What do I need for flight training?

You don't need to purchase everything at once to begin flight training. However, as you progress, there are several items you'll need or find valuable throughout your training.

Flight Training Essentials

• Aviation Headset — Essential for communicating with your instructor and Air Traffic Control.

• Flight Bag — Keeps your headset, logbook, charts, and other equipment organized and accessible.

• Pilot Logbook — Records your flight time, training, endorsements, and experience as you progress.

• Online Ground School — Provides the knowledge training you'll need for your FAA Knowledge Test and helps you understand what you're learning in the airplane.

• E6B Flight Computer or App — Used for calculations involving time, speed, distance, fuel, wind, and other flight-planning information.

• Navigation Plotter — Used with aeronautical charts to learn flight planning, navigation, headings, distances, and courses.

• iPad Mini — As your training progresses, an iPad becomes a valuable cockpit tool for flight planning, charts, weather, and navigation.

• ForeFlight Subscription — Paired with an iPad, ForeFlight provides digital charts, airport information, weather, flight planning, and other tools you'll use throughout training and beyond.

Do I Need Everything Before My First Lesson?

No. A headset and logbook are good items to have early, while tools such as an E6B, plotter, iPad, and ForeFlight become more useful as your training progresses.

Before purchasing equipment, ask your flight school or instructor what they recommend. Your instructor can help you determine what you need now, what can wait, and which products make the most sense for your training.

The goal isn't to buy every piece of pilot equipment on Day 1. Start with the essentials and build your flight bag as your skills and training progress.