Preparing to begin my Private Pilot License training

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DaveDC

Filing Flight Plan
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DaveDC
Good evening all. I'm fairly new here as I've been lurking on the site for only a couple of months. So please forgive any mistakes or misunderstandings I have.

I've decided to pursue my life dream of becoming a pilot and have endured the overly complex (even worse for flying in the DC area) administrative process of getting everything in order to fly. I have ordered and received the Gleim Private Pilot Kit. And I am booked for my first discovery flight on Monday next week.

I am very focused on trying to get my license in the next three months, which I know means daily dedication to studying and weekly flying. In order to do this, I was hoping to get ahead of the game with the studying and preparing. Ultimately, I would like to minimize the number of hours I need to get my license.

I have a bunch of books (FAR/AIM, Pilot handbook, FAA Knowledge Test, etc.), but I have no idea where to start. Which should I be reading and focusing on? What should I do to prepare for my first few lessons?

Thanks so much all for your help and advice.
 
Welcome to POA

This is another pilot new to the forum.
He is someone that I think could knock this out in a compressed timeframe.

He is 1 hour in to the actual flying and damn near ready for his written and oral. Might be a good mentor for someone looking to knock it out quickly.

http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80593&highlight=cipio

Important to know the weather will do its best to turn 3 months into 6 months.
 
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Welcome and good luck. The questions you have might best be directed to your instructor, and when s/he recognizes your enthusiasm, commitment and goals, should be able to give good advice.
 
Welcome to POA.

I am inclined to "me too" Mase's advice. You may find that your flight school already has a "kit" that you'll use during training. Mine, for example, was a Cessna Pilot Center and so has a kit that you purchase when you begin training. It has an online component and I did have the ability to "study ahead", that that's not always advantageous if you're so far ahead that it is not being connected to actual flight with your instructor in the cockpit.

I did end up supplementing the pilot kit with some of the written books by ASA, which I read and used alongside my training to help pass the written and prepare for the oral.

Have fun!
 
You haven't even taken a discovery flight yet?

Might be getting a wee bit ahead of yourself.

Ether way, good luck.
 
Dave,
where will you be flying out of?
 
FAA Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. If you want to get ahead, start with this book. Read it for comprehension and anything you don't understand well enough to explain it to your 10 year old, find secondary sources to help make it clear. However, like the other have said, it really doesn't help to get too far ahead of the flying component. Also, get a copy of Stick and Rudder and read it.
 
Welcome,start interviewing flight schools,find an instructor,that shares your enthusiasm . Go take a flight. Good luck.
 
I read thru the PHoAK and AFH before taking my discovery flight.
 
I just have my guys get the king program, a FAR and a chart.
 
Good luck.

If you want to get your license in the 3 month timeframe make sure your instructor will have that availability. You will need to be flying 2-4 flights a week to keep that schedule. Its good if you can do the discovery flight with the instructor you think you will use just to see if you can get along. You will be spending a lot of time together.
 
tsts4 said:
Dave,
where will you be flying out of?
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I am planning on flying out of Potomac Airfield (VKX). If the weather gets better, I should be starting next week.
 
mikeinbama said:
FAA Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. If you want to get ahead, start with this book. Read it for comprehension and anything you don't understand well enough to explain it to your 10 year old, find secondary sources to help make it clear. However, like the other have said, it really doesn't help to get too far ahead of the flying component. Also, get a copy of Stick and Rudder and read it.
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Thanks for the advice. I think this is where I've seen the Stick and Rudder book referenced several times, so it's going to be the next book I order.
 
Good luck and have fun! Its hard to evaluate a potential instructor on one session. Don't be afraid to fire the first one is it isn't working out. Better to readjust early than to get so far in that you feel like youre stuck with a guy for the duration.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Important to know the weather will do its best to turn 3 months into 6 months.
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Tru dat, 6PC.

Welcome to the club, DaveDC.

I have the same aggressive schedule in mind, but more of a 6 month schedule. I planned to fly 2-3 times a week. I've been "officially" training with a CFI for over 3 weeks. I have had exactly one flight in that whole time, because of weather and maintenance. (Although I did take one of those canceled flights and turn it into a ground school opportunity).

I'm expecting a break here soon...but no matter how hard I prepare...no matter how much I know (or think I know)...the one thing I can't control is the weather. It's been a great test of patience, and more importantly, my ability to recognize and understand weather/wind minimums. I don't wait for my instructor to tell me that we need to cancel due to weather. I watch, and watch, and check, and research, and then I send her a note, telling her what I think, and ask her for her thoughts. Every time I thought we were not going to be able to fly, she agreed. That's great validation for me, and that "skill" will be very important when I am on my own. Trust me...it's VERY HARD to cancel lessons when you are this excited!

The one and only time I have flown in the last 3 weeks wasn't even a time slot that was on the schedule. I saw the weather forecasts for the week, realized the potential that all of my other lessons would probably be canceled, and saw a window of nice weather (albeit slightly windy) that existed right before it was supposed to get bad. I contacted my CFI, and she agreed we could make it happen...and we did.

I don't wait for my instructor to tell me what I should be learning. I am learning on my own, and I ask her what I should focus on for the next lesson. I am certain stalls will be part of my next lesson...so you can guess where my focus is right now. :)

If you take control of your training, I believe you can do it reasonably quickly with the support of the right instructor. It sounds like you have the dedication to practice, read, learn, on your own time...so I think things will be great. But what do I know, tho, I only have 2.1 hrs in my book. ;-)

EDIT: BTW...I'm also an SFRA'r... flying out of KFME.

You're going to need this course, so if you haven't taken it yet..it might be something to check off the list: http://www.faasafety.gov/gslac/ALC/courseLanding.aspx?cID=405
 
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DaveDC said:
Which should I be reading and focusing on? What should I do to prepare for my first few lessons?
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You'll get lots of opinions, but this is my personal strategy. I tried to focus on things that I know I will be learning in the first few lessons. Know the basics. How the plane works, what the controls do (and why). If you know what plane you will be flying, download a checklist in advance and start looking it over. Think through pre-flight checks, and watch videos of people doing them. That was all helpful for me. I can't (and didn't) learn 100% of everything on my own like that, but it sure helped when my instructor didn't have to walk me through every single thing.

For example, when we started our "Starting Engine" checklist, and got to this section,

Altimeter ........................ Set
Heading Indicator ......... Set
Artificial Horizon ........... Set

I knew how to set the altimeter, and the heading indicator, because of learning I did on my own before that. I hadn't thought about setting the artificial horizon, so she had to teach me that. I didn't learn everything, but enough to not have to spend precious time on everything.

I guess my point is that while eventually you will need to know everything about flying, you're not likely to be doing VOR navigation on your first lesson...so spend the time thinking about the things you will do right before you go. You should get a syllabus when you get started, and that will help you gauge the order and timing that things are going to come up in your training.

And just to caveat my response... I have had only 2 flights more than you. :) I have yet to prove success, and have only just begun to implement a strategy.
 
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DaveDC said:
I am planning on flying out of Potomac Airfield (VKX). If the weather gets better, I should be starting next week.
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Welcome! I fly my Cessna 182 from VKX. You'll enjoy the airport, and once you get comfortable flying here, you'll be fine anywhere. Don't let the security issues concern you, you'll get used to the routine quick and it's not too bad in the big scheme of things.
 
You have your gleim syllabus, Start with Looking at lesson one (flight and ground) and research the topics for those lessons, I believe it has references in the syllabus as to where to find information on each topic.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
Make sure you can pass your medical before pouring any money into your training. Consult with your doctor before going to an AME
 
jordane93 said:
Make sure you can pass your medical before pouring any money into your training. Consult with your doctor before going to an AME
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Thanks for the heads-up. Fortunately, I decided to complete all of the administrative stuff before the actual flying. So I got my AME physical as one of the first steps. As far as that goes, I'm cleared to fly. ;)
 
brcase said:
You have your gleim syllabus, Start with Looking at lesson one (flight and ground) and research the topics for those lessons, I believe it has references in the syllabus as to where to find information on each topic.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
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I ordered stick and rudder, which should be here tomorrow evening. I'll take tonight and tomorrow to glance through the syllabus and related topics. Do you think stick and rudder is better read before or in conjunction with my training?


Brad Z said:
Welcome! I fly my Cessna 182 from VKX. You'll enjoy the airport, and once you get comfortable flying here, you'll be fine anywhere. Don't let the security issues concern you, you'll get used to the routine quick and it's not too bad in the big scheme of things.
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Awesome! So glad to know there is another pilot on here that knows that airfield. I'm very much looking forward to spending some time over there. The guy who runs the field is quite amusing. Hopefully I'll see you out there.
 
One thing that will take a little load off of your plate is taking the written as soon as you can. I took Gleim's online ground school and knocked the written out before I even stepped in the aircraft. It was nice to be able to focus on what I was learning during each flight lesson, and also to be able to reduce the amount of ground lessons with my instructor. Having the information in your head beforehand also helps certain concepts "click" a little sooner during the actual flight training.
 
DaveDC said:
Thanks for the heads-up. Fortunately, I decided to complete all of the administrative stuff before the actual flying. So I got my AME physical as one of the first steps. As far as that goes, I'm cleared to fly. ;)
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Awesome! Good luck with your training.
 
Alfred Austria said:
One thing that will take a little load off of your plate is taking the written as soon as you can. I took Gleim's online ground school and knocked the written out before I even stepped in the aircraft. It was nice to be able to focus on what I was learning during each flight lesson, and also to be able to reduce the amount of ground lessons with my instructor. Having the information in your head beforehand also helps certain concepts "click" a little sooner during the actual flight training.
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An alternate idea here...

I studied all during my training (I had flown ~25 hours almost 15 years prior the first time I started my PPL so I had the ground school knowledge locked away in my brain somewhere...) and waited until a few weeks before my checkride to take the written. The advantage of this to me was that I didn't have to re-study material that's easy to forget the details. If you are like me and have work, kids, life...it may take you 8 months to from start to finish. If so, then you'll have a cram session at the end preparing for your checkride oral if you opted to get the test done early on and now here you are 8-9 months later and now have to rehash all that to prep for the oral.

Tests don't bother me though and hell, I can list at least 4 sources off the top of my head that provide the exam questions dang near verbatim. It's not like you aren't going to pass the exam. The difference is being able to LEARN it and more importantly apply those concepts during your training.

So, depending on where you are in the process it may not benefit you to try to hammer all of it out early - it may in fact be better to learn while you go so that you can learn and understand the principles in real time in a very practical way. I know for a lot of folks - they learn better that way vs just memorizing answers but not really understanding them in a practical sense.

I mean, who takes the bar exam and then goes to law school? :)

Either way - best of luck!
 
kenjr said:
An alternate idea here...

I studied all during my training (I had flown ~25 hours almost 15 years prior the first time I started my PPL so I had the ground school knowledge locked away in my brain somewhere...) and waited until a few weeks before my checkride to take the written. The advantage of this to me was that I didn't have to re-study material that's easy to forget the details.
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I have to agree here. I feel like I could take my written today and get a passing score, but a large majority of it would be rote memorization. That's okay. That's how I got my General Class HAM license. I crammed for a couple of weeks, walked in, and took the Tech class test, passed it, and then immediately took the General class test. (You have to pass the Tech before you are eligible to take the General.) Anyway...I'm now a General Class HAM operator. BUT...a very large majority of the information that I studied for the test...is now forgotten. For me, that stuff goes into short term storage, and is purged nearly immediately after I am done with it. Only the things that I have actually applied in some context seem to stick with me.

For my PPL, I'm finding that the concepts I have learned get better infused in my brain when I have opportunity to apply them. Then it's not just rote memorization, it's actually KNOWLEDGE. That's where I would like to be when I take the test. Less chance of brain freeze that way. Plus, you can't depend on rote memorization for the oral practical, because you don't know how the examiner will be asking the question. If they don't ask it in a way you memorized it, then you may not even connect the dots.

I attended a Pilot Clinic with the Civil Air Patrol a couple of months ago. They were talking about how they have such a high pass rate with Cadets and the PPL written/oral exams. One tip that was given, which made perfect sense to me, was to wait to take your written until after you have completed at least two cross-countries. Why...it gives you opportunity to put a large majority of the knowledge needed for the exam to practical use. That helps you really learn it...not just short-term memorize it.

Don't get me wrong, I am going to cram like a fool before I take the written, but I plan on holding out as long as I can so that I can actually use as much as I can before I actually go in. Then I'll bridge the gaps with rote memorization.

Either way...if you pass, you pass. It doesn't matter to the FAA if you take it up front or later, as long as you take it before your checkride. I personally plan to wait a while. However....when I first started my journey...I actually considered knocking out the written before even starting my formal training with a CFI.

I think Alfred Austria has the right advice, tho...but I'd change it just slightly:

One thing that will take a little load off of your plate is studying for the written as soon as you can.... Having the information in your head beforehand also helps certain concepts "click" a little sooner during the actual flight training.
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Studying it beforehand helps you during actual flight training, and actual flight training helps you remember it...
 
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