Ground School for the distant learner

[AOB9]

I'm a "mature" PPL student in Ireland. I'm really enjoying my training but the ground school options are a non-runner for me. I can either study full time for 2 weeks or part-time 3 nights per week for 8 weeks. These are good options offered by my flight school but I am self-employed and simply cannot make the mental/time commitment at the moment. I'm having to work really hard at keeping my business alive which has to be top priority, (savings from a previous economic time frame are paying for my Flight Training)

On the plus side I achieved all of my qualifications through distance learning, mostly the Open University. Home study suits me for many reasons and I wonder if there are any alternative options available to physically being present in a classroom environment. I have the Pooley selection of manuals but as we all know simply "reading text" is not a good learning method. I need access to the exam format, past papers (if possible) , mock exams etc.

Has anybody here passed PPL associated exams "without" attending a classroom based groundschool?

Thanks for reading

[xj8driver]

Yes - it was a question of getting my head in the books, going through the PPL Confuser numerous times (I believe there's something similar available now), and asking specific questions of my instructor if there was anything I didn't understand or needed explaining in greater detail. I also had the Oxford Aviation CDs to look at.

With steady, regular self-study, and asking questions pre- and post-flight, you'll probably find that you won't need dedicated ground school sessions. Alternatively, you could always tag a classroom session on to the end of (or before) a flying lesson.

Good luck with your training.

[G CEXO]

Has anybody here passed PPL associated exams "without" attending a classroom based groundschool?

Yes, did the PPL groundschool self study a few years ago and can be done if you have the discipline. The groundschool isn't difficult at all, more or less GCSE level so don't think you'll have any problems. Took me around 3-4 weeks per subject part time.

[Lister Noble]

I did groundschool but also used Airquiz on the internet,it was good but don't know if it's still going.?

It is

AirQuiz - Online Practice Examinations for Pilots! (http://www.airquiz.com/)

[The500man]

3-6 weeks per book should be enough part-time. If you're using the Thom books, do the questions as you go and sort out the stuff you didn't quite get the first time, before proceeding. At the end of the subject move onto the questions in the PPL Confuser as they are more or less identical to the real ones.

Personally I found the PPL books got easier, Air Law was the most boring and Met was the least clear, after that it was dead simple.

[AOB9]

Thank you all for these really encouraging responses. Although I have the advantage of being familiar with home study I was concerned about possibly losing out on group situations/discussions. Some areas of study really benefit from this type of interaction. Of course, as somebody pointed out, it will still be possible to book some ground school time with an instructor if/when required.:ok:

[rans6andrew]

when I got my first flying licence I sort of got the ground school drip fed to me as I went along. Most lessons had a short classroom brief (20 mins) and a proper de-brief and when a lesson was cancelled I got a good hour of one to one with the instructor, for free. I did my part by reading the Thom books, cover to cover, and asking appropriate questions whenever I saw my instructor. The only subject that was a bit "dry" was the Air Law. As luck would have it I was grounded for a month after having surgery on my hand and I signed on to another flying school for a Saturday morning intense Air Law lesson, followed by sitting the test on the same day. Luckily it was all multi choice as my normal writing hand was strapped across my chest so essay writing would have been out.

I would guess that anyone who can cope with OU style distance learning would do well in the exams by studying on their own.

Rans6....