Articles · Tools · Flight school

Read it, work it out, then fly it.

FlightDesk Aero publishes aviation articles that solve real problems from training and flying. Each one points you to the tool that solves the same problem, so you can practise it straight away.

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Articles

Practical aviation, explained one problem at a time

Navigation, meteorology, performance and the rules of the air, written for student pilots and the pilots who teach them.

Advanced · EASA 032 · 081 New Vx and Vy: why they close in with altitude and meet at the absolute ceiling Excess thrust, excess power, VMD and VMP, worked out for jet and propeller, with an interactive model you can climb to the ceiling. Read the article › Pilot · EASA 010 New When an aircraft type is stopped from flying: airworthiness directives explained What an AD is, how it differs from a service bulletin, who must act and what to check before a rental flight, told through the 2026 Elixir grounding. Read the article › Pilot · EASA 081 · 050 · 021 New Winter flying for PPL pilots: frost, cold engines and carbon monoxide Why a thin frost can cost 30 % of your lift, how to start a cold engine, carbon monoxide from cabin heat, snow factors and the short day, with a winter checklist and go / no-go scenarios. Read the article › Curious · General aviation How airliners avoid conflict zones Why flights to Asia bend around half the map: closed airspace, EASA conflict zone bulletins, who decides the route and what a detour costs, with an interactive Frankfurt to Tokyo map. Read the article › Curious · General aviation The people who keep aircraft apart: a day with air traffic controllers For 20 October, Air Traffic Controller Day: how a flight is passed from controller to controller, the 5 NM / 1,000 ft rule, wake turbulence, real traffic figures and two games: radar control and landing order. Read the article › Student pilot · EASA 021 · 050 New Carburettor icing: why it can stop your engine on a summer day Why ice forms in the carburettor even at 25 °C, how to read the risk from the METAR temperature and dew point, the cockpit signs, carb heat used correctly and an interactive risk chart. Read the article › Student pilot · EASA 050 · 010 METAR and TAF in European format: a step-by-step decoder Metres, hPa, CAVOK, BECMG, TEMPO and PROB30 group by group, the ceiling, the SERA VFR minima, a decoder you can paste real reports into and 10 practice reports. Read the article › Curious · General aviation Formation flying: how display teams fly a metre apart How wingmen hold position by eye, why the outside of a turn needs more power, what 5 g feels like, an animated formation change and a wingman game. Read the article › Student pilot · EASA 032 · 061 Crosswind: how much of the wind is really from the side? The clock rule in your head, the exact sine and cosine, an interactive runway diagram and the traps: gusts, magnetic vs true, tailwind. Read the article ›
RNAV

Radio navigation

NDB and ADF: reading the needle, homing and tracking, intercepting a bearing.

Tool: ADF simulator, in preparation
MET

Meteorology

METAR and TAF decoding, the ISA, density altitude and what they mean for the flight you are planning.

Tool: density altitude on the CRP-5
PERF

Performance

Take-off and landing distances, crosswind components, mass and balance.

Tool: runway wind components on the CRP-5
  1. Read the articleThe problem, the method and a worked example.
  2. Open the linked toolSolve the same problem yourself, with your own numbers.
  3. Check the answerCompare with the exact solution and see where you went wrong.

Tools

Tools for pilots and student pilots

They run in the browser on a laptop, tablet or phone, with nothing to install. Some are free, some have a free version with extra features to unlock, and some are paid from the start.

  • Freeall features, no account
  • Freemiumfree version, extra features paid
  • paid from the start

CRP-5 Style Navigation Computer

Free

Both faces of the classic computer, the wind side and the circular slide rule, plus thirteen exact digital calculations that replay step by step on the analog faces.

Open › About the tool

Take-off and Landing Distances

Freemium

Start from the figure in your flight manual and correct it for density altitude, mass, wind, slope and grass, with the recommended safety factors. Every correction is shown as one step.

Open ›

ADF Simulator

In preparation

An NDB and an aircraft on a moving map, with the ADF needle and RBI to practise orientation, homing, tracking and intercepts.

More tools

New tools follow the articles: each problem we explain gets a tool to practise it.

Flight School · Coming later

An online flight school, from theory to the simulator

The next step for FlightDesk Aero, built on the same articles and tools.

In preparation

Ground School

The theory subjects for the pilot licence, as structured online lessons.

  • Lessons that use the tools in the exercises
  • Progress tests on each subject
  • In English, Spanish and Romanian
In preparation

Simulator instruction with AI agents

Simulator sessions led by AI instructor agents, fully automated.

  • Briefing, the flight and debriefing
  • Feedback on every exercise
  • Practise whenever you have time

About FlightDesk Aero

FlightDesk Aero is a place to learn aviation by working through it: articles that explain, tools to practise, and later a school that brings the two together.

The articles and tools are training aids. Always use approved equipment and current data for real flight planning.