concern

[rchamble]

I am only about 8 hrs of flight time into my training and I have been reading an older Rod Machados Private Pilot Handbook. I am not sure of the exact date of the book but it says a medical certificate is good for 3 years but after reading and studying other places I found medical certificates are good for 5 yrs (under 40 yrs of age).. I have lost confidence in the book and concerned that I may be lead astray… Should I bite the bullet and buy new books or keep going that it shouldn't be that much stuff changed since the print of the book, which I am unable to find the copyright date on.. I know the price on the book is $34.95 which had to have been some time ago … What is everyones thoughts and opinions.. Of the 16 chapters and already on chapter 10

 

[pilottangocharlie]

The best books I have found are available for FREE on the FAA website and they have everything you need to know.

 

[poadeleted20]

The book is giving you the rule as of several years ago. However, the rules are always being updated, so short of going to the FAA's Regulatory and Guidance Library site, you can't be sure you're reading the current regulations, especially in a book written/published several years ago. However, I wouldn't lose faith in the book just because one regulation has changed since the book was published. Just get in the habit of referring back to the RGL to confirm the current status of any rule cited in that book, especially the Part 61 pilot certification rules, which have been changing significantly on a continuing basis the last few years.

 

[Stewartb]

3rd class medical durations have changed through the years. How to fly an airplane? Not so much. Don't give any of those books much merit for anything more than entertainment.

 

[frfly172]

I would go with the latest books,either from the FAA,or one of the study handbooks. I like the gliem. Not good to study outdated material.

 

[Jeff Oslick]

Not good to study outdated material.

The key is to separate discussions of technique from the regs. Machado's books and others like Stick and Rudder are valuable to student pilots because they explain things in ways that dry government resources never do. Enjoy the books, just be sure the current FAR/AIM is what you use for regulatory info.

 

[James331]

The best books I have found are available for FREE on the FAA website and they have everything you need to know.

And read like the yellow pages!


Just get the king program, you could also download the torrent. Ether way that's what I recommend for all of my guys as a CFI, its always worked great.

 

[TheTraveler]

The key is to separate discussions of technique from the regs. Machado's books and others like Stick and Rudder are valuable to student pilots because they explain things in ways that dry government resources never do. Enjoy the books, just be sure the current FAR/AIM is what you use for regulatory info.

Agree 100%. Machado's book and Stick and Rudder are two of my favorites for that very reason.

Very well put Jeff (about separating the discussions), thanks for that.

 

[poadeleted20]

I would go with the latest books,either from the FAA,or one of the study handbooks. I like the gliem. Not good to study outdated material.

... just be sure the current FAR/AIM is what you use for regulatory info.

Even the most "current" FAR/AIM book is already outdated as soon as it hits the stands. Same for any textbook you buy. You must figure our what material is changeable and which doesn't change, and take appropriate action.

 

[TheTraveler]

Even the most "current" FAR/AIM book is already outdated as soon as it hits the stands. Same for any textbook you buy. You must figure our what material is changeable and which doesn't change, and take appropriate action.

And sites such as this...

http://www.exams4pilots.org/faatest.cgi

Which work really well for practice, but have a lot of questions that are incorrect (or, the answers are incorrect) because the owner of the site has never updated.

I actually suspect with this specific example that there are some non-changing answers that they got wrong and never corrected, but I don't have the time to go through their entire bank and prove it, nor would it do me any good.

I think this is a bit worse than the book though, because if you really aren't paying attention and cannot separate what you know to be incorrect vs what you're unsure of, you could end up getting confused and get stuck on some wrong answers.

 

[jordane93]

I am only about 8 hrs of flight time into my training and I have been reading an older Rod Machados Private Pilot Handbook. I am not sure of the exact date of the book but it says a medical certificate is good for 3 years but after reading and studying other places I found medical certificates are good for 5 yrs (under 40 yrs of age).. I have lost confidence in the book and concerned that I may be lead astray… Should I bite the bullet and buy new books or keep going that it shouldn't be that much stuff changed since the print of the book, which I am unable to find the copyright date on.. I know the price on the book is $34.95 which had to have been some time ago … What is everyones thoughts and opinions.. Of the 16 chapters and already on chapter 10

The regs might be different but the maneuvers, aircraft systems, aerodynamics, airspace, etc are all the same. I wouldn't be too worried

 

[TMetzinger]

Read the book you've got. When you're in the cross-country phase of your training, then download (for FREE) the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook. Many of the other books are "better" at getting the fundamentals across, but it's helpful to read it in "FAA-Speak". It will help for the written AND stretch your brain a bit.

 

[kenjr]

I am only about 8 hrs of flight time into my training and I have been reading an older Rod Machados Private Pilot Handbook. I am not sure of the exact date of the book but it says a medical certificate is good for 3 years but after reading and studying other places I found medical certificates are good for 5 yrs (under 40 yrs of age).. I have lost confidence in the book and concerned that I may be lead astray… Should I bite the bullet and buy new books or keep going that it shouldn't be that much stuff changed since the print of the book, which I am unable to find the copyright date on.. I know the price on the book is $34.95 which had to have been some time ago … What is everyones thoughts and opinions.. Of the 16 chapters and already on chapter 10

If you are seriously going to pursue this then buy a copy of the most current FAR/AIM. You'll need to cozy with it anyway for your checkride...

http://www.amazon.com/FAR-AIM-2015-...e=UTF8&qid=1421040766&sr=8-1&keywords=FAR/AIM

I bought the FAR/AIM app on my iPad...it was cheap and it auto updates. I don't use it that much anymore but nice to know that all I have to do is fire it up and click search (which obviously is not available with the paperback) and I can find what I need.