I used Jeremy Pratt's stuff...under the AFE umbrella I believe.

A good set of books and the PPL confuser is what you need.

Amazon can save you a fortune in this pursuit.

Likewise, I found JP's AFE books very good some years ago, nicely written, well presented diagrams/illustrations/photos.

Trevor Thom's books are good but apparantly some find them a bit 'dry' and a little dull. I've only used book 5 of his series (RNAV/IMC) and thought it was fine. both of these (& is there another set???) have their fans and detractors.

Def. get a confuser (will make exams alot easier) but make sure it's a current one if you are buying from Amazon as some sellers try to palm off old editions. I was looking for an IMC confuser last year and a fair few vendors were selling the previous one rather than the latest edition.

Amazon is a good move tho' as the confuser was a few pounds cheaper and the latest TThom Vol.5 was £8 cheaper, brand new but 'seconds' just because it had a tiny black mark on one edge for god's sake!!!!!

Have used AFE and Trevor Thom books:
 

I purchased the AFE / Jeremy Pratt books and my colleague who is also learning to fly has the Trevor Thom books.

I find the AFE books much, much easier to read and to understand.
Another plus of the AFE books is that there are only 5 books to cover all of the exams for the PPL compared with 7 for the Trevor Thom (which makes them cheaper as well).

A word on the PPL Confuser:
It is an invaluable tool for passing the PPL exams. I am told that unfortunately the author has died and the copyright for the book is in probate, hence the current version of the book is out of print.
Check on ebay and make sure you get the current version (Edition 9, I think)

The PPL confuser is brilliant after reading the books, as it gets you thinking (trained up) on 95% of what you will be asked in the exams. If you get a question wrong, simply go back and re read the book on that particular point.

However ...the PPL Confuser has some errors, especially the Nav section exercises.

example: Bodmin to Okehampton 081T instead of 061T. Some of the Lat/Long are out too, but you can still find or work out where they mean. And some of the answers in the later editions are printed in bold type.

Books: Trevor Thom
Flight computer: CRP 1, otherwise the Trevor Thom Nav book doesn't help much! You also need a chart, protractor and ruler to work through the book.

I've managed fine with the AFE books and the confuser.

What's this 'books'? If you use Phil Croucher's there is only one book, with everything you need. You can even get it in Norwegian!

Thank you everyone, i have purchased the AFE books, and they seem to be well written from what ive looked at so far.

Thanlks for all the help :)

CBT
 

Has anyone ever studied and passed their exams using CBTs instead of textbooks?

Are the OAA CBTs designed to complement or replace the tradiational PPL manuals?

I've got some Oxford CBT stuff but they go beyond what you need for PPL - useful if you want to progress further though.

Like most of the others, I've been using the AFE books but find their Confuser style book misses out a few things so supplement it with the AirQuiz website.....so far so good!

I invested in the OAT CBT and must say that I find it much easier to take in that reading the books. CBT and the confuser would probably be enough but I did pick a set of Pooleys 'Air Pilot's Manual' to read for when the CBT doesn't sink in or if it's inconvenient to use the CBT i.e. lunch break at work.

Air Pilots Manual
 

Hello to everybody,

I will be commencing my initial PPL training with Multiflight in January.

I have been advised to purchase copies of the Air Pilots Manuals (Trevor Thom & co) and already have a copy of Volume 1.

I have been looking through Amazon and there appears to be a good number of used copies, some for as litle as 1p plus postage.

Now I know that six books shouldnt be my main concern financially when considering a career in the skies however I would like to try and save a few pounds here and there where possible.

Would anybody know if the earlier publications of these books are still relevant today. I would imagine that perhaps Air Law and Navigation may have altered somewheat since the late 80's but would there be significant diferences in the majority of content?

I must streess that I am no cheap skate and am more than prepared to spend the money :ok:......just wisely!!

Many thanks

Steve

You must get the up to date Air Law book (with Met) but the others would all be OK. Can't think how Nav would have changed since the 80s; dead reckoning is dead reckoning :}

However, you won't need Radio Nav until later in your career and neither will you need the Comms volume as you can download CAP413 for free.

Cheers

Whirls

You must get the up to date books and as you want to be wise with your money, try BookkooB : Cheap Books, whichever way you look at it they have all the books to compare and you will get them brand new for alot cheaper than the pilot shops.

Good luck with PPL

VFR

Hey,

Thanks very much for your quick response.

Thats great advice and I'll be sure to take a look into that.

Many thanks,

Stephen

Steve,

I did what you suggest & got the Thom books either second hand or via the internet book sellers who have a lot of new stock at knock down prices, one came from Browns in Hull I recall.

Lady Whirls II is right about getting a new Air Law book, I did my training on Microlights so had to get the Microlight version anyway, but you need to be right up to date there.

BTW - Personal preference was for the RT book in the Airlife series as I found CAP413 hard going (I went straight to the end of the story, turned out it was the ATCO did it!). At the RT exam I was asked if I'd read any of CAP413 to which I replied that I hadn't. When the examiner saw the book he commented that it was the content of CAP413, just written in terms us microlighters could understand.

Books for PPL
 

Hi Stephen,

The Trevor Thom books are not the only range for PPL. There is also the Jeremy Pratt series which some prefer, as the Thom writing style is apt to be a bit turgid.

I would also suggest you buy your books individually as you need them rather than buying the whole Thom set.

This way you can compare the Thom and Pratt books together for each subject and choose whichever one you prefer.

It is as well to know which edition is current and then buy only that edition, (irrespective of where you buy it,) in order to have the most up to date edition.

Broomstick.

Hi all,

Again some great advice coming through here.

I've decided to purchase a copy of Jeremy Pratt's Air Law, Operational Procedures, Communications: Volume 2.

There seems to be a recurring theme that the Air Pilots Manual's are a little tricky to get to grips with so as I already own Volume 1, I can now hopefully compare the two styles of writing and make a judgement on which suits me best.

Thanks for the tips and I'll keep you posted!

Steve

Hi Stephen.

I purchased the Pooleys starter kit with all new current books and most other equipment you will need all in a shiny new bag.

If you know of anyone else starting training with you consider a group buy Pooleys might offer a little more discount and it saves a lot on buying all items seperately.

Liam

Hi all,

Thanks for some great advice earlier this week.

I purchased a copy of the Jeremy Pratt volume 2 manual, which arived this morning and I'll be sure to let everybody know how I get on with it.

My initial thoughts are that is appears much simpler than the Air Pilots Manual volume 1 which I already own.

...not to mention some stuff you won't need, can be purchased elsewhere for a lesser price, or will be outdated by the time you'll need it.

Beautiful thing, hindsight:O