This is true.... :)

+1 to the Gleim publications - they're the best test prep out there. I would also strongly recommend the Jeppesen hardcover books for the content. The Jepp books will give you the content and the theory, the Gleim books will give you the questions to demonstrate understanding of that content. Between the two of those there's virtually no way you can fail.

Go down and get the stuff at V1 pilot supplies at KSMO (he carries everything there) - tell Craig (owner) that Jeff says hello and referred you - maybe he'll give you a discount. Or maybe he'll charge you more for it. :) He's a good guy.

While the Jep books and the King tapes are nice, he is already taking some sort of ground school and I personally would not spend the extra money. Either way, get the Gleim book as it is cheap and unless one is a complete dufus, completing this "one" book one week prior to the test will allow anyone to pass the written test whether one buys the other books or not.

I hate classroom time and always have done well on tests that can be crammed for at home, but I will admit to taking the Baker 4 day school to get my IA rating. I never worked as an A&P at an airport and had gotten the A&P through experience gained over three years of working on my own stuff. So I was a little worried about taking my IA test with little experience compared to most "professional" mechanics..... I got a 100% on my IA test (they average only two 100% scores per year at this school that has probably 500+ students per year). This school basically goes through nearly every FAA question that could possibly come up during on the random questioned test. This is exactly how the Gleim books work.

I've had my first two flight lessons. Logged 2.6 hours. 1 landing that I'm claiming was all me. So far, it's been the same Cessna 172, which has its quirks to say the least. Monday I was warned by porcupine911, that the door was popping open, then we found the radios were having an off day and transmitting a lot of static. Today, I got experience the door opening twice and right rudder sucked. Other than that, I'm off and having fun!

As for the books, Jepp puts out a bag with pretty much everything that is needed, I may get a couple of Gleim books later.

Well, you're getting oriented into the world of abused flight school plans, fortunately, the important stuff usually works better than the doors.

Have fun.

Doors are known to pop open occasionally on Cessnas. Not a big deal, it's just annoying/noisy. It's not like they're going to get sucked all the way open and you're going to fall out or anything - in fact photographers often like to fly with the pax door removed so they can shoot better (I've done that a few times - the plane flies fine but it's noisy as hell). I've never known anyone to be able to get them fully re-closed in flight, there's too much negative pressure on the outside of the fuselage wanting to pull it open. You can try slowing down and putting it in a slip or whatever, but I've never heard of it (or seen it) actually working.

We did have a guy at our flight school when I was instructing who rented the C182 and flew it from Big Bear to SMO with one of the seatbelts hanging out of the door. He commented afterwards that he wondered why it was so noisy (wind noise from the door not shutting all the way plus a banging). The metal seat belt buckle flapping around out there completely destroyed the panel aft of the door - it looked like someone had gone mad on it with a ball peen hammer for about an hour. That was an expensive "oops" for him.

Have fun up there.

Dave,

Not sure what you are doing for a headset but this is one area that you really do not want to scrimp on, especially for a beginning pilot. You should be better than most on the radio as you are used to listening to it, but its not unusual for someone with low experience to miss calls and so on, so might make sure you have a good headset to work with.

Jeff, I must be strong... The door opened twice, not a big deal. The instructor took the controls while I fiddled with the door. The first time I got it closed, I thought it would pop again, as it didn't seem closed enough. Sure enough, it did. The second time, I stuck my hand out, opened the external handle all the way, opened the internal arm/handle all the way, closed it hard from the back of the door and while holding it, closed the outer handle, then the inner. Held for the rest of the flight.

Joe, I wish I could be using a pair of the Bose Noise canceling head sets, but since they have the proprietary connector, I took a set of Peltor's that we have. I am not that great on the radio. I guess over the years, things went in one ear and out the other. I just need to write down the basic's and rear them over and over, it'll come to me. I know when to shut up when my dad and I are yapping away and we hear the Bonanza's N# on the radio.

Dave,

I have both a Bose and Telex NC headset and both have standard plug in's on the ends.

The Bose's do have a model that is a twist on type connector but thats not the norm.

Joe

Joe the Bonanza has 2 Bose headsets. Both have the special connector. It also has 4 Peltor headsets with the common plugs. I saw no reason to buy another set right now. :)

Might see if you can get an adapter from Bose that plugs into the adapter plug and allows you to plug that into a normal airplane. It would then require that you use a battery but the batteries in my headset (AA's) last for 40-60 hours min.

The Bose Aviation X was one of the best investments I ever made in flying. I used to fly POS freighters which were very noisy (all the insulation and interiors ripped out) and never had a problem. The one caveat I'd add is if you're going to fly a lot, get a couple of 9V rechargeable batteries and ALWAYS carry a spare. The noise cancelling action is fantastic and the comfort is great, but with a dead battery they're worthless.

My newer Bose X uses AA batteries. The older 9V has a bigger box and I think the batteries don't last as long. If you find a used set though I wouldn't turn them down.

I find that I get about 2000-3000 hours out of my Bose X before I have to send them in for a tune up. Generally I get 40-60 hours out of a set of AA batteries.

One airplane I fly has the Bose QCs with the Uflymike and I don't like them as much. They don't attenuate passively very well and the active attenuation isn't as good. In a propeller airplane you need more of that passive attenuation. I'm using them in a jet and still don't like them, mostly because the mike can't be pushed out of the way. Of course the Uflymike setup is half the price.

My David Clarks were great and reliable for the my first 3000 hours but I'll never go back. The investment in a good headset can make all the difference in how much you enjoy flying.

I'm still sticking with the Peltor for now. I see no reason to spend anymore money, when I have 4 to choose from. The Bose would be nice and maybe I will look to see if I can get an adapter to plug into the common jacks. The one thing that bothers me with the Bose is that fur that is supposed to keep your scalp comfy. It ends up driving me nuts and itches. I do like the noise cancellation though. I honestly could not tell you how noisy or quiet the 172 has been. I have not paid attention. Other than a radio issue, all comms have been fine and understandable.

$845.- new! That's a set of r-compounds. $400 used. I'm sticking with free for now. :)

If you are going to worry about $1000 here or there, then you need to stop flying right now. Seriously.

We never said that this was a cheap sport. Hearing a radio call might mean the difference between life and death, so whats it worth again?

I just don't see a reason to buy a headset! I have one. It's one that we used for 15 years before getting two of the Bose for the pilot/copilot. It's not noise canceling, but I have yet to notice an issue.

And I know this is an expensive hobby, just like skiing, racing the 911, my R/C glider, photography.... I don't have any cheap hobbies....

Remember this post after you have a few hours under your belt and are using a N/C headset.

Its a big difference as several pilots who do it for a living on the thread have said.

For god's sake, you do not need high dollar head sets to learn to fly. Hell, it was done for years by many with just a speaker and a hand held mike. I started with cheapo Flightcom head sets and now have two sets of "old school" passive David Clarks. I can think of lots of other things to spend my hard earned money on before plunking 1k down for a pair of headsets when I might fly only 30-50 hrs a year half of which time is just buzzing around the local area without even talking to anyone on the radio.

That said, if I flew for a living, I would not think twice about investing in high dollar headsets.