There’s been a lot going on behind the scenes at Airplane Academy lately. I know that I haven’t been posting as much as I would like to over the last handful of months, but there’s a few really good reasons why.
I also cover all of the material in this article in the video below. 👇
#1) Baby Claire
Back in May we had our third child, Claire. It’s been awesome. I’m very tired, but it’s going great.
We’re definitely in the trenches. If any of you are parents or grandparents, you know how that goes. It’s tiring, but it’s also the best, most honoring and humbling thing. It challenges you physically and emotionally and spiritually and everything.
#2) Instrument Rating Flashcards Are Coming
The second announcement is that I am working on instrument rating flashcards!
I get a lot of emails and comments asking about these and I truly appreciate the support and interest. Many of you have bought the private pilot flashcards and the reviews are awesome. I’m so happy that it has been helpful to you.
This first set took me 15 months to create. I’ve shared before about the process and everything that went into it, but it was a massive undertaking. I thought it was going to be a big project, and it far exceeded that. You can check out the entire process in this video! 👇
The instrument rating flashcards have been no different. In fact, I think there will probably be even more flashcards in the instrument deck than there are in the private pilot set, which is crazy.
I’m making really good progress, and I’m hoping to launch them later this fall in time for the holidays. I’m working my butt off trying to make that happen, but I’m also super committed to quality.
I’m never going to rush something or just have AI spit out content to put on a card.
I feel like I’m doing these the hard way because this is something that I want pilots to be able to use for decades.
There might be little minor updates along the way, but I want to build something that can stand the test of time and that I’m really proud of.
I also want it to live up to the amazing reviews we’ve received for the private pilot flashcards.
It takes time to do that, and I’m committed to quality. I’m playing the long game.
Hopefully the instrument rating flashcards will be available later this year, if not shortly after that. They’re my number one priority right now.
You can sign up for updates on my newsletter: https://airplaneacademy.com/newsletter/
#3) I’m Writing a Children’s Book for Aviation
The third big announcement I’ve actually not shared publicly at all. This is the first time I’m talking about it!
I’m so excited that I have written and am currently working on a children’s book for aviation.
When we had Caleb, our oldest son, a little over 5 years ago, I started reading all these bedtime stories and it was a whole new world to me. I didn’t know anything about children’s books.
I really gravitated towards the books that rhymed, because it felt like a little mini performance for your kid.
I didn’t see many aviation books that also rhymed, so I thought, well, I’ll just write one. I thought it would be fun, and I could even put my kids in it.
Years ago, I started writing one and then I really stalled out. I had a hard time figuring out what to write about and, honestly, how to write a children’s book in the first place.
I’ve written plenty of emails and video scripts and stuff like that, but a kids’ book was completely new territory for me.
So, I hired a writing coach. And then one night in the middle of the night it hit me.
This doesn’t happen very often, but I literally got out of bed, came upstairs to my office, and started typing because the first few stanzas just kind of hit me. That got me really, really excited.
Later on, I ended up stalling out again because life got in the way, but earlier this year I picked it back up and was able to finish the book!
The whole focus of the book is about a kid daydreaming about becoming a pilot and wondering what it might be like to have their own plane one day.
That’s what I grew up daydreaming about.
A lot of my childhood memories of bedtime stories are actually my dad telling me stories about aviation—dodging a storm, ending up somewhere unexpected, and all the adventures that came with flying.
I remember thinking, “Wow, what would it be like to be a pilot for a day?”
That’s really what the book is about. I hope it can become a sweet memory for you too, whether you’re reading it to your kids, grandkids, niece or nephew, or giving it as a gift.
It took a long time to write it. The manuscript is done. Illustration is underway. And the first sample that we got back is just gorgeous.
This particular stanza is about what it might be like to camp out under the wing of a plane one day. My airplane is in the book, and my kids will make appearances as little Easter eggs throughout it as well.
I think it’s turning out really, really cool, and I’m really proud of it.
It’s going to take a few more months to finish all of the illustrations and everything, but I’m thinking it will probably be ready in early 2027.
There’s an outside chance it could be ready by Christmas this year, which would be really cool because I think it could make a great gift.
It’s coming along, and I’m so, so proud of it. I hope it can be something useful to you in your aviation journey, just in a much different way than the flashcards.
#4) Garmin Is Becoming a Sponsor of Airplane Academy
The fourth major update is a really big one that I haven’t announced yet.
I’m incredibly honored to share that Garmin is becoming a sponsor of Airplane Academy!
It’s really cool to say that because years ago, when I wrote my flying bucket list on the Airplane Academy blog, one of the things I wrote was that I hoped Airplane Academy might grow into something that could one day be sponsored by a well-known aviation company.
If you would have told me back then that Garmin would be that company, I would not have believed you.
They’re an amazing company. I think they make the best avionics, bar none. No disrespect to any of the other manufacturers out there, but I love Garmin and everything they make.
As I’ve gotten the chance to fly more modern aircraft, whether demoing new Cessna aircraft, flying around in my dad’s Kodiak, or flying some of the other airplanes I’ve had the opportunity to experience, it’s really made me aspire to have a more modern panel and a much more powerful autopilot in my 182.
I ended up developing a relationship with Garmin and asked them, “Hey, I would love to go all in on my 182 and make it all Garmin. Is this something you’d ever be interested in partnering on?”
I was so excited when they said yes.
I’ll get to document what it’s like to do a full panel upgrade, including the process, the things I learn along the way, and more.
The New Garmin Axis Flight Displays
I’m really pumped that what’s going in my plane is the new Garmin Axis Flight Displays.
If you haven’t heard of these, they just launched, and I got some time to play around with them at Oshkosh. They’re absolutely awesome!
Axis combines a lot of Garmin’s products into one system.
It’s kind of like a G1000 combined with a G3X, with the touchscreen capabilities and a lot of really cool features.
I think the biggest advantage is that you don’t need a separate GPS, comm stack, transponder unit, or other flight displays. It’s all in one.
We’ll have two displays in my Cessna along with the Garmin GFC 500 autopilot, which is a sweet autopilot, plus a digital backup.
So, I’m going all digital and all glass on the 182, and I’ll get to document the whole process. It’s going to be such a fun project.
One of the coolest parts about Axis, besides combining all of this into one system, is how configurable it is. You can split screen the heck out of it and really customize it based on what you want to see.
It has a very iOS-like feel. You can pinch and zoom, the response is very, very quick, and there are a lot of ways to configure the displays. It’s kind of like Apple CarPlay in that you can have different widgets on your main display or PFD, and then configure your MFD with basically whatever you want over there.
It’s very flexible and just really cool.
Smart Glide and the 182 Upgrade
The airplane will also have Smart Glide.
In an emergency situation, God forbid, you can activate it and the system will automatically set the best glide speed and start turning toward an airport.
You can also have it do a 180 if you’re getting into icing or another situation where you need to turn around. It’s very, very powerful.
I still get to keep my 1975 182, but bring it up to 2026 and beyond with modern technology. I’ve loved my 182, and it’s about to become a really, really capable airplane.
If you’d like to follow the process, I’ll be documenting some of the key milestones along the way. I’m not going to be doing only content about the panel rebuild, but I do want to share what the process looks like and how everything comes together.
I’ll be sharing updates on the YouTube channel, on Instagram at Airplane Academy, and through the Airplane Academy newsletter.
The newsletter is totally free, and you can sign up at airplaneacademy.com/newsletter to follow along.
Thanks for Being Part of the Journey
Thank you for being part of the Airplane Academy journey. There are a lot of exciting things happening, and I’m incredibly grateful that I get to share them with you.
Whether you’ve been following along for years, bought a set of flashcards, watched a video, or are brand new here, I hope the things I create continue to be useful to you in your own aviation journey.
Thanks so much for being here, and I can’t wait to share what’s next!
