Cessna flight training course

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RyanDe680

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My flight school, or at least the school that I intend to use, uses the Cessna Flight training course, which I understand is the same as Kings.

Any pros/cons to this? Is it just a ridiculous feeling of mine that because it is a Cessna course that I won’t be able to fly any other plane?
 
That’s what we use also. I liked it fine. The instrument one was good as well. I wouldn’t say it was Cessna specific, but that is what they fly in the videos.
 
Taking the Cessna course does not limit you to Cessna brand airplanes. In fact, you can take none of these courses and still fly many different airplanes.
 
Did you guys supplement with any other materials in addition to the Cessna material?
 
I did PPL in a Cessna, then Commercial and Instrument at an airport that used Pipers, and the Piper training material. The training was not Piper biased in any important way, and when I went back to my Cessna, all went well. The training is very generic, but all the pictures and videos will be one manufacturer.
 
I think there needs to be some clarification. Cessna, and the Cessna pilot centers use an online study course that was done by the Kings and specifically tailored to the late model 172 and 162. As far as I know, it is not the same as the King Schools version, although I’d guess it is at least similar.

The course is fine. I earned my private certificate at a Cessna pilot center and did well on the written test and in the school’s Cessnas but had no problem transitioning to the Cherokee I bought a month after earning my certificate.
 
RyanDe680 said:
Did you guys supplement with any other materials in addition to the Cessna material?
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Probably the 2 other main reading materials you'll hear cited for a private pilot in training are the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK) and Airplane Flying Handbook (AFH), both of which are free to download from the FAA website. Another good free download for reference, not for reading cause it's too dense, is the FAR/AIM.

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/
 
RyanDe680 said:
My flight school, or at least the school that I intend to use, uses the Cessna Flight training course, which I understand is the same as Kings.

Any pros/cons to this? Is it just a ridiculous feeling of mine that because it is a Cessna course that I won’t be able to fly any other plane?
Click to expand...

I used the Cessna/King for Private, and am almost finished with Instrument using it again. I also picked up the Sportys courses on both. For me at least the Cessna courses were better for learning the material, but hearing it presented a different way was also helpful. Same with the practice questions and tests, seeing the questions a couple different ways seems to help with actually learning and not just memorializing answers. Though for some reason, I consistently score slightly better on Sportys than Cessna/ King.

But I haven’t seem anything that was especially Cessna specific.
 
RyanDe680 said:
My flight school, or at least the school that I intend to use, uses the Cessna Flight training course, which I understand is the same as Kings.

Any pros/cons to this? Is it just a ridiculous feeling of mine that because it is a Cessna course that I won’t be able to fly any other plane?
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One of the reasons they use the system they do (the Cessna one for your case) is to have a set curriculum that all of their instructors/and students will follow.

Is any one any better than the others? Maybe, but in the small details. Mostly how the information is presented, and how your progress is tracked.

I'd say use what they say to use. Buuuuut, if it's not working for you, you can supplement with the FAA Handbooks, or an online learning sources such as @write-stuff's Gold Seal Groundschool.

If you do partake of a different cup, be ready to still return to the goblet your school is using, as they maybe following their sequence of lesson plans and flights to keep you moving forward to solo flight and your check ride.
 
AggieMike88 said:
or an online learning sources such as @write-stuff's Gold Seal Groundschool.
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+1 for Gold Seal. Only recenty discovered it and, as a CFI, have full access to the Private course. Been going through it as a Student and like what I have seen so far...
 
Volitation said:
I used the Cessna/King for Private, and am almost finished with Instrument using it again. I also picked up the Sportys courses on both. For me at least the Cessna courses were better for learning the material, but hearing it presented a different way was also helpful. Same with the practice questions and tests, seeing the questions a couple different ways seems to help with actually learning and not just memorializing answers. Though for some reason, I consistently score slightly better on Sportys than Cessna/ King.

But I haven’t seem anything that was especially Cessna specific.
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Did you find it easy to go back and forth between sports and Cessna in terms of finding similar topics according to a syllabus or was there lesson overlap?
 
RyanDe680 said:
Did you find it easy to go back and forth between sports and Cessna in terms of finding similar topics according to a syllabus or was there lesson overlap?
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The don’t exactly match up, but it’s easy enough to go back and forth. It’s probably not the best way for everybody, but I finished the courses early, then I’d go back and review the pertinent sections for the next lesson. The school I use follows the Cessna syllabus, so each lesson is keyed to the course.

One thing I’d advise is as you complete sections, start looking at the practice questions. There are some oddities in the way the questions are written, but you’ll pick that up easily after you see them enough.

One of the good things about the Cessna syllabus for Private is that the written test comes fairly early, while for the Instrument it closer to the end. For me at least, learning for the test was geared to taking the test. But studying and learning for the oral required really understanding and applying the material.

It can seem overwhelming at first, but it’ll come together soon enough.
 
Volitation said:
One thing I’d advise is as you complete sections, start looking at the practice questions. There are some oddities in the way the questions are written, but you’ll pick that up easily after you see them enough
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One practical question for our intrepid Thread Starter about "canned" courses such as this.... how recently was the course updated? Especially with regards to the switch to the ACS and the now rapidly changing knowledge test landscape?

If the school is using "older" material, the base subject matter is still valid, and can be used by instructors who know the changes and can say with confidence, "strike out this, and replace with that". But if the school doesn't have such instructors, they could unwittingly get somewhat jammed up on out of date niggly details.

@RyanDe680 .... is the school you are attending operating under Part 141 or Part 61? That answer might aid in directing some of our responses.
 
AggieMike88 said:
One practical question for our intrepid Thread Starter about "canned" courses such as this.... how recently was the course updated? Especially with regards to the switch to the ACS and the now rapidly changing knowledge test landscape?

If the school is using "older" material, the base subject matter is still valid, and can be used by instructors who know the changes and can say with confidence, "strike out this, and replace with that". But if the school doesn't have such instructors, they could unwittingly get somewhat jammed up on out of date niggly details.

@RyanDe680 .... is the school you are attending operating under Part 141 or Part 61? That answer might aid in directing some of our responses.
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I’ve been told that Shepherd has the most update and accurate questions for test prep, but haven’t looked into it yet.
 
Volitation said:
I’ve been told that Shepherd has the most update and accurate questions for test prep, but haven’t looked into it yet.
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Sheppard does their best to keep the database as current as they can.

However, they don't do private pilot. Just IFR and above.

And, based on his question of "because it is a Cessna course that I won’t be able to fly any other plane?", I'm guessing that Ryan is working on private pilot.
 
I'm taking the same course and I'm not entirely impressed with the quality / presentation of the content. I struggle with the old videos, clips that don't really seem to convey the material well, and terrible formatting on the slides. It reads like a poorly formatted PowerPoint crafted by a 4th grader who just learned how to use bullet points.

On the other hand, I can see why instructors prefer it for tracking curriculum and student performance throughout their training. The syllabus has also been helpful as a student, but I'm finding myself supplementing the course with YouTube videos (Cyndy Hollman does an awesome job with nothing more than a whiteboard and a model).

My suggestion...unless your instructor prefers you the Cessna course for their tracking, go with something else.
 
I got my private at a Cessna Pilot Center using the Cessna training material and flew Pipers, so no issues there unless they only have Cessnas.
 
AggieMike88 said:
One practical question for our intrepid Thread Starter about "canned" courses such as this.... how recently was the course updated? Especially with regards to the switch to the ACS and the now rapidly changing knowledge test landscape?

If the school is using "older" material, the base subject matter is still valid, and can be used by instructors who know the changes and can say with confidence, "strike out this, and replace with that". But if the school doesn't have such instructors, they could unwittingly get somewhat jammed up on out of date niggly details.

@RyanDe680 .... is the school you are attending operating under Part 141 or Part 61? That answer might aid in directing some of our responses.
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141
 
AggieMike88 said:
Sheppard does their best to keep the database as current as they can.

However, they don't do private pilot. Just IFR and above.

And, based on his question of "because it is a Cessna course that I won’t be able to fly any other plane?", I'm guessing that Ryan is working on private pilot.
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Correct. Private pilot. Sorry - I should have elaborated.
 
I used ASA PrepWare for my Private Pilot. It matched up fairly well and allowed me to get mid a 90 score. I also watched the King videos and supplemented with YouTube videos.

I played the King videos through the phone and listened to them through the car radio while I was driving.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
AggieMike88 said:
Sheppard does their best to keep the database as current as they can.

However, they don't do private pilot. Just IFR and above.
Click to expand...

And another note worth mentioning. Sheppard doesn't have a complete ground program. They are test prep only and they don't do any "teaching". It's a canned quiz generator useful for people who want to memorize questions/answers.
 
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