"My son completed this curriculum, and it is amazing! Well worth the cost! He loved it! He learned so many valuable aviation skills, as well as learning about many aviation careers. And if you're interested in Alaska, the course utilizes many flights within Alaska, which will also teach your student a lot about Alaskan geography. The course is DEFINITELY enough hours for 1 full high school credit, if not more. Our State-funded home school program granted a full high school credit for this course."
-Amazing C.
Typically counted as 3/4 credit for high school students.
Introduction to Aviation with Av-STEM
Your student’s education can now take flight with Introduction to Aviation. This online aviation course makes at-home aviation training possible. Upon completing this course, your child will understand the aerodynamics of flight, how to read aviation charts, how navigation works, and so much more. Many fun hands-on applications clarify what could otherwise be a complicated subject matter. To boost your child’s retention, many of these projects are repeated through various scenarios.
Over the next ten years, the FAA forecasts a shortage of pilots, mechanics, and other technical support personnel in the aviation industry. So Introduction to Aviation also includes about 30 aviation career pathway interviews. But even if your child is disinterested in pursuing the field of aviation, the knowledge he acquires through Introduction to Aviation can be transferred to a multitude of other careers.
The Introduction to Aviation Course provides between 110 and 120 hours of learning for an approximately 3/4 credit as an aeronautical science elective. Included is online course access for a single student for as long as he needs it. He will also receive all necessary supplies except for an inexpensive joystick*, which can be easily bought locally. See below for a complete list of included supplies.
*The joystick we recommend is the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro.
Explore What's Inside
View the syllabus of this course to see all that it has to offer.
This course covers 10 modules in about 110 hours of learning for an approximately 3/4 credit as an aeronautical science elective. With 87 days of work, we suggest completing two to three per week. Included is online course access for a single student for as long as he needs it and all necessary supplies except for an inexpensive joystick (we recommend the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro).
E6B Flight computer (similar to a circular slide rule)
The three aviation charts used in the course
A walk-along glider
A digital download X-Plane 10 flight simulator for Alaska
Please note:
Some supplies are non-refundable. Please contact us for details. The plotter, E6B, and aviation charts are all professional quality. The X-Plane 10 simulator is the best home simulator on the market. Because supplies are shipped directly from the publisher, they likely will use the same method (USPS Priority Mail) which may differ from the method you choose for your Timberdoodle order.
System Requirements: The course itself is online, so the only requirements are really a browser and access to the internet. One of the components, however, is the X-Plane 10 Flight Simulator. That is a program that you download for use in the course and it does have system requirements.
X-Plane 10 Simulator System Requirements: Given X-Plane’s incredible capabilities and accuracy, it is not possible to run a current release of X‑Plane on an exceptionally old computer. A good rule of thumb is that any machine built in the last 18 to 24 months will probably be able to run the simulator acceptably. Computers up to about 36 months old may be fine if they were top-of-the-line machines when manufactured. Even if they weren’t, X‑Plane may still be able to run, albeit with its rendering options turned down.
X-Plane 10 requires a computer with at least the following specifications:
Dual Core, 2.5 GHz or faster
4 GB of RAM
A video card with at least 1 GB of VRAM
10 GB of hard drive space
However, for the best experience, we recommend the following:
a Quad Core, 3.0 GHz or faster processor
16–20 GB of RAM
a high-performance, DirectX 11-capable video card with at least 4 GB of on-board, dedicated VRAM.
10 GB of hard drive space
To find your computer’s CPU speed and amount of RAM, Mac users can simply open the Apple Menu and click “About This Mac.”
For Windows Vista and Windows 7 users, you can open the Start menu and type System to search for the Control Panel’s “System” item. Opening this will display the processor, its speed, and the amount of RAM installed. Windows XP users can get the same information by:
Opening the Start menu
Selecting the Control Panel
Clicking Performance and Maintenance, and
Clicking System.
X-Plane depends most heavily on single thread CPU performance, but it will also take advantage of multiple cores or distinct processors – 4 are recommended. 16 GB of RAM is usually adequate, but 20 GB may be needed for the most complex custom scenery packages. Likewise, highly detailed custom scenery can use as much as 4 GB of VRAM at the maximum settings.
Note: X‑Plane 10 does not support PowerPC-based Macs, or versions of OS X prior to 10.6.8.
Publisher's Information Publisher: AV-STEM Age Recommendation: 12+ Grade Recommendation: 7th+ Faith-Based: No Consumable: Yes, supplies for 1 student Subscription Info: 1 student Lessons: 10 modules (110+ hours of learning) Typical High School Credits Earned: 3/4 credit as an aeronautical science elective
