Sporty's PIREPs

Attending a fly-in should be on every pilot's to-do list. It's a great way to stay fresh on cross country flight planning and gives you an excuse to go fly. Make sure you do your homework and check for NOTAMs, as large gatherings of aircraft usually call for special arrival procedures. Even if you can't make it to Oshkosh, try to find a regional EAA or AOPA fly-in and go rub shoulders with some fellow aviators for a while. Before departing on a fly-in adventure, be sure to stock up on these must-have supplies.

One of the longest-running, most successful scholarship initiatives in aviation is one you may not know about: the annual Aviation Exploring scholarship program. Every year, $50,000 is awarded to a dozen youth who are interested in airplanes and a career in the industry. Now you can help support this important investment in the next generation of aviators by donating to The Sporty's Foundation, which manages fundraising on behalf of Aviation Exploring.

Sporty's was founded by a flight instructor over 55 years ago, and from the beginning we've been passionate about flight training. When we started out doing three-day ground schools in the 1960s, slides were considered high tech. Over the years, we've transitioned to VHS tapes and now to the latest digital options. The goal has always been the same: offer the highest quality training materials in a variety of formats so pilots can learn anytime, anywhere. Here are five ways to learn with us today.

Sporty's is well-known for offering the finest pilot supplies, and you probably also know about our video training courses. But did you know that our team of app developers has released over 30 aviation apps? Here are some stats from the last year, plus a look at all the different options we offer.

There have never been better options for premium aviation headsets, as companies like Bose, Lightspeed, David Clark and AKG battle to make the quietest, most comfortable headset on the market. The only problem is that most of these headsets cost $800 or even $1000. For pilots looking to spend less, there's an exciting new option from Faro. Their new Stealth headsets offer high performance without the high price, and are available in passive and active noise reduction models. We sent these headsets up for some test flights with our 24 flight instructors to see how they perform.

SiriusXM's new aviation receiver, the SXAR1, is an affordable way to add high quality weather to your iPad. One of the major differences between the SXAR1 and ADS-B receivers like the Stratus is that SiriusXM weather is delivered by satellites, so it's available at all altitudes and all across the United States. That means it requires a subscription, but most pilots don't know that SiriusXM offers some flexible subscription plans. Here are some options to consider.

There’s only one way to properly test a product: you have to fly with it and use it for yourself. This is my favorite excuse to go flying during a work day. In any case, at Sporty’s, we are sure to test all the products we fly with. For this flight, we used Nflightcam’s new suction cup mount, the Vacuum Suction Cup. I have to say that I was very well pleased with the results of the mount. Here’s what I liked best about it.