Online Training Questions

[Joshua Brouse]

Hey everyone! I am new here and wanted to get some guidance. I came across an add on facebook for a 100% online ground school. I have some reservations about that, but if it's possible that would be great. I have always wanted my license and while I don't have the money to just go drop 10 grand on a school, I'm trying to find a way to go after this dream. Is online ground school legit? If so, what is the process after that? Also, how far will that get me in the overall process? Just to clarify, I am not looking for an easy way out or a way to work the system, I am just trying to do what I can to work around my schedule and finances. Thank you so much for any help!

 

[RyanB]

Online ground school is common nowadays and what a good majority seem to be doing. What reservations do you have?

 

[Joshua Brouse]

I am wondering what the whole process is after taking the online portion. And it says that at the end of the class I will take the 60 question test. Is that all that is required on the classroom portion? Would I just do the actual flying part after that?

 

[RyanB]

Some programs will issue a certificate of completion that you’ll use to get endorsed to take the written test. The classroom learning accomplishes the same thing and would just be followed by an instructors endorsement to go take the test. As always, it’s best to take the ground school material at the same time as your flight training, rather than beforehand.

 

[SkyChaser]

Welcome from a fellow newbie on a budget with schedule constraints!

I don't know which online ground school you saw ads for, so can't comment on the "legit-ness" of that particular one, but I did my ground school all online and for free. It is a lot of work and requires lots of self-motivation, but it is legit and doable. I went looking for ground school syllabi online to see what and how was taught, and then semi-structured my studying around that.

I used the FAA books (Airplane Flying Handbook and the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge) for my textbooks and fly8ma.com for some videos and other help. And then used YouTube for extra help with concepts if needed. If you search Fly8MA flight training on Youtube, it will come up (Flying 101). You can watch through the entire course on YouTube or you can go to his website. He has a free online ground school using the YouTube videos - basically the videos plus some notes or important concepts listed down below with a quiz for each topic.

Reading through all that (which is pretty dry and difficult to keep going sometimes...but worth it) and going through the course covers pretty much everything you need to know. I would also read through the actual text of the important FARs (91 and 61 and a few others). Then do online practice tests. See what questions you got wrong and figure out why. It will help you see if there are any areas you are lacking in.

Now, the success story. I went into my first lesson and my CFI tried to give me a ground lesson. It basically was an oral test. He told me he wasn't going to give me ground anymore as long as I came to my lessons prepared for the day. It has worked pretty well so far! And I took my written test last week and scored a 95% so it seems to have worked out well for that, too.

If you got through all that, you should be able to read those FAA books. Should I have just said yes, online ground school can be legit?!

 

[SkyChaser]

And I did my ground studying before I had my first lesson. It all depends on how you learn best. Now, instead of having to learn new concepts each lessons, I just have to review the material. I think there are definitely pros to each method/timing though.

 

[write-stuff]

Hi, Joshua. I'm with Gold Seal so take anything I say with your own salt grain. But I do have this to tell you.

With Gold Seal you do get a 100% online experience. It's not a bunch of talking head videos, either. It will prepare you for your written test, then all the way through your maneuvers and on to your checkride. So it doesn't stop at just written test prep (which many/most do). Enough of the sales pitch. Create a complimentary account and give it a free test drive. It's free, extensive, and doesn't expire. There's no better way to evaluate a program than by seeing it for yourself.

www.GroundSchool.com

And keep in mind that your CFI can join for free. That allows him/her to integrate your flight training directly with your ground training.
Gold Seal has been online with ground school longer than any other company.

 

[Joshua Brouse]

Wow! Thank you so much! That was not too much, I am glad to have responses like that. The ad I saw and signed up for is from Checkride Prep LLC. Based out of CA I guess. And it is also free. In your opinion, doing the ground school stuff this way, is it reducing the overall cost by not spending that extra time with a CFI?

 

[SkyChaser]

Personally, I think it is helping me a lot. I don't need to pay for the hours I spend learning on my own and I already know pretty much everything about a maneuver except what it feels like in an actual plane by the time I actually fly it. So most of my flying is getting a feel for how it actually feels to do the maneuvers and how to time everything properly, if that makes sense.

 

[Joshua Brouse]

That makes perfect sense. I am hoping I can get into this and try to pay as I go. I also like the idea of being prepared knowledge wise when I go to fly. I feel like that will give more time for practice rather than a bunch of instruction.

 

[smv]

Hi, Joshua. I'm with Gold Seal so take anything I say with your own salt grain. But I do have this to tell you.

With Gold Seal you do get a 100% online experience. It's not a bunch of talking head videos, either. It will prepare you for your written test, then all the way through your maneuvers and on to your checkride. So it doesn't stop at just written test prep (which many/most do). Enough of the sales pitch. Create a complimentary account and give it a free test drive. It's free, extensive, and doesn't expire. There's no better way to evaluate a program without seeing it for yourself.

www.GroundSchool.com

And keep in mind that your CFI can join for free. That allows him/her to integrate your flight training directly with your ground training.
Gold Seal has been online with ground school longer than any other company.

As a CFI and a pilot who self-studied before the advent of online ground school training, I have long searched for a good online ground school to help my students save their bucks for AVGAS. After trying several other options I somehow finally stumbled upon Gold Seal one day a few months ago.

For the price of little more than four hours of one-on-one ground session, you get full access to this program for a whole year!

My only regret is that I did not find them sooner.

 

[SkyChaser]

That makes perfect sense. I am hoping I can get into this and try to pay as I go. I also like the idea of being prepared knowledge wise when I go to fly. I feel like that will give more time for practice rather than a bunch of instruction.

I don't know much about Gold Seal and nothing about Checkride Prep, but I have heard good things about the Gold Seal ground school, and nothing is lost but a little time with free stuff! If you are new to aviation, I think it would probably be easier to go with an established course like Gold Seal. It was a lot of overwhelming information for my non-aviation brain at first to just start with the FAA handbooks! It is entirely possibly to get a good ground school foundation with no investment but a lot of time, though, just so you know you have options.

Good luck with whatever you decide to go with! Flying is a lot of fun, and definitely worth the effort!

 

[exncsurfer]

That makes perfect sense. I am hoping I can get into this and try to pay as I go. I also like the idea of being prepared knowledge wise when I go to fly. I feel like that will give more time for practice rather than a bunch of instruction.

Joshua,
I think it depends on your timeline. Online ground schools that get you the knowledge to pass your written exam may be better suited to when you are actually ready to start, or at least have a planned start. If you take the written exam and pass you have two years to train and take the flying exam check ride. Also some ground school content access could expire before you get your flight training started(and finished).

I would stick to free FAA pubs and or free trials of ground schools until you have your start time(funds/time) planned.

You'll get a variety of recommendations on whether taking the written before flying is good or bad, but you don't want to take the test and pay for it just to have it expire before you get done.

I don't know if anyone threw out the 'research the medical' disclaimer to you yet, so there it is. Don't get too far into the process to realize you have a disqualifying condition. The pitfalls aren't obvious, so do that research. I had a hangup on mine that I would have never guessed. Physically fit is not the standard.

 

[phillip hebenstreit]

Welcome from a fellow newbie on a budget with schedule constraints!

I don't know which online ground school you saw ads for, so can't comment on the "legit-ness" of that particular one, but I did my ground school all online and for free. It is a lot of work and requires lots of self-motivation, but it is legit and doable. I went looking for ground school syllabi online to see what and how was taught, and then semi-structured my studying around that.

I used the FAA books (Airplane Flying Handbook and the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge) for my textbooks and fly8ma.com for some videos and other help. And then used YouTube for extra help with concepts if needed. If you search Fly8MA flight training on Youtube, it will come up (Flying 101). You can watch through the entire course on YouTube or you can go to his website. He has a free online ground school using the YouTube videos - basically the videos plus some notes or important concepts listed down below with a quiz for each topic.

Reading through all that (which is pretty dry and difficult to keep going sometimes...but worth it) and going through the course covers pretty much everything you need to know. I would also read through the actual text of the important FARs (91 and 61 and a few others). Then do online practice tests. See what questions you got wrong and figure out why. It will help you see if there are any areas you are lacking in.

Now, the success story. I went into my first lesson and my CFI tried to give me a ground lesson. It basically was an oral test. He told me he wasn't going to give me ground anymore as long as I came to my lessons prepared for the day. It has worked pretty well so far! And I took my written test last week and scored a 95% so it seems to have worked out well for that, too.

If you got through all that, you should be able to read those FAA books. Should I have just said yes, online ground school can be legit?!

Hi SkyChaser,

I want to thank you for the information too.

one question, You said you self studied, how did you get the endorsement to take the FAA Private Pilot test ?


FYI.
I missed Checkride-prep free online PPL class , but I'm taking their free instrument class right now. They seem to know what they are talking about.


Thank you
Phill

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

To be clear, ground school is not a specific requirement. The written exam is a requirement, and you will need an endorsement from an instructor / school to take it, but it is possible to self study and get your flight instructor to sign you off. That said, total self learning tends to be somewhat haphazard and some structure is a good idea - either through your flight instructor (if he/she devotes time to actual one on one "ground school" that is likely to be the most expensive route) or one of the structured self study courses - online or packaged (King Schools, Sporty's, etc.). Also, be aware that some courses will be focused on passing the test. Period.This is not the same thing as knowing what you would want to know as a pilot.
Poke around a bit, look at "sample" lessons if they are available. Look at the God Awful Dreary FAA publications. Talk to your (potential) flight instructor. Then decide.

 

[phillip hebenstreit]

To be clear, ground school is not a specific requirement. The written exam is a requirement, and you will need an endorsement from an instructor / school to take it, but it is possible to self study and get your flight instructor to sign you off. That said, total self learning tends to be somewhat haphazard and some structure is a good idea - either through your flight instructor (if he/she devotes time to actual one on one "ground school" that is likely to be the most expensive route) or one of the structured self study courses - online or packaged (King Schools, Sporty's, etc.). Also, be aware that some courses will be focused on passing the test. Period.This is not the same thing as knowing what you would want to know as a pilot.
Poke around a bit, look at "sample" lessons if they are available. Look at the God Awful Dreary FAA publications. Talk to your (potential) flight instructor. Then decide.

Thank you Capt. Geoffrey Throrpe,

that makes perfect sense to me and it answers my question

thank you

Phill

 

[SkyChaser]

I started lessons, and my CFI signed me off for it once I showed him my practice test scores.

If you are going to do self-study, you do need a structure. It can be a self-constructed structure or not. I looked at a couple of syllabi I found online for real ground school courses to see topics covered or resources used, and then just read the FAA books, the FARs, most of the AIM, and went over the Chart Supplement and online sectionals to get used to seeing and reading those. I have not yet found any significant holes in my studying, but I don't have many hours yet. The test was easy, and the only thing I really should have studied more was ATC lingo. That was the only question I guessed on.

I just wanted to say that self-study can be done and still get a good, comprehensive coverage of the material. I studied to know everything I could about how to be a good, knowledgable pilot before I ever flew, and then assumed I could pass the written test by virtue of knowing all that stuff. It worked for me. Good luck!

 

[AJS]

Hi all. Brand new to the forum. I am yet to take any training or even start ground school, but have been looking at starting once COVID passes. Have had joy rides with my dad in gliders as kid. Now well into my 40s I think I have the means to do this.
- I was wondering,if it's worth starting an online ground school during the COVID season to prep ahead.
- Above question is based on the premise that I will attend a Part 141 school with a curriculum once everything opens up.
- Will the part 141 school expect me to use their curriculum instead? or will the prep ahead help?
- I would prefer a comprehensive online ground school and not just a test prep: any recommendations?

Thanks. This is my first post!

Sorry...Just realized I hijacked a thread. I apologize to the OP.