Private Pilot Training Question

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Aspiringpilot

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Aspiringpilot12
Hello, so I am brand new to the site and I came here to get opinions from people who have been there and done that and to gather some advice from you guys, so any help would be great. This post is more of an opinion to the person answering, but again any feedback would be great. So I am finishing up my last few years of college here soon. I have always been fascinated with aviation and as soon as I had a discovery flight, I was instantly hooked. It has been a few years since then and my passion/desire has only grown. I met up with a flight school and they seem very professional and willing to help me out to get started! They informed me that this February they are holding a ground school for PPL, and upon completing it I would take the written exam, and then this summer I would begin flight training. They said that this doesn't come around a lot. Now I really want to do this, but there are too many factors that my parents, and even myself have been considering. I have to work 40 hrs a week this summer (4 ten hour days, 3 days off). I could easily still do flight training, but then I am required by my college to take one summer class, and since I am going into my senior year next year, I cannot just push it off. I am also concerned of waiting until next summer because when I graduate I plan on moving out and looking for jobs in possibly other states with my girlfriend. So if you're still reading, what should I do? Should I hold of until next summer and miss out on the opportunity of the ground school an possibly make it harder to even just get my PPL? Or should I just give it a shot and do it this summer? Or am I over thinking this? I really just don't want to wait any longer to get my PPL because I want to make this my career someday. I know ill probably have to get a job to be able to pay for my licenses but at least I would have my PPL. What do you guys think? Any help would be great, and sorry for this long downed out post.
 
Aspiringpilot said:
Or am I over thinking this?
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You’re over thinking it. You do NOT have to attend a formal ground school to be successful during flight training.

Here’s my advice: Begin flight training this summer and receive ground lessons before each flight (1 on 1) with your CFI and purchase a Private Pilot Training kit that has the required ground knowledge to study on your own. As you progress through training and the ground material you’ll be ready to take the written shortly before the practical checkride.
 
Get your medical,make sure you have the funds. You can do a self study for the written. Then set a schedule ,and start flying. Hope this helps.
 
Slow down... First of all, a ground school is not even required to take the written test. You could take one of the many on line test prep courses, or self study with a course like Gleim or Sporty"s and take the test.
Since you are already in an active study environment you already have study habits and discipline to do it on your own. You can start flying whenever YOU have the time and financial wherewithal. Do keep in mind that a schedule of 2 or 3 (no more!) flights a week will be the most efficient. Any less than once a week will begin to show diminishing returns. There are training variables due to two different sets of training regulations that lead to the same license. We can help you sort out the pluses and minuses of each.
Asking questions here at POA is a good start. Also explore the FAA website. LOTS of good FREE info:
www.faa.gov In fact, everything you need to know to pass the written test is there for free.

Welcome, and keep in touch....
john barkin
 
You can download all the study materials you will need for free from the FAA website. Start self-study and take the test after you’re ready.
 
I believe a formal ground school is very worthwhile. Here's a thought. Colleges give credit for the various pilot certificates. Ask an advisor about taking the GS vs a college course. Probably won't work though because it's not "blessed" by the school.

But like everyone stated, plenty of ways to get the ground school portion accomplished. Good luck.
 
Thank you all for all of the responses! I appreciate the input as well as some helpful tips you have provided me. I guess I just have to stop overthinking it, and figure out what works best for me.
 
jnbcfi said:
Slow down... First of all, a ground school is not even required to take the written test. You could take one of the many on line test prep courses, or self study with a course like Gleim or Sporty"s and take the test.
Since you are already in an active study environment you already have study habits and discipline to do it on your own. You can start flying whenever YOU have the time and financial wherewithal. Do keep in mind that a schedule of 2 or 3 (no more!) flights a week will be the most efficient. Any less than once a week will begin to show diminishing returns. There are training variables due to two different sets of training regulations that lead to the same license. We can help you sort out the pluses and minuses of each.
Asking questions here at POA is a good start. Also explore the FAA website. LOTS of good FREE info:
www.faa.gov In fact, everything you need to know to pass the written test is there for free.

Welcome, and keep in touch....
john barkin
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Thank you for all of this, I really appreciate it and I think I just gotta not over think this. Ill definitely keep in touch.
 
You're over thinking it. Formal ground school is good to start with but in my experience it's much better to learn both ground and flight time side by side. Keep in mind actual flight training can be very time consuming and it will require some heavy time commitment. Having a full time job and doing flight training will be challenging. Possible but def challenging.
 
get your medical, apply for a student license.

i dont reccomend faa.gov for training.. unless your a computer

get the sportys private pilot course($200), buy a E6b app($20) for your tablet, buy the FAA/FAR AIM app($10), and go from there.

once you start to fly buy ForeFlight. and fly at least 3 times a week.

the school your talking about sounds like there doing a cram for the test, dont remember anything after i take the test and pass deal..is it a 2 or 3 day all day thing for 700 bucks? dont do it. remember, once you have 40 hours to finally take your private pilots license your DPE will be asking you alot of questions you may have forgotten since the last test you took was 5 months ago. and guess what...you will fail. i can guarantee you this ground school that only comes around so often class happens more often than it doesn't.

shop around at flight schools. remember. YOU are the employer. THEY work for you. find a flight school you like and go up with several instructors. pick the one you like. trust me they dont care if you play favorites. and i dont suggest buying block time if it cost over 1000 dollars per 10 hours for dry rates. infact id probably walk away quickly

most importantly, have fun, good luck, and were are you located?
 
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The advice of getting you medical done cannot be understated... Without it, everything else is moot... Then just start flying... If your school is a 141 school the ground portion is very much a part of the curriculum and will meld into you flight training seamlessly. If it is not a 141 school, as the others stated, you can get the ground-stuff anywhere, on line, in text, in a training kit from Sporty's etc, etc, etc... Your instructor will probably give you study material to look at between flights... be sure to get it done or the flight portion will be less effective because you won't have the foundation required for the lesson...Plus it can be frustrating to your instructor if you don't seem committed by not being prepared... Other than that, jump in ASAP!
 
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First thing, download this free 70-page ebook. It will answer just about any question you could possibly have.
No sign-up required. Just click and download.

www.FreeFlyBook.com
 
write-stuff said:
First thing, download this free 70-page ebook. It will answer just about any question you could possibly have.
Click to expand...

Unless you have questions about a Sport Pilot certificate.

For example, this is the only mention of light sport aircraft I could find in the book:
LSA (light sport) airplanes frequently use smaller engines manufactured by companies like Rotax. These may be two-stroke or four-stroke engines.
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The ebook is pretty good for PP, but it only slightly mentions SP in passing. No complaints about something that's free, of course, but it would be nice if Gold Seal would revise the book to be a little more complete.
 
I used an online course from Jepp. (Which I wouldn't recommend, BTW.) I did it all before I started flight training, just to familiarize myself with the content. Then I went through it again during training, taking my written about halfway through my flight training. I felt like going through the content before hand helped me understand principles being explained to me during training more quickly. And things that didn't make sense when studying before flying suddenly clicked during flight training. Then going back through again, most of the content made a lot more sense than the first time through.
 
Half Fast said:
The ebook is pretty good for PP, but it only slightly mentions SP in passing. No complaints about something that's free, of course, but it would be nice if Gold Seal would revise the book to be a little more complete.
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Actually, probably 90% of the ebook would apply to Sport Pilots as well, but the title of the thread is "Private Pilot Training Question".

And for anyone prepping for a Private Pilot checkride, Gold Seal is hosting a live stream on Tuesday, January 23. This will be a mock checkride with a real applicant. Sitting in the examiner seat will be Todd Shellnutt, AOPA's 2015 Flight Instructor of the Year. Downloads for charts and documents are available so that you can follow along with the action. Go here to check it out:
www.GoldSealGroundSchool.com/LIVE

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write-stuff said:
Actually, probably 90% of the ebook would apply to Sport Pilots as well, but the title of the thread is "Private Pilot Training Question".
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True, and I agree it's beyond the OP's thread title, but there's SP stuff missing. It's not that what's there is not applicable; rather, the book is incomplete. For example, what I quoted above is the only mention of LSAs. Nothing about the 1320lb GTW limit, nothing about the two seat limit, etc.

And there are some conflicts. For example, the ebook says, "The checkride is broken down into two parts: (1) the oral exam, and (2) the flight portion. It is defined by the ACS and... " but this is not true for SP. The new ACS is for PP only, whereas SP is still tested to the old PTS.

Even for the student who intends to continue to PP and beyond, the SP ticket can still be a good option for those who might face a delay on their medical. One can earn the SP certificate and be flying while the medical is working its way through a lengthy SI process, for example.

It seems misleading to state that the book answers nearly every question a prospective student could have when it omits the SP certificate. Why not revise the book to make it more complete? Or at least, when recommending the book, tell prospects that it does not address unique requirements and limitations pertaining to SP?
 
Half Fast said:
Even for the student who intends to continue to PP and beyond, the SP ticket can still be a good option for those who might face a delay on their medical. One can earn the SP certificate and be flying while the medical is working its way through a lengthy SI process, for example.
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You can still be flying and work on most of your PP stuff (cross countries, etc.) while waiting on an SI. It will just sort of mix up the normal order of things. If you go for SP and then PP you'll need to do two practical exams with a DPE, two written tests, etc.

I'm working on my PP and I took an intro flight in an Icon A5 last week and I considered the idea of just taking a week or so off from work and powering through to get an SP with seaplane rating as an interim step, but it looks like it would be a mess because of the reasons I stated above. On the other hand if I get the PP first then all I need is around 8 hours of training and a CFI endorsement to add on the sport seaplane. I could be wrong, so someone correct me if I am, but that's my understanding.
 
Steve Kanefsky said:
You can still be flying and work on most of your PP stuff (cross countries, etc.) while waiting on an SI. It will just sort of mix up the normal order of things. If you go for SP and then PP you'll need to do two practical exams with a DPE, two written tests, etc.

I'm working on my PP and I took an intro flight in an Icon A5 last week and I considered the idea of just taking a week or so off from work and powering through to get an SP with seaplane rating as an interim step, but it looks like it would be a mess because of the reasons I stated above. On the other hand if I get the PP first then all I need is around 8 hours of training and a CFI endorsement to add on the sport seaplane. I could be wrong, so someone correct me if I am, but that's my understanding.
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All depends on timeline.

I may (or may not) get my Rec or PP ticket. If I do, it may not be for a year or two. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying flying with my SP cert. I can take up my wife or my son, or fly by myself, and do as much flying as I like, anytime I like, anywhere I want to go.

If you're part way through a PP ticket and waiting on a medical, though, you can't solo. If that's a few weeks, probably no worry. If it's a year, maybe it'd be nice to have the SP. All depends upon the individual situation and goals.

My goal is to fly and enjoy it. No intention of ever doing it for a living. Someday it might be nice to fly planes a bit bigger than an LSA, and if so I'll tack on a higher certification. For now, no need.
 
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Here are a bunch of things in my PP syllabus that come after solo which you could still work on even if you're not able to solo yet. I think these could keep most people busy for more than a few weeks on the typical training schedule:
  • short-field takeoffs and landings
  • soft-field takeoffs and landings
  • basic instrument maneuvers
  • VOR navigation
  • GPS navigation
  • autopilot operations
  • dual VFR cross country
  • night operations
  • dual VFR cross country with autopilot integration
  • dual night cross country
 
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