Zulu Blog

Field notes for student pilots.

Knowledge test strategies, checkride prep, weather decoding, logbook tips, and everything else we wish someone had told us at 10 hours.

Knowledge Test

How to pass the Private Pilot knowledge test on your first try

A 4-week study plan using practice questions, the PHAK, and the AIM — built around the way the test is actually structured.

Checkride

The private pilot oral exam: a 25-minute mental framework

How to walk into your oral prepared, composed, and with a system for answering questions you don't immediately know.

Weather

METAR & TAF cheat sheet: decode any report in under 30 seconds

Break down the exact structure of a METAR and TAF, with the rules that actually matter in the cockpit.

Logbook

The 7 logbook mistakes that can fail a checkride

From missed endorsements to miscategorized cross-country time — what DPEs look for when they flip through your logbook.

Regulations

The 14 CFR sections every private pilot must know cold

Parts 61 and 91, the currency rules, the VFR minimums, and the ones DPEs always ask.

Instrument

Building a study plan for the Instrument Rating knowledge test

What to focus on, what to skip, and how to use Zulu's question bank to actually retain the material.