Written Test Before PP Flight Instruction

thepetrostate

thepetrostate

Ejection Handle Pulled
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Messages
228
Location
SW Florida
Display Name
John "For The Petrostate" Martin
Home Airfield
Naples/Marco/Immakolee
Due to a number of circumstances, I will not be able to get to flight instruction until Fall 2008. I do have the time to take ground school instruction, study and pass the written testing requirement.

The online tests I have taken ( 3 ) I have passed with high scores. Are there compelling reasons not to complete the written testing requirement prior to my student pilot flight instruction? :dunno:
 
All I'd suggest is have at least a 90% on all practice test before taking the actual written. Once taken, it's good for two years.

But, whatever you do, don't stop studying. You'll still have to answer a great many of the same questions in different forms during the oral examination part of the practical test.
 
KennyFlys said:
All I'd suggest is have at least a 90% on all practice test before taking the actual written. Once taken, it's good for two years.

But, whatever you do, don't stop studying. You'll still have to answer a great many of the same questions in different forms during the oral examination part of the practical test.
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Thx, Ken, I'm 2 of 3 inside 90%, the first being a 87%; I am going to find at couple of more test tests :D, none of the first three were from the same provider.
 
MarkL said:
None at all. Get with your future CFI, go over your home-study training, and get his endorsement to take the PP knowledge test. Then all you have left is the fun of flying.
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The future CFI is part of the timing problem. I can't find one who has access to trainers on a consistent basis, or willingly teach to a syllabus (that includes actual stalls, >30 banks and a flexible enouh schedule that once I start, we will get to finish.

Not that I want to do 40 hrs and out, I'm not concerned with the number of total hours nearly as much as I am the preparedness and the total learning experience. MOF, I am eager to commit through IFR before I will feel that I am really where I want to be. Flying out of SW FL, carb icing in August, quick changes in weather :lightning:and you're IMC...I'm 52, so I can be patient in the training process but, well, I am 52. :goofy:
 
MarkL said:
Are you saying the CFI's you've talked to don't want to do maneuvers that are required in the Private Pilot PTS? :confused:

Strikes 1, 2, and 3 there.
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A better way to say this would be that they want to do the minimum required for the PTS. I asked about a demo and recovery on a cross control stall, the very best answer I got was "only in a slip" (Cessna 140). Even I know the 140 won't do much in that situation.

This is infuriating.
 
thepetrostate said:
A better way to say this would be that they want to do the minimum required for the PTS. I asked about a demo and recovery on a cross control stall, the very best answer I got was "only in a slip" (Cessna 140). Even I know the 140 won't do much in that situation.

This is infuriating.
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Are you hitting the pilot mills at places like Naples and such? I can see where a lot of the CFIs there have little experience.

I did my training at SRQ, but the FBO there stopped doing instruction. They had some really good CFIs. Dolphin Aviation on the other side of the field picked a few of the CFIs up if you want to try with them.
 
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smigaldi said:
Are you hitting the pilot mills at places like Naples and such? I can see where a lot of the CFIs there have little experience.

I did my training at SRW, but the FBO there stopped doing instruction. They had some really good CFIs. Dolphin Aviation on the other side of the field picked a few of the CFIs up if you want to try with them.
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Thanks, that will help, yep, I'm in luck in that it's about the same distance to Immakolee, SRW/Page, Naples and Marco but have shied away from SRW only because I was told that it could be more crowded. SWFL is not the best place to be waiting for 30 min for TO, as I am sure you know. :P I dropped a PM to you in case you have a CFI name or two.
 
thepetrostate said:
Thanks, that will help, yep, I'm in luck in that it's about the same distance to Immakolee, SRW/Page, Naples and Marco but have shied away from SRW only because I was told that it could be more crowded. SWFL is not the best place to be waiting for 30 min for TO, as I am sure you know. :P I dropped a PM to you in case you have a CFI name or two.
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Sorry the W and Q keys were close together, I did my training for commercial at SRQ. The CFI I highly recommend up in that area is Fred Longhi. He is an older guy who just loves to teach, is very thorough and competent.
 
I agree with Mark and others: Take the written and get it out of the way. I didn't do that and found comingling ground school with flight school, well, challenging.

The other thing I did which I advise against is start-and-stop training. Save up the money and plan to complete the training in one steady sprint. I didn't do that and I ended up having to re-learn a good deal of prior learning each time I came back after a couple months' stretch.

Good luck!
 
TknoFlyer said:
I agree with Mark and others: Take the written and get it out of the way. I didn't do that and found comingling ground school with flight school, well, challenging.

The other thing I did which I advise against is start-and-stop training. Save up the money and plan to complete the training in one steady sprint. I didn't do that and I ended up having to re-learn a good deal of prior learning each time I came back after a couple months' stretch.

Good luck!
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Appreciate he comments, as you know, co-mingling the testing components is what I see most often. For the longest, I thought it was like lecture and lab, they had to be taught and learned in parallel.

One of the reasons to put off flight school is that Iam sure I will have the time to do contiguos lessons.

Tkno, how long did it take in months, any how many hours of flight, until your PPL?
 
Originally Posted by TknoFlyer
This is why you don't want to do it the way I did: Two years and nearly 80 hours.
smigaldi said:
bah, I got that beat. 20 years and 67 hours!
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You guys get an "A" for perseverance. :rofl:
 
thepetrostate said:
Originally Posted by TknoFlyer
This is why you don't want to do it the way I did: Two years and nearly 80 hours.

You guys get an "A" for perseverance. :rofl:
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No I get an F for getting distracted for 19 years.

When I started up the 2nd time I did try and fly at least once a week. Got my PP and then took a year off of training. Then I did my instrument. When my mom got cancer and I was in Sarasota ever month I started my commercial so I could get out of the house for a couple of hours to clear my mind. Seemes like a better solution than hitting the bars.
 
KennyFlys said:
But, whatever you do, don't stop studying. You'll still have to answer a great many of the same questions in different forms during the oral examination part of the practical test.
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For ME I think studying / taking the written a couple weeks before the practical helped me with the oral. YMMV.
 
I was in a similar situation, a few years back. Had a short break between jobs, thought I'd get the written "out of the way". Well, the outcome was predictable. I studied a bunch, took the test, passed it, started the new job, and was too busy for the next three years to do the flight training. By the time I found myself in another "break between jobs", and was able to finally get back to flight training, I had to take the written again anyway, because it expires after two years.

It wasn't really a problem for me, but in retrospect, I think it makes more sense to plan to take your written some short period of time before your checkride. I think the flying does provide a context for the ground material, and putting too much time between the written and checkride just necessitates a second phase of cramming to prepare for your oral. None of these things are bad things, necessarily, it's more a question of time-efficiency.
-harry
 
mantakos said:
I was in a similar situation, a few years back. Had a short break between jobs, thought I'd get the written "out of the way". Well, the outcome was predictable. I studied a bunch, took the test, passed it, started the new job, and was too busy for the next three years to do the flight training. By the time I found myself in another "break between jobs", and was able to finally get back to flight training, I had to take the written again anyway, because it expires after two years.

It wasn't really a problem for me, but in retrospect, I think it makes more sense to plan to take your written some short period of time before your checkride. I think the flying does provide a context for the ground material, and putting too much time between the written and checkride just necessitates a second phase of cramming to prepare for your oral. None of these things are bad things, necessarily, it's more a question of time-efficiency.
-harry
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Roger on that, hm, thanks.
 
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