Content

What I like most about Schappert’s content is his way of breaking down muddy concepts and mountains of technical terms into something that’s easy to understand and remember.  And let’s not forget how important it is for us to understand and remember all of the information we have learned on that day of the checkride, when it matters most!

In “Pass Your Private Pilot Checkride 2.0,” Schappert creates several useful acronyms that helps break down the tough but essential to know concepts, processes and terms.  Acronyms like “30FTDUC“, (30 foot duck) and ATOMATOFLAMES (A Tomato Flames).  Clever and easy to remember, which is very important when it’s time to impress that all-powerful examiner.

Acronyms aside, Schappert also goes above and beyond to provide anecdotes, hypothetical scenarios, and tips to really cement reader comprehension and understanding.

In Chapters 1 and 11, Schappert provide citations for a quick reference of FAA Regs and the FAR/AIM.  It’s also worth pointing out how easy it is locate answers to questions you may have by navigating a very detailed Table of Contents.  I personally find that feature very useful.

In terms of quantity (and quality), Schappert packs this book full of actual checkride questions along with his own personal checkride blueprint and exclusive test day prep notes.  If you enjoy listening to audio books, as I do, you will also have access to unabridged content, meaning all the extra goodies that didn’t make it to print.

Delivery

Three choices:

• The paperback ($67.97 at Amazon)
• The E-book ($47.97)
• The E-book + Audio Package deal ($57.97)

Generally I prefer E-books because I can access them instantly.  And as I mentioned before, with the Audio package, you’ll receive the unabridged content (Over 2 hours of separated Mp3s, great for IPod/Mp3 player at the gym).

Overall

If you are looking for something that will give you that necessary edge when it comes time to prove yourself to the examiner, “Pass Your Private Pilot Checkride 2.0” will more than do the trick.  It’s full of Schappert utilizing his unique and memorable teaching style to help you cement the vital information you will need to know and communicate to the examiner.  And financially speaking, the money you pay for this awesome content and education is insignificant to the triumph and pride you will feel when you finally pass that checkride.

You can find more information about Jason Schappert’s “Pass Your Private Pilot Checkride 2.0″ here…..MORE INFO

Below you’ll find my review of Jason Schappert’s Online Ground School, launched August 8th, 2010.  I was given access (a sneak peak, if you will) into the Online Ground School, from which I was able to explore and form an opinion as to its worth to student pilots.

Of course, I’m not authorized to share my log-in credentials with you, but while I was in there I couldn’t help but collect several screenshots to share with you and sort of “take you with me” ; )

As always, my primary goal is to provide you with a thorough breakdown and honest opinion of the product/service being reviewed in order to better prepare you to make a well-informed decision when choosing which educational resources you’ll use to help you become a safe and competent pilot, without wasting a ton of money.

That being said, we’ll start with the standard methodology that I use to help me decide which educational resources fly and which are lame ducks:

The best ground school provides the means to prepare you to be the safest and most competent pilot you can be in the least amount time time and smallest financial commitment possible.

The best ground school is something that takes you beyond test preparation.  It not only teaches you the answers to the FAA knowledge test and the flight exam (oral and checkride), but it helps you build a solid understanding of the material—the how and why behind the answers.  It teaches you the art of flying as well as the science behind it.  It guides you through the fantastic world of aviation from before you ever step into the cockpit, to your cross country flights, and beyond your checkride.  That is how I define the best ground school.

Now, there are certain criteria that I have extracted from this definition that I will apply to the ground school in review in order to evaluate how it stacks up.  They are as follows:

• Content- Is the information accurate, reliable and useful? How much information is available?
• Delivery- How is the information delivered?  By which medium/media? How is it accessed and for what duration? What is the overall tone and aethetic value of the information?  Is the interface user friendly?
• Financial- What is the financial committment? What are the options, the guarantee and estimated total cost?
• X-Factor(s) – What are the factors that make the ground school unique/stand out?

The above criteria are applied to and used to rate the ground school.  My summary, consisting of the wings up (the pros) and wings downs (cons) and final reccommendation, is displayed at the end of the review.

Now let’s get down to business…

Jason Schappert’s Online Ground School

Content:

• Is the information accurate, and reliable?

Yes.  I believe that the information presented in the Online Ground School is accurate and reliable based on three reasons:  The professional background of Jason Schappert and his team of developers, the results of my own personal BS test, and the online format of the ground school.

According to Jason, he and a team of master CFII’s spend over two years developing the online ground school.  Mr. Schappert, himself, despite his young age, operates Schapp Aviation in Florida, where he is a flight instructor with several ratings including: instrument, commercial, multi, AGI, CFI, and CFII.  He was also awarded the distinction of “Collegiate Flight Instructor of the Year” at NIFA 2008 (an event sponsored by the AOPA).  Considering his profession, providing inaccurate information to make a quick buck would not be in his best interest.

And while these credentials would be enough for the average person, I tend to be a bit skeptical.  So I took it a step further….through my BS test.  Basically I took the information presented in the first two lessons (“Why Airplanes Fly” and “What is my Airplane Telling Me?”) and compared it to the information found in the ”Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge” distributed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA-H-8083-25A).  The information presented in the Online Ground School was found to be consistent with that presented in the FAA’s handbook.

I also find the fact that it is delivered online as having the potential to be more current because the information can be updated more easily on the production side.  Schappert proves this in Lesson 10.6 “Declaring an Emergency” when he informs us that the frequency 121.5 is no longer monitored and gives us suggestions about what to do instead.

Based upon the developer’s credentials, the results of my own personal BS test, and the online format of the ground school, I find it reasonable to believe that the information provided in the Online Ground School is accurate and reliable.

• How much information is available?

Information can be found in four areas: Private Pilot Lessons, Weather, Bonus, and the Forum.

Private Pilot Lessons- This area consists of 15 lessons (see screenshot) starting from the very basic concepts of aerodynamics and ending with the “Simulated Checkride“.  Unfortunately I was only able to access the first half of the lessons due to the fact that I reviewed it before the official launch (that is before if was fully completed).  However based on what I found in Lessons 1-10 and the titles of the remaining lessons it is reasonable to conclude that this online ground school is designed to guide student pilots from the very beginning to beyond the checkride.

Weather and Flight Planning Area- The Weather and Flight Planning Area will no doubt be of use to student pilots during their flight training.  Get your TAFs METARs, charts, AirNav, DUATS, Airport directory, and more all in one place.  Oh and the live animated weather radars with standard and enhanced infrared, radar-satellite combo, water vapor, and visible radar images, are pretty handy as well.

Bonus- There are several bonuses offered in this area consisting of HD videos, live trainings, and downloadable training documents.  These include:

• Access to Live Weekly Workshops and Monthly Mock Checkrides
• Recorded Monthly Mock Checkrides (Gold Members only)
• Recorded Weekly Teachings Archive (Gold and Silver members only)
• Premium Montly Newletter and archives (Gold Members only)
• Member Spotlight (Student interviews)
• Jason’s Personal Flight Training Documents (X-Country Nav Log, Checkride Checklist, Checkride Blueprint)
• The Secret Webinars (Gold Members Only)

Forum- Online Ground School students receive access to a forum where they can meet and interact with other student pilots as well as Jason Schappert himself.  Students are allowed to post in three threads: “Ask Jason a Question” (that’s self-explanatory), “Hanger Talk” (a place to share stories and ask general questions), and “Feature Requests” (a place for suggestions to improve the ground school).  Students can send each other private messages and print out posts. 

The networking potential is enormous here, whether it be to find an aviation buddy or something more professional, such as someone to help get your foot in the door of  the commerical aviation industry.

Delivery

• In which medium/media is the information delivered?

The Online Ground School is rich with mulitmedia features including: Over 120 HD videos, Live webinars and trainings, a forum, premium newsletter, personal flight documents (downloadable) and interactive quizzes.

• How is the information accessed and for what duration?

The information is accessed with a computer and an internet connection.  The higher the connection speed the better, considering that the course is taught in large part with over 120 HD videos.  Certain files, such as ”Jason’s Personal Flight Documents” can be downloaded.  To the best of my knowledge, the recorded webinars, trainings, and videos are not made available for download.

Access to the ground school is terminated when the monthly subscription is cancelled.

• What is the overall tone and aesthetic value of the information?

Jason Schappert presents himself as a friendly yet well-qualified/competent flight traning advisor.  I am impressed by his ability to breakdown seemingly complex systems (such as the instrument panel) into easy to remember pieces and concepts.  A great example of this is demonstrated in Lessons 2.2 and 2.3 when Schappert takes us “inside” the attitude indicator and altimeter and makes comparisons to “spinning tops” and “accordians“.   Seriousness aside, he’s not afraid to inject some humor in there every once and awhile.  He keeps flight training fresh, interesting, and fun.

Aesthetically speaking, the overall “look” of the Online Ground School is refreshing compared to the look of other ground schools….though that’s not saying much.  The lessons are easy on the eyes, as most of the info appears and disappears on the face of a green chalkboard.  The “classroom” theme is consistent throughout the ground school.  Interestingly enough, it does compliment that sort of community classroom feel, though I’m typically sitting in a room alone at my computer.

The HD videos (the ones I has access to) looked decent.  Definitely better quality than some of the VHS/Beta tape footage I’ve seen on some flight training DVDs.  I’ve also seen some sharp simulation graphics in the sales video, though I did not have access to those lessons at the time of this review.  There were also a few vide0/audio syncing issues that need to be worked out on at least one of the videos.  Overall, though, the aesthethic quality is far above average.

• Is the interface user-friendly?

For the most part, the Online Ground School is easy to navigate.  I would like to see a more user-friendly system when it comes to the quizzes.  I know that some courses allow you to mark questions you are unsure of to enable you to revisit them later.  This Online Ground School does not yet offer that capability.  The quizzed do provide explanations of the answers though, which is a plus.  It would also be nice if it allowed for the figures and graphs on the quizzes to “pop-out” instead of having to scroll up and down over and over again. That gets annoying.  Overall though, the user-friendliness of the interface is average.  Nothing mindblowing, and could be better.

Financial

• How does the Online Ground School charge?

Unlike any other Ground School program out there that I am currently aware of, Jason Schappert’s Online Ground School charges on a monthly basis.  It is a subscription based program that allows you to “pay as you go each month“.

• What are the enrollment options?

Three Leves- Bronze, Silver, and Gold.  See Chart for details——>

• What is the estimated total cost?

Depends on the level in which you enroll and the duration of your subscription.  During launch week, you can get locked in for as low as $77/month for a Bronze membership, $97/month for Silver, $110/month for Gold.  Schappert claims that these rates will climb up to the standard after Aug. 15th, 2010.  The standard rates will be $97/month for Bronze, $110/month for Silver, and $147/month for Gold.   So assuming that you enroll during the launch week at the discounted rate, and your flight training lasts 4 months (about average length), your ground school would cost just $308 for Bronze, and $440 for Gold.  At standard rates for the same 4 month duration, you’re looking at  $388 for Bronze and $588 for Gold.

• Is there a guarantee? And what is it?

Yes, there is a guarantee.  Other than the standard 30-day full money back guarantee, if you fail your checkride, Jason Schappert has agreed to refund your full investment in the Online Ground School AND pay for your checkride.  Hypothetically, if you are a Gold Member for 4-months ($588) and pay for your checkride ($400) and fail, you will be receiving $988 from Jason Schappert.  But hopefully you will never fail your checkride, for your own sake, as well as Jason’s : )

The X-Factors (What sets it apart)

• Live Elements (Weekly/Month Live trainings)
• Community Based (The forum and live trainings)
• The Price/Guarantee (A real bargain; amazing guarantee)
• Personal Touch (Direct access to Jason Schappert)

Summary

Wings Up

• The course goes above and beyond test preparation- The information is solid; accurate and reliable.  It is designed not only to help you pass your tests but even more so, to become a safe and competent pilot.  It delves into the background of the material, the how and why, rather than just skimming the surface.

• Live Elements Rock- You can have direct access to the guy that created the course.  You learn with him and other students every week in and once per month for mock checkrides, in real time.  You even have a forum to share stories and questions with other student pilots going through the same process.  Its the live/community based learning elements that other courses simply are not currently offering.

• The price is beyond reasonable- It would cost me at least twice as much per month to sit down with my instructor and cover the information that is available in this program.  And then I’d still be devoid of the networking and community benefits offered by the Online Ground School.  Considering the quantity, quality, and diversity of the information available in this ground school, the price is a steal.

• The guarantee is beyond generous- Jason Schappert is so confident in his course that if you fail your checkride using his materials and instruction, he will not only reimburse you for the ground school, but also for the checkride.  That sort of guarantee can’t be found anywhere else.

Wings Down

• You can’t put it on the shelf-  Access to most of the information (that which is not downloadable) is dependent upon how long you decide to continue to pay for membership.

• Instruction is internet access dependent- You must have access to the internet in order to access the instructional videos (which is the majority of the educational information).  At the time of this review, the videos are not available for download, nor are their transcriptions made available to print off.  Though, there are a few resources that are available for download.  Along the same lines, it helps to have a high-speed internet connection, as the HD videos could take awhile to load on dial-up.

• The interface could be more user-friendly- I’d like to see pop-out graphs and figures in the quizzes as well as the capability of marking troublesome questions to revisit in the future.  Also, in the Private Pilot Lessons area, it would be nice to have a side navigation of all of the modules in the lesson so that one could skip around more easily.

• Opening Day Kinks- Found a few kinks in the audio and video. Sometimes audio and video did not sync well.  Sometimes the audio sounded like Rosie from the Jetsons after she had been clobbered in the head by a Spacely Sproket.  To be fair though, I reviewed the Online Ground School right before it was launched.  There will always be a few kinks to work out in the beginning, especially within a program of this magnitude, and I am confident that they will be worked out before much longer, possibly by the time you read this review.  I plan to update this review regularly just to be safe.

My Recommendation

If you are looking for a magic bullet, this isn’t it.  But to be fair, you won’t find a magic bullet anywhere as it does not exist.  As with any educational resource, the determining factor towards your success will be how much time and focus you dedicate to learning the material.  That being said, if you are looking for high-quality information delivered with a personal touch and live and interactive elements to go above and beyond preparing you for your flight training exams, I recommend checking out Jason Schappert’s Online Ground School.

At the time of this review, I have not seen anything as comprehensive on the market.  It combines tried and true aviation knowledge with the power of HD video, social networking, and the live/interactive training that spans across geographic barriers.   It is student pilot instruction meets the 21st Century.  You have the opportunity to have direct access to another very knowledgeable and friendly instructor for much less (dollarwise) than it would cost to pay your current instructor to sit down with you and cover all of the information you need to learn on the ground to make you a safe and competent pilot.  And the guarantee is simply unheard of.

Personally, I see Jason Schappert’s Online Ground School as the Dark Horse of the aviation education industry.  But the word is spreading, and I predict that those well-known aviation education leaders at the top won’t be sitting comfortably for much longer.  Regardless of where you are in your flight training, Jason Schappert’s Online Ground School is at the very least, worthy of your serious consideration.  To see more and/or make a purchase click the link:

—–> http://www.myprivatepilotlicense.com/go/online-ground-school

FULL DISCLOSURE-  As always, I am completely forthright with my affiliations.  If you click one of the links above, find that the Online Ground School is right for you, and decide to purchase it, I will receive a small commission for providing you with the link.  This is a small commission that I can use to help maintain this site and continue providing valuable flight training tips and education resources at no cost to you.  Keep in mind,  if I didn’t have your best interest in mind, I would not have spent hours of my personal time, on the weekend, to pick apart the Online Ground School and provide you with a thorough review.  Many other bloggers would not have even provided you with a disclosure.

BOTTOM LINE— If you believe it’s right for you, and appreciate my efforts, then click here, make the purchase and let me know what you think.  I believe you will be more than satisfied.

IF you DO NOT think it is right for you, but still appreciate my efforts, then DO NOT MAKE A PURCHASE, just leave me a nice comment, a “like”, or that star rating thing-a-ma-jig at the bottom of the post : )  No worries, I will still be providing valuable flight training tips at no cost to you.  Cool?

See ya above the clouds!

~Aaron

My Private Pilot Flight Training- Day 4: Emergencies and RV’s (Full) from Aaron Larsen on Vimeo.

—————————————————————————————————————

***This is a selected post from the Silver Wings Members Area, an exclusive, invitation-only group for family, close friends, and/or passionate and dedicated student pilots.  If you’d like to see more posts like this one, and meet the criteria, please request and invite…

————————————————————————————————————–

As I was stuck behind the RV, I began to go over in my head the emergency procedures we were to cover that day…but I was interrupted by some fond childhood memories…

There was a time during my youth when crashing toy airplanes was not only the cool thing to do, but even more so, it was a rite of passage into becoming a “Big Boy”.  You see, “Big Boys” were the kids that  “Little Boys” always looked up to.

They were always doing “Big Boy” things like wrecking their bikes into curbs (without training wheels), climbing trees in complete darkness, shooting BB guns at dragonflies in the ditch, putting bullfrogs in their neighbor’s mailbox, and of course, crashing their toy airplanes.

And while I did do a lot of bike wrecking (eventually without training wheels on), I seemed to have a knack when it came to crashing toy airplanes.

It was an art really…and the degree to which you were considered a “good” toy airplane crasher was determined by the following criteria:   

1. Speed

2. Control

3. Damage

Speed: Simple. The harder you could throw the toy and still hit the target, the better your score.  Having also played baseball most of my life, this one came naturally ; )

Control: Not so easy.  Control was judged based on where you predicted the plane to land, the path it took to get there, and how it ended up after it “landed”.   It was a lot like the game Michael Jordan and Larry Bird played in that commercial, except much more dangerous-

“Okay, Billy.  Off Mr. Anderson’s garage, two corkscrews down to Ms. Stewart’s cat, Fluffy, around her tail and into the curb.  Nothing but Wing!”

“Nothing but Wing”, of course, would mean that after impact, nothing was predicted to be left but wing.  Which leads to Damage.

Damage: Even simpler.  The more damage, the better!  Calling “Nothing but Wing!” was like Babe Ruth calling his shot over the left field wall.

Like all great games, “crashing toy airplanes” eventually evolved into “crashing toy airplanes with GI Joe pilots”.  A slightly more sadistic, yet highly enjoyable modification.  The same rules mentioned above would apply, but this time to the GI Joe as well.

“Okay, Billy.  Off Old Man Cletus (asleep in the rocker), into the hummingbird feeder, as Bazooka Bob (the pilot) does a double-Mcnasty-backflip into birdbath. Nothing but Leg!”

As I pulled into the airport, I began to think these fond memories as not so fond.  Is there such as thing as GI Joe karma? Gosh, I hope not.  For some reason I cannot begin to fathom, my hands uncharacteristically began to spray sweat all over the steering wheel.  “What the heck?!”

I kept telling myself not to be nervous…after all, I had survived hundreds of toy airplane crashes.  This would be cake.

As when circled the practice fields, my instructor gave me the news…

  “Okay, the engine has failed.  What do we do?”

A process immediately popped into my head… 

 “Speed. Control. Damage.” 

 Shoot, no, that’s not it! Wrong game, idiot!  Then I remembered…

“Maintain attitude and control of the airplane. Check. Acknowledge the problem. Check. Find a suitable field to land. Check.  Cockpit check.”

Good.  I was back on track.

—————————————————————————————————————

***This is a selected post from the Silver Wings Members Area, an exclusive, invitation-only group for family, close friends, and/or passionate and dedicated student pilots.  If you’d like to see more posts like this one, and meet the criteria, please request and invite…

————————————————————————————————————–

As we reached 1,000 ft, I noticed how everything seemed so small from up above.  The brown fields were neatly organized and divided in rows of green lines.  The people working in the fields all wore white (most likely due to the heat) and it reminded me of the tiny Star Wars figurines that I used to play with when I was young.

I felt like reaching out, pinching one between my fingers and lining them up into battle formations. 

“Hey, what’s the Big idea, punk!”

-”Sorry, Han, today you are joining the Dark Side…”

Some habits never die : )

Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by a smirking Bazooka Bob, as he waved his dismembered leg and informed me that,

“What goes around comes around, buddy…”

I felt like Sid in Toy Story when the all of his abused toys rebelled against him.  Creepy little booger…I should have done a “Nothing but Body”….

Though we didn’t land, I was told that I handled the situation well. Fortunately my instructor is not a mindreader ; ) For the rest of the lesson we practiced some stalls, and even got into some steep banked turns.   When we touched back down, I began to reflect on a few things I had learned.

First, I used to think that altitude was directly proportional to the risk of death when flying an airplane.  In other words, the higher you were up in the air the more likely you are to die if you had some sort of emergency.  But, after a few days of actually taking control of an airplane, I realized that I was dead wrong.

In most cases, the opposite is true.  That way I see it, in regards to survivability, there wouldn’t be much difference in crashing straight into the ground from 1,000 feet, and crashing straight into the ground from 5,000 feet.  In a lot of cases, altitude is your friend.

For example, if I was cruising on a straight and level at 5,000 ft  and suddenly my engine failed,  I would have much more time to maintain control of the aircraft, assess the situation, determine my options and take action to resolve the problem than if I were 1,500 ft.  In the air, an abundance of time is always preferable.

Also, one continual theme that I have picked up is the importance of wind in aviation.  It can play a huge role in basic aircraft maneuverability and navigation.  It also comes into play often when landing, especially emergency landings.

Now, I have NEVER been great at directions.  And if it wasn’t for the handy Never Eat Shredded Wheat mnemonic device that I still employ whenever I think of a compass, chances are I would still search for an Eastern sunset.  So when it comes to identifying the direction of the wind, I’m going to need some practice.

So, I asked the instructor how in the world pilots identify wind direction while in the cockpit.  Fortunately he gave me some handy visual cues that I can use.

He told me to look for flagpoles with flags waving in the wind, or smoke/steam.  Look for standing water, such as a pond.  The wind blows into the water creating a smooth spot on the edge. The ripples then follow.  In farm country, look for tractors kicking up dust.

And the most interesting one was if you see a large herd of cattle, note which direction they are facing.  Cattle like to have their tails into the wind.  Not sure why, but they like it : )  But how can you tell if the cattle are facing downwind as opposed to crosswind?

Well, if you listen closely, when cattle are facing crosswind, you can hear a slight hollow whistling sound, much like when you blow across the top of an empty glass soda bottle….haha…Okay, that might not be completely accurate ; )  But the tail thing is true!  I saw it for myself when I drove home.  Pretty neat, huh?

Overall, learning about possible emergencies and their respective appropriate courses of action to resolve them has really boosted my confidence.  And while I don’t have everything solid yet, I’m eager to keep pressing on and have it down pat.  For motivation, I try to put myself in emergency situations in my head, with my mother in the seat next to me.

If you know my mother, you’ll understand why I chose to place her in this imaginative scenario.  I love her dearly, but she gives a new definition to the term “Worrywart”.  That being said, if I can see step by step what to say and do in my head, while she is panicking, and successfully resolve the situation without ejecting at least one of us from the cockpit, then I should be prepared for any possible emergency scenario in record time.

It may not be how Sully (Capt. Sullenburger) trained, but it works for me!  ; )

Talk to you soon…I have some bullfrogs to catch

~Aaron

—————————————————————————————————————

***This is a selected post from the Silver Wings Members Area, an exclusive, invitation-only group for family, close friends, and/or passionate and dedicated student pilots.  If you’d like to see more posts like this one, and meet the criteria, please request and invite…

————————————————————————————————————–

The requirements for being issued a private pilot license are governed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation.  Here is what I found on the FAA website:

Private Pilot License Requirements

To get a private pilot’s license, you must:

• be at least 17 years
• be able to read, speak, and understand the English language, or have such operating limitations placed on his pilot certificate as are necessary for the safe operation of aircraft, to be removed when he shows that he can read, speak, and understand the English language;
• have a current FAA third-class medical certificate
• log at least 40 hours of flight
• have at least 20 hours of flight with an instructor
• have at least 10 hours of solo flight
• pass the FAA Private Pilot Airmen Knowledge written test
• pass a FAA Private Pilot flight exam (oral and checkride)

And some info on the private pilot license flight training part:

Sec. 61.109 Airplane Rating: Aeronautical ExperienceAn applicant for a private pilot certificate with an airplane rating must have had at least a total of 40 hours of flight instruction and solo time which must include the following:(a) Twenty hours of flight instruction from an authorized flight instructor, including at least–

• Three hours of cross country;
• Three hours of instrument flight training;
• Three hours at night, including 10 takeoffs and landings for applicants seeking night flying privileges; and
• Three hours in airplanes in preparation for the private pilot flight test within 60 days prior to that test.

An applicant who does not meet the night flying requirement in paragraph (a) of this section is issued a private pilot certificate bearing the limitation “Night flying prohibited.” This limitation may be removed if the holder of the certificate shows that he has met the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section.

(b) Ten hours of solo flight time, including at least:

• Five hours of cross-country flights, each flight with a landing at a point more than 50 nautical miles from the original departure point. One flight must be of at least 150 nautical miles with landings at a minimum of three points, one of which is at least 50 nautical miles from the original departure point.
• Three solo takeoffs and landings to a full stop at an airport with an operating control tower

*While the minimum total required flights hours is 40 hours,  the actual average is between 60-75 total hours.  This can really play a large role in the total cost of your flight training. 

—————————————————————————————————————

For more information about the private pilot license requirements, private pilot license costs, and useful tips to help you lower the costs, be sure to check out the…

 “7 Tips to Help You ACE Your Private Pilot Training”

…guidebook I put together. It’s free and could save you lots of money right off the bat.

Just enter your e-mail below and I’ll send it over : )

See ya above the clouds!

~Aaron

According to the FAA, the national average hours of flight training a typical private pilot student requires is between 60-75 hours. That is 20-35 hours MORE than the FAA minimum. So what does that mean in dollars in cents?

Here is what the FAA minimum flight time with approximate costs break down to:

20 Solo (x$110/hr)- $2,200
20 Dual (x$140/hr)- $2,800
Total = $5,000 (40 hours)

Let’s say the average dual instruction time costs $140/hr and solo costs about $110/hr. You need at least 10 hours solo and at least 20 hours dual. So in the worst case “average” scenario, it takes you 75 hours (the bottom end of the average…many take longer) and you only need 10 hours solo. The costs would look like this:

10 Solo (x$110/hr)- $1,100
65 Dual (x$140/hr)- $9,100
Total = $10,200 (75 hours)

Now let’s flip the coin and assume that you impress your instructor and only require the minimum dual time (20 hours) and come in at the top of the national average (60 hours total:

40 Solo (x$110/hr)- $4,400
20 Dual (x$140/hr)- $2,800
Total = $7,200 (60 hours)

That’s a large spread in costs. Now add in the other costs. Here is a breakdown of the total costs that an average student (67 flight hours) will have:

Flight Training:
*37 Solo ($110/hr) = $4,070
*30 Dual ($140/hr) = $4,200
Ground School Education- $400
Written exam- $100
Medical exam- $100
Pilot supplies- $100
FAA check ride- $350
Total= $9,320 (67 hour average)

*based on FAA flight instruction average of between 60-75 hours. Price also dependent on cost of fuel. Will likely increase with time.

Now it’s important for you to understand that getting your private pilot license should never be a race against others.  You are not competing against other people to see who can get their license in the shortest amount of time.  Everyone has their own learning rate and their own unique circumstances that will affect how quickly they will able grasp and retain the knowledge and skills required to become a safe and competent pilot.

That being said, there are several ways I have found that you can accelerate your own progress and save money throughout the private pilot training process.  If you haven’t already, be sure to check out some of these cost-saving tips in the “7 Tips to Help You ACE Your Private Pilot Training” guidebook I put together. It’s free and could save you lots of money right off the bat. 

Just enter your e-mail below and I’ll send it over : )

See ya above the clouds!

~Aaron