Rod's Aviation Book Samples

Rod Machado’s Aviation Handbooks

Rod Machado’s handbooks are some of aviation’s most popular educational texts. Known for their clarity of explanations, in-depth and easy to understand illustrations, memory aids, crafty analogies and humor, Rod’s books have helped thousands of people learn about flying. This free application provides a sampling of what you’ll experience with each of Rod’s aviation handbooks.

Here is what a few pilots have said about Rod’s books:

-“At 7:30 a.m. this morning I took and passed my private pilot check ride. What a thrill! This is something I have wanted since I was 9 years old. I owe a part of my success to Rod. His Private Pilot Handbook was the most valuable piece of literature I acquired during my training. During my ground school, I would study the information in his book along with my other training manuals. Rod’s wonderful writing style and depth of knowledge made even the most confusing topics easy to understand. During my flight training, I was having an especially tough time with VOR navigation, but Rod’s explanation finally made it ‘click.’ Rod produced such a wonderful book.”
S.S.

-“I wanted to take a moment to thank Rod for writing his signature Private Pilot Handbook and Workbook. I used them together as my primary source on info, culminating in a PP-ASEL certificate. His materials fit my learning style to a tee. I saw Rod’s Handbook on a shelf of aviation books. I browsed through it and quickly knew it would be a perfect way to at least satisfy my curiosity, and possibly serve as my primary training aid. Good call I think :-) I can't say enough about the balance of instruction, humor, real-world anecdotes, emphasis on safety and sheer breadth of topics achieved in the Handbook!”
S. McCrory

-“In my nearly 6 years as a CFII, I finally think I have found the textbook I have been looking for to help those seeking an instrument rating and recurrent training (along with a darn good reference)... an instrument book that is comprehensive AND doesn’t put readers to sleep.”
Shawn Sullivan CFII

-“Best book I have ever read. It answers the questions that, if you were smart enough, you would ask. Only book I would ever read twice. If more people would read Rod’s book, the IFR system would run much more smoothly.”
Dr. John Phillipp,
Glendora, CA

-“Machado deals with aviation subjects with a different tack, examining why we do some of the dumb things we do and explaining how we can shortstop bad decisions. Like any good psychologist, he prefers to examine motivations and analyze people rather than dwell on accident reports as a subject matter.”
Bill Cox,
30-year Senior Editor,
Plane & Pilot magazine

-“In the last 5 days, I think I have learned more interesting techniques to enhance my pilot skills than I ever thought possible. Between Rod’s seminars at the WAI conference and reading Plane Talk (when I really should have been studying for finals... but English or Airplanes? Hmm...), I mean WOW!”
E.B.