Ground school advice

C

CessnaN1315efw

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Jan 26, 2006
Messages
7
Location
Cherry Hill NJ
Display Name
Display name:
Anthony Saraceno
Hi everyone I'm new here. My friend Jason (HPNPilot1200) reffered me to this web board.

Im having a little problem. I turn 17 on April 4th and im gonna take my check ride. Ive completed all my flying stuff like the solo cross countries and have enough hours to qualify but i still have not taken my written test and i think i will fail it. I have never taken any formal ground school...my instructor has just explained how to do basic things like weight and balence, flight planning and basic aerodynamics ithat I have learned form a text book. My checkride is hopefully 2 months away and i will probably fail the oral if im having trouble on ground knowledge. Im studying from the Gliems test prep book but im having a lot of trouble...

....It seems like there is just to much information to self study and i keep getting lost on many topics... Can anyone recommend what i should do? Should i take some formal ground school? have private ground lessons with my CFI? any other suggestions? :redface: :dunno:

Anthony Saraceno
N14 - Flying W
 
Last edited:
Michael said:
i liked the kings dvd course.
http://www.kingschools.com
Click to expand...

I used the cessna course which is done by King,either one will help,but i'll warn you now that some of the DVD lessons are boring but watch them anyway,and start at the beginning dont skip over stuff you think you know. And Good Luck on the Oral and Check ride
Dave G.
 
Usually some community colleges have a ground school, this can be a good way to get the job done. I went to a Part 141 school, so this is basically what I did.

On the other hand, the king tapes seem to be a good resource. I used the cd-rom version to get ready for the private pilot FAA test.

When I got my CFI, I used the red books (Gleim) to get ready for the written.

Another good resource is the color coded ASA oral exam prep guides. (The private is Blue, the Com is Orange, the CFI is yellow.) They are a tremendous resource, and can show you what areas you need to work on.

Before your checkride, get the gouge from someone in your area that has taken a ride with the same examiner. This is good so that you'll know what to expect, and while not technically "cheating" it does help you relax quite a bit and actually fly like you were taught....

--Matt
 
I can't say enough good about the Kings courses so I guess if Cessna uses them they should be excellent too but, some people just need that classroom structure to make the grade. Timewise for me to get to a good test score after having done both methods over the years, the videos win hands down.
 
Use the King / Cessna videos, take the practice exams on computer about a hundred times (lots of places to do it, I used the practice at Sporty's web site, it's free), and when you are consistently scoring above 90, take it. You'll do better than you expected to.
 
For the Private knowledge I really like Rod MAchado's Private Pilot Handbook, cheap, easy to read with good explainations of each topic in it. You should also get not jus tthe Gleim private test book but the CD-ROM as well. That way you can start to take sample tests. You will quickly discover your weak areas and then can go to Machado's book for explainations. The cost of the CD-ROM is also pretty cheap when compared to the King courses.
 
First thing to do, right now, no delay, is to get with your instructor and discuss your concerns. You may be better than you think, or your instructor may have a plan he has not shared with you. Two-way communication is essential to effective training, and if you don't give your instructor any feedback on how you feel, the loop is broken and training is degraded. Only if your instructor fails to respond to your concerns should you worry about alternatives.
 
CessnaN1315efw said:
i still have not taken my written test and i think i will fail it.
Click to expand...

My checkride is hopefully 2 months away and i will probably fail the oral if im having trouble on ground knowledge.
Click to expand...

Anthony,

It all depends on how you learn. Some people learn better when things are fed to them (a la "formal ground school") whereas some learn better on their own. How do you learn?

Personally, I wanted to fly really bad but didn't have the money at first. So, I absorbed as much info as I could on the ground. Out of all the materials I had, I think the Rod Machado private pilot book was the best. It's very easy to read and contains not only lots of humor, but many excellent tidbits for how to remember the material as well. I also enjoyed the Sporty's videos.

What you DON'T want to do is use a test prep book to learn the material. All that will give you is the answers. In flying, the "why" and "how" are much more important than the answer on a test. When you understand the whys and hows, you won't even have to think about the answers, you'll just know them.

So, learn from a book that'll teach you the whys and hows first, then use the test prep book at the very end just to get used to the FAA's weird wording in their questions. Same thing with the "oral exam guides" that are available (have a CFI grill you using the oral exam guide just before your checkride).

Finally, these boards are an excellent resource. Read the "Pilot Training" board here, and the "Left Seat/Right Seat" board over at AOPA. You'll get answers to many questions, some you didn't even know you had! If there's something you don't understand the whys and hows of, post your question here and you'll get a bunch of good explanations.

I credit all the above with my 97% on the written (and one of the two wrong answers was a bogus one, DPE even said so!) especially the knowledgeable folks on the boards.

Good luck and fly safe!
 
Guys thanks a million. I'm gonna go grab the King CD-ROMs i think that will help me...I learn best when someone is telling me why this is this and why that is that. Also I'm gonna talk this over with my instructor because its starting to make me nervous i apreciate all the replys. I've been taking the online tests now...been getting 70's consistantly and i dont think i wanna take the chance of just getting a 70, or a 69 for that matter and fail.
 
Anthony
Very important to study work with your Instructor and have a positive attitude. It may be good idea to fly a simulated check ride with a Instructor you don't know to let some of your feeling out.
And alway FLY the Plane.
Jaime
 
Anthony, I was more afraid of the written than the practical. I studied from the Jepp Text book and Gleim and scored around an 86 For the IR I used the Jepp Text and the King DVDs. which were amazing. I also did practice exams while using an on line practice exam that mailed my results too my CFII as Jamie above will attest. This was I was able to discuss my weak areas with my CFII. I scored a 98 on the Instrument written. The site I used was http://www.mywrittenexam.com/mwe/ One of our members here at POA also has a pretty good site thats for free right now you should check it out www.privatepilotexam.com It teaches the lessons that you can then go use on a practice exam. Essentially it teaches you how to take the exam. Hang in there good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top