Insights

Fifty years ago, the stack of publications I had to study for private pilot certification was only two inches tall. Today, that stack is at least 10 inches tall. One of today’s publications is the commercially published, two-inch-thick Federal Aviation Regulations/Aeronautical Information Manual and when new students

glance through those pages, their usual reaction is “Good grief, what am I getting into?” Now add the assigned textbooks and the mandatory reference publications: pilot’s operating handbook (POH), Airport/Facility Directory—which some call “the little green monster”—Aviation Weather Services manual, and Aeronautical Chart Users Guide. Those reference publications represent the cornerstones for building the proper level of knowledge for private pilot certification, and yes, the stack is at least 10 inches tall after you add the textbooks.

New students must realize that considerable study is required, but the lure of flying is what brought them to this point. They should enjoy every minute of that endeavor. Nothing, absolutely nothing beats the sheer joy of flying.

One element that helps a person learn is becoming familiar with the next step, before being exposed to it in a briefing room or the airplane. So do yourself a favor. Put that stack of intimidating publications aside, and purchase one of the Internet-based ground-school courses. Use your computer and Google “private pilot ground school.” Check the various sources and ask your pilot friends, flight instructor, or flight school representative for recommendations. Once enrolled, review the course so that you get familiar with the overall content. This is an enjoyable way to gain an understanding of what you need to know and do for private pilot certification.

One often-asked question is whether or not you should do this before or during flight training. That depends on how you learn best. Some individuals want total immersion before they start flying; others like to do it simultaneously. Just realize that you are not studying this material just to pass a test. You are studying for the long term in order to become a competent, safe pilot and maintain that degree of competency for as long as you fly.

During the postflight briefing, a good flight instructor will always tell you what will occur on the following lesson. Refer to that requirement in your ground-school program and in whatever textbooks you’ve purchased. After that lesson, again review the material and prepare for the next lesson. Repetition is how you develop deeply ingrained habit patterns and knowledge, essential requirements for proper flight training.

Retention is improved when you write things down and talk about them. Writing down the steps for making a good landing and then telling your dog or cat how to do it actually makes a lot of sense. Maximum retention occurs when you explain something out loud as you do it, one of the four important steps in the Telling and Doing flight instruction technique: Instructor tells, instructor does. Student tells, instructor does. Student tells, student does. Student does, instructor evaluates.

Your first reward will be your first solo flight, an experience that you will never forget. Most instructors will have you solo on two additional flights—often referred to as the supervised solo flights, which complete stage one of your private pilot course.

Your studies will now lead you toward advanced maneuvers and cross-country flying with the related factors of navigation charts, flight planning, radio and GPS navigation, and meteorology. Your ground-school program and assigned texts prepare you for this enjoyable phase of flight training. Your reward will be your first solo cross-country flight—another memorable event—that will complete stage two of your private pilot course.

Now it’s time to shift gears and change your thinking. You are starting stage three, which will prepare you for your FAA-administered knowledge and practical tests for private pilot certification. Go back to that stack of intimidating publications and concentrate on the reference publications I mentioned. No longer are they intimidating because you’ll easily recognize the areas you are responsible for, which means you can ignore much of the content. From the standpoint of required material, that 10-inch stack has now been reduced to a five-inch stack, and that’s why I told you to put it aside when you started and ease into the world of aviation with an Internet-based ground-school program.

Using that methodology will allow you to maximize your enjoyment during training and avoid the frustration of not knowing what to study—or, even worse, to learn that you spent time studying the wrong material.