I think you will agree with me when I say that without great flight training, a flight simulator is just another video game with planes. Beyond this, it can become a frustrating experience trying to land a plane in a flight sim with zero training.
When I used to search for free flight lessons, I would search youtube. The problem is that not everyone on YouTube is a great instructor, and in some of the videos it is debatable whether they even have the skills to be teaching flight maneuvers.
This is why I am writing this post.
I want you to be able to locate great flight training information for free, from someone that is qualified to instruct. This post will be for anyone that wants to fly a realistic flight sim, wants to be a real pilot, or is a real private pilot, commercial pilot or CFI. Yes… even flight instructors will benefit from this post.
What Makes a Great Flight Instructor?
Well, in my opinion, you need someone with a passion for flight instruction. Someone who is good at conveying a topic and who wants to teach. They have to be a qualified Flight Instructor and have the technical skills to produce a great video or training aid.
So, those are the requirements that I used when searching for a great online flight instructor.
Who do I recommend for Online Flight Training?
Well there are many places to find great flight instructors, in fact you can find them on youtube, but you will have to dig and dig to find the great ones.
I already did some of the digging for you and located a great flight instructor with an amazing amount of free content. Now, he does have paid content as well, and if you can afford to get it, I highly recommend it, but before you dive into anything paid, you should consume all of the free information out there… Because there is a lot!
Ok… So Here it is
The flight instructor that I am recommending is Jason Schappert from https://www.m0a.com/ or https://www.mzeroa.com/. Jason Schappert is always putting out great information. I constantly follow his content as it comes out. First I will go over the free content, and then I will briefly go over his paid options for the people that really want to dig into flight training.
Just so you know, I am not associated with Jason Schappert or his company at this time and do not receive any compensation for posting about him. I just really feel his content and ability to instruct is worth sharing with my audience.
Video Content
First on the list is his Youtube Channel and Facebook. These appear to be his most active social media outlets. In both of these locations he puts out his new videos. If I wanted to binge watch his videos, I would go to his YouTube Channel and scroll through that. His newer videos are extremely good quality with resolution up to 4K. He has many cameras mounted around his plane and teaches as he is flying. His information is clear and really makes sense.
Below I have included one of his newer videos, where he practices spacial disorientation. Now when you are watching this video, think about how you could practice this in your flight simulator. You wouldn’t get the feeling, however you could easily get disorientated if you closed your eyes for a minute and attempted to maintain some type of level flight. This would create a great opportunity to correct properly when you opened your eyes.
If you want to learn more about flight sim and VR flight, take a look through the rest of my blog to find some information regarding Flight Simulation and VR Flight Sim. https://vrflightworld.com/blog/
Spacial Disorientation video below:
The Podcast
Some of us are just too busy to stop and watch a video. If you have a commute every day, or drive for a living then this would be a great podcast to listen to. There are many podcasts available, including my own at VR Flight World Podcast (iTunes). Jason has his recent podcasts segmented into several categories. Below are the links to each podcast.
As well as his Coffee Break flight instruction and the older podcasts, which are located at Flight Training Radio and Inspire Aviation
The Webinars
If you really want a long video about flying, I will include some links to his webinars where he answers questions and discusses a topic. Here are a few great webinars. Be warned, they are long. Usually around 1.5 hours.
The Secret To Perfect Landings – MzeroA – LIVE Webinar
8 Ways To Maintain Your Proficiency As A Pilot Webinar – MzeroA
Inflight Emergencies – MzeroA – LIVE Webinar
5 Step Aeronautical Decision Making – MzeroA – LIVE Webinar
The Secret To VFR Radio Communications Webinar – MzeroA
31 Day Safer Pilot Challenge
Last piece of free content that I am going to showcase.
This one appears to be some of his older videos, however it is still great information. It is a series of 31 videos, going over a multitude of flight topics. If you want to learn about flying, this would be a great place to start.
Online Ground School (the Paid Option)
If you enjoyed the other free content that Jason Schappert puts out on MzeroA.com then you will really enjoy his Online Ground School. The Ground School is a monthly subscription, however if you are really serious about flying, it may be a great option for you. The Ground School is just that, it gives you an entire ground school, just like any local ground school, except it has great up to date videos to teach you about all the topics. If you are flying out of the US, I believe this can actually be your ground school for your real flight training. If you are outside the US, this information will still greatly improve your training, however you will still need to take a ground school at your local flight school.
I won’t get to much into the paid ground school training, however I should also mention, that it has a great community that gets access to weekly live webinars, where Jason is in front of the camera answering questions, similar to the webinars I posted above, except the new ones have better video and audio.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you enjoy the free information that I dug up from MzeroA.com. It is really a great resource that will help you improve your flight training. If you are flying a flight Simulation, you may not want to pay for formal flight training, but you want some real world expertise. Well, this information will help you get that expertise and will help you get immersed in the pilot’s world.
If you have read my other posts, or you noticed the title of my Website, you will note that I teach about how to get involved in Virtual Reality Flight. If you are interested in flying a flight simulator in virtual reality I suggest that you dig into the rest of my blog at VrFlightWorld.com/blog/
Also, please sign up to my Newsletter, where I will keep you posted on all the latest information. The newsletter is good for the beginner and advanced flight sim enthusiasts, as well as the real world pilot who is looking to improve his skills by supplementing his flights with a flight simulator.
That was a quite lovely blog, thanks for the precious and valuable information and keep up the work 🙂
Thanks. I appreciate that.