About PilotsCafe
Who writes PilotsCafe
PilotsCafe is written and maintained by Amir Fleminger, an airline captain and flight instructor with more than 25 years in aviation. Amir flies the Embraer 175 as a captain and, as a flight and ground instructor at the airline, teaches pilots upgrading to captain.
- Airline Transport Pilot certificate
- Gold Seal Certificated Flight Instructor: CFI, CFII and MEI
- B.S. in Professional Aeronautics and M.S. in Aeronautical Science, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
The site started in 2002 as a place to share flight-training handouts. Those handouts grew into the IFR Quick-Review Study Guide in 2010 and a set of training apps, starting with Nav Trainer in 2011.
How pages are written and reviewed
Every tutorial on PilotsCafe follows the same rules:
- One author, named. Every article carries a byline, and this page is where the byline leads.
- Primary sources, cited with their edition. Procedures and regulations are checked against the current Aeronautical Information Manual, 14 CFR Parts 61 and 91, the FAA Instrument Procedures Handbook, the Instrument Flying Handbook, the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge and the Airman Certification Standards. References name the paragraph and the edition year so you can check them yourself.
- Worked examples before rules of thumb. Where a procedure involves numbers, the page works at least one example all the way through.
- Visible dates. Each article shows when it was published and when it was last updated. Pages are revised when their sources change and when a reader reports an error.
- Practice you can check. Practice sets on the site are written and reviewed by the author.
Sources we cite
| Source | Edition used |
|---|---|
| Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) | Basic edition of 20 February 2025, Change 3 effective 9 July 2026 |
| Pilot/Controller Glossary | Same cycle as the AIM; Change 1 of 7 August 2025 |
| 14 CFR Parts 61 and 91 | Current text on eCFR, with the date accessed |
| Instrument Procedures Handbook, FAA-H-8083-16B | 2017 |
| Instrument Flying Handbook, FAA-H-8083-15B | 2012, with addenda to 2019 |
| Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, FAA-H-8083-25C | 2023, with the October 2025 addendum |
| Aviation Weather Handbook | 2 April 2026 |
| Instrument Rating Airplane ACS, FAA-S-ACS-8C | April 2024, effective 31 May 2024 |
| Commercial Pilot Airplane ACS, FAA-S-ACS-7B | April 2024, effective 31 May 2024 |
Corrections
Aviation procedures change, and even a careful page can carry a mistake. If you find one, send a note through the contact form with the page address and what you believe is wrong. Corrections are made on the page, and its "last updated" date changes.
What PilotsCafe makes
- The IFR Quick-Review Study Guide: a pay-what-you-want PDF review for the instrument checkride, maintained since 2010 and updated with reader feedback.
- AeroPointer: airports, navaids, weather and FAA charts for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, free with an optional Pro tier.
- Holding Trainer and Nav Trainer: practice apps for holding entries and radio navigation, on iOS and Android.
- Flight Winds: a wind component calculator.
Disclosures
PilotsCafe is published by Fleminger Media LLC. It is independent and is not affiliated with the FAA. Some pages link to books on Amazon through an affiliate program, which may earn a small commission at no cost to you; those links are marked as sponsored. Writing and editing tools, including software that drafts text, may be used in preparing pages; every statement is checked and approved by the author before publication.
PilotsCafe is a registered trademark. For anything else, get in touch.