How important are ground school studies for future airline pilots?

[aliboooy]

I've heard many different things regarding this topic.
Many people have said many many things and I thought I'd come here to get a more professional opinion on the matter.

I'm curious about this as I admit to finding some topics in ground school quite difficult, especially in subjects like General Navigation and Instrumentation and am a little bit worried I may just scrape through. My concern is not passing exams. It is more about actually understanding what is being taught in the subject.

Please get back to me

[paco]

Good for you for asking - thout this. There are one or two points to be made about this. First of all, would you knowingly get on a plane with a pilot who had just treated the exams as a tick box exercise? It's not fair to your future passengers to skimp your studies.

Secondly, I am dual rated and have used pretty much all of the syllabus at some stage of my career - even ch long and HF in the wilds of Alberta! If you're talking about the JAA exams, they are simply making you learn it before you start rather than as you go along (the UAE tries to model itself on the JAA). What might appear as useless knowledge now will serve as useful background knowledge when you come to do the various type rating courses you will need to do. The problem with the JAA exams is not the syllabus, but the questions and the abysmal way they have been implemented.

Finally, if you plan to run away and join the circus, you will likely gain many licences over the years. It will be a LOT easier on your future resources to learn it properly now, so you just trot it out in the exam rooms, rather than learn yet another pile of dodgy answers.

Good luck!

Phil

[Northbeach]

I'm curious about this as I admit to finding some topics in ground school quite difficult, especially in subjects like General Navigation and Instrumentation and am a little bit worried I may just scrape through. My concern is not passing exams. It is more about actually understanding what is being taught in the subject.

You are talking about different levels of understanding; rote memorization vs exhaustive comprehension. In some things that seem difficult now, reading a screen or text, may become much clearer when you have to opportunity to actually “see” the same thing in flight.


How important are ground school studies for future airline pilots?

How important is a solid foundation for the building built upon it? I would say that ground school studies are extremely important for future airline pilots. The more you know about weather, aircraft mechanical systems, law, physics, weight and balance the better prepared you are to make informed decisions.

Your challenge may be to identify your style of learning and find a system of education that fits your personality, drive and style.

[Northbeach]

Many of us here actually enjoy answering specific questions. And there are some extremely qualified individuals who frequent these forums. So if you have specific questions regarding:


I admit to finding some topics in ground school quite difficult, especially in subjects like General Navigation and Instrumentation and am a little bit worried I may just scrape through.

why not ask them here?

If you have a question, you can safely assume that others are wondering about the same thing.

[Gulfstreamaviator]

I would agree that there are many items in the UK, and thus UAE courses that appear to be worthless, but in general the subjects studied are too detailed. Do you really need to know and draw a spinning gyro, or fully understand the HF prop problems.

I suggest YES. The purpose is to give an in depth, university level education, to Pilots, so that they might actually remember the basics, 20 years later.

The FAA has a different system of teaching, and examination, than the OLD UK CAA methods. I remember writing essays on every subject except perf A. Now the UK, JAA has adopted the 4 box tick method. So in theory it is possible to pass the exam with zero understanding, using scratch card technology.

In UAE, and I suspect UK, there are several suppliers of the answer papers, just to make the exam easier.

[aozc]

Alot of what you will learn will not be used daily of course, but you will sooner or later come in contact with situations where you will have a use for pretty much everything you have learned.

[Sbaker]

Good question.

I find some things a little hard to understand also when reading it in a text book, as I am an active and reflective learner.

there are different types of learners:

- Active & relfective leaners (by DOING it)
- Visual & verbal learners (pictures, diagrams, oral explanations etc)
- Sensing and intuitive learners (like to learn facts, good at attention to detail etc)
- Sequential and Global learners (learn step by step)

For me I found it very difficult to LEARN what I read and UNDERSTAND it. Before I started learning my commercial studies, I had to learn how to learn (excuse the pun).

My advice is find out what type of learner you are (you will also find this makes study alot easier) and then find out the methods that suite that particular learning style - then everything will fall into place.

[pcfire0364]

The more you can learn...the better pilot you become. I think book knowledge is very important. I read aviation training manuals and other books regularly. I do some of them several times till i know the material well. It can only serve you well. I think you owe it to yourself and passengers to be at that level. I attended a professional pilot program and ground school for each rating. I remember guys in the courses that just flew and did the bare minimum. They never opened anything but the test prep books and memorized answers to just get by. I can tell you they might be able to fly...that does not make them safe or have a good level knowledge to draw from. I have flown with some of them..and the lack of knowledge shows.

[mad_jock]

I used to think 90% of it was pish.

After 9 years its down to 40% pish and no doudt after the same time again more of it will be used.

And after having worked with FAA pilots the lack of theory is very obvious. They will make the point that the theory is rubbish and the FAA system is the best. But some FAA pilots are very switched on and have obviously self learned the tech and others talking principles is like banging your head against a brick wall because all the monkey can do is what they have been shown before.

But to be honest now with the online question banks the new output of JAR is heading the same way with 98% pass really not telling you much about what the person really understands.

[Lightning Mate]

A superior pilot is one who is able to use his superior knowledge and skill to avoid situations which would otherwise require the use of that superior knowledge and skill.

Anon

[Halfwayback]

LM

A slightly convoluted version of:

A superior pilot is one who uses his superior knowledge to avoid a situation that would require the use of his superior skill.

HWB

[Nick 1]

"A superior pilot is one who uses his superior judgment to avoid the use of his superior skill." Gordon Cooper.

Nick 1

[Piltdown Man]

I did my exams during 1992, so things have probably changed since then, but... The only bits I really use (and have ever used) are Air Law, Met Practical (and then only the background behind TAF's and METARS) and a little bit of the Theory of Flight. The rest was really a waste of time and effort. Instruction on flower arranging, washing babies, writing in little boxes, setting up internet connections and home decorating would have been a lot more practical. The subjects that I had squeezed down my throat related to flight in the 40's and 50's and some romantics's view of what should be taught. The system I went through was really an elimination process.

With a little effort, the entire syllabus of ground studies could be made interesting, relevant, topical and give you the basis to become a rounded, knowledgable pilot. But that's me being a romantic.

But they are vital if you want a licence. No licence, no job.

PM

[pilotmike]

How important are ground school studies for future airline pilots?
Essential, dear boy, essential!