IFR Knowledge Course: King or Sporty’s?

[ZuluZulu]

I used Sporty’s course for my PPL but have never tried King.  For you recently minted instrument fliers especially, please help me choose.  Which do you prefer, King or Sporty’s, and why?

[EricJ]

I used Gleim for my IR, I've heard good things about Sheppard as well.   It seems like they all get decent reviews depending on who you talk to.

I bought the King PPL ground school to get back in the game after a few decades of not flying, and it was quite good.   The Kings are quirky but good at what they do and they feel like family after you've been through one of their courses.

 

[RLCarter]

I used Sporty' for PPL & IR, I purchased Gleim for Commercial and CFI and was not impressed at all

[Bryan]

King for IFR

Sheppard for Commercial, CFI

Sheppard is more question based (with answers) and King was more conceptual.

[Robert C.]

I used King for both PPL and IR, and while they are campy they are thorough and get all the material covered. I was happy with both. Never used Sporty's so can't say anything sensible about them.

Robert

[hypertech]

I used Sportys and the course was good but not nearly enough for the test.  Supplementing with Sheppard Air after the Sportys videos really got me prepared well.

[kortopates]

King’s is all you’ll need and the least boring option to get through.


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[elimansour]

Definitely go with King.  Their videos are great and always updated.  They also have a great companion app that will let you download sessions so you can view even w/o data.

[carusoam]

Adding the third piece of data...

UND has both a PPL and IR set of videos... Free and online. At least they used to... 

The duo of kings (not to be confused with BK) were great teachers in their day... VHS tapes were all the rage... chance to win a Mooney M20J was one of their give-aways....

Best regards,

-a-

[eman1200]

6th option: Gold Method.

[flyboy0681]

I used King and found it to cover everything I needed to know. The only problem was seeing Martha in her 1980's orange jumpsuit and a perm. That was too much to take at times.

[thinwing]

I used to love their red and white candy striped Mooney

[Andy95W]

The red and white striped Mooneys actually came that way from the factory, it was their AT version, for Advancèd Trainer.  It was basically a 12 volt MSE.

[Raptor05121]

I really really like the Sporty's video for context. They have a demo, as well. I think King is quite pricey.

Either way, get Sheppard for the written.

[wcb]

I used Gleim and found that they needed to offer some video content to make it better.  On some subjects (like holding pattern entry) I simply went to youtube to find some videos that filled in the blanks. OH and by the way I passed it this morning 1st try not quite a perfect score but close enough.  You know they always word a couple questions funky enough to make you go "WHAT?"

[SkyTrekker]

I purchased Sporty's IFR course a few months ago and have been working my way through it, a few videos at a time. 

I think it is a pretty good value.  Would buy it again and would recommend it to others.  Have not tried any other providers' courses, so not sure how well it compares. After I start IFR flight instruction and when I'm closer to the written test date, I may buy a different course, perhaps King, to augment my training.

Edited January 16, 2019 by SkyTrekker

[DXB]

I finished IR last year -  I watched Sporty's videos and then did their written question database/practice tests before taking the written - I passed easily with a score in the 90s, almost exactly matching my performance on their two practice tests, so it was an effective way to prepare.   I then did all the flying and used the Kings' video module on the oral /practical (distinct from their IR written course) to prep for the check ride.   That part of the King course was helpful in a very distinct way from the Sporty's course.  There's probably multiple equally valid ways to skin this cat.

[midlifeflyer]

For knowledge test prep, the material is the same. They all do the job. The difference is the presentation, from detailed video all the way down to text-based drilling.

Use the one which fits best with your learning style.

[carusoam]

For scoring a high number on the written...

1) All the 100s of questions are known, searchable or available in some way...

2) They were written by expert test writers...

3) Many of the questions are designed to easily mis direct the unknowing test taker... (don’t be un-knowing)

4) look closely at the questions you get wrong. Determine why you got it wrong...

5) On the test day, you get so much time... check your work over...

6) Some versions of the questions on the test are a cognitive fake out... they ask the same questions in different ways... one of the ways is going to be harder to follow...

7) Sometimes you think you are reading the question and go directly to the right answer... when you go back and read the question closely  it isn’t the question you thought it was....

8) Scoring a 98 on the test is great... few can do better than that.  But all you need to do is pass....

9) There are about a handful of different complex flight planning questions... easier to memorize the answers than do the calculations... great time saver...

10) No partial credit given for your thought process....

The written is a major hurdle to get to the practical test. Don’t let it get you down.... especially on questions like nav instruments you won’t ever have in your plane... instrument failures mechanisms that no longer exist in your plane...

The FAA has given you a hurdle... so you soar over it with Mooney grace...

Good luck taking the test... The results have an expiration date of a couple of years(?)... it doesn’t last forever...

Best regards,

-a-

Note: Times have changed... the test question bank isn’t so available as it used to be....  

[flyboy0681]

7 minutes ago, carusoam said:

 

6) Some versions of the questions on the test are a cognitive fake out... they ask the same questions in different ways... one of the ways is going to be harder to follow...

8) Scoring a 98 on the test is great... few can do better than that.  But all you need to do is pass....

You are correct on #6. I took sample tests for four months before taking the plunge. I definitely noticed patterns in how the questions were phrased and I could almost always count on one answer instantly being incorrect, which allowed me to concentrate on which of the remaining two were the correct answer.

Regarding #8, I scored a 98 and it felt damned good.

 

[jaylw314]

On ‎1‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 5:10 PM, EricJ said:

The Kings are quirky but good at what they do and they feel like family after you've been through one of their courses.

 

THAT is an understatement!   They are so tacky, they're almost cool

[carusoam]

3 hours ago, flyboy0681 said:

You are correct on #6. I took sample tests for four months before taking the plunge. I definitely noticed patterns in how the questions were phrased and I could almost always count on one answer instantly being incorrect, which allowed me to concentrate on which of the remaining two were the correct answer.

Regarding #8, I scored a 98 and it felt damned good.

 

I think you might have scored 100%. But, somebody didn’t want you to know the test system isn’t as strong as you are....  

Its possible that one of the questions didn’t have the right letter associated with the correct answer....

 

Not being a pro pilot, I wanted a simple, understandable, credible, answer to the question... ‘how good of a pilot are you?’

I didn’t get the 100 that I thought I would answer that question...

Anyone get 100% on the IR written?

Best regards,

-a-

[Marauder]

Anyone get 100% on the IR written?
Best regards,
-a-

I did. I used the King tapes that used for real young Kings. I liked the challenge of IFR and spent a fair amount of time to understand the concepts and not just memorize the answers.


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[jaylw314]

2 minutes ago, Marauder said:

I did. I used the King tapes that used for real young Kings. I liked the challenge of IFR and spent a fair amount of time to understand the concepts and not just memorize the answers.

 

 

They used to be young????

All kidding aside, I did like them a lot, and my wife would always burst out laughing whenever she saw me reviewing their videos.

[flyboy0681]

The one thing that I did do which made the going a whole lot easier was to buy a Sporty's Electronic E6B for next to nothing on eBay.

By the time I got to the test center I knew how to plug in the numbers so well that my fingers danced around the keypad. It was comforting to see the numbers that the unit came up with were one of the three answers on the test. Getting those problems out of the way first allowed me to concentrate on the tougher stuff.