A photo of Chris McGonegle

Chris McGonegle

Director of Search Marketing

Chris caught the aviation bug at the age of seven when he was able to sit in the cockpit of a 737 between flights, thanks to his aunt working at a large airline. Countless balsa wood flyers and multi-stage rockets later, he enrolled in the Aviation Technology Program at the University of Cincinnati and successfully turned a fascination into a career. “One of my most memorable flights was flying my dad to a local airport with a restaurant just off the ramp known for their generously portioned ribs. I’ll never forget that day with passenger #1.” As the Director of Search Marketing at Sporty’s, Chris is tasked with managing online advertising and search engine optimization but he still loves to search for new products.

Flight Simulation for Pilots in 2025

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?

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Posted in Flight simulator

Intro to IFR Question #28 - What are Holding Patterns?

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.

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Posted in IFR

Intro to IFR Question #27 - How many hours does it take to get an instrument rating?

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.

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Posted in IFR

Intro to IFR Question #26 - What benefits does an Instrument Rating provide

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.

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Posted in IFR

Intro to IFR Question #6 - What is the IFR required equipment?

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.

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Posted in IFR

Intro to IFR Question #25 - What are popular IFR acronyms?

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.

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Posted in IFR

Intro to IFR Question #24 - What is the 1-2-3 rule in IFR?

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.

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Posted in IFR

Intro to IFR Question #23 - What's to be expected in IFR flight training?

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.

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Posted in IFR

Intro to IFR Question #22 - What is the best IFR ground school?

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.

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Posted in IFR

Intro to IFR Question #21 - What are IFR fuel requirements?

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.

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Posted in IFR

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