Education

My recommendations for books, videos and websites related to airplane building and flying.

Books Related to Homebuilt Aircraft Building

I read (or skimmed) through the whole set of the classic books by Tony Bingelis and are available here.  I'd say they're very useful, but seem dated now and are really oriented toward scratch builders.

Sheet Metal Building Basics by the Jack Dueck I found much more useful (for the sheet metal work) and definitely recommend it.

For electrical system design and wiring you must read the classic AeroElectric Connection by Bob Nuckolls.  Here's the PDF of it or you can order a hardcopy here.  I'll just warn you though, there's a lot of info packed into that book...  Some of which you really don't need.

There's a brand new book on aircraft wiring out by Marc Ausman (founder of Vertical Power) called Aircraft Wiring Guide.  I found this book to be excellent, practical and right to the point.  In the intro he says he covers two ways of wiring: The traditional way (fuses/breakers/switches) and using Vertical Power products.  After reading the book it became obvious that using the VP box is almost a no-brainer to select over traditional wiring.  See my Avionics & Electrical page for more info on my choice.

Of course, you should have for reference the FAA's AC43.13-1B - Acceptable Methods, Techniques, and Practices - Aircraft Inspection and Repair.

Van's has some excellent material on building and you can find it here.  I found "Section 5 General Information" particularly useful and I highly recommend it.  You can directly download the PDF of that section here.

Of course, there are the EAA Hints for Homebuilders videos which I find very useful.

Books On Flying

Before/During Training for Private

How to Fly an Airplane Handbook - Machado (New book by him that's excellent)

Stick and Rudder - Langewiesche (The Classic that all pilots should read)

The Student Pilot's Flight Manual - Kershner (I used this for my training and it's excellent)

Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge - FAA (Better read this for the written)

Airplane Flying Handbook - FAA (And this...)

FAR/AIM - FAA (You can download it for free directly from the FAA)

Everything Explained - Lengel (The best way to learn the regs)

Say Again Please - Gardner (Best book on communications in my humble opinion)

Weather Flying - Buck (Weather!)

After Private

The Killing Zone, How and Why Pilots Die - Craig (A MUST read for every new pilot.  Don't make stupid new pilot mistakes!)

Proficient Pilot Series Box Set - Schiff (Another must read that covers a lot of areas)

Artful Flying - Charles (The Zen of Flying!  A must read in my opinion)

Stall/Spin Awareness - Stowell (The Bible of stalls and spins)

Fly the Engine - Thomas (There's stuff in here you won't find anywhere else.  Everything you ever wanted to know about how to treat an engine right)

Plane Talk - Machado (Another about the mental game of flying)

Other Great Flying Book

The Compleat Taildragger Pilot - Plourde (Considered the classic on taildragger flying)

Better Aerobatics - Cassidy (I have it, but haven't read it.  Seems to be a bible on aerobatics)