Course Categories

Test Pilot Theory

Courses based on the USAF Test Pilot School Textbook volumes “Performance Phase” and “Flying Qualities”, as well as aerospace engineering and flight testing literature. They include flight simulator data collection exercises and analysis with Python notebooks in the Jupyter environment.

All-Attitude and Emergency Maneuver Training

Upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT), spin training, the “impossible turn”, and aerobatics. These courses apply the deep theoretical insights of test pilot theory to practical in-flight scenarios for a refined understanding of airplane response and better pilot performance in critical situations.

Advanced Courses and Ratings

Non-aerobatic airplane stability and control, multiengine and MEI ratings, tailwheel endorsement, glider, seaplane, and helicopter. Building on a precise, engineering-grade language of flight, we also provide CFI training (incl. CFI spin endorsements).

Autonomous Flight (Aerial Robotics)

Get an introduction to path planning, vehicle control with 3-axis PID controllers and MPC, vehicle state estimation with Kalman filters and sensor fusion, as well as computer vision and artificial intelligence methods like convolutional neural networks. 

How It All Fits Together

To appreciate the division in course categories above, to become aware of what you will need to learn, and to find more easily what you are looking for, consider the diagram below, which depicts how all theory comes together to form the core knowledge of a well-educated pilot, and how this pilot then can apply this knowledge in practice for different purposes.

A test pilot will want to conduct meticulously prepared flight tests under controlled conditions. A pilot interested in upset recovery training will want to regain airplane control quickly from an arbitrary, out-of-control situation. And a CFI will want to apply the knowledge to plan new courses for performance maneuvers which she/he first calculates and then cautiously verifies in the aircraft at sufficient altitude. The applications differ, but the core knowledge is the same (though varying degrees of depth and detail are needed for the different applications).

The bottom three items in the above diagram correspond to the main three categories of courses we offer. In these categories, we reach back, and teach you selectively as much of the core knowledge of a pilot as needed for solid understanding and application. Finally, the autonomous flight category develops concepts of vehicle autonomy involving programming, machine learning, and detailed mathematics. All courses – except for those on autonomous flight – can be taught entirely without any mathematics at the customer’s discretion.