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Hey fellow aviators!
I just started Sporty's Learn to Fly online course for ground school, with ASA's "The Complete Private Pilot" by Bob Gardner for supplementary material. I've been fascinated by planes since around age 7 and flew with my Aviation Club in high school from 1997 through 2001.
Question: Is it possible to go through my entire ground school training and FAA Knowledge Exam without CFI assistance? I, like many people, don't have the money (yet) for an ... more
I just started Sporty's Learn to Fly online course for ground school, with ASA's "The Complete Private Pilot" by Bob Gardner for supplementary material. I've been fascinated by planes since around age 7 and flew with my Aviation Club in high school from 1997 through 2001.
Question: Is it possible to go through my entire ground school training and FAA Knowledge Exam without CFI assistance? I, like many people, don't have the money (yet) for an ... more
Lauren McGavran
Nov '20
To answer David, yes, you can learn everything you need to pass the written exams on your own. I used Rod Machado’s books. I never had any logged ground instruction. That said, questions will arise, and it is more meaningful to discuss them with someone who is familiar with you and your progress. Some people suggest getting the written exam out of the way first thing. I disagree, for two reasons. First, the material will make a lot more sense and will become ingrained as you fly, so the exam will be easier after you have flown for a while. Second, the exam credit expires. Life happens. I, and some fellow students, ended up pushing up against the written exam expiration, even though we had all delayed taking the exam until we had at least soloed. DPE scheduling, finances, world wide pandemics - they can all get in the way of your practical test.
I used iFlightplanner for quite a while before AOPA gave us access. It seems to have a bug that it never used to have. I planned a round-robin sightseeing flight and filed it. I went to the Leidos site to make sure that the actual filing was correct, and to get weather briefings, etc. The route in iFlightplanner looked OK, with several waypoints listed. The filed plan, however, had nothing in the route field, so the flight consisted of the departure and arrival airports - ...
more
Lauren McGavran
Aug '20
I received an email from John Burnside with iFlightPlanner. Somehow their response to AOPA never got back to me; blame the communication chain. I’m sure that the issue will be resolved now. I have always had great service from iFlightPlanner.
I used iFlightplanner for quite a while before AOPA gave us access. It seems to have a bug that it never used to have. I planned a round-robin sightseeing flight and filed it. I went to the Leidos site to make sure that the actual filing was correct, and to get weather briefings, etc. The route in iFlightplanner looked OK, with several waypoints listed. The filed plan, however, had nothing in the route field, so the flight consisted of the departure and arrival airports - ...
more
Ok, a younger generation person, whom I know, got interested in being an Air Traffic Controller due to my flying, Oshkosh, and exposure to all that, and has been going to school for that; they recently went in for a physical for it, and to everyone's shock (including theirs) was diagnosed with mild color blindness- its apparently hereditary, but has been so mild it's never been caught before, and they've had eye exams- their vision has always been excellent. What came out ...
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Lauren McGavran
Dec '19
There are lenses (glasses, contact lenses) that are supposed to correct for color blindness. Since medicals are readily given to people who need glasses (most of us at some point in life for some focal distances), might these color aiding glasses be acceptable to the FAA?