Capitalist Posted October 10, 2017 Report Posted October 10, 2017 (edited) A confused student here... I’m through the first 3 chapters of the ground school text book with my flight school... every chapter costs me $100-200 which is completely out of hand seeing that I could own an entire ground school course for $200. So I’m looking for a better option. (And maybe a different school that doesn’t jack me around unless I’m missing something here...) I have seen the sportys and kings courses any others I should consider? I’m considering passing the written before continuing flight instruction so that the flight instruction has a more solid foundation and I don’t have a school try to run up my bill in a classroom. Your thoughts would be very appreciated! Edited October 10, 2017 by Capitalist Quote
Skates97 Posted October 10, 2017 Report Posted October 10, 2017 I used Gold Seal. A bit cheesy but it was good and I easily passed the written with an 88%. Bummed I had missed my goal of 90% by one question... http://www.faa-ground-school.com/private-pilot-courses?course_type=1 1 Quote
L. Trotter Posted October 10, 2017 Report Posted October 10, 2017 I bought the King courses. I've done my private, commercial, instrument and multi engine training through King. Yeah, Martha and John are goofy at times but I believe they do a good job. If you're confused after watching them you can call a CFI (no additional cost) and they will walk you through your issue. You will then have the video courses online to view anytime you wish. After completing the video courses and practice tests you will pass the FAA written with flying colors!! 2 Quote
Capitalist Posted October 10, 2017 Author Report Posted October 10, 2017 (edited) Sounds great... I should have done more research. I’m pissed about sinking $500 into ground school already and only getting through 3 chapters. Crooks. Finding a good flight school reminds me of doing business in China. I might start looking for an independent CFI that owns a plane. Edited October 10, 2017 by Capitalist Quote
Hank Posted October 10, 2017 Report Posted October 10, 2017 I bought the Gleim "Be a Pilot" box. It has all of the books, CD with videos and practice tests, logbook, plotter, etc. Worked well for me. Last I saw 3-4 years ago, it was ~$129. But i had to pay for the lessons, instructor, etc., too. I'd read a chapter, go fly it with my CFI and get the next chapter assigned. Did some out of order, but covered everything. Seems there were two books to read, one that explained everything, aerodynamics, flight controls and stuff, and the kther one had detailed instructions on what to do, how to do it and what was "acceptable" performance for the FAA. 1 Quote
L. Trotter Posted October 10, 2017 Report Posted October 10, 2017 19 minutes ago, Capitalist said: Sounds great... I should have done more research. I’m pissed about sinking $500 into ground school already and only getting through 3 chapters. Crooks. Finding a good flight school reminds me of doing business in China. I might start looking for an independent CFI that owns a plane. Home study with a do it yourself course to pass the FAA written is not an issue in my opinion. Learn the information "cold". Truly understand the principles of flight, plane mechanisms/systems, weather and flight environment. Study the FAA questions, not just to pass the test but to solidify your knowledge/understanding. Have fun learning the material. Then....find your self a good CFII to help you put it all together. Do not skimp on this portion of your training. A say a CFII on purpose as I believe you should develop good habits early on that will set you up for an instrument rating. Learn to operate an aircraft properly the first time (not to suggest that PP don't fly properly, it's just different than instrument techniques). A good CFII will drill you over and over until proper decision making and managing work load becomes second nature. A good CII will take your "book knowledge" and help you apply the principles into real life experience/understanding. Discipline yourself to never cut corners. Consider using different instructors for your private and instrument ratings. Each instructor has different strengths and weaknesses as well as different techniques and opinions. Formally learning from more than one person helps eliminate "holes" in ones learning and prevents perpetuating a bad habit or two. Just one guys opinion. Quote
RLCarter Posted October 10, 2017 Report Posted October 10, 2017 Went with Sporty's for PP & Instr. Rating, Gleim for Com. & CFI but Gliems to me was a total waste of money. Personally I would get the lessons on DVD so that you will always have them, All of the books can be downloaded from the FAA's website, there a couple of sites where you can do practice writen test for "Free". You might want to state you location so it will be easier to hook you up with a CFI. Quote
Browncbr1 Posted October 10, 2017 Report Posted October 10, 2017 ASA book and do sporties free practice test. Asa is clear and concise. I didn't like gleim because of formatting and topics weren't clearly discussed before questions. To me, gleim was just a book full of questions, whereas ASA had lessons, then questions after. I did private, IR, and commercial all this way with good success. 1 Quote
RLCarter Posted October 10, 2017 Report Posted October 10, 2017 24 minutes ago, Browncbr1 said: I didn't like gleim because of formatting and topics weren't clearly discussed before questions........... To me, gleim was just a book full of questions, whereas ASA had lessons, then questions after............... Gleim teaches you to pass the test without really teaching the subject, a home ground school it is not 1 Quote
carusoam Posted October 10, 2017 Report Posted October 10, 2017 The FAA has some free texts available online... Free and online are two of my favorite attributes for basic knowledge that changes only glacially... Jeppesen does a nice job delivering the same info in a nice, but more expensive way. PP thoughts only, not a CFI... Best regards, -a- 2 Quote
N252WD Posted October 10, 2017 Report Posted October 10, 2017 I done Gleim for PP, and King for IR. I prefer King by far. Quote
N201MKTurbo Posted October 10, 2017 Report Posted October 10, 2017 I've used Dauntless for my A&P, commercial and ATP. I like it a lot. And it is one of the cheapest out there. https://www.dauntless-soft.com/ 1 Quote
gsxrpilot Posted October 10, 2017 Report Posted October 10, 2017 1 hour ago, N201MKTurbo said: I've used Dauntless for my A&P, commercial and ATP. I like it a lot. And it is one of the cheapest out there. https://www.dauntless-soft.com/ +1 Quote
LANCECASPER Posted October 10, 2017 Report Posted October 10, 2017 Find someone that bought the course you want to take and didn't follow through. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=private+pilot+video+course&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=private+pilot+dvd+course&_sacat=0 Quote
EricJ Posted October 11, 2017 Report Posted October 11, 2017 I took a thirty-year break and came back into it by going through King's Private Pilot ground school, which helped me get back up to speed and learn everything that had changed, etc.. John and Martha are the OGs of GA, for sure. They are quirky and kitchy, but they are also very thorough and very clear and straightforward. I found their program very easy to navigate and very helpful. That said, I never tried any of the others, so I've no idea how they compare. But now whenever I see John or Martha in anything, or reading their articles in Flying, I feel like I know them. Quote
Yetti Posted October 11, 2017 Report Posted October 11, 2017 I used Sportys for Ground School. $400 Will get you all the stuff and sign off to take the written. I used Exams4pilots.com to polish up my study for passing the test. 1 Quote
Yetti Posted October 11, 2017 Report Posted October 11, 2017 You will find that much of the stuff is on the FAA website. Quote
bradp Posted October 13, 2017 Report Posted October 13, 2017 I used a set of Cd-ROMs the flight school had laying around (they were king) for PP, read the airplane flying handbook and the jeppesen text book. I did Gleim for test prep and scored where I wanted to on the dot. That cost me like $50 bucks. For instrument I read the instrument flying handbook and the gleim. That was free and like $25, respectively. Also read the applicable FARs and the AIM prior to the oral so I could actually know what I was talking about and easily reference the regs. I learn best by visual cues not so much by audio. I did most of graduate and professional school by not attending class and reading instead so you have to know your learning style. Are you working on instrument now? Quote
carusoam Posted October 14, 2017 Report Posted October 14, 2017 Brad brings up an interesting point. Learning technique is very personal... On a separate note, what you are learning has two sides to it... 1) Learning to fly a plane... including the necessary practical knowledge navigation, weather, and safety.... 2) Learning all the book knowledge enough to pass a standardized test... Learning 1) really well, may not score very high on 2)... If you want to score really high on 2), That takes a lot of practice tests... each question is professionally written with the intent of confusing the testee... I really wanted a high score on the IR test. Who wouldn't feel comfortable flying in the clouds with you... if you scored a 98% when a passing score is like 70%... the FAA believes I’m a pretty good pilot. Some people think you need to be Mario Andretti to be a safe driver... A PP Thinking out loud regard learning the important stuff to be allowed to fly, and the important stuff while you fly... Best regards, -a- Quote
bonal Posted October 15, 2017 Report Posted October 15, 2017 I used the Gleim CD and thought it was fine it provided simulation tests as many as you wanted to take and provided stats and trending on questions that you were having difficulty with. Along with the Jeppesen text and a little one on one with my CFI was able to score a 95 on the written and believe me I am the worst test taker ever lived. Quote
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