Sporty's PIREPs

On March 3, 1969, the United States Navy established an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots. Its purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat and to ensure that the handful of men who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world. They succeeded. Today, the Navy calls it Fighter Weapons School. The flyers call it: TOP GUN. Luckily for us non-naval aviators, we still have a few options to look the part. Here is a list of our fighter pilot products that'll get you better prepared to buzz the tower. 

How to choose the right connector  

Buying a headset can be overwhelming. Our staff of experienced pilots have flown with every brand we sell and are uniquely qualified to answer all your questions. Some of the most common questions we deal with involve headset connectors: "What's the difference between twin plugs and 6-pin connectors?" Or "Do I need a battery powered or aircraft powered headset?" Let’s go through the differences of each connector so that when you select a headset you're confident that you chose the right type.  

As Jack Nicholson taught us 40 years ago, all work and no play makes for an unhappy situation. For that reason the flight sim department at Sporty’s wanted to rate the current Logitech brand of flight simulator sticks available to the community and give our feedback on how best to complement today’s digital fighter aircraft with hardware. 

Since being reintroduced in 2020, Microsoft Flight Simulator has reinvented the flight simulator world. With stunning graphics, live weather, and incredibly life-like cockpits, the latest generation of this storied franchise is winning thousands of new fans every week. To make it more than a game, though, you'll need the right hardware. Here are our top picks for yokes and rudder pedals, any of which can transform MSFS into a valuable training tool. All of these work with X-Plane as well as Micorsoft, and they can be mixed and matched to create the perfect system.

Finding a replacement for 100LL has been a "galactically slow train wreck," according to longtime aviation journalist Paul Bertorelli. In his famously blunt way, he explains what's going on with GAMI's unleaded fuel candidate, when you might be able to pump some of it, and why he thinks the FAA has dropped the ball. He also speculates on the future of electric airplanes following Textron's purchase of Pipistrel, plus what he thinks of the latest eVTOL concepts from Joby and Archer. In the rapid-fire "Ready to Copy" segment, Paul comments on everything from the Cirrus parachute to whether the Air Force has seen alien spacecraft. If you know Paul's work, you know he doesn't lack opinions, but he always backs it up with facts learned from a long career of covering aviation.

Why do good pilots make bad decisions? The AOPA Air Safety Institute’s Richard McSpadden says it’s because the human brain wasn't made to work well at 100 knots. He offers some practical tips for managing that limitation, explains why VFR-into-IMC accidents persist, and describes the right approach to aircraft transitions. Richard also talks about his time as leader of the US Air Force Thunderbirds, the joy of backcountry flying, and what it was like to teach his kids to fly. From practical safety tips to great flying stories, this podcast is loaded with insight for pilots.

As a frequent traveler, I have become a sort of luggage connoisseur. But my pile ’o bags might be marked for the next Goodwill run. I stumbled upon the Flight Outfitters Seaplane duffle bags a few months ago. At first, I thought there was no way I’d fall in love with a non-rolling set of luggage. The small and large sized duffle screamed basic and plain, but little did I know, that is exactly what I needed. 

What's it like to complete 98 inverted flat spins from 24,000 feet in a Pitts? Spencer Suderman is the only person in the world who knows, and he describes that incredible experience in this fast-moving episode. He also shares his opinion on what airmanship is and why it is so important for safe flying: "Pilots communicate with the airplane through the flight controls… you have to know how speak the language." Spencer has plenty of tips, including which flight control really makes the airplane turn, what his favorite maneuver is for improving airmanship skills, and how he handled the loss of a propeller in flight.

At the conclusion of every quarter, we like to reflect on some of the more notable products that joined Sporty’s offering. Here are the top ten new products we’re excited to offer to our customers from the first three months of 2022.  

As a theoretical cosmologist, Katie Mack (better known as AstroKatie online) isn't afraid of a little math—so when she learned to fly, she dove right into physics and aerodynamics. What she didn't expect was how much fun it would be, and how much her interest in airplanes would consume her life. She talks about the flight training process, whether Newton or Bernoulli is more correct about lift, and what she thinks of the emerging world of private spaceflight. In the Ready to Copy segment, Katie shares her pick for the best science fiction book for pilots, her theory of how the universe will end, and the story of her cameo in a Reese Witherspoon movie.