About Glidepath
A home simulator is good for learning names, flows, cause and effect, and decisions. It can't reproduce real control forces or the judgment your instructor builds with you. Glidepath helps you arrive at real lessons prepared.
Plain answers
What is Glidepath?
A web app that turns practice in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5 or Xbox into short, structured lessons: watch one idea, say the answer to a check, then fly a short session plan in your sim and rate yourself. Your phone sits beside the TV.
What it isn't
Flight training. Simulator practice doesn't award qualifications, count as flight time or replace an instructor. Glidepath prepares you so your real lessons go further.
Which aircraft and airport?
A G1000 C172-class trainer at KRVL, Mifflin County Airport in Reedsville, Pennsylvania, runway 24. The scenery is illustrative; the flight data follows that runway.
Where do the answers come from?
Every check answer cites the FAA handbook it comes from, chapter and page: the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, the Airplane Flying Handbook and the Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards.
The course
Phase 0 · Setup and cockpit
The G1000 Cessna 172 cockpit · Cold-and-dark: a checklist rehearsal · When your senses mislead you · IMSAFE: check the pilot · PAVE: assess the whole flight
Phase 1 · Flight fundamentals and systems
Engine and fuel: follow the supply · Electrical power: source, bus, load · Pitot-static: where the numbers come from · V-speeds and the airspeed tape · The four forces · Pitch controls airspeed · Climbing with power · Leveling off · Trim away the pressure · Fly along: straight and level · Coordinate the turn · Fly along: turns and roll-out · Fly along: pitch and power
Phase 2 · Patterns and landings
The traffic pattern legs · The aim point on final · Glide-path numbers · The stabilized approach · The go-around decision · Go around without hesitating · Fly along: the traffic pattern · Run-up and before-takeoff check · Normal takeoff and climb · Approach speed and the gust factor · Crosswind landing: crab, then wing-low · Forward slip to a landing · Vx vs Vy · Short-field takeoff over an obstacle · Short-field landing · Soft-field takeoff · Soft-field landing · After landing, shutdown and securing
Phase 3 · Maneuvers, emergencies and airspace
Steep turns · Load factor and stall speed · Slow flight · Power-off stall and recovery · Power-on stall and recovery · Wind drift and bank angle · Best glide speed · Emergency descent
Phases 4–5 · Navigation, checkride preparation
Coming later.
What we track
Whether you've watched, checked and practiced each lesson, and your own rating of each practice task. Ratings are self-assessed unless an instructor reviews them. Sim hours are never treated as skill.
Sources
FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C) · Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C) · Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards · Cessna 172S NAV III POH · Garmin G1000 Cockpit Reference Guide.
3D aircraft and cockpit from the FlightGear c172p (GPL); scenery from Kenney (CC0). Narration is synthetic speech (ElevenLabs) read from scripts we wrote. Not affiliated with Microsoft, the FAA, Cessna or Garmin.
FAA handbooks are public-domain works of the US government. Glidepath's own code: [license — to be decided]. Using the service is covered by the terms of use and privacy policy.