Flight Instruction CDs: Anyone?
 

Anyone tried them? This summer I'd like to FINALLY pursue a pilot's license. With my job and family, using CD based instruction would be very convenient. Plus, considering the propensity I have for spacing off during lectures, an interactive method might actually be better. SO, anyone tried it? Cessna has what looks to be a good program, King has one (annoying as they are), and I'm sure they're others.

On the upside, thanks to the flying club at my place of employment, I get to enjoy great rates for rental. Like $50/hr for a Beechcraft Sundowner (wet tach hours), and $77/hr for a Bonanza A36. The club has a number of CFIs, all of whom should be cheaper than a normal flight school.

Get the training materials off of Ebay or Barnstormers and it will be cheaper, or find someone who has finished their training and buy the things used at a better price.

The aero club is a good deal and would take advantage of it.

Joe

Go for it!

Jeppesen has excellent materials. Also the Cessna packages are quite good (we used to push these back when I was instructing, but we were also a Cessna Pilot Training Center).

Regardless of which one you choose, definitely pick up the "official" FAA publications too - Aviation Weather Services, the Private Pilot Practical Test Standards, the current FAR/AIM, the current Airport/Facility Directory (AFD) for your area, current sectional, WAC and Terminal Area charts, etc.

I'd recommend Jepp's "Private Pilot Handbook" regardless. It's an excellent resource.

When I was flight instructing we used the Cessna Pilot Center CDs and they were very good. They were produced by King Schools so I'm sure the same thing is available without the Cessna propaganda. My students really enjoyed the videos and the interactive quizzes.

Be careful though, viewing Martha King might give you tingly feelings for women in Polo shirts with afros.

Martha King. Mrrrowww! That's one hot hoochie mama!

Matt, I suggest taking lessons from a small FBO or private instructor and plan to do it in as short of a time as possible if you want to spend the least amount of money. Many will simply incorporate "ground school" into the training. I never took or paid for official "ground school". When it comes time for taking the written exam, simply buy one of these books and go thru it a couple times just prior to taking the test. I scored 98% IIRC without ever taking an official ground school.

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I also used the Gleim books to take my written exams for my A&P rating (Airframe, Powerplant and General) and aced or nearly aced all three of them without ever taking a course. When it came time for my practical and oral test, I breezed right thru also even though the examiner was sure I would do poorly knowing that I never went to a school for it.

$77/hr for an A-36? That's a bargain!

Hey, Tim-

Does Gleim have a book like that for the instrument rating? I need to take my written soon.

Hehe, Gleim publications is right across the road from me...

Yep.


http://www.gleim.com/aviation/products.php?cat=IP

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Tim, you don't suggest the books as a substitute for ground school, do you? That's more the role of the CDs, to take the place of the ground school. Also, you can get an A&P without actual experience?

I hope to do the ground school/study portion of it via CD or book as time permits, so I can use spare time during the day for actual flight instruction.

Put it this way: Ground school instruction is far more expensive than the books/CDs are. If you can study up on your own, you'll convince your instructor that you're "on the ball" and don't need to spend hours and hours in the classroom (with the meter running). It'll save you a lot of money in the long run.

Of course your instructor will be (should be) more than happy to clarify any issues you don't quite get or brush up on things you don't fully understand from your independent study. You'll also probably need to do a few review sessions, quizzes and so-forth. A written test given by the instructor is required before solo, a good instructor will give you a few others too, mostly to set his/her mind at ease.

Of course some people just love to be handed everything too, and will pay for the one-on-one classroom time. As a CFI, I loved those types - easy money and you don't even have to go flying that day.

But it's your call. You know what works best for you. I recommend independent study though.

Nailed it Jeff, that's what will work for me. I just don't have the spare time for a classroom.

Also, the CFIs in my club aren't full time guys, they all do instruction on the side. As such, I don't think they offer the typical ground school.

Matt, I had no formal ground school. I read books (can't remember which ones exactly) and my instructor would go over various stuff prior to and after flights.

The Gleim books are best studied just prior to taking the tests. They typically have all of the possible questions that could be on the FAA tests. IIRC, there were several hundred possible questions but the testing facility randomly pulls a test with maybe a hundred questions. If you go thru the whole Gleim book, you will have seen every question. I went thru and answered every question in the book, then went back and marked all the ones I missed. I then went back and re-tested myself on the ones I missed and then took the test.

I got my AP by using my prior experience building experimental aircraft and by assisting my IA with maintenance on my airplanes. One needs to prove 30 months worth of practical experience and have an IA write a letter confirming it. Once the feds sign off on this, you can then study the books, take the written tests and finally take an oral and practical test administered by someone who is authorized to do so by the feds. I luckily had a local guy who runs a highschool two yr program that administered my oral/practical test. He assumed I would fail as at that time he despised most experimental aircraft guys. He flat out told me after the test that I did better than most of the kids he has taught for two years in his accredited A&P school. (I guess it all came down to a college educated 30 something engineer who needed an A&P ticket real bad vs an 18 yr old kid who may have struggled in regular highschool :))

A few years later (about four years ago), I got my IA rating which means I now can do annual inspections (makes owning my own airplane less painful to the wallet). I went to the Baker school in Nashville Tennessee for their 4 day course to get my IA rating and scored a perfect 100% (only a handful per year score a perfect 100....I must admit, I got lucky ;)). I typically do about 6 annuals every year to maintain my rating and it makes for a nice side business. I have a 172 in my shop right now that is getting an annual inspection that is owned by a friend of mine.

For a somewhat recent college student who is involved in engineering such as yourself, I must say that the tests are pretty straight forward and do not require anything more than a few evenings of cramming with a Gleim's book.

Even though I pretty much aced every FAA test I ever took, I in no way consider myself an expert on either flying or fixing ;). That said, once you have the rating, real world experience DEFINITELY is more important than any test scores. I have turned down many jobs that I know I have no business touching and I don't pretend to be the worlds greatest pilot with my measely 700 or so hours of mainly fair weather flying.



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Tim, I have to say that I am far more concerned about the flying part of the test than I am the aircraft technical part. Not only just for the sake of passing the test, but for the sake of properly learning how to be an effective and safe pilot. Sounds like a CD course in conjunction with the Gleim book might be a good way to go.

Thanks for the write-up on the A&P. It's not a direction I want to go for a career, but it would make aircraft ownership much more feasible. Plus, being a DIY guy, it would be pretty cool.

The flying part.... First obstacle- learning to simultaneously correct for drift, keep the airplane pointed straight and flare all at once when learning to land prior to it becoming "second nature". Second milestone- instructor hops out not too long after first obstacle is overcome and tells you to go do it by yourself. Third obstacle- trying to make sense of the tower the first time you land at a large controlled airport. Fourth obstacle- heading out on your long cross country (at least it was prior to having GPS in the plane ;). Last obstacle- passing your check ride with an FAA examiner.

Those are the things that I will never forget about getting my private ticket.

GPS is CHEATING!!!

Oddly enough, I'm most concerned about mastering flight in controlled airspace, especially tower instructions and patterns. Not that the rest won't be a challenge, but for some reason patterns and controllers really worry me.

Overall though, I'm really pumped. I hope when summer rolls around I can come up with the cash to go through with it. Flying doesn't get much cheaper than $50/hr, but it's still not CHEAP. Especially to get the hours required for a pilots license, then keep my hours up to continue improving.

Don't I know it! Back when I got my ticket, Trimble I believe had just came out with a handheld GPS and not many people had one. No one that I knew had a panel mount in their plane either back then. The 150 I was training in had a inoperative Loran, and I had to make do with the nav radio....not too bad with the recent training I had just received, but nerve racking for a newbie student pilot none the less. I bet most students nowdays cheat with a GPS. ;)

Back in 84 when I did my cross country, my "cheat" was a highway map of SouthWestern Ontario. :P

Made it MUCH easier than dealing with headings/etc.... just follow the highways. Best of all, most small communities around there had big water towers with their names on it, so it was stupidly easy to get from one place to the other.

You just had to be sure to stay out of the Toronto airspace (TERSA)... THAT was scary stuff!

King Schools videos/dvds are very good and entertaining.. I tried the Sportys ones and couldnt get through them,. too boring..

While the likes of the professional pilots here will snicker about this, I was plenty nervous when talking to ATC. Once you know the lingo and what is most likely to be said, it gets easier/less daunting, but at first, I would freeze up and panic when trying to remember what to say back to them. I rarely talk to ATC anymore, so I am getting out of practise and still probably come off sounding like a dufus sometimes when I use the system on a long cross country. :D It is pretty comical at times to listen to new pilots on the radio. Everyone has to go thru it though.

I have posted this before her, but it probably warrants repeating.....Fly as often as possible and get your private in a few months instead of a few years. You will end up much closer to only paying for 40-50 hrs vs paying for 70+ hrs if you spread it out. I got mine for under three grand in the early 90's flying a few times a week and paying about $45/hr for the old C-150 and about $20/hr for the instructor.

Do you want the CD's in Arabic

All good advice here. I just wanted to say that above all else, try to always enjoy yourself and, even when you run into some of those challenges that will inevitably come up that will seem almost insurmountable at times (landings, for example). Keep at it and all hurdles will eventually be overcome.

Also, like Tim said, we ALL sounded like dufus's on the radio when we first started this endeavor. Radio work will eventually come naturally to you.

Your first solo will be one of those events you will never, ever forget. Mine was in May of 1985, when I was only 21 (13,000 hours ago).

Only the takeoff and aiming portion! :)

Fly as often as you can, at least twice a week. Less will make you forget some of what you learned and you will pay to make it up.

Lots of good advise in the last two pages. The aero club is a very good deal as the airplanes are cheap and maintenance is good.

Let us know if there is anything we can do to help!

Joe

Only flight sim enthusiast , but is using a GPS really cheating? As new technology comes along, why not learn to use it and take advantage of it. Not saying they should not learn to use the NAV radios. When those were first put in planes I'm sure the "old guard" said that was cheating from what they had to use to navigate.

I think the GPS "cheating" comment was in jest. However, even I think it's a mistake to learn navigation by GPS first. Best to learn it the old fashioned way, then use technology to make life easier. GPS is great, but if you lose it without a backup plan, you're screwed.

Am I wrong in my thinking here pilots? I always figured that the best way to learn how to fly would be in a ratty old taildragger with basic instruments. Master that, and everything else is easy in comparison.

Matt, you are right.

When I first started flying, GPS was pretty much in it's infancy as far as general aviation was concerned. I know have a panel mount gps in my Pacer and a handheld for use in other planes. I use it the Pacers GPS all the time, it makes navigation dead simple, but if it takes a crap on you, you really need to know how to navigate "old school". If the GPS quits (or loses it's signal if it an older weaker model), it WILL NOT happen on a bright sunny day when you are near your local area, it WILL happen when you are on a trip over difficult non familar terrain or in marginal weather ;)

Matt/Tim/Scott,

I also agree pilots need to know both. Even on MS Flight Sim the earlier versions only had VOR navigation. It really makes you appreciate the GPS even more. I also think that all new DE drivers should have to learn to drive an early 911 before driving their new cars. :D

The problem with GPS and the new modern instruments is that the younger pilots usually seem to rely on them far too much and when they fail, they are in a world of hurt.

Us old timers were taught to look out the window and figure out where you were by "pilotage" that is looking at the countryside and things in it, then figuring out on the map. Looking at water towers with the city name on it, railroads and highways and such going in a certain direction, lakes, rivers and natural formations.

I seem to find that the new pilots in my plane put 100% faith into the EFIS and GPS instruments and almost never look outside. When doing a checkride I cover the tube up and ask them where they are and they usually are totally lost. Hand them a map and make them look outside and figure it out. Its just like the old days where you did a night landing or four and then the instructor turns the lights off in the cockpit and makes you do a couple more, using your senses only for airspeed and altitude. Humbling at times but there very well may be a time when the power goes out on the airplane or instrument and you have to improvise. Knowing what to do BEFORE this happens is a good thing.

The GPS is a wonderful tool. Use it together with your other assets in the plane and your skull to make the flight a safer and better one.