Ground School – Week 2
March 12, 2023

Ground School – Week 2

I’m learning to drink from the firehose, sorta 😁 That was a comment I received from my post about Ground School – Week 1, which I felt was so true for me. This week was filled with lots of really new topics, so a lot to take in, but it felt a bit more manageable than last week.

As for my handy dandy ground school notebook, I’ve surpassed the halfway mark through all the pages, but seeing as I’m 67% through the Sporty’s Learn To Fly online course, I should be a few pages short of full when I’m done.

My biggest anxiety and challenge this week was with aviation maps and charts, which is also where I left off for the week. So, it might be the case that when I complete the training on that topic, it’ll make sense. I was so inundated with all the complexity of the maps that I nearly stopped and called my CFI for any advice, but I think I’ll finish the classes on this topic, perhaps reference the PHAK and the AFH for more learning before asking for some direction.

Also, I ordered from more materials for pre-written study:

  • Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement for Private Pilot
    • I figured that if they’re going to hand me this supplement handbook during the written test, and then use it for their questions, I sure as hell better know what’s being described in each of this pages which are applicable to the PPL. In other words, I want to make sure that nothing in here seems completely new to me.
  • Jeppesen Private Pilot FAA Airmen Knowledge Test Guide
    • So interestingly enough, I have a copy of this same book on my shelf, but it’s 15 years old. I got it about 6 years ago from someone who was clearing out their bookshelf. I flipped through it and saw that it was a book of test questions used for prep. To my surprise, Amazon was selling a used copy of it for $6.98, so I said “Sure, why not. Another test prep book to help reinforce the learning”

So what did I learn this week?

  • Practice Landings
    • Stall Rhetoric
    • Normal Landings
    • Down to Earth
    • Takeoff & Landing Variations
    • Nontowered Airport Communications
    • Wake Turbulence Avoidance
  • Your First Solo
    • Pre-Solo Maneuvers
    • International Flight Training
    • Steep Turns
    • Touch and Go
    • Emergencies
    • Fog & Atmospheric Pressure
    • The Pitot Static System
    • Pilot’s Operating Handbook
    • METARs and the Weather Prediction Chart
    • Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF)
    • Intro to Glass Cockpit Systems
    • Airport Signs and Markings
    • Phonetic Alphabet
    • Thunderstorms and Convective Forecasts
    • Radar Imagery
    • Drags
    • Reducing Drag
    • Thrust, Stability, & Center of Gravity
    • Flight Service Weather Briefings
    • Graphical Forecast for Aviations
    • Federal Aviation Regulations
    • Eye to the Sky
    • Student Pilot & Medical Certificate
    • Fit for Flight
    • Solo
  • Your Dual Cross-Country
    • Night Flying
    • The Night Shift
    • Aviation Charts and NOTAMs
    • Reading Sectional Charts (I stopped in the middle of this. I’ll pick up here tomorrow)

 

So, yeah, that’s a lot, but I’m learning to ingest it better than last week. I’m still highly motivated and excited for more learning. I am curious as to what my plan will look like for more study once I complete the entire online course. Also, I haven’t yet utilized the flight simulator to reinforce my learning, so I’ll want to do that too. Turns out that Sporty’s has a resource on how to use Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSF) to teach alongside with their online course. So, I’ll use that with my X-Plane 11 sim and adapt it to the same goals.

aviation, flight training