King School... really?

Cajun_Flyer

Cajun_Flyer

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Cajun Flyer
My CFI keeps pushing me to purchase this - http://www.kingschools.com/ground-school/private-pilot/courses

He argues that the videos are great for learning, that it will reduce how many hours he'll have to do ground instruction with me (claims I would save money in the long run), and that it will significantly help in my ability to pass the written & checkride down the line.

I have my reservations.

For one, the cost!! But also, instructional videos and me don't mix all that well unless they are really captivating. My understanding is that these videos are anything but captivating and are, in fact, actually quite dated. Anyone have any better (and cheaper) suggestions? Or is anyone able to offer some constructive feedback on the King School stuff?
 
You can just study from the book or take a ground school class. Some community colleges offer them and some FBOs.
 
I've used them PPL-ATP-135 indoc. They are great, their jokes are so bad it laser engraves the material in your brain, which works.

All of my students have used them too, not one has ever failed a written or oral (what those prep you for), nor have I.

I have heard there are places on the interweb where one can find the king programs for a, uhh, major discount. Not saying anymore.

Ether way, I've taken quite a few written and oral tests and had a large number of students, the King program just works.


As for saving on ground school with your CFI, I didn't really do any ground with my guys, just asked how hey we're doing on their videos and mock written tests, once they said they averaged over 80% I'd sign them off, as for real ground school Id do a ground for weight and balance, cross countries and a couple mock check rides at the end of their training. So yeah, if you do the videos it can nearly wipe out having to do ground sessions with your CFI.
 
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With King's School, I got:
97% on my Private (made the Verbal portion of the checkride a breeze)
95% on my Instrument (see above)
90% cure to my insomnia problem
100% time I can do the lessons at my own pace

If you think the cost of King's school is expensive...better find another hobby.

Btw, I also bought Sporty's Private and Instrument: it does have better graphics, but in terms memory retention, John & Martha King's corny jokes worked for me.
 
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I would get the cheap one (Written only)
The checkride is going to come from the PTS which is only a couple bucks and your CFI.

I used Gleim (way cheaper) and if you prefer to read vs. videos, it might be right for you.
I got a 97 on my written w/ Gleim. It is only $99
 
Great tips, guys. Thanks!

James - Definitely appreciate your insight as an instructor. I trust my CFI, so I don't like second guessing him, but it does help to have a second opinion from another instructor. I might poke around a bit for the, uh, "cheaper" variety. ;)

To the person commenting on concerns about price... I know quite well the cost of my hobby. Just don't see any reason to go throwing money around in places where it may not be necessary. Good to see how high your scores were on the test - it definitely builds my confidence in my CFI's recommendations.

Thanks again, everyone.
 
Some people do better parked in front of a video, others are better with a written study guide. I used King for my instrument knowledge test 15 years ago. The Kings are a little corny but they get the job done.
 
Your CFI is correct. Doing homework is the #1 way to save money in your flight training.

Many people like King and they do provide a good product. But there are other, less expensive options. If you're a reader, you can get everything out of the FAA textbooks, most available for free as PDFs. You'd need a bit of guidance to know what to study and what to ignore, but that option is there.

Before you plop down your money, I suggest you try Gold Seal. You can sign up for free and take a full third of the course without charge. King isn't going to let you do anything like that. Check it out and see how you like it. THEN, decide if you want to pull out the credit card or not.

Your CFI may not be aware, but if you use Gold Seal, he can sign up for free and monitor all your progress. He can give you lesson assignments and even check your quizzes, right down to the exact questions that you missed. Again, you won't get this from King.

Here's the link: www.OnlineGroundSchool.com
 
Brad Z said:
Some people do better parked in front of a video, others are better with a written study guide.
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^ This. Just depends on what kind of learner you are. It was all books for me. (And still is)
 
I used the King Schools videos for my Private and IR writtens. They were great for me - for the written exam. They don't cover anything not covered by the exam. Coupled with other materials that I studied I got 100% on the PP written and something like 97% on the IR written. I can't argue with success.

I've also viewed a number of their other classes. The videos for the oral and flight test were OK, but I don't think I got the benefit from them that I got for the written prep.

I also have the Sporty's IR videos and then are different than the King videos. Probably better prep for the IR overall, but for me the King class did a better job of prepping me for the written.

Remember, everybody has a different style for learning and YMMV. Regardless, have fun and best of luck. We're all counting on you.
 
Good point from Ghery. Be aware that some programs are written test prep only. There's more to ground school than passing the written test so consider that when you shop around.
 
James331 said:
I've used them PPL-ATP-135 indoc. They are great, their jokes are so bad it laser engraves the material in your brain, which works.



All of my students have used them too, not one has ever failed a written or oral (what those prep you for), nor have I.



I have heard there are places on the interweb where one can find the king programs for a, uhh, major discount. Not saying anymore.



Ether way, I've taken quite a few written and oral tests and had a large number of students, the King program just works.





As for saving on ground school with your CFI, I didn't really do any ground with my guys, just asked how hey we're doing on their videos and mock written tests, once they said they averaged over 80% I'd sign them off, as for real ground school Id do a ground for weight and balance, cross countries and a couple mock check rides at the end of their training. So yeah, if you do the videos it can nearly wipe out having to do ground sessions with your CFI.
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Agreed. I used the Kings for my Private and Instrument, and for in the 90s on the written exams. It also significantly limits the time your instructor needs to spend with you on basic ground school stuff.

It's worth the cost.
 
write-stuff said:
Your CFI is correct. Doing homework is the #1 way to save money in your flight training.

Many people like King and they do provide a good product. But there are other, less expensive options. If you're a reader, you can get everything out of the FAA textbooks, most available for free as PDFs. You'd need a bit of guidance to know what to study and what to ignore, but that option is there.

Before you plop down your money, I suggest you try Gold Seal. You can sign up for free and take a full third of the course without charge. King isn't going to let you do anything like that. Check it out and see how you like it. THEN, decide if you want to pull out the credit card or not.

Your CFI may not be aware, but if you use Gold Seal, he can sign up for free and monitor all your progress. He can give you lesson assignments and even check your quizzes, right down to the exact questions that you missed. Again, you won't get this from King.
Click to expand...

www.ascentgroundschool.com is another free resource that has worked for several of my students.
 
A buddy already had the King PP and IR stuff, so I just borrowed them. Worked great, got a 100 on the PP and a 97 on the IR. The PP stuff I studied in conjunction with my flight and ground lessons. For the IR, I knocked the test out before starting with my CFII.
 
Kings videos are very well put together. The 2 instructors are pretty funny in a few different ways. The women instructor will start laughing out of nowhere in the middle of her statements.

If you don't understand something, just watch the video again.
 
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write-stuff said:
And that makes for a good comparison. Here is the first lesson from Ascent:

http://www.ascentgroundschool.com/i...ground-school/lesson-1-aerodynamics-of-flight

Compare that to this sample from Gold Seal:

http://www.goldsealgroundschool.com/aircraft-basics/

The two don't cover exactly the same material, but it's a great way to see the differences.
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It's good to have options. Some find the narrated video approach a bit tedious and prefer to read. Others like the lecture. Both work just fine when applied to the right individual.
 
LDJones said:
It's good to have options. Some find the narrated video approach a bit tedious and prefer to read. Others like the lecture. Both work just fine when applied to the right individual.
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Well said and excellent advice.
 
Bird Man said:
If you don't understand something, just watch the video again.
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Of good value is the several practice tests, and one can also access the entire database of sample questions. After doing the practice tests, I went thru and answered every question, and when I got one wrong, I went back and re-watched the video lesson pertaining to that question.

Probably overkill, but oh well.
 
Hence, why you did so well on your test!!!

Bill Jennings said:
Of good value is the several practice tests, and one can also access the entire database of sample questions. After doing the practice tests, I went thru and answered every question, and when I got one wrong, I went back and re-watched the video lesson pertaining to that question.

Probably overkill, but oh well.
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If you're not a strong self-learner, the King ground-school might be worth the money. If you're a do-it-yourself kind of learner, there is an abundance of very good "free" material to be had.

I bought the King course for my instrument rating. And, after having done it, I wish I'd gone the self-study route. The only downside you can't just print out your endorsement to take the written. You'll have to convince a CFI or AGI to sign you off.

-----Added-----

With either route, I think the Gleim study guide with CD rom practice tests is worth the price as a fail safe method to "practice" for the written exam.
 
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I used King for IR about a year ago 97%. Videos are a bit corny, but I got good info from them. What really did the trick is the fact that at the real written test, I did not see any surprises that were not in King. Even though there were supposed to be some non-scoring new questions, I do not remember seeing anything not already in the King. There probably were one or two, but it's inconsequential. Took me about 2-3 months(mostly scheduling conflicts) and about 2 weeks of real intensive studying.

Basically, if you can do all King exams, you are pretty well guaranteed to pass the actual test.

As far as Oral and Check-ride, I wouldn't bother. You get far better info from PTS and some other free sources for both.
 
genna said:
As far as Oral and Check-ride, I wouldn't bother. You get far better info from PTS and some other free sources for both.
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For your orals, your instructor should be gouging you up on what to expect.
 
Bill Jennings said:
For your orals, your instructor should be gouging you up on what to expect.
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That is true, and for PPL, that's what happened years ago. For IR, I think I taught my CFII more than he taught me. I was his first student to go to checkride.

I am always more paranoid about the Oral than any other FAA testing(too many potential subjects to remember), and it's completely unsubstantiated. You really have to not know anything to fail Oral it seems to me. At least in anything I've done recently
 
I did Sporty's for the private. I did King for the Instrument. I got 97% on the PPL and 95% on the instrument written tests.

Currently I'm doing Sporty's IFR course(yes, a second one) just as "another" way to learn. Since my airplane is down for a while, I just spend an hour a day studying... I should have a very solid knowledge foundation for the oral. In addition I've got Rod Machado's Instrument Pilot Handbook as well as a copy of FAR/AIM and the IFR PTS book.

You could do it with just a pts, textbook, and youtube videos... there are a lot out there with really good information. I guess I just like to blow money haha.
 
FWIW I used the King Schools course for my IR written and I thought it was a fantastic course.
 
The King schools courses are very good material, and can help shorten the process. Remember that this is fairly dry material being presented in the first place, so to some extent regardless of the presenter you will need to just churn through it.

Personally I used the Gleim courses as I liked the format, but that's preference.

Also, if you want something a little more engaging Rod Machado's Stuff is great material presented in a rather entertaining format.
 
Just about any of the prep tools are tedious - the FAA doesn't draw a distinction between the trivial and the essential, so the prep providers inherited a mess from the Feds. Most of them do about as well as you can expect.

The plus side on the King's courses is they absolutely, positively know what they are talking about, and have refined their explanations and examples over a few decades. I used their IFR course way back - you could just tell they knew it all cold.

They weren't the cheapest course or prep method, but not all that expensive, either; I felt like I got more than my money's worth. So, there are alternatives, but I don't think you'll kick yourself if you the King's course, either.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
To the person commenting on concerns about price... I know quite well the cost of my hobby. Just don't see any reason to go throwing money around in places where it may not be necessary. Good to see how high your scores were on the test - it definitely builds my confidence in my CFI's recommendations.

Thanks again, everyone.
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I will just add that sometimes one can be penny-wise and pound-foolish. The cost of these is just a few hours of one-on-one instruction. That is why I think this is probably not a bad investment. I used them for the IFR ground school, and did well on the written. (93% or 94%, I think.)
 
Thanks everyone! It's very reassuring to hear so much positive feedback regarding King. Lots of other good alternative suggestions here as well. You guys are great!
 
People learn best in different ways. For me it is not with a book. I did my private that way and it was a lot of work for an 87% on the test. I used King for the Instrument and Commercial and felt like I didn't study at all for 94% and 96% respectively.

The videos are dated and cheesy, but the material is accurate and if anything the cheesiness etches the stuff into your brain. It's not great entertainment, it's education and for me it was worth the price tag just in the amount of my own time it saved.
 
YouTube is an invaluable resource. If you search for iLearn2fly channel it has most if not all the King videos as well as most of the Jeppison videos.
 
I used King for both the Private and Instrument. Passed both the first time, but don't remember my score. The most difficult thing is staying awake (at least it was for me!).
 
Your instructor wants you to succeed. A commercial school (King, Jepp, Sportys etc) helps. From the perspective of the CFI -we're trying to save you time. a CFI is an comparatively expensive resource. Use yours for review of the material you've learned.
As for a CFI gouging their students after a checkride? Perfectly reasonable, it allows us to focus on what the DPE has chosen to focus on; which is generally led by what the FAA has chosen to focus on..
Good luck, I used King as well as Sportys & Jepp; they all have pros and cons.
 
spdracer888 said:
John & Martha King's corny jokes worked for me.
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"Wilderness pizza"

Remember that?



King schools was really an experience for me. Something you don't forget. At least, for me anyway.
 
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