Open-source aviation skill

Turbocharge your AI with aviation expertise with Skywatch Skill

Turn ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, or another compatible AI agent into a better aviation learning co-pilot, grounded in FAA sources and built for pilots from their first lesson through aircraft ownership.

Explore and contribute on GitHub How to contribute?
177 lessons & courses199 credited resourcesFAA source-firstCommunity-built
177lessons and institutional courses
199credited free resources
10reusable tools and templates

See the difference

The same AI. A much better aviation answer.

SkyWatch Co-Pilot does not turn AI into an encyclopedia. It turns broad questions into stage-appropriate plans with exact resources, visible assumptions, readiness gates, and clear verification steps.

01 · Training plan

Turn “study more” into the right next four weeks

“I’m a 28-hour private-pilot student struggling with VFR cross-country planning and radio confidence. Build my next four weeks using only free resources. Give me exact links, readiness gates, and what to postpone.”

Without the skill

A broad ground-school checklist, generic resources, and no clear exit criteria.

With SkyWatch Co-Pilot

A focused sequence for the pilot’s stage, credited lessons, instructor-review points, measurable readiness gates, and lower-priority subjects deliberately deferred.

02 · Exact resources

Replace plausible recommendations with cataloged sources

“Give me the exact free video lessons and free FAA courses that cover VFR cross-country nav-log construction. Links, not descriptions.”

Without the skill

General playlists and broad handbook suggestions that still require manual verification.

With SkyWatch Co-Pilot

Mapped Free Pilot Training lessons, FAASTeam course ALC-481, original-publisher credit, and cataloged links instead of memory-based guesses.

03 · Auditable tools

See every assumption behind the answer

“Show a complete weight-and-balance calculation with every station, moment, total, CG, unit, and assumption. Then tell me which aircraft-specific documents I must verify.”

Without the skill

Prose arithmetic that can blur a teaching estimate with an aircraft-specific conclusion.

With SkyWatch Co-Pilot

Transparent calculator output, visible units and assumptions, and a precise verification step using the aircraft’s current approved records.

See it in action

Same prompt. A better aviation answer.

Watch the same training question answered without and with SkyWatch Co-Pilot. The skill replaces a broad checklist with a stage-appropriate plan, exact credited resources, readiness gates, and clear priorities.

177 foundation and institutional courses FAA handbooks, ACS, FAASTeam, and AOPA ASI Explanations, quizzes, and progress guidance

How to use it?

Everything lives in public on GitHub. Explore the sources, use the skill, suggest a correction, add a resource, or fork the project to build on it.

1

Explore openly

Review the curriculum, original-source credits, safety boundaries, tools, and every proposed change in the public GitHub repository.

2

Use or fork it

Install the skill in your agent, clone it for your own workflow, or fork the repository to experiment with new modules and tools.

3

Improve it

Open an issue or pull request to correct information, add a credible resource, strengthen a checklist, or contribute expert review.

Built in public. Improved by aviation.

Pilots, instructors, aircraft owners, mechanics, examiners, medical professionals, creators, and aviation organizations are invited to help make the handbook more useful and trustworthy.

01

Correct and verify

Flag outdated claims, broken sources, jurisdiction gaps, or unclear safety language. Consequential changes receive domain and maintainer review.

02

Expand the handbook

Propose lessons, authoritative references, free courses, calculators, ownership tools, or aircraft-specific guidance—with original-source credit.

03

Share real expertise

Help review content within your professional scope and turn practical aviation experience into reusable, source-backed community knowledge.

Read the contribution guide Suggest an improvement

How it works?

The skill does not dump an aviation encyclopedia into every conversation. It identifies the task, loads only the relevant references and tools, and applies explicit verification and professional-review boundaries.

01 · Classify

Understand the pilot

Identifies training stage, jurisdiction, aircraft context, and whether the request is education, planning, live operations, or professional advice.

02 · Retrieve

Load what matters

Routes to the right curriculum module, ownership journey, checklist, calculator, playlist, or source record.

03 · Ground

Use authority first

Prefers current FAA, eCFR, NTSB, NOAA/NWS, and approved aircraft documents over creator content or model memory.

04 · Escalate

Know the boundary

Points to a CFI, A&P/IA, AME, attorney, CPA, title professional, or licensed insurance representative when judgment is required.

References

Creator videos shape the learning sequence; current primary sources control consequential claims. The repository records source type, freshness, rights, and review expectations.

FAA
Airman Certification Standards

The current knowledge, risk-management, and skill framework.

 FAA
Aviation handbooks and manuals

Primary educational anchors for aerodynamics, weather, navigation, and operations.

 eCFR
Title 14 regulations

Current federal aviation regulations; checked live when a rule matters.

 NWS
Aviation Weather Center

Live official aviation-weather products—not cached inside the skill.

 113
FAASTeam + AOPA courses

83 free FAASTeam courses and 30 free AOPA courses, individually credited and linked to FAA Safety.gov.

 Video
Free Pilot Training

The primary 64-lesson syllabus input, linked without transcript republication.

 199
Credited free-learning catalog

Item-level links to Free Pilot Training, King Schools, Free Pilot Ground School, FAA, AOPA ASI, EAA, NOAA/NWS, NTSB, and NASA resources.

 Credit
Original-source credits

Creator attribution, original links, access notes, jurisdiction warnings, and rights treatment.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a complete, approved ground school?

No. It is an open learning and decision-support layer aligned to authoritative sources. It does not issue graduation certificates, endorsements, or replace an instructor or approved course.

How do I install it in Claude?

Open the GitHub repository and download or clone it. Package only the skywatch-open-pilot-handbook folder as a ZIP, keeping SKILL.md directly inside that single top-level folder, then upload it in Claude’s skill area.

Does it include Free Pilot Training transcripts?

The transcripts were used to understand topic sequencing and learning objectives, but are not republished. The repository links to the original videos and records them as link-only unless broader rights are granted.

Where do the 177 lessons and courses come from?

The collection combines the 64-lesson Free Pilot Training private-pilot foundation with 83 free FAA Safety Team courses and 30 free AOPA courses listed in FAA Safety.gov. Specialty courses are clearly cataloged and are not automatically treated as core fixed-wing training.

Can the skill tell me whether a flight is safe?

No. It can teach a decision framework and help you find current sources, but it cannot make live go/no-go, weather, NOTAM, airworthiness, or emergency-authority decisions.

Can it interpret my insurance policy or recommend tax and legal decisions?

No. It can explain general concepts and prepare questions, but the actual policy and licensed insurance review control coverage. Legal and tax actions require qualified professionals familiar with your facts and jurisdiction.

Who can contribute?

Everyone is welcome to suggest improvements. Pilots, CFIs/CFIIs, aircraft owners, A&P/IAs, AMEs, DPEs, creators, and aviation organizations can open issues or pull requests. Contributions need original-source credit, and safety-critical changes require domain and maintainer review.

What is included in the GitHub repository?

The repository includes the portable skill, curriculum and source maps, practical tools, governance, GitHub workflows, rights ledger, contribution documentation, and the website source.

Help build aviation’s open knowledge layer.

Explore the repository, use the handbook, challenge what can be better, and contribute the knowledge the next pilot will need.

Contribute on GitHub Suggest an improvement