★ ACS-Aligned · Free for every pilot

The pilot training app I wish I'd had.
Built by a CFII, for pilots.

A free, ACS-aligned study companion for Helicopter and Airplane pilots — Private through CFII. AI mentor with live web search, 660 written-test questions, oral exam flashcards, checkride checklists, and an NTSB study library. Open it the night before a checkride and you'll feel ready.

Open the Free App → See Pricing

No signup, no login iPhone home-screen ready Works offline

★ Ask CFII · Live Grok-4 + Web Search

Student question

"Can I take Sudafed before I fly?"

Direct answer

No. Pseudoephedrine is on the FAA's list of disqualifying medications. Per AIM 8-1-1, do not fly until the medication is fully metabolized — typically the next sunrise after the last dose.

→ AIM 8-1-1 · PHAK Ch.17 · FAA CAMI guidance

Built for

Whatever you're flying, whatever rating you're chasing.

Helicopter and Airplane content side-by-side. Switch with one tap. Every certificate level from Private through CFII.

🚁

Helicopter Pilots

R22 / R44 / Bell — autorotations, settling-with-power, LTE, pinnacle ops.

✈️

Airplane Pilots

ASEL through Commercial — XC planning, weather, airspace, IFR procedures.

🎓

Flight Instructors

FOI, CFI, CFII content — endorsements, FAR cites, checkride playbooks for your students.

🛬

Rusty Pilots

Get current again — flight reviews, BFR prep, regulatory refresher in one place.

What's inside

Everything you need from your first flight to your CFII checkride.

Six certificate levels, both modes, ACS-aligned content updated monthly. The free tier alone is more comprehensive than most paid courses.

★

Ask CFII — AI Mentor

Type any pilot question. Get a structured CFII-grade answer with FAR/AIM citations, edge cases, and what-to-do steps. Powered by Grok-4 with live web search so the regulations are always current.

📝

660 Written Test Questions

FAA Knowledge Test-format questions across all 6 certificate levels and both modes. Answer key with reasoning notes for every question. Drill 10 at a time, score yourself, target 80%+ before moving on.

🗂

162 Oral Exam Flashcards

The questions DPEs actually ask, with model CFII-grade answers. Drill aloud with a partner — speak the answer, don't think it.

📅

Stage-by-Stage Syllabus

Lesson plans for Private, Commercial, IFR, FOI, CFI, CFII. Every lesson links to the relevant ACS task and FAA handbook chapter. Print clean to clipboard.

✓

Checkride Day Checklist

DPE plan-of-action style: required documents, aircraft endorsements, oral topics, flight maneuvers, common scenarios. Walk in prepared.

⚠️

NTSB Study Library

Curated accident categories with the lesson, the related ACS task, and one-click queries into the live NTSB CAROL database. Learn from what went wrong.

🅰

82 Acronyms Cheat Sheet

Every memory aid the DPE will ask you to recite — ARROW, AV1ATE, IMSAFE, PAVE, 5P, GUMPS, SAFETY, and dozens more. Categorized and searchable.

📊

Per-Student Progress

Tracks your quiz scores, scenarios read, and day streaks per device. Earn badges as you progress through each cert. Your CFI can see your weak areas at a glance.

🛩

ForeFlight Integration

Open airports and routes directly in the ForeFlight app or web. Logbook CSV builder. Quick-launch FAA references you can save into Documents.

Get started in 60 seconds

No signup, no login, no app store.

Open the link

Tap flightpathpioneers.app on your phone. The full app loads instantly — no download, no account creation.

Add to home screen

On iPhone: Share → Add to Home Screen. You get a real app icon. On Android: ⋮ → Install. Mac: bookmark to dock.

Start studying

Pick your certificate, drill questions, ask the AI mentor anything. Free tier: 5 trial Ask CFII questions. Pro Lifetime: unlimited.

Pricing

Free for every pilot. Pay only if you want unlimited AI or the printables.

The free tier is the most generous in pilot training — full question banks, syllabus, and checkride checklist included. Pay only for unlimited Ask CFII or the offline PDF bundle.

Free

forever

For every pilot. No signup required.

660 written-test questions
162 oral exam flashcards
Full syllabus, all 6 levels
Checkride day checklist
NTSB study library
82 acronyms cheat sheet
5 free Ask CFII trial questions
No printable PDF bundle

Open the App →

Pro Lifetime

$99

one-time, lifetime updates

For students serious about a checkride. Pay once, own it forever.

Everything in Free
Unlimited Ask CFII queries
Live web search powered by Grok-4
Monthly FAA ACS auto-updates
Per-student progress tracking
Printable PDF study bundle included
30-day money-back guarantee
Priority feature requests

Get Pro Lifetime →

PDF Bundle

$29

one-time, instant download

For the kitchen table or kneeboard. 7 print-ready PDFs you own.

660 questions in print form
162 oral flashcards
Full syllabus + lesson plans
Checkride day checklist
Acronyms cheat sheet
NTSB study library
Welcome & how-to-use guide
No app access / no AI mentor

Buy on Etsy →

Who built this

Built by an active pilot, for the pilots in our community.

Walter Dusseldorp

CFII · Helicopter & Airplane

Like every pilot, I've spent too many late nights buried in the FAR/AIM trying to find the answer to a single question before a checkride. Flight Path Pioneers is the study tool I wish I'd had — built from my own training notes, the questions my students keep asking, and the patterns I see DPEs probe in checkrides.

Every feature here exists because I personally needed it or watched a student struggle without it. The AI mentor is the closest thing to a CFII you can actually call at 11 PM the night before a flight.

Common questions

Things every pilot asks before they sign up.

Is this really free? What's the catch?

Yes, the core app is genuinely free with no signup. The catch is that the AI mentor (Ask CFII) costs me real money to run — every query goes through xAI's Grok-4 API. The free tier gives you 5 trial questions per device. The Pro Lifetime tier ($99 one-time) is what funds the AI for everyone. If you find the app valuable, paying once helps keep it free for the next student.

Is the AI accurate enough to bet a checkride on?

Every answer cites the specific FAR section, AIM paragraph, or FAA handbook chapter it's based on, and the live-search version pulls current regulations as of the moment you ask. That said: this is a study aid, not a substitute for current FAA publications or your CFI. Always verify against the live FAR/AIM. Same disclaimer as any other study tool — including Sheppard Air, Sporty's, or King Schools.

How is this different from Sporty's, King Schools, or Sheppard Air?

Those are great courses for learning the material from scratch. This is the study companion you use alongside any of them — for drilling questions, looking up answers under time pressure, and walking into a checkride with everything organized in one place. The AI mentor with live web search doesn't exist anywhere else for pilots yet. And the free tier alone is more comprehensive than most paid courses' free trials.

Helicopter or Airplane — does it cover both equally?

Yes. There's a top-of-app toggle that swaps every section between Helicopter (rotorcraft-specific content including R22/R44 SFAR 73, autorotations, settling-with-power, LTE, pinnacle ops) and Airplane (ASEL — XC planning, weather, instrument procedures, IFR currency). Same level of depth in both modes.

Can I share this with my students or other pilots?

Please do. The free tier is designed to be shared. Send them the link, post it in your flight school's chat, AirDrop the page to a student. Independent CFIs find it especially useful as a structured study companion to recommend.

Will it help me pass my checkride?

Combined with actual flight training and your CFI's instruction, yes — that's exactly what it's designed for. Use the syllabus to plan study, drill the question banks, run the checkride checklist as a mock the night before. Nothing replaces the cockpit, but this gets you ready faster.

What's the refund policy on Pro Lifetime?

30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. If the app doesn't help your study, message me through Gumroad and you get your $99 back.

The pilot training app I wish I'd had.Built by a CFII, for pilots.