Written First or Flying First

Jaybird180

Jaybird180

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Jaybird180
I'm currently taking an IFR Groundschool course. I've come to the realization that I need to step up and supplement the classroom study with more material that I can bite on - I need to read the FAA Pubs (sigh...).

A couple years ago, I got most of the way through the IFH and then life got in the way and I didn't go back to it after not being able to find my place in the reading PLUS with them changing it - I put it aside again.

For my classroom learning style, I like having been exposed to the material and then use the classroom to get a different perspective from the instructor and ask questions on parts that I don't or didn't understand from my own reading. I haven't been doing that - I'd been relying on my rusty knowledge of IFR from my prior reading and a prior class that the instructor couldn't finish due to job transfer.

I'm beginning to realize that I'm waaaay behind and likely won't catch up with reading the FAA pubs until after the class is done, and which time the instructor will be ready to fly (there are 4 students in the class). I've stashed away some money in my school account, so I'm ready there.

I'm not sure if flying a bit will help with understanding the material for the written or if the practical "real-world" experience and training may induce me to get the "wrong" answers on the FAA written test.

Should I knock out the written test before flying or should I get ready for my checkride then cram for the test?
 
Study for the written and get it out of the way that way you can focus on flying.
 
I did them at the same time, ended up taking the written about a month before the checkride(or what would have been the checkride before a busted engine got in the way).
 
Get the written done,then do the flying.
 
For PPL I trained and got to the point where I had to cram for the test. It worked out, but knowing the information for the oral and actual use is much different than passing the test. I used a test prep weekend to pass the test.

For IFR, I took the written as an "entrance exam." Weekend course, passed on Sunday.... and then life got in the way. The test expired before I was able to do my check ride (had two weeks blocked off to fly every day and the ride was scheduled but then I got called away for those two weeks)

My advice is that getting the test out of the way is great. Just make sure the 2 year clock won't get you like it did me.

Now I'm restudying (Sheppard) so I can retest and I'll finally have it done this summer.

YMMV
 
I took the written after doing maybe 15 hours with an instructor. I almost wish I would have waited longer, I got the written done and was thinking "Great, now I won't need to remember that exact answer for that question!" and started reading the ASA oral exam guide. Looks to be the same material, just that you have to come up with the answer instead of picking A, B, or C. I know that isn't exactly how the oral exam will go but I'm not looking forward to studying an hour a night for a few weeks a second time for the oral.
 
I took the written about a third of the way into my training. Based upon the previous posts I dont think you'll get a clear consensus one way or the other. My advice is based upon your post is to go ahead and fly As long as you take the test before your checkride in the end it doesn't matter when you take it (assuming you take it and don't quit as then the 2 year expiration could come into play).
 
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rolivi said:
For PPL I trained and got to the point where I had to cram for the test. It worked out, but knowing the information for the oral and actual use is much different than passing the test. I used a test prep weekend to pass the test.

For IFR, I took the written as an "entrance exam." Weekend course, passed on Sunday.... and then life got in the way. The test expired before I was able to do my check ride (had two weeks blocked off to fly every day and the ride was scheduled but then I got called away for those two weeks)

My advice is that getting the test out of the way is great. Just make sure the 2 year clock won't get you like it did me.

Now I'm restudying (Sheppard) so I can retest and I'll finally have it done this summer.

YMMV
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I had this almost happen for my instrument. I would wait on these item until you can see the light at the end of the tunnel on your flight training. Plus actually flying will help understand some of the written.
 
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I always say fly first and just get your written done before your ride

BUT

The one exception to that is your IFR, instrument flying is SOO procedural based, get the book work done first. This is the only ticket I recommend written fist for.
 
Start on your written right away. If you want to (and can) fly, fly. I started flying about a third of the way through a traditional ground school.
 
If I had it to do over again, I'd get all the VFR flying done I could afford while studying for the instrument written. Then, I'd dig out the instrument PTS and study it, so that I thoroughly understand each and every standard. Then, and only then, I'd go shopping for a CFII. I'd try to find a CFII that'd teach me under part 61, but using a formal instrument training syllabus like the part 141 schools use. Then, I'd want to focus on completing each syllabus flight within standards before progressing to the next. If you need a bunch of hood time to qualify for the practical, try a share some flights with another instrument student, so you can each log half the flight as "simulated" with the other acting as safety pilot (that is, once your CFII feels you have the basics down).

After piece-mealing the instrument rating, off and on (with a very long delay in the middle), I'm convinced this would be the most economical way to do it.
 
I'd say do them somewhat together so that you can apply in the air what you've learned on the ground. But try to get the written out of the way as early as possible.
 
Did a bit of IFR instruction first, the focused on and passed the written.

The few hours of Flying did help put some of the written stuff in context, but I was happier to get exam done so I could focus on flying only.
 
I did the written before I even started flying just to get it out of the way.
 
It was so long ago I can't remember what I did.
I do think it is more beneficial to do the coincident.
 
I saw an airplane flying overhead on a Saturday when I had little to do and went over to the airport it was headed for, and went up in a 172 that very day! Liked it, decided to do it. Got my medical next. Then about at 40 hours or so I took the written.
 
Speaking of this, I keep meaning to buy an Instrument course so I can get started on that.
 
Do the bookwork first, learn the material, but don't take the written unless you're 100% certain you'll finish the flight training within the two years. The training will reinforce your understanding of the instruments, charts, procedures etc., anyway. Studying for the written is a whole other ball of wax; it isn't enough to know the material well. There are questions in the bank (or at least there were as of 2012) that you just have to memorize the answer the FAA is looking for. In particular, on some of the cross country problems the choices are so close together that roundoff error can put you closer to one of the wrong answers than the correct one. Better to devote the necessary time to that after you've lived and breathed IFR for a while, have a fairly good understanding, and just need to get the written out of the way and get on with the checkride prep.
 
azure said:
Do the bookwork first, learn the material, but don't take the written unless you're 100% certain you'll finish the flight training within the two years. The training will reinforce your understanding of the instruments, charts, procedures etc., anyway. Studying for the written is a whole other ball of wax; it isn't enough to know the material well. There are questions in the bank (or at least there were as of 2012) that you just have to memorize the answer the FAA is looking for. In particular, on some of the cross country problems the choices are so close together that roundoff error can put you closer to one of the wrong answers than the correct one. Better to devote the necessary time to that after you've lived and breathed IFR for a while, have a fairly good understanding, and just need to get the written out of the way and get on with the checkride prep.
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I view (unfortunately) passing the written as an almost separate activity from learning the material. There are still questions in the question bank (as of February) that require just knowing what the FAA is looking for. And since they are changing the question bank and not publishing the questions it's getting harder for the prep people (Sheppard, Dauntless, Gleim, etc.) to keep up. That said, I stopped training after about 14-15 hours because I was having trouble getting the knowledge to pass the written (at least by studying the material as I did for my private-i.e. learning it). This year I took a "pass the written" 2 day intensive and passed the written. Now I'm flying again. How I'll do on the oral is yet to be seen.

John
 
It doesn't really matter. Its easier to take the written after you train for a bit because you will painlessly learn a lot of it by doing it. But there is nothing wrong with getting the written out of the way first if that is the way you want to do it.
 
My vote is to get the written done ASAP. Takes a HUGE burden off of you and lets you focus on flying without having to worry about doing it.

I had my instrument written done a month or so before I took the check-ride, during which I did a lot of flying.
Did the same thing for my PPL and I'm doing the same thing for my CPL. Got my written scheduled for next Thursday in fact for the CAX exam, then need a few more hours in complex time, during which I'll work on maneuvers and the check-ride at the end of April.
 
I've started studying for the written 3 times... I WILL GET'ER DONE before I start the flying...Life keeps getting in the way... Retirement is around the corner... then maybe I'll buckle down...
 
I agree that it does not matter much. Unless it matters to you. Everybody learns differently, using different methods, sources, timing etc.
It definitely helps if you read as many books as you can and understand WTH you're doing in the cockpit. Your CFII will thank you. (mine did, several times) The last thing a CFII wants to do is to teach you ground school material while flying, looking for birds, other airplanes and trying to keep you from killing yourself in an inverted 4G dive. :) (I hope you get a Polaroid if you do that)

Getting some hood time in before you go to take the written test does not hurt. Other than that, you just have to take the written before the checkride. The rest of the timing is up to your liking.
Now go fly and enjoy it!! (my PPL and IR training was the most flying fun I had so far)
 
BigBadLou said:
Other than that, you just have to take the written before the checkride.
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While you do have to take it before the check ride, you have to do it no more than 24 calendar months before you complete the check ride. Note that I said complete the check ride, not just start the check ride. So, if you are coming up on the expiration of your written, and you fail or otherwise discontinue the ride, and then the test expires before you can complete it, now you have to go take another written before you can pass.
 
PPC1052 said:
While you do have to take it before the check ride, you have to do it no more than 24 calendar months before you complete the check ride. Note that I said complete the check ride, not just start the check ride. So, if you are coming up on the expiration of your written, and you fail or otherwise discontinue the ride, and then the test expires before you can complete it, now you have to go take another written before you can pass.
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The school of Pedantics will offer me a gold star for pointing out that you cannot commence the Oral portion of the Practical exam without having a valid written exam. So you may not complete it nor may you start either.
 
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Jaybird180 said:
The school of Pedantics will offer me a gold star for pointing out that you cannot commence the Oral portion of the Practical exam without having a valid written exam. So you may not complete it nor may you start either.
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But you can start the practical but not complete it on a given date for various reasons. So, your written test may be valid when you start the practical, and not when you want to complete it. If you have failed a portion, or if you have to discontinue due to weather or illness, you can't come back and finish it if your written expires in the interim without retaking and passing the written. If you fail a portion, you have to go fly with your instructor, and then re-schedule with the examiner. Some amount of time will likely transpire trying to get that all accomplished. So, try not to wait until the very end of your written's validity, or you might find yourself retaking the written.
 
Jaybird180 said:
I'm currently taking an IFR Groundschool course. I've come to the realization that I need to step up and supplement the classroom study with more material that I can bite on - I need to read the FAA Pubs (sigh...).

A couple years ago, I got most of the way through the IFH and then life got in the way and I didn't go back to it after not being able to find my place in the reading PLUS with them changing it - I put it aside again.

For my classroom learning style, I like having been exposed to the material and then use the classroom to get a different perspective from the instructor and ask questions on parts that I don't or didn't understand from my own reading. I haven't been doing that - I'd been relying on my rusty knowledge of IFR from my prior reading and a prior class that the instructor couldn't finish due to job transfer.

I'm beginning to realize that I'm waaaay behind and likely won't catch up with reading the FAA pubs until after the class is done, and which time the instructor will be ready to fly (there are 4 students in the class). I've stashed away some money in my school account, so I'm ready there.

I'm not sure if flying a bit will help with understanding the material for the written or if the practical "real-world" experience and training may induce me to get the "wrong" answers on the FAA written test.

Should I knock out the written test before flying or should I get ready for my checkride then cram for the test?
Click to expand...

My opinion has and always will be that at least some flying should come first. I have taught too many ground school classes in which there was at least one "written first" student who would say "If I understand it correctly, the ailerons are on the wing, right?" or something similar.

Bob Gardner
 
bobmrg said:
My opinion has and always will be that at least some flying should come first. I have taught too many ground school classes in which there was at least one "written first" student who would say "If I understand it correctly, the ailerons are on the wing, right?" or something similar.

Bob Gardner
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Is having a PPL sufficient to meet your minimum requirement?
 
Did it first. That seems to be a common pattern with the IFR.

I liked getting it out of the way.
 
Jaybird180 said:
Is having a PPL sufficient to meet your minimum requirement?
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Shoe leather tastes really bad. I was referring to primary training of course, so my comment did not apply to instrument ground school. Still, I remain in the "get your feet wet first" school.

Bob
 
bobmrg said:
Shoe leather tastes really bad. I was referring to primary training of course, so my comment did not apply to instrument ground school. Still, I remain in the "get your feet wet first" school.

Bob
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Okay. I understand now what you meant. :)
 
I find that reading then flying helps to cement it into my head. For me, that was "read first lesson, go fly it; read second lesson, go fly it." That helps me keep,it all straight as the lessons add up.

Instrument flying is partially knowing your plane, power settings, etc., but is mostly procedures--what to do, when to do it, how to do it. The various Approaches into airports just involve different steps at different times, but it's the same things over again.

Once I figured out and learned my planes numbers, and demonstrated partial panel skills, we started on approaches, knitting everything together. When I was proficient at them, then came the regulatory side and I started studying for the written. That way all of the old questions for equipment I had never seen or flown didn't mess up learning in up my plane. (In 2010, when I took my checkride, the written still had a lengthy section on both ADFs, as well as various kinds of HSI and back-course approaches.)
 
Ideally the ground school and flight training are conducted concurrently. However, if that is not an option, I would complete the ground school portion first. I would rather have a student come in with disjointed blocks of foundational knowledge than none at all. It's easy to piece them together once you're in the airplane.

The main problem I had with students who did their ground schools at home was -- well, they only did half at home, and I did the rest with them in person. I am a person who did all of his ground training at home, outside of maybe one or two lessons where my IFR instructor wanted to provide reinforcement. The paradigm of "I didn't have time to do this but scheduled you and the plane anyway" is foreign to me, but that's just part of being an instructor.

In terms of getting the written done, if you have reasonable certainty of completing training within 24 calendar months, then do it now. Right up there next to student unpreparedness is my disdain for delaying the scheduling of a checkride because the written has not been completed. Those are the two things that really ticked me off, and that I really tried to mitigate as much as possible, when I was actively instructing.
 
FlySince9 said:
I've started studying for the written 3 times... I WILL GET'ER DONE before I start the flying...Life keeps getting in the way... Retirement is around the corner... then maybe I'll buckle down...
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This ^ has been my issue as well. I started on Sunday for my 3rd time, hopefully will finish this time, get the written out of the way, then start the flying.
 
Here is what I did. I took a few IFR lessons to get some experience while reading the FAA books and attending a ground school. Then I studied for the written using test prep software and passed it recently. I think it is better to get at least a few hours of IFR time in to get the experience where the test prep will make more sense. But I would not wait until the end to study and pass the exam. If you take it too far ahead before finishing the rating, it makes more time to prep for the oral exam.


Jaybird180 said:
I'm currently taking an IFR Groundschool course. I've come to the realization that I need to step up and supplement the classroom study with more material that I can bite on - I need to read the FAA Pubs (sigh...).

A couple years ago, I got most of the way through the IFH and then life got in the way and I didn't go back to it after not being able to find my place in the reading PLUS with them changing it - I put it aside again.

For my classroom learning style, I like having been exposed to the material and then use the classroom to get a different perspective from the instructor and ask questions on parts that I don't or didn't understand from my own reading. I haven't been doing that - I'd been relying on my rusty knowledge of IFR from my prior reading and a prior class that the instructor couldn't finish due to job transfer.

I'm beginning to realize that I'm waaaay behind and likely won't catch up with reading the FAA pubs until after the class is done, and which time the instructor will be ready to fly (there are 4 students in the class). I've stashed away some money in my school account, so I'm ready there.

I'm not sure if flying a bit will help with understanding the material for the written or if the practical "real-world" experience and training may induce me to get the "wrong" answers on the FAA written test.

Should I knock out the written test before flying or should I get ready for my checkride then cram for the test?
Click to expand...
 
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