight sim community started. But how did this benefit the aviation community?

The IFR category of flight can be intimidating to pilots of all experience. Weather minimums, required equipment, fuel reserves - it all changes when flying in the Instrument system. Sporty's Pilot Shop is taking on the task of demystifying the IFR category of aviation by answering these common instrument flying questions.

The IFR category of flight can be intimidating to pilots of all experience. Weather minimums, required equipment, fuel reserves - it all changes when flying in the Instrument system. Sporty's Pilot Shop is taking on the task of demystifying the IFR category of aviation by answering these common instrument flying questions.

The IFR category of flight can be intimidating to pilots of all experience. Weather minimums, required equipment, fuel reserves - it all changes when flying in the Instrument system. Sporty's Pilot Shop is taking on the task of demystifying the IFR category of aviation by answering these common instrument flying questions.

The IFR category of flight can be intimidating to pilots of all experience. Weather minimums, required equipment, fuel reserves - it all changes when flying in the Instrument system. Sporty's Pilot Shop is taking on the task of demystifying the IFR category of aviation by answering these common instrument flying questions.

The IFR category of flight can be intimidating to pilots of all experience. Weather minimums, required equipment, fuel reserves - it all changes when flying in the Instrument system. Sporty's Pilot Shop is taking on the task of demystifying the IFR category of aviation by answering these common instrument flying questions.

The IFR category of flight can be intimidating to pilots of all experience. Weather minimums, required equipment, fuel reserves - it all changes when flying in the Instrument system. Sporty's Pilot Shop is taking on the task of demystifying the IFR category of aviation by answering these common instrument flying questions.

The IFR category of flight can be intimidating to pilots of all experience. Weather minimums, required equipment, fuel reserves - it all changes when flying in the Instrument system. Sporty's Pilot Shop is taking on the task of demystifying the IFR category of aviation by answering these common instrument flying questions.