Sporty’s Releases 2020 Learn to Fly Course

Sporty's Pilot Shop has released the 2020 version of its Learn to Fly course, which joins its recently re-designed suite of training materials for all certificate levels. If students complete the course successfully, they're guaranteed to pass not only the "written" test (the knowledge exam), but also the check ride (practical exam) as well. This stems from the comprehensive approach that Sporty's takes to training.

The new edition reflects an overhaul program that Sporty's has followed for its courseware, and it includes more than 15 hours of new HD video. Flying sat down with Bret Koebbe, vice president for Sporty's Academy, recently, and he described how the organization takes its firsthand knowledge of how students learn to create its new Smart Study Sessions. These are designed to help students understand the topics to the level needed to pass the check ride—and fly safely for the long term—and not just memorize the answers for the short term. The program tracks the student's progress through each knowledge category, and builds a session based on that person's weakest areas.

Students can utilize various FAA materials from within the Sporty' Pilot Training app, and it allows for use of its tools such as bookmarking and search within manuals such as the Airplane Flying Handbook. All of the test prep materials and study sessions sync between a user's devices, so they can pick up right where they left off, no matter how they access the course.

The Sporty’s Learn to Fly Course costs $249 for lifetime access to the online portal, with the ability to use dedicated apps for iOS, Android, Sporty’s RokuTV channel, and AppleTV, plus Chromecast for use with a home television. Existing users of the Learn to Fly course can enjoy the new upgrades in features and content immediately. A new version of the Instrument Rating course is forthcoming as well.