Best online prep for written and oral?

[stevenhmiller]

I recently solo'd and am going to start working on my dual cross country in preparation for my solo cross country. Also will be doing the night flying soon. My CFI said after those are done, I'll be ready for the written, followed by oral and check ride.

I'm short on available time, due to work constraints. By the end of the work day, I'm pretty tired and all I want to do is eat dinner and vegitate before early bedtime. My mind is pretty much mush by the end of the day.

With this in mind, can I get some suggestions on the best online resources for preparations in taking the written and dealing with the oral?

 

[James331]

Two different animals.

For learning the material for the oral and the knowledge needed to be a good pilot, the king program.

For learning the test and passing the written, the kings have one, so does dauntless, average 80 or better and you'll be fine for the written.

 

[write-stuff]

Congrats on the solo. Your question comes up regularly and you'll get a variety of opinions, usually skewed toward what people used themselves.

There are other options than online, but that's what you asked about. Others will suggest there own favorites and you should definitely check them out. I suggest that you check out Gold Seal at www.OnlineGroundSchool.com. There are several advantages you'll get nowhere else:

(1) Forever money-back guarantee
(2) Most Extensive free trial anywhere
(3) Full free use of quizzing engine
(4) Your CFI can register for free and monitor your progress

The Gold Seal Ground School covers both the written test and checkride, automatically generating an endorsement for you to take the Knowledge Test.

Whatever you choose, download this free 70-page ebook: www.FreeFlyBook.com. It'll be a big help no matter what you end up using.

Best of luck!

 

[islandboy]

My general circumstances were different from yours, and I wrote the FAA exam before spending any significant time on the ground with my CFI. However, I also had work issues but committed to studying online well into the evenings (mushy brain and all). I took write-stuff's course (see above).

The FAA written exam wasn't a problem, and I agree that the initial online preparation time paid dividends on the oral portion of the checkride.

What I appreciated most during the course was accessibility of online instructors. When I didn't understand something, I sent an e-mail and got a quick response, either from write-stuff or one of the other instructors. They were often up as late as I was.

I was happy with my choice and the outcomes. But, just remember that nobody's course will save you if you don't put in the effort.

I recently solo'd and am going to start working on my dual cross country in preparation for my solo cross country. Also will be doing the night flying soon. My CFI said after those are done, I'll be ready for the written, followed by oral and check ride.

I'm short on available time, due to work constraints. By the end of the work day, I'm pretty tired and all I want to do is eat dinner and vegitate before early bedtime. My mind is pretty much mush by the end of the day.

With this in mind, can I get some suggestions on the best online resources for preparations in taking the written and dealing with the oral?

 

[woodchucker]

Sporty's Study Buddy worked for the written. Pretty much the same question bank as the ASA prep book, but more interactive on the iPad/Phone.

For the oral, the ASA book by Michael Hayes, and the associated app: Private Pilot Checkride

 

[AlanM]

Maybe a two-day/three-day "weekend" cram course might be what you are looking for this purpose. I don't know FL, but perhaps you are near an American Flyers base. Next, there's some outfit that advertises a lot in aviation magazines -- can't think of their name / maybe it's "Aviation Seminars." Right after the cram, you take the written.

I used Gleim for my ATP written (Part 135) and nailed it with a perfect 75 -- passed w/o spending lots of brain matter on regs and stuff I was never going to use. But the "red book" did get me through it because of all of the repetition in the question bank. Pity the person who had to organize the FAA's question bank and prepare those boring study outlines.

 

[stevenhmiller]

Thanks for all the posts. I'm going to investigate the recommendations, once I have a free moment to breathe.

 

[rk911]

Maybe a two-day/three-day "weekend" cram course might be what you are looking for this purpose. I don't know FL, but perhaps you are near an American Flyers base. Next, there's some outfit that advertises a lot in aviation magazines -- can't think of their name / maybe it's "Aviation Seminars." Right after the cram, you take the written.

I used Gleim for my ATP written (Part 135) and nailed it with a perfect 75 -- passed w/o spending lots of brain matter on regs and stuff I was never going to use. But the "red book" did get me through it because of all of the repetition in the question bank. Pity the person who had to organize the FAA's question bank and prepare those boring study outlines.

I combined the 3-day immersion course at American Flyers with additional ground instruction with my CFI. by the time I took the AF test I was well prepared. btw, the AF school at KDPA in West Chicago, IL is now closed.

 

[AlanM]

I combined the 3-day immersion course at American Flyers with additional ground instruction with my CFI. by the time I took the AF test I was well prepared. btw, the AF school at KDPA in West Chicago, IL is now closed.

What happened? Where did their instructors and students end up?

 

[write-stuff]

Remember one thing - ground school is not just to pass the written test. Whatever you end up with, make sure that it is a COMPLETE program.

 

[rk911]

What happened? Where did their instructors and students end up?

don't know, Alan. it all seemed rather quick although to be fair I don't fly out of DuPage and apart from taking the school and test at AF and attending the occasional Saturday lunch I didn't have a whole lot of interaction with them. I do know that one of their instructors is now a partner at SimplyFly at KARR (Aurora Municipal).

 

[MikeELP]

Lots of good on-line test preps for the knowledge test.

Best prep for the oral? One-on-one mock oral with someone who is familiar with the DPE's testing technique. Finds your weak areas and gets you ready for what to expect the day of the checkride.

A 100 score on the written does not prepare you for the scenario questions that will be tossed at you by the DPE. Good oral prep does.

FWIW

 

[rk911]

Lots of good on-line test preps for the knowledge test.

Best prep for the oral? One-on-one mock oral with someone who is familiar with the DPE's testing technique. Finds your weak areas and gets you ready for what to expect the day of the checkride.

A 100 score on the written does not prepare you for the scenario questions that will be tossed at you by the DPE. Good oral prep does.

FWIW

that's precisely what I did. in prepping for the oral I asked the chief pilot at the school to conduct a mock oral. that was very valuable. my CFI also conducted several mock check rides as well.

 

[StinkBug]

For my Private I just studied the various FAA books and used the Red Gleim study guide book. I learned a lot, but felt it was fairly taxing mentally.

For my instrument rating I decided to try the King videos as I'm more of an audio/visual learner. I got a 93 on the written and felt like I didn't study at all. I think this comes down to your personal learning style though. For me the videos seemed to work. I also breezed through my checkride and got a number of compliments from the DPE. A lot of that I blame on my instructor though. He's pretty good at preparing students, and does a good mock oral prep with us. His mock oral exam questions were way more in depth and difficult than the DPE.

For the oral there are also some great videos on YouTube. A couple really old checkride videos that are a little cheesy but still accurate, and a couple of seminars put on by DPEs telling about the things they are looking for and what people usually miss. I think Andy Munn is the name of one of them, and he does a really good job. Helped me with both of my checkrides.