Jeppesen Manuals
Dr. Ray,
I have done my groundschool with Atlantic Flight Training in Coventry, and was issued with the full set of Jeppesen books. There has been much talk about the fact that there are in some cases 4000 less pages in the Jeppesen manuals and that because of this, they are not as good.
From personal experience I would totally disagree, as they have covered every area in full detail and have led me to pass my exams no problem. I too looked at the Oxford books and while I agree that they are better for Q&A's and other resources, they can go into too much detail sometimes and end up confusing the whole subject.
However, from a different perspective, the Jeppesen books such as IFR & VFR Communications aren't really that informative and CAP413 issued by the CAA is really adequate enough to pass the exam.
I do also agree with others in the fact that if your son is enrolling on a full time or distance learning course he should be getting training materials and books included. It is also worth a note that the books alone aren't really all you need to pass the exams, good tuition and assessments or progress tests are equally as important.
It is a lot of money to spend so I can understand you want to do so wisely, and while I thoroughly reccommend the Jeppesen books I would advise you to wait for the second editions which I believe are due out soon.
I think the Jeppesen manuals prove that quality, not quantity, is the key for a success in the JAA exams, but everyone is different and some prefer to learn what they need to where as others like a broader understanding. Both however, follow the same LO's (learning objectives). Personal choice.
Kind Regards,
CVT Pilot.