I wanted to create this topic as I am quite interested in what you use to learn things in aviation.
Here are my top 5 most useful tools.
Number 5 - Infinite Flight (obviously)
Infinite Flight is a flight sim where you can learn as you go. Any kind of information regarding aviation like why pilot’s do things, how certain systems work and why they work the way they do, I would hear about I would run my findings and knowledge on Infinite Flight.
Number 4 - FlightAware
FlightAware is an informational app where you can get flight details like what terminal a flight is going to and parts of the flight plans used on flights although the flight plan detail capabilities are not always reliable. However if you have specific flight details you can google flight aware historical data that can date back 10 years.
Number 3 - YouTube
Now you can’t believe everything on social media how ever there are a few reputable youtubers that educate people in aviation like Mentor Pilot, 74 Gear, Simple flying and probably a few others.
Number - RadarBox
I discovered this on fairly recent like in November of 2023. This app is like FlightAware and FlightRadar24 put together. If you have problems getting flight plans from flightaware your best bet is to check RadarBox. I remember looking up EK211 flight details regarding the dispatched flight plans on FlightAware and all I would get is the STAR arrival. But when I searched up EK211 on RadarBox I couldn’t believe how much of the flight plan details were there. I am talking like specific waypoints, airways, NAT tracks, SIDs, STARs and GPS waypoints.
Number 1 - FlightRadar24
I mean this tool has got to be everyone’s starting point to learning everything there is to learn when it comes to Aviation. This app has so many features for only 40$ a year. If you go plane spotting alot you can mark your timestamps and scroll back to those dates just as long as those timestamps aren’t more than 365 days old. Not only do you have a reliable playback feature but you can also have all the Airways and waypoints on display if you want to map out your own flight plans. This is also good for knowing what’s going to and from the airports you are plane spotting at or if you want to keep track of someone you know that’s going on a flight.
A few honorable mentions.
Jetphotos (This site is not only a place for plane spotters to upload pictures of their catches but this site can also give you historical information about aircraft and airlines you probably never knew existed)
ADS-B Exchange (good for tracking suspicious flights)
FPLtoIF (A tool that got me started with flight planning)
FlightPlannerDataBase (Another good starter but not reliable for generating flight plans. This one is good for looking up NATs for the day)
LiveFlight (This tracking site allows me to track my flights on Infinite Flight without having to touch my device on long haul flights. So I can track my movements using my PC and not disable low power mode)
So what are your top 5 tools for learning about aviation?