Which book(s)?

[mcmanigle]

About a year ago I moved out of the country, having just finished my IR and with about 230 hours under my belt. I'll move back in a couple of months, and I'm looking to get back into fun flying, get IPC'd, and start slowly working toward commercial and multi. I hope to have those done by the time mid-2016 rolls around.

As a way to brush up on instrument and prepare for commercial (and because I'm a sucker for certificates that don't expire), I'm considering trying to read up a bit and book myself into a test site for a few hours to take FOI/AGI/IGI.

I'm the type who can remember what I read, so I'm looking for a book or two that covers all this well. I was thinking Gardner's Complete Advanced Pilot for AGI/IGI, as I've heard good things about his books though I've not yet had the pleasure. (Those tests are all material-specific, right? No FAA teaching voodoo?)

But I've got no idea what to do about FOI. I've got a modest amount of skill-based teaching experience in various levels of medicine (mostly EMS), engineering, and rowing, but any recommendations for quick ways to learn the magic words the FOI exam is looking for would be appreciated.

 

[frfly172]

I used the Gliem books with good results.

 

[Gucci Pilot]

Sheppard Air

 

[Wheels]

Sheppard Air

Another vote for Sheppard Air. I was an instructor in the Navy (ship navigation, not aviation) and I am a SCUBA instructor but I needed to learn what the FAA wanted to see on the test. Spent about 6 hours studying with Sheppard Air and got a 94 on my FOI exam.

 

[james_j]

The Complete Advanced Pilot by Bob Gardner is indeed a great book, I would recommend it. For your FOI's pick up a copy of the Aviation Instructors Handbook (FAA-H-8083-9A), in my opinion this is a must read to prepare for your FOI test. ASA Instructor Test Prep has a great study guide and database of FOI and AGI questions.

Sheppard Air is pointless, stay away.

 

[mjburian]

If you want to knock out the AGI and FOI quickly, the Dauntless app for CFI includes the test prep for quite a few tests, including the AGI and FOI. $40 on the app and a weekend of studying and you should easily be able to pass those written tests.

 

[murphey]

The Complete Advanced Pilot by Bob Gardner is indeed a great book, I would recommend it. For your FOI's pick up a copy of the Aviation Instructors Handbook (FAA-H-8083-9A), in my opinion this is a must read to prepare for your FOI test. ASA Instructor Test Prep has a great study guide and database of FOI and AGI questions.

Sheppard Air is pointless, stay away.

The FAA book is free and online at the FAA website. I've used Bob's books for private, now working in the instrument, will use it for the commercial.

But I'm curious, ( just to get thru the FOI, which I personally consider a silly exam, you can't learn to teach reading a book, but that's just my opinion,) why is Sheppard's material worthless?

 

[Gucci Pilot]

Sheppard Air is pointless, stay away.

But I'm curious, ( just to get thru the FOI, which I personally consider a silly exam, you can't learn to teach reading a book, but that's just my opinion,) why is Sheppard's material worthless?

Yeah. The FOI is as worthless as the ATP and Sheppard got me through that quick and painless. Feel free to ellaborate.

 

[james_j]

Whats there to elaborate on, it you strictly want to memorize the question and answers then use Sheppard Air. If you actually want to learn something then read the 8083-9A and use a test prep program that will help teach you the knowledge behind the question. The choice is yours. You may think the FOI's are worthless but as an instructor I refer back to the principals I learned when studying those fundamentals quite often.

 

[James331]

Sheppard Air

That

If you just want to get the writtens passed

For knowledge, kings are the goto for videos, I like "From the Ground Up" for a good reference book, also "everything explained for the professional pilot"