Doctor Aviation Review

My family had the privilege of trying the six-month aviation course from Doctor Aviation for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Doctor Aviation is a wonderful online educational course that teaches about aviation. This is a 6 month online subscription. This course is made up of fifteen 45-60 minute video lessons with three segments (Technical Trivia, Notable Innovators, and Legendary Aircraft/Events). Each video lesson has two PDF files to download for further learning. These include: "To Learn More" which are suggestions that have extra readings, YouTube videos, movies, hands-on activities, research and writing assignments, etc. & "Guided Notes" to fill out as your student watches the video lessons to help them learn and retain the material. There are also Practice Exam Questions and Final Exam Study Notes to download. This course is recommended for ages 16 and up although it can be done with younger children and as a family course as well.

If you are having your child take the course for credit for high school you would need to have them do enough of the suggested activities in the "To Learn More" PDFs to make it a half credit course. If you had them do most of the suggested activities it could possibly even be a full credit. You need them to also fill out all notes and do Exam 1&2 and the Final after studying. The Examination 1&2 and the Final needs to be obtained by contacting Doctor Aviation. Exam 1 is done after session 5 is completed. Exam 2 is done after session 11 is completed. The Final is done after session 15 is completed.

Daryl Smith a.k.a. Doctor Aviation

Daryl Smith a.k.a Doctor Aviation, the instructor and founder of the Doctor Aviation lessons, has logged over 2000 flying hours while in the Air Force  and 24 years of service as a Command Pilot. He was also an instructor pilot and research pilot during testing of the Strategic Defense Initiative (aka The Star Wars Program). On the ground he has served as an instructor at the United States Air Force Academy teaching aviation and other courses and a published author an aviation book. Currently he is a college professor. He is well qualified to teach the Doctor Aviation course.

Doctor Aviation Video Course Overview

Course Syllabus for Doctor Aviation:

• Section 1 Course Intro.
Session 1: Course Overview: The Aviation System (42:29)
• Section 2 The Aircraft: These include primarily airplanes, but also helicopters, gliders and balloon craft such as blimps and hot air balloons.
Session 2: The Major Components of an Airplane (53:41)
Session 3: Axes & Forces (54:47)
Session 4: Why an Aircraft Flies: The Secret of Airfoils and Lift (1:09:27)
Session 5: Why an Aircraft Turns, Pitches and Slides: The Flight Controls (1:02:40)
• Section 3 Air Traffic Control: The air traffic controllers, tower personnel and radars that  control the flow of air traffic. Think of them as traffic cops of the skies.
Session 6: How We See an Aircraft Miles Away: The Secrets of Radar (1:06:53)
Session 7: The Air Traffic Cops: How Air Traffic Control Works (59:33)
• Section 4: Aircraft Maintenance: Those individuals and equipment that repair or maintain aircraft.
Session 8: Keep 'Em Flying: Aircraft Maintenance - Propeller Engines (49:10)
Session 9: Keep 'Em Flying: Aircraft Maintenance - Jet Engines (1:00:47)
• Section 5: Airfield Operations: These tasks keep an airfield running; items like: De-icers, baggage handlers, ramp attendants, refueling trucks, ticket agents, etc.
Session 10: The City in and of Itself: Running a Large Airport (48:07)
Session 11:The Small Airport and Running an FBO (57:47)
• Section 6: The Aircraft II
Session 12: Flying in the Clear and Not so Clear Air: VMC & IMC (48:44)
Session 13: Important Pilot Instruments - Altitude Indicator (53:34)
Session 14: Important Pilot Instruments - Airspeed Indicator (43:44)
Session 15: Other Aviation Ships: Gliders, Helicopters, Airships (1:00:18)

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:
My 16 year old teenage son, Delbin, and I started taking this course together. Delbin and I have had an interest in learning more about aviation and I thought that the Doctor Aviation Online Training Videos would be a great learning course for us to do this. I am glad to have the opportunity to try this in addition to my other homeschool lessons.

Doctor Aviation Dashboard

After we subscribed we could access the aviation video training course by logging in on the website. After logging in the dashboard shows our next lesson and by clicking on the "Watch This Lesson" in yellow we could go to video lesson page. The lesson page has the video to watch, "Action Steps" to take, and "Additional Resources" (the PDFs) to download.

The "Guided Notes" are best done with the video programs they go with. So I would download and print them out ahead of time. While Delbin and I followed along we would fill these pages out as we watched. These pages are great to help retain all the the important information in these videos.

Doctor Aviation Video Lesson Page

We have been doing one lesson every two weeks so far because the extra work involved to get the high school credit for Delbin. The videos are very informative and interesting. The instructor's lectures are filmed in an airplane hanger and he uses props and graphics as well to explain his lessons better. Each video session has three parts: Technical Trivia, Notable Innovators, and Legendary Aircraft/Events. These parts go well together and with the section and session themes. The Technical Trivia is jam packed with the principles of aviation. In the Notable Innovators part we learned about the people behind aviation, like: The Wright Brothers, Chuck Yeager, Amelia Earhart, etc. In the Legendary Aircraft part we learned about famous aircraft and what makes them famous. In the Legendary Events part we learned about important things that happened to shape aviation history. It might take my son longer doing all of the activities in the "To Learn More" PDF so that he can get high school credit. I am glad there are 6 months to work on it.

Some of the props and images/graphics used in the Doctor Aviation films.

The "To Learn More" PDF has all sorts of neat books and articles to read, websites to go to, and videos to watch outside of the Doctor Aviation website. There is also a For Further Study section in it that suggests activities, like: field trips, detailed studies on more focused subjects, building models, doing research papers, hands-on activities, etc. Many of the links to websites are hyperlinks in the PDF making it easy to click on and go there. Some of the books and links are out of print or not working any more, however; because these were last updated in 2016. It would be really great if Doctor Aviation could update these more regularly.

All in all Delbin and I have thoroughly enjoyed the Doctor Aviation course and can't wait to learn more in the coming months. I am glad to be able to take this course with him too because even as an adult I love experiencing and learning new things. Delbin will be glad to get a high school credit for this course as well. We highly recommend this for homeschool aviation education and high school credit. You could also apply this course to having your son receive a Boy Scout Aviation Merit Badge or just watch it yourself.

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Doctor Aviation is only $99 per half year.

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