Real World Aviation Material
The Civil Aviation Authority VFR Guide is mainly produced for pilots not familiar with UK airspace procedures, it has several sections which have been selected from the AIP, deemed pertinent to VFR flying. This link goes to the cover page which itself includes links to various sub-sections, some of which are listed separately below.
This very interesting article was sent to the Club by a young
man called Trevor in March 2020. Trevor is a member of the Lake Jennings BSA Scout Troop 325. Trevor is studying for his troop's Aviation Merit badge. We think he deserves it!
In August 2022, we received an email from a lady whose son
and nephew are also boy scouts and huge aviation enthusiasts
who are working towards their aviation badge, and hope to become
pilots one day. They had discovered CIX VFR Club and were very
appreciative of the content of our website. She sent me the
above link to this interesting synopsis of the history of aviation
starting as early as 400 BCE, which the boys had also found,
which also includes interesting links to other real aviation
material. She wrote "we hope this can be helpful to others!
It would put a big smile on the boys faces knowing they could
possibly help spark a passion for someone else."
Part of the NATS - AIS site (see below). Once you have logged in, the index page is displayed. Select the aerodrome you want the information for and then select the individual file. Choose from Textual data, Airfield Diagram, or various Instrument Approach Procedures. Files are in pdf format.
Aerial views of UK airports and airfields. Makes use of google maps to display an area in the vicinity of any UK site, selected from a list, with latitude and longitude data. It covers disused sites as well as those which are still in use. You may have to drag the map around a bit to see what you're looking for.
The new UK Aeronautical Information Service web site was launched in May 2008. This site does not require registration or login and is easier to navigate than the original UK AIS web site which has now been closed. All European countries will be providing their AIP data on the Eurocontrol European AIS Database (EAD) site at sometime in the not-too-distant future. (Registration & Login will be required)
This is a wiki-type repository of checklists for many many different aircraft and aircraft systems. Because a lot of Flight-sim aircraft come with less than perfect checklists and performance data, this real world aviation site is extremely useful to us too.
Useful real world weather site to see what sort of conditions VATSIM is likely to present to for your on-line flights. Place your mouse over your nearest airport or destination on the displayed map of the British Isles and you can get a current weather report as well as wind history and predicted winds etc. You can also see an animated 24 hour weather forecast.
Various aviation weather situation and forecast details published by the UK Meteorological Office. The Forms 214 and 215 are the first documents pilots look at when deciding whether to fly. This service is free but requires registration to use.
Form 214 - UK Spot wind chart providing wind speed and direction and temperature for standard levels up to FL240, updated four times a day.
Form 215 - UK low-level weather chart providing a graphical display of areas of different weather plus text relating to surface visibility, weather and cloud up to FL100, updated four times a day.
Forms 414 and 415 provide similar information for Europe.
A really impressive guide to the weather and how it applies in the UK, how to read the charts, what's on them and why, how to spot trends etc. It is in the form of free education material aimed at three different levels: kids, teens, and teachers.
Real world aviation organisation dedicated to flight safety. Their bulletins are always a good, and sometimes sobering read.
Lots of very useful real world General Aviation information and onward links to other sources.
Mixed Commercial/Free Resources
On-line Flight Simulator download site and shop - this site
contains a mixture of free and commercial products; hardware,
books, videos and software etc. Almost every aircraft, utility
or scenery package you could ever want for FS is very likely
to be here. See also FLIGHTSIM. There are many other repositories,
but we have found this to be the best. Downloads include freeware,
shareware and commercial packages, aircraft, utilities, scenery,
books, videos etc. Hosts a lively forum too.
Flight Simulator site with news, downloads and on-line shop
- a mixture of free and commercial products. Downloads include
freeware, shareware and commercial packages, aircraft, utilities,
scenery, books, videos etc. Also has a lively forum.
Less well known, but excellent Flight Simulator download site
and shop. Downloads include freeware, shareware and commercial
packages, aircraft, utilities, scenery, books videos etc. Also
has a forum which has a slight bias towards learning from real
world aviation practice.
Site contains many interesting aircraft - with a bias towards military types.
A very well organised site comprising dozens of links
to useful download sites. Airport scenery is listed in alphabetical
order. Scenery is for FSX, some free, some payware.
The site also contains links to charts and other aviation material,
plus FS2004 scenery for those who have not caught up with sim
life.