In light of ACS, which IFR ground school to use?

Rykymus

Rykymus

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Rykymus
So, a little over a year ago, I completed the IFR online course from Jeppesen, but never found the time to do the training. Now, I'm planning on doing it all in the month of July. I need to redo the ground school, but none of them (Jeppesen included) seem to indicate that they have been updated to meet the new standards. I remember reading a thread about someone showing up to take a test recently, and finding out that the numbers on the course completion were old and they couldn't take the written. I don't want to waste time (and money) on a course only to find myself turned away at testing time. No one at the FBO were I do my training really knows anything about this, and recommends waiting as long as I can to do the ground school and take the written to give it all time to sort out.

Any insight into this would be welcomed. I really want to get this rating knocked out. I'm tired of cancelling flights to the coast because of low ceilings.
 
I think the thread you're referring to was about a CFI incorrectly logging the applicant's readiness to take the written. Do you plan to get a sign-off from Jepp to take your written? Or will you get that from your instructor?

Also, I haven't spent a lot of time looking at the new ACS stuff yet, but I *think* it's entirely about the practical test (checkride). I'd expect you'll still have to learn exactly the same stuff along the way, but you may have to demonstrate your knowledge/grasp of concepts a little differently.
 
I wouldn't sweat it, getting a fresh sign off while you're hammering through your IFR is no biggie.

Are you going to be flying 5ish days a week?
 
You Jepp materials will be fine. You can just skip over the ADF stuff as that has been remove from what I've read. The fundamentals of IFR haven't changed. One of our own here just retook it and scored in the 90s.
 
I just passed my instrument written this morning. No questions about compass errors, no instrument failure questions. No lost comm

One time enroute question. However, lots of reading an approach plate, chart questions. As well as 4 different determine the winds aloft from this forecast though.

I used the Sportys iPad app and Gleim books as well as listening to the audio review they have. I didn't feel very well prepared for the test from Sportys, though I thought the videos are more applicable to real world flying.
 
Rykymus said:
So, a little over a year ago, I completed the IFR online course from Jeppesen, but never found the time to do the training. Now, I'm planning on doing it all in the month of July. I need to redo the ground school, but none of them (Jeppesen included) seem to indicate that they have been updated to meet the new standards. I remember reading a thread about someone showing up to take a test recently, and finding out that the numbers on the course completion were old and they couldn't take the written. I don't want to waste time (and money) on a course only to find myself turned away at testing time. No one at the FBO were I do my training really knows anything about this, and recommends waiting as long as I can to do the ground school and take the written to give it all time to sort out.

Any insight into this would be welcomed. I really want to get this rating knocked out. I'm tired of cancelling flights to the coast because of low ceilings.
Click to expand...

I do not believe that the change to the ACS will have any impact on the written whatsoever. Monster impact on the oral, though.

If you want a leg up on the written, here are two suggestions: First, go to www.faa.gov and, under the Training and Testing tab, click on Airman Testing, then on Knowledge Testing, and finally on Airman Knowledge Test Questions. Select Instrument Rating (duh). Second, go to www.asa2fly.com and, under the Resources tab, click on Updates. Under FAA Knowledge Exam Updates, select Instrument. That will bring you to new questions as of this month. Take a moment to look at past Updates while you are there.

Next time you are thinking about buying pilot supplies, remember what ASA has done for you.

Bob Gardner
 
tree96 said:
I just passed my instrument written this morning. No questions about compass errors, no instrument failure questions. No lost comm

One time enroute question. However, lots of reading an approach plate, chart questions. As well as 4 different determine the winds aloft from this forecast though.

I used the Sportys iPad app and Gleim books as well as listening to the audio review they have. I didn't feel very well prepared for the test from Sportys, though I thought the videos are more applicable to real world flying.
Click to expand...

Just as a point of reference, I did get one compass error question (lead north, lag south type stuff), a "which instrument has failed" question, and two "lost Comm" (asking about EFC times and when to depart a fix) on my recent FII and IGI exams. They're still in the pool for sure. I did not get any ADF questions (which was sad for me, since they're so easy...) and got a lot of "read this chart" type of things... "If you're flying this route, how high do you need to be crossing X..."

And quite a few SID questions about rate of climb, seems like they're back on the warpath on convincing folks that ft/NM is NOT ft/min.

By the way, the table of contents on the new chart book and addendum combined book -- they're both in the same book now, and look GREAT... No more charts that look like they were printed on a 70's mimeograph machine and then photocopied ten times -- is useless for finding the rate of climb chart. Of course you can just do the math, but the chart is in there so why not use it. It's now hiding on Page 16. You're welcome. Ha.

bobmrg said:
I do not believe that the change to the ACS will have any impact on the written whatsoever. Monster impact on the oral, though.

If you want a leg up on the written, here are two suggestions: First, go to www.faa.gov and, under the Training and Testing tab, click on Airman Testing, then on Knowledge Testing, and finally on Airman Knowledge Test Questions. Select Instrument Rating (duh). Second, go to www.asa2fly.com and, under the Resources tab, click on Updates. Under FAA Knowledge Exam Updates, select Instrument. That will bring you to new questions as of this month. Take a moment to look at past Updates while you are there.

Next time you are thinking about buying pilot supplies, remember what ASA has done for you.

Bob Gardner
Click to expand...

I recently bought a pile of stuff and have always liked ASA's format for things, and thought of you when I bypassed the other stuff on the shelf.

Honestly with all the stuff I bought for the reference shelf, I was surprised at how inexpensive it all was. Good prices, good material, hard to go wrong with ASA for dead tree copies of things. And I still like dead tree versions for certain stuff.

Not a single book was more than the cost of a dinner out at Chili's... Heh... And all were quite large with detailed coverage of the topic, and well organized. Some weren't more expense than a burger at McDs and a large Diet Coke.

Great stuff.
 
Oh another thing. Many of the charts in the new book are printed so well they're a much much higher resolution than the PSI computers can display now, and the quality of how they were digitized is total crap, and then on top of that, you'll have to scroll all over the place to see the whole page.

Highly recommended: Hit F6, get the Figure number(s) needed, and open the new book. It all looks a hell of a lot better in the book than on the screen now. The testing companies are going to have to invest in better quality video hardware and slap whoever digitizes that stuff into doing it at something better than 150 dpi fax-quality.

One other goodie... Thought this was cool as an IT guy... Found a bug in the standard math calculator on the PSI software. (Also reported it...) Was being lazy for one of those "what altitude would your altimeter read it you're a moron and forgot to reset it to local from a high flight at 29.92" type questions.

Entered ( 30.57 - 29.92 = ) into the calc and got...

0.649999999999

Hahahaha. Dumbass code. Someone somewhere is going to love that bug report. LOL! Probably shouldn't have used Visual BASIC to write a calculator. Haha.
 
bobmrg said:
I do not believe that the change to the ACS will have any impact on the written whatsoever. Monster impact on the oral, though.

If you want a leg up on the written, here are two suggestions: First, go to www.faa.gov and, under the Training and Testing tab, click on Airman Testing, then on Knowledge Testing, and finally on Airman Knowledge Test Questions. Select Instrument Rating (duh). Second, go to www.asa2fly.com and, under the Resources tab, click on Updates. Under FAA Knowledge Exam Updates, select Instrument. That will bring you to new questions as of this month. Take a moment to look at past Updates while you are there.

Next time you are thinking about buying pilot supplies, remember what ASA has done for you.

Bob Gardner
Click to expand...

This would be a good sticky message ...
 
So I am doing brush up for my IPC/BFR that I am gonna pound out all at once and revisiting all my King Schools on line programs...I was surprised to find out when I logged on that they have been completely redone to incorporate the new ACS format. The practical test videos are all band new...have not gotten into the written materials yet but impressed that they are keeping up with the updates at least on the PPL side.
 
With the addition of over 390 “risk management” elements in the new Private ACS, I think it's safe to say that most publications (textbooks, written prep guides, study guides etc.) are affected by this change. Most of the publications that are out there right now are out-of-date, to some degree. Since all of the Risk Management elements are listed in the ACS (Private and Instrument), effective June 15th 2016, anybody taking the written or in training for the Private or Instrument rides, will be responsible for demonstrating knowledge on each one of these elements. The written already contains new risk management, scenario-based questions, so don't kid yourself, it's affected also.

For an interesting debate about the ACS, checkout the following:
https://www.facebook.com/rod.machado/posts/10208339053748438
 
Rykymus said:
So, a little over a year ago, I completed the IFR online course from Jeppesen, but never found the time to do the training. Now, I'm planning on doing it all in the month of July. I need to redo the ground school, but none of them (Jeppesen included) seem to indicate that they have been updated to meet the new standards. I remember reading a thread about someone showing up to take a test recently, and finding out that the numbers on the course completion were old and they couldn't take the written. I don't want to waste time (and money) on a course only to find myself turned away at testing time. No one at the FBO were I do my training really knows anything about this, and recommends waiting as long as I can to do the ground school and take the written to give it all time to sort out.

Any insight into this would be welcomed. I really want to get this rating knocked out. I'm tired of cancelling flights to the coast because of low ceilings.
Click to expand...

See my write up on my check ride and discussion about written. I used ASA for the refresher.
 
tree96 said:
I just passed my instrument written this morning. No questions about compass errors, no instrument failure questions. No lost comm

One time enroute question. However, lots of reading an approach plate, chart questions. As well as 4 different determine the winds aloft from this forecast though.

I used the Sportys iPad app and Gleim books as well as listening to the audio review they have. I didn't feel very well prepared for the test from Sportys, though I thought the videos are more applicable to real world flying.
Click to expand...

I wrote written 6/17 and used the ASA book. I too listened to Gliem audio that I had from before. I agree there were Tons of GPS and approach plate questions. Some winds aloft. Some "where in the world are we" relative to VOR questions. No ETE questions on my written. Lots of older questions. Got a 92. Took about 45 minutes for the test.
 
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I printed out the ACS and the latest copy of the PTS for Instrument Pilot, sat down with a yellow highlighter and prepared to highlight all the big changes. Came to the conclusion that as far as the "applicant" (myself) is concerned, I done kilt a tree fer nuttin!
 
The same one you would use as before the ACS.
 
I always used aviation seminars, dedicate one weekend and your done
 
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