PPL training DVD's - your thoughts?

[Alex757]

Any body purchased/watched one of these? what did you think? useful, not useful, worth the money?

I am looking at this one:

http://images.flightstore.co.uk/images/products/zoom/1334756073-78117900.jpg

The Complete JAR PPL Flying Course DVD by 'John Pullen' from Flightstore.co.uk (http://www.flightstore.co.uk/pilot-training-c3/the-complete-jar-ppl-flying-course-dvd-p1669)


It's a lot of money, but if it was beneficial this isn't a concern.

Thanks,
Alex

[southport]

Biggest waste of money you will ever spend at £118 I wouldn’t give £10. Ibought the IR video by John Pullen & a friend bought this one as he wasjust starting his PPL last year.

The IR was an even bigger waste of money than this. I watched it with him& found it useless, dull & really, really boring.

I then got the ASA instrument test prep for £25 cheaper with 6 cd's and eventhough it was FAA based, it was great & explained in detail with good CGI graphic’s,really helped me get a good grasp & understanding on instrument flying.

I know you will be looking for UK stuff but in my opinion this is massivelyoverpriced & some of the ASA is 66% cheaper & may well be betteralthough I’ve not watched any PPL vids by them so may be better to ask otherswho have.

I’d ask about the ASA Barry Schiff as this is only £39.95. He features inthe IR version and was very good in that

[taxistaxing]

Not used it, or experienced it, but would suggest that it is massively over priced for a training video. I bought something similar when I did my PPL but it was around £10 - £15.

You'd be better off buying MS flight sim and learning about the effects of the controls through that. You'll have enough change left over for a half hour flying lesson in a real aircraft!

[Jude098]

I got a copy of the Kings Schools GST FAA videos and the DVD from Pullen off ebay.

The Kings School videos go into much more depth.....do you really have to explain every single manouvre for the FAA GST before, during and after you do it? If you do then its makes the JAR ppl seem like a doddle. Not that it is if you know what I mean.

The Pullen one was not bad.

Actually thought they both had some helpful and useful bits and glad I watched them before my actual test.

Wouldn't have paid full price for any DVD.......just purchased off ebay brand new Oxford Night Qual and IMC DVS for £15!

[Steve6443]

I agree with the comments on MS Flight Sim insofar that you can also fly lessons from the integrated flight school program but as with everything, there are limitations - most of the FIs I know hate having to teach people who've spent more than 5 hours flying MS Flight Simulator because usually they have picked up some habits which are difficult to eliminate.

Concerning the DVD, I would question the value at £120 - what benefit can you get? For example, seeing what to do on a DVD and actually doing it whilst in control are two different things - I'd prefer to use the money towards a real lesson....... At £10 on eBay, that's different, it would be an aid to learning but at that price I doubt very much you can beat hands on lessons....

[Alex757]

Thanks for all the replies guys! I too was skeptical about the price, which is why I was asking :) Could anybody recommend some better value/quality dvd's? I'd love to sign up for my PPL, but have a little (well, big) funding issue!

Been using FSX for years :)

[B2N2]

Two words: Google and YouTube.
Every video known to man has been put on YouTube.
I know it's FAA but you can down load books for free from the FAA website

http://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/airmen/test_standards/pilot/media/FAA-S-8081-5F.pdf
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aviation/pilot_handbook/)

Still it's not substitute for proper instruction from a real Instructor but it will give you a good basis of understanding.

Get a weekend and holiday job and you should be able to save enough for your PPL in two years time.
You can't get a license until you're 17 anyway.

[taxistaxing]

Agree with what B2N2 has said above. You can log time from 14 bit if funds are tight it makes sense to wait until you're 16 or 17 before training seriously. If you do it in dribs and drabs it will add to the total time you need to get the license, and therefore the cost!

[pilot in command]

Do not buy! I got the skills test DVD for Christmas last year and I thought it would be really good as it was described as taking you through each maneuver and explaining what the examiner wants to see.

Well it lasts for 27 minutes (or something like that if I remember correctly) and lacks so much detail. I got to the end and thought there must be more to the DVD than what I had seen but there wasn't. I wrote to John to say how disappointed I was and after many emails I finally got a refund.

Kind school DVDs are much better! :-)

[IrishJason]

Crap. even them cd-rom's from oxford etc are the same.. all useless. well to me anyway

[newaviator]

I purchased some DVD's and CD's etc to help with ground school for exams and found them even more confusing in some respects :ugh: Although they helped in some subjects , it was more beneficial to have ground school with my flying school instructors who could explain things easier - and clearer and very tolerant of my constant questions - if you dont grasp it ..... ask:O

And as someone else mentioned Youtube , brilliant for some ground school subjects I'll concur with that :D

I found the King DVD's easier than Oxford to be honest

[hedgefund]

I found the Oxford series did help with most of my ground school. I used only the Oxford series and PPL confuser. The books to me were too tedious.

As for actually flying DVDs, I'd rather spend the money in the aircraft and get my instructor to do a mock test.

[Joe86]

... so out of interest, who provides the best PPL training software?

I will finally be starting my PPL shortly and will have at least an hour maybe more a night to revise. I have a few oxford training CD ROMs which I bought cheap from eBay... but I find them dull and normally start daydreaming within 5 minutes!

What would people recommend?

Or is most of the theory something you would pick up during PPL training and interaction with your instructor? Worth the cost?

[bravobravo74]

I haven't seen this DVD but if the Instrument Rating one is anything to go by then I'd expect this to be a compete waste of money. I can only describe the IR offering as 'offensively poor' as it has zero educational value and its main feature is a miserable-looking chap in a simulator.

[nickbrettfly]

I disagree - the DVD is excellent. It is professional and well put together. Probably the best training DVD out there- so if you're looking for a DVD, this is it.

Instead of piecemeal flying on FlightSim on its own, teaching yourself bad habits- sitting down and watching this back to back and taking notes is excellent. Better than a scatty approach using Youtube and whatnot.

Plus for the cost of the DVD, you'll be saving yourself air time in that you can kill bad habits and practice what you learn from the DVD on your PC.
Ideal for when you need to brush up in the future too.