PPL Ground School
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: miles away
Posts: 47
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
PPL Ground School
Hi all,
I'm looking at doing the PPL with Fly EFT in Florida this summer. They don't do a PPL groundschool, so you study at home yourself before turning up to do your flying. Then they sign you off for your JAA exams.
In the experience of those who have gone this route, is it advisable to do a good groundschool at home first, before heading the to US to do the hours?
Any feedback from those who've done the PPL or other stages at EFT would also be appreciated.
Cheers,
SB.
I'm looking at doing the PPL with Fly EFT in Florida this summer. They don't do a PPL groundschool, so you study at home yourself before turning up to do your flying. Then they sign you off for your JAA exams.
In the experience of those who have gone this route, is it advisable to do a good groundschool at home first, before heading the to US to do the hours?
Any feedback from those who've done the PPL or other stages at EFT would also be appreciated.
Cheers,
SB.
Hi SB,
A good set of books is what you need, plus the PPL confuser. The AFE Q & A simplifier is also a good help.
I did ground school for nearly all the subjects and got my Air Law done. I can honestly say it was helpful at the time but I couldn't remember much of it when I finished and when it came to winter time when I was doing my exams.
In the end I read each book cover to cover, went through the CBTs and then trained on the confuser to make sure I understood and passed the exams.
The thing is, that some parts of the modules will be more understandable once you've actually flown and performed the exercise. For instance, Navigation. It's not until you actually use whizz wheels, VORs and fill in plogs that you'll be more comfortable with doing the exam.
Anyone with even a half decent memory will be able to pass the exams (my attention span is quite short), but the confuser helps massively and trains the answers into you.
Good luck, it's a massively rewarding and enjoyable experience
A good set of books is what you need, plus the PPL confuser. The AFE Q & A simplifier is also a good help.
I did ground school for nearly all the subjects and got my Air Law done. I can honestly say it was helpful at the time but I couldn't remember much of it when I finished and when it came to winter time when I was doing my exams.
In the end I read each book cover to cover, went through the CBTs and then trained on the confuser to make sure I understood and passed the exams.
The thing is, that some parts of the modules will be more understandable once you've actually flown and performed the exercise. For instance, Navigation. It's not until you actually use whizz wheels, VORs and fill in plogs that you'll be more comfortable with doing the exam.
Anyone with even a half decent memory will be able to pass the exams (my attention span is quite short), but the confuser helps massively and trains the answers into you.
Good luck, it's a massively rewarding and enjoyable experience
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: miles away
Posts: 47
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
AndoniP, thanks for that. Very helpful. Not sure why they moved my post. Trawled a lot of threads looking for decent info on EFT (of which there is not much) and PPL groundschool (same).
Flight school looking for 900 euro for groundschool full time, two weeks, 66 hours. 450 euro part time, eight weeks, 48 hours.
Maybe I am missing the obvious once again, but this makes no sense to me. Experiences from elsewhere?
Flight school looking for 900 euro for groundschool full time, two weeks, 66 hours. 450 euro part time, eight weeks, 48 hours.
Maybe I am missing the obvious once again, but this makes no sense to me. Experiences from elsewhere?
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Bahamas / Sweden / Ireland / Australia
Age: 48
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I did my PPL with EFT last October but I sat all of my written exams plus the RT practical before going. I would definitely recommend that you try to do this if possible. If not all exams then at least get some of them out of the way. As mentioned already, some of the exams are a bit harder with no practical experience but it is possible to pass them all and this really takes a huge weight off your shoulders when you get to Florida for the fun flying part.
There were quite a few people training at the same time as me who were locked in their rooms studying every night and stressing out about the written exams for the first week of their training. I am glad I was not one of them.
As far as ground school, I self studied for the most part. I was living in Sweden at the time but was doing a UK PPL so I ended up flying to Wales to do all of my exams over 3 days with Cambrian Aero Club (PPL Ground Programme2). The course included some training material which I was sent in advance. This basically consisted of a set of flash card style print-outs which covered all the important bits from the theory books but cut out all the fluff and were very helpful for me. Prior to each exam a revision session was held to cover some last minute important items and to give me a chance to question anything I hadn't understood from my self study. Again this was very helpful as I did all this prior to getting in an airplane. The length of these revision sessions was dependent on how comfortable I was with a particular exam and it was all pretty flexible to suit me (we didn't stick strictly to the agenda in the URL I included above).
Obviously there were costs associated with my trip to the UK, accommodation in Wales and the course itself but I weighed all this up against the thoughts of having to do flight training and exams while in Florida and decided it was worth it. I was also in the fortunate position where time rather than cost was my driving factor so I wanted to make sure I removed any possibility of not completing my PPL while I was in Florida.
Feel free to PM me if you want any more details.
Cheers,
HF
There were quite a few people training at the same time as me who were locked in their rooms studying every night and stressing out about the written exams for the first week of their training. I am glad I was not one of them.
As far as ground school, I self studied for the most part. I was living in Sweden at the time but was doing a UK PPL so I ended up flying to Wales to do all of my exams over 3 days with Cambrian Aero Club (PPL Ground Programme2). The course included some training material which I was sent in advance. This basically consisted of a set of flash card style print-outs which covered all the important bits from the theory books but cut out all the fluff and were very helpful for me. Prior to each exam a revision session was held to cover some last minute important items and to give me a chance to question anything I hadn't understood from my self study. Again this was very helpful as I did all this prior to getting in an airplane. The length of these revision sessions was dependent on how comfortable I was with a particular exam and it was all pretty flexible to suit me (we didn't stick strictly to the agenda in the URL I included above).
Obviously there were costs associated with my trip to the UK, accommodation in Wales and the course itself but I weighed all this up against the thoughts of having to do flight training and exams while in Florida and decided it was worth it. I was also in the fortunate position where time rather than cost was my driving factor so I wanted to make sure I removed any possibility of not completing my PPL while I was in Florida.
Feel free to PM me if you want any more details.
Cheers,
HF
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Exeter
Age: 48
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
might want to look at CATS as they are giving PPL theory for free on their website
I noticed when logging in the other day that CATS are giving the PPL theory course for free on their website with a free question bank too.
My dad has just started using it as he's starting his PPL now.
stu
My dad has just started using it as he's starting his PPL now.
stu
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Denmark
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Im currently doing my PPL ground school in Bournemouth with Derek Davidson. Its a solid week but well worth it. Im also going over to the states later in the year to either EFT or AAA. PM if you like. cheers
