david@infopro.UUCP (Icarus) (04/19/85)
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH RUNWAY NINE ***
Having temporarily put off purchase of a Bell 222D until we can find a
one-stop source for chain guns, rockets, and armor plating, Susan and
I have decided to take flying lessons in ordinary aircraft (the kind
with wings that don't flap or spin).
Like everyone else, we will have
to take some kind of ground school course. We could settle for the
filmstrip-and-cassette package they sell for $180 at our local Cessna
school, but figured we would ask you people who have already been
through it all. Is this type of course a waste? Are there better
cassette or even videocassette courses available? Is classroom
training better, a substitute, a useful addition,
or another waste? Does anyone maybe
have a set of recent cassettes they no longer need that they would be
willing to part with for a reasonable sum? Are there texts other than
the FAA "Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge" that you would recommend
or disapprove (limit this to just ground-school type texts please,
because we noted the general books listed a few months ago here)?
We don't just want to pass the exams; we want to understand what we're
doing. If you think it would be of general use, post your response,
otherwise email would be fine. Thanks in advance for your help.
--
Dave Fiedler
{harpo,astrovax,whuxcc,clyde}!infopro!dave People Phone: (201) 989-0570
USMail: InfoPro Systems, 3108 Route 10, Denville, NJ 07834
Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Banzai Institute.cfiaime@ihnp4.UUCP (Jeff Williams) (04/19/85)
> Like everyone else, we will have > to take some kind of ground school course. We could settle for the > filmstrip-and-cassette package they sell for $180 at our local Cessna > school, but figured we would ask you people who have already been > through it all. Is this type of course a waste? Are there better > cassette or even videocassette courses available? Is classroom > training better, a substitute, a useful addition, > or another waste? Does anyone maybe > have a set of recent cassettes they no longer need that they would be > willing to part with for a reasonable sum? Are there texts other than > the FAA "Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge" that you would recommend > or disapprove (limit this to just ground-school type texts please, > because we noted the general books listed a few months ago here)? > Having taught several ground school courses, and having seen the results of the Cessna Pilot Center course, in my opinion, RUN, DO NOT WALK AND SIGN UP FOR THE FULL CESSNA PILOT CENTER INTEGRATED PACKAGE. The full CPC package is about the best thing going if it is administrated correctly. However, find out if YOUR instructor has been to the factory school on using the course, and look at the student folders for the school. If the paperwork looks lacking (and it is easy to tell), find another school. If the instructor knows what he/she is doing, and the paperwork is ok, you will have a better chance of good scores on the written, and a good, usable private license. The ground school without the flight training as an integrated package is about as good as any other method (quicky school, home study, etc). Using the system, the student is exposed to a concept in ground school, and then flies the concept in the air. Each of the 1500 new concepts needed for the licence is given at least 3 different times in at least two of four different ways (video, book, workbook, and flight). By the time you are done, you KNOW your stuff better than if you take ground school and then go and fly. Dedicate several days per week to flying (spare time, of course). Try to get at least two and no more than three lessons per week, if at all possible. It isn't cheap, but the training is worth it, and the license is finished a bunch faster than if you go once a week. (The CPC average licence is around 48 hours, the national average is around 67 hours.) If you want to do the studying yourself, the best courses are available from Jeppesen. I have had good luck teaching the Private Pilot Manual as a textbook, and I have used the programmed instruction courses for both my instrument rating and the ATP written. (Matter of fact, I got an 89 on the ATP for the first crack at the written. And none of the wimpy 135 test either, the test was on FAR part 121 and a Boeing 727.) The Jeppesen courses are available almost anywhere (Sporty's, Pan American Navigation, local flight schools, Cooper, Van Dusen, etc.) Good Luck on the license. jeff williams AT&T Bell Laboratories ihnp4!cfiaime p.s. I got my private license using the CPC course back in 1971. I was the first graduate of the first CPC in the Chicago area. As a 141 school, the minimum for the ticket was 35 hours. My 37th hour was my checkride with the FED (honest). And, I feel that I am an average pilot. (It sure was heady stuff for a 19/20 year old, way back when...)
lrd@drusd.UUCP (L. R. DuBroff) (04/19/85)
> Like everyone else, we will have > to take some kind of ground school course. > Dave Fiedler I would recommend NOT spending $$ on videotape, slides, or any other canned ground school materials, nor taking one of the multibuck weekend courses. My approach has always been to steer clear of all commercial sources; instead, visit your closest federal bookstore (or deal by mail order) and pick up the appropriate FAA publications and study guides. This saves much money, gets the material straight from the horse's mouth, and provides full information about the topics covered, instead of just "pass the written" material. Any questions you have after self-study usually can be resolved in a few minutes with your flight instructor. Using this method I have never scored below 90 on any FAA written exam, and I've taken a bunch, as I hold the following certificates/ratings: Commercial Pilot -- ASMEL, Instrument Flight Instructor -- Airplane, Instrument Ground Instructor -- Advanced, Instrument
ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (04/20/85)
The method that let me break 90 on both the private and instrument written exams was to get a copy of the appropriate material and leave it in the john for a few months.
lmiller@ucla-cs.UUCP (04/24/85)
I took the written for the Instrument rating based on my own study. I used the FAA manuals, plus others, including the excellent Jeppesen programmed course. BUT, the local Santa Monica GADO requires proof of passing a ground school course, OR specific approval of an independent study course. I had to present my materials to an FAA examiner for approval, and he actually quizzed me on my knowledge before allowing me to take the exam. I did miss one question, though, some bleep trick question about TCAs. The ability to understand the material is greater after you've had some flying experience. This was great for an instrument rating, but would be tough for a private. Larry Miller