Sporty's Product PIREPs

The Honeycomb Bravo throttle is an amazingly capable hardware piece that, once configured correctly, leads the pack in flight sim throttle options. The downside of all these options is that it can be intimidating to program all the commands and levers to operate as we would like. For that reason, the flight simulation department at Sporty’s put together a configuration map for running the Honeycomb Bravo with X-Plane 11. We cover how to configure the throttle for single engine GA, single engine GA complex, multi-engine GA, two-engine jet, and four-engine jet aircraft.

People come to Oshkosh for the airplanes, but they stay for the people. That's according to EAA Chairman Jack Pelton, who explains why the culture at AirVenture is so unique, why America needs more of this spirit in everyday life, and his favorite place to visit at the big show. He also shares the organization's big plans for the 30th year of the Young Eagles program, why experimental airplanes are so popular right now, and what his top priorities are for the FAA. In the Ready to Copy segment, Jack explains why you can't build a new Cessna 172 for $100,000, shares his favorite vintage airplane, and identifies some underrated aviation museums.

During the month of July, Sporty’s will be hosting a celebration of general aviation across our website, social media, at Oshkosh, and at our store in Batavia, Ohio—what we're calling Fly July. The goal is to get out and fly this summer, whether it's to start flight training, get current, or take that big cross country you've been dreaming of. Sporty's has the gear and tools to help you achieve your goals and have fun.

At the conclusion of every quarter, we like to reflect on some of the more notable products that joined Sporty’s offering. Here are the top ten new products we’re excited to offer to our customers from the second quarter of 2022.  

How well did you fly your last traffic pattern or instrument approach? Most pilots will respond with something vague: “pretty good” or “the outcome was never in doubt.” That might be enough for a quick logbook entry, but with some new tools it is now possible to be much more data-driven in your post-flight debriefing sessions. The result is improved pilot skills and safer flights. 

ForeFlight is one of aviation's biggest success stories, growing from a hobby to an industry-leading business in less than a decade. Tyson Weihs was there at the beginning, and in this episode he shares some early memories and some lessons learned about aviation and business. He also explains how he uses ForeFlight both for pre-flight planning and for in-flight navigation, plus tips for using datalink weather to stay safe. In the Ready to Copy segment, he opines on everything from his favorite app feature to what emerging technology he's watching to the best tennis player.  

Submit your highest score from the Aircraft Carrier challenge within Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and the top five scores as of July 14^th will win a Logitech Simulator Flight Stick! Please submit screen grabs of your score to : flightsim@sportys.com with the subject line Carrier Challenge. Good luck aviators and don’t forget to call the ball.

With much of our student population under the age of 20 years, we knew we needed something modern, exciting, and easy to access. After a bit of research, Sporty’s seemed to be lightyears ahead of their competitors. They appeared to offer exactly what we were looking for: a solution that was easily accessible across multiple platforms and offered modern, up-to-date content. 

As one of Hollywood's top aerial coordinators, Kevin LaRosa has been around plenty of big budget movies—but Top Gun: Maverick was a completely different experience. He takes us behind the scenes to explain how they got all those incredible shots, including fighter jets flying at 600 knots through narrow valleys. The equipment, including the unique CineJet platform, makes some of these scenes possible, but the key to staying safe is planning and practice. Kevin also describes how the actors all took flight training to prepare for the movie, what he's learned from flying a huge variety of aircraft, and how he landed a helicopter on a moving train.

Last week we published the 26th edition of our Pilot’s Discretion podcast, marking one full year of episodes. This biweekly podcast brings you fast-paced and thought-provoking interviews with some of the world’s most interesting pilots, discussing everything from the latest technology to practical tips for safer flying. To celebrate, we thought we would look back over the last year and highlight some of our favorite episodes.