Do you need to read the AFH, PHAK, and FAR/AIM all cover to cover, or just study as needed in them?
- Thread starter bdoss2006
- Start date
Baked Potato
Cleared for Takeoff
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2022
- Messages
- 1,252
- Display Name
Display name:
Baked Potato
Personally I think the PHAK and AFH are actually good reads for someone really into general aviation.
I am not sure that anyone reads the FAR cover-to-cover since a lot of it won't apply to your mission or cert. But you'll have to know where to get info you need very quickly in it.
I am not sure that anyone reads the FAR cover-to-cover since a lot of it won't apply to your mission or cert. But you'll have to know where to get info you need very quickly in it.
The FAR is prescribed reading for insomniacs. Definitely you need to read the applicable sections for your certificate/ratings though.
RyanShort1
Final Approach
Yes, yes you do have to read them through. Otherwise - right to jail.
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2019
- Messages
- 2,222
- Location
- Chicago suburbs
- Display Name
Display name:
The Little Arrow That Could
FAR 61/91, I read the whole thing. All other FARs... I read as necessary 
AIM is super information dense but it's got a lot of good stuff. I find it worthwhile to occasionally pick a particular topic and read about it. But not something I'd sit down and just casually read for the night.
PHAK is hit or miss for usefulness, but you're going to get tested on it so you'll have to read it all. The only sections that I found having no value are the ones about how to physically fly an plane.
If you can't learn that via hands on training, I seriously doubt there is anything that book is going to do to help.
AIM is super information dense but it's got a lot of good stuff. I find it worthwhile to occasionally pick a particular topic and read about it. But not something I'd sit down and just casually read for the night.
PHAK is hit or miss for usefulness, but you're going to get tested on it so you'll have to read it all. The only sections that I found having no value are the ones about how to physically fly an plane.
If you can't learn that via hands on training, I seriously doubt there is anything that book is going to do to help.
Good news. If you read the ACS it will tell you the applicable FAR's for checkride. And remember, you don't have to memorize all of the fars, just know where to find them.
I get lost in atomatoflames...but dammit if I know it's in 91.205
Roller
Pre-takeoff checklist
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2025
- Messages
- 430
- Display Name
Display name:
Roller
If your plane breaks so often you need to have that as a memory item you got bigger problems lol
Haha. True. But examiner will ask you about it.
Roller
Pre-takeoff checklist
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2025
- Messages
- 430
- Display Name
Display name:
Roller
I’ve always told my students to just know where to find it, so far so good
I’ve seen multiple people say that you need to know where to find stuff quickly. Is finding stuff part of the oral exam or something, or why do you need to be able to quickly find stuff?
Cover to cover if you have issues with insomnia.
dmspilot
Final Approach
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2006
- Messages
- 6,233
- Display Name
Display name:
DISPLAY NAME
I think anyone who can learn from a reference book by reading cover to cover is probably a member of a very small minority of the population.
I did not say you needed to find it quickly, although I suppose "quickly" is rather subjective. The examiner is going to ask you a scenario based question.
You're doing a pre flight and notice you have a nav light out. Can you take the flight?
You can't use Google. Youre not quite sure.
The dpe isnt going to let you flip through every page of the FAR. But they're also not expecting to remember every FAR either. You just need to demonstrate that you know the material, even if it's not verbatim.
If you realize this is a minimum equipment question you pull up 91.205 and on to the next question. If you run through atomatoflames and say no, you might get asked what about at night? Or what about a landing light at night
Go through the ACS with the FAR/AIM and tab it with post its with your notes applicable to that FAR. It's a great way to learn the material as well as being able to easily reference it in the future.
Reading it cover to cover, material ain't gonna stick and it's gonna be tough to go back to.
Last edited:
Well I know some people have. I was just wondering when you would ever be asked to find a specific section of the FAR.
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2013
- Messages
- 7,020
- Display Name
Display name:
3G
If you understand how 14 CFR (the FARs) are organized, it makes it easy to find a regulatory reference that answers your question.
For example, if it deals with General Operations and Flight rules, it likely lies in Part 91; for things like training and/or currency, Part 61 is the place to go.
As you proceed thru training, your CFI should be touching on the applicability of various specific regulations to specific lessons and reinforcing that thru your journey. For example, you’ve probably heard TOMATOFLAMES or somethingl ike that.
What you really need to understand is where to look to find out if the plane you’re flying is equipped for day or night VFR or IFR operations.
There are more manuals on the FAA website you should also take a look at:
FAA-H-8083-1B Weight & Balance
FAA-H-8083-28A Weather
FAA-CT-8080-2H Private Supplement
FAA-CT-8080-2H Test Supplement for Private
FAA-H-8083-1B Weight & Balance
FAA-H-8083-28A Weather
FAA-CT-8080-2H Private Supplement
FAA-CT-8080-2H Test Supplement for Private
I don’t see a reason not to read the PHoAK cover to cover, it is an incredible source of information. AFH is also a great resource but if I recall right there are plenty of chapters that won’t be applicable to most students starting out. FAR/AIM, as mentioned several times already, no do not read that cover to cover. Just what is needed for appropriate certs/ratings.
Clip4
Touchdown! Greaser!
My biggest complaint as a CFI is students who don’t read and study.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2013
- Messages
- 7,020
- Display Name
Display name:
3G
The more I think about this thread, the more I realize how much is wrong with the OPs question.
We like to say that at it’s core aviation is about honesty. Here’s brutal honesty.
OP doesn’t have to read a page of any of the references. OP will only be checked on a small part of that knowledge base, but is responsible for all of the knowledge base. Applicability of the knowledge to any given flight or training event is the hard part.
We like to say that at it’s core aviation is about honesty. Here’s brutal honesty.
OP doesn’t have to read a page of any of the references. OP will only be checked on a small part of that knowledge base, but is responsible for all of the knowledge base. Applicability of the knowledge to any given flight or training event is the hard part.
texasclouds
En-Route
I read it all at least once. Then again prepping for CFI.
For the same reason you need to be able to look something up in a dictionary. Imagine trying to do that without knowing how to look words up (you never learned the order of the alphabet).
In aviation you may have a question on the oral or, for that matter, in real life, that you don’t know the answer to. Do you want to use a few hours staring at a wall or 2 minutes because you know where to look?
MauleSkinner
Touchdown! Greaser!
Hang out here, and notice the questions that people ask because they don’t know the information that exists in those resources, much less know how to find it, and how much confusion is generated because of things they were taught that disagree with the official sources.
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2021
- Messages
- 4,019
- Display Name
Display name:
Albany Tom
As far as the exams go, my take there is the same as in real life. For many "can I do this" questions there are often 2 parts. One is, "is it legal?", the other is "is it safe?". You should know if most things are safe or not without looking them up, but if you have time you can look them up. The DPE's I've had are more interested that you know where something is and why something might be good or bad rather than rote memorizing things. Not sure that's true with all of them, maybe I've been lucky.
That mnemonic should be banned.
Well, you don’t have to read them all cover-to-cover, but if you’re really interested in flying don’t you want to? The FAR in particular is a can’t-put-it-down spellbinder for any true aviator.
RyanShort1
Final Approach
This might seem harsh, but if a student of mine asks the OP’s question - I’m going to insist that he needs to read more of it, than a student who doesn’t ask the question - because my experience has been that those are the types of people who are trying to get by with the bare minimum to pass and lacks curiosity and a desire to master the subject matter.
Truly riveting! Part 68 in particular had me on the edge of my seat.
bentmettle
Pre-takeoff checklist
Go back and ask your CFI how he uses the FAR/AIM as a pilot. It's a reference tool at the private level.
At the instrument level, it fixes some of the shortcomings of the other two FAA instrument pubs.
I'd say for commercial, not having it yet, the FAR has a focused distillation of what you can and can't do with the rating, in a way that you shouldn't be looking to other documents for.
I assume CFIs just use it to argue with each other
At the instrument level, it fixes some of the shortcomings of the other two FAA instrument pubs.
I'd say for commercial, not having it yet, the FAR has a focused distillation of what you can and can't do with the rating, in a way that you shouldn't be looking to other documents for.
I assume CFIs just use it to argue with each other
Clip4
Touchdown! Greaser!
So after reading it twice, you now possess instructional knowledge and could teach ground school classes on every topic for the commercial and private certificate?
Clip4
Touchdown! Greaser!
Since you never read it,Go back and ask your CFI how he uses the FAR/AIM as a pilot. It's a reference tool at the private level.
At the instrument level, it fixes some of the shortcomings of the other two FAA instrument pubs.
I'd say for commercial, not having it yet, the FAR has a focused distillation of what you can and can't do with the rating, in a way that you shouldn't be looking to other documents for.
I assume CFIs just use it to argue with each other
“Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM)
Basic Flight Information and ATC Procedures
This manual is designed to provide the aviation community with basic flight information and ATC procedures for use in the National Airspace System (NAS) of the United States.”
I've been a pilot since 1990 and CFI since 1999. For some strange reason there are people who think I have an encyclopedic knowledge of the FAR, the AIM, and a bunch of other FAA publications. I do not. I can pretty much guarantee that not one day goes by without me referring to one of those publications. It's a reference tool at every level.Go back and ask your CFI how he uses the FAR/AIM as a pilot. It's a reference tool at the private level.
At the instrument level, it fixes some of the shortcomings of the other two FAA instrument pubs.
I'd say for commercial, not having it yet, the FAR has a focused distillation of what you can and can't do with the rating, in a way that you shouldn't be looking to other documents for.
I assume CFIs just use it to argue with each other
texasclouds
En-Route
No, but second time through I used the provided information to help build my own lesson plans so that I could prepare to teach.
texasclouds
En-Route
When I started part 135, I also thoroughly read the 135 specific areas to ensure compliance.
Clip4
Touchdown! Greaser!
What do you do if you are inflight and can’t remember what a regulation says? I don’t believe failing to know an FAR gives you emergency authority to do what you want.
Roller
Pre-takeoff checklist
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2025
- Messages
- 430
- Display Name
Display name:
Roller
Were you specific on what to read and study?
Was it dry thick stuff off the FAA website, or well thought out curated material?
I’ve found there to be a large difference
flyingcheesehead
Taxi to Parking
Definitely no need to read the entire thing. More on that later.
You read 91 Subpart F or after? Why?FAR 61/91, I read the whole thing. All other FARs... I read as necessary
Sub D, you might want to know it exists in case you ever want to do any of those things. Sub E, you want to know so you can determine if the plane you're operating is legally airworthy.
Sub F and later are irrelevant to the average GA pilot - It's all stuff for bigger airplanes, fractional operations, and other situations that aren't relevant to recreational piston pounders.
Kinda like how part 61 has stuff about ATP that isn't useful to a private pilot. Well, unless you want to argue about it online.
If it matters who's flying the plane, it's in part 61. If it doesn't matter who's flying, it's in part 91.
This reminds me of when the AI image generators were new, and some of them kept randomly throwing Getty Images watermarks on things they made because there were so many actual Getty images in the training data.
Tomato Flames is irrelevant.
If you're on the ground and have yet to take flight, you look it up in 91.205.
If you had everything in 91.205 when you took off, you're good. If something breaks in flight, it's a squawk, not a reg violation, and you don't need to look it up or know it.
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2019
- Messages
- 2,222
- Location
- Chicago suburbs
- Display Name
Display name:
The Little Arrow That Could
I think I read all of 91...Definitely no need to read the entire thing. More on that later.
You read 91 Subpart F or after? Why?
Sub D, you might want to know it exists in case you ever want to do any of those things. Sub E, you want to know so you can determine if the plane you're operating is legally airworthy.
Sub F and later are irrelevant to the average GA pilot - It's all stuff for bigger airplanes, fractional operations, and other situations that aren't relevant to recreational piston pounders.
Kinda like how part 61 has stuff about ATP that isn't useful to a private pilot. Well, unless you want to argue about it online.
Now, ask me how much I remember