Comparison

Rod's Aviation Book Samples vs ASA Library

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Rod's Aviation Book Samples

Explore aviation knowledge with sample chapters from popular educational texts. These books offer clear explanations, helpful illustrations, and engaging humor to aid in learning to fly. Discover why pilots praise these comprehensive guides for their clarity and effectiveness.

Highlights
  • Sample aviation handbooks
  • Clear explanations
  • In-depth illustrations
  • Memory aids and analogies
  • Humorous content
  • Pilot testimonials
Features
Read full description

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.

About

ASA Library

Access and read your purchased eBooks from asa2fly.com on any device. Download titles for offline reading and utilize features like highlighting, bookmarking, and note-taking. An interactive table of contents and easy-to-read rendering enhance the reading experience.

Highlights
  • Offline eBook access
  • Highlighting
  • Bookmarking
  • Note-taking
  • Search functionality
  • Interactive table of contents
Features
Read full description

The ASA Library app allows you to read your ASA eBooks from anywhere. Easily access your eBooks purchased from asa2fly.com and download for offline access. Features include the ability to highlight, bookmark, and take notes, as well as search capability. An interactive table of contents provides a quick jump to specific chapters. Easy-to-read rendering and intuitive UI make reading enjoyable.

Screenshots

Rod's Aviation Book Samples1 screens
ASA Library4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Rod's Aviation Book Samples at 100% against ASA Library's 11%. Rod's Aviation Book Samples also leads on rating (4.0 vs 1.7) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 14.0). ASA Library's advantage is ratings volume (47 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Rod's Aviation Book Samples holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ASA Library has 47 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Rod's Aviation Book Samples's written reviews are positive against 11% of ASA Library's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rod's Aviation Book Samples ships an update every 8 months, ASA Library every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Rod's Aviation Book Samples versus ASA Library: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRod's Aviation Book SamplesASA Library
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings) — better1.7 (47 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better10.8% of reviews
Number of ratings147 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 months — betterEvery 12 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB74 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRod MachadoASA

Customer experience

Rod's Aviation Book Samples

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

ASA Library

All ratings45 ratings
Positive13.3%
Neutral2.2%
Negative84.4%
Written reviews37 reviews
Positive10.8%
Neutral2.7%
Negative86.5%

In-app purchases

None

Rod's Aviation Book Samples

No in-app purchases

None

ASA Library

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Rod's Aviation Book Samples free?
Rod's Aviation Book Samples is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ASA Library free?
ASA Library is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Rod's Aviation Book Samples or ASA Library?
Rod's Aviation Book Samples is rated higher. Rod's Aviation Book Samples averages 4.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while ASA Library averages 1.7 from 47 ratings.
Do Rod's Aviation Book Samples or ASA Library have ads?
Neither Rod's Aviation Book Samples nor ASA Library shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Rod's Aviation Book Samples or ASA Library?
Rod's Aviation Book Samples ships an update every 8 months, and ASA Library every 12 months. Most recently, Rod's Aviation Book Samples was updated on November 1, 2026 and ASA Library on November 3, 2026.

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