Pilot Supplies List

What supplies will I need as a student pilot?

This is a non-exhaustive list of materials that my students (or any pilot for that matter) will need to have. The links provided are to help you identify the item; they are not meant to endorse any particular reseller.

Whenever reasonably possible, I recommend buying your pilot supplies from a local airport pilot shop. Not only will they typically have stock on-hand and someone there who can help answer your questions, but your patronage is critical to helping them stay in business. Pilots need pilot shops, often needing an item on the day of a lesson or flight, so their survival is good for all of us. Near Palo Alto (PAO) and San Carlos (SQL) I can recommend San Carlos Aviation & Supply.

• Private Pilot / Student Pilot Reading List Materials - Printed or electronic

• Sectional Chart - San Francisco (paper)

• Terminal Area Chart - San Francisco (paper)

• Chart Supplement (formerly the Airport/Facility Directory, aka AFD) - Southwest (paper)

• Aircraft Checklist ("compact" kneeboard size, appropriate for your make & model of aircraft)

• iPad (for use with ForeFlight) - This is optional, but HIGHLY recommended. The size of the iPad is up to you, but the larger models are more difficult to manage in the cockpit. I generally recommend the mini or the regular iPad (~9.7" or 10.x" display) -- the larger pro versions are usually too big.  Max out the storage since charts and documents can take up a lot of space. Make sure to get your iPad with cellular service. Here's why: The iPad ONLY has built-in GPS capability if you purchase it with a cellular option (since they use the GPS functionality in the cellular chipset). But also note that you do not have to activate cellular service to use the GPS.

• ForeFlight (for use on your iPad) - This is optional, but HIGHLY recommended. ForeFlight is the de facto standard for an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) and is my top recommendation. You can start out with the basic subscription and you can always upgrade to add features if/when you need them (such as when you progress to instrument training).

• Headset - A headset enables communication and protects your hearing. A really good headset reduces the constant drone of the engine and significantly reduces fatigue and distraction, all while providing improved communications clarity and enhanced hearing protection. Traditionally, many (student) pilots choose to start out with a basic headset, which you can buy for approximately $100-$300, and then plan to upgrade to a better headset later.
  
  But if you are able, I HIGHLY recommend that you purchase a top of the line noise-cancelling headset right from the start of your training. A top of the line headset makes training much more pleasant and less fatiguing; allowing you to concentrate on learning rather than dealing with the fatigue, distraction, and frustration of an inferior headset.
  
  Some of the best headsets are the Lightspeed Zulu 3 and the Bose A30. They are both good headsets, but I've had good and bad experiences with both companies, so it's hard to recommend one over the the other. (Lightspeed now also offers the Delta Zulu, but I've had problems with it. See details below.) (Some of my problems with Bose are also documented below.)
  
  If you are tall and your head touches, or nearly touches, the roof/canopy of the aircraft (a not uncommon problem if you are tall and flying the Diamond DA40, for example) you might want to consider a specialized low-profile headset such as the Quiet Technologies Halo. The Halo does not have the same noise cancelling as the Bose or Lightspeed, but it does have a much lower profile (and the noise reduction and hearing protection is surprisingly good). I carry a Halo in my flight bag for when I need a low-profile headset, and it doubles as a backup for my main headset (or as a second headset), just in case.
  
  [A note about the Lightspeed Delta Zulu: I purchased a Delta Zulu recently (August, 2023) to use as my primary headset. Unfortunately, I had a number of problems with the headset producing very annoying popping sounds and occasional (but painfully loud) noise burts. I also experienced problems with the associated app. I spoke with Lightspeed customer service and they acknowledged that a number of customers have reported the popping sound problem. They assured me that they are working on a solution to the popping sound problem, but they also acknowledged that they do not yet have a solution (nor do they seem to have one on the horizon). In the end, I returned the headset and got a full refund. So, once again, Lightspeed customer service gets high marks. But I am very dissappointed in Lightspeed as a company for shipping a headset that evidently has a known design problem with no current solution.]
  
  [Bose has really fallen behind Lightspeed in the area of customer support. I had an absolute nightmare of an experience with Bose support overcharging me and then basically refusing to correct their error. I ultimately prevailed, but it absolutely was not worth the time (>3 months) and energy (hours and hours emails and contentious phone calls) that I had to spend fighting Bose, especially for an issue that was 100% their own creation.]
  
  

• Kneeboard, Pen/Pencil, Notepaper

• Chart Plotter

• E6B and/or Calculator - mechanical, electronic, or app.

• Flashlight and/or headlamp for night flights. You should pick a light that has both white and red light capability. My favorite is the Pretzl ZIPKA ultra-compact headlamp. You should also have a backup - so one headlamp and one flashlight (with strap and neck lanyard) is a good combination.

• Spare Batteries / Backup Power - You should always carry spare batteries for your headset and flashlight/headset. You might also want to carry an appropriate cable and 12/24 volt adapter and/or battery pack to power your iPad/tablet or cell phone from an aircraft power outlet or the battery pack. This Anker adapter is my current favorite 12/24 volt adapter for powering electronic devices in the cockpit. (I have tried numerous other adapters adapters and most have either failed, or didn't supply the required amount of power, especially with more than one device connected at a time. This one is worth the higher price.)