facthunter Posted May 12, 2011 Posted May 12, 2011 What reference material are you working from? There would be quite a few general knowledge books that you could "just read". Like Flight without Formulea" ACKermode. (an oldie but a goodie). You can't know too much about meteorology either. Study how the main forces act on an aeroplane and how the controls work. After your first flight, your instructor should give you some structured study to do prior to each sequence, as you work through them. In the meantime basic aeronautical knowledge and even circuit procedures wouldn't hurt. Study the POH for the plane that you are going to fly. Learn details of the local area around the aerodrome, noise sensitive areas etc. Early in the piece you will be expected to preflight the plane,& go through refueling procedures . Different schools have their own way of making entries relating to the aircrafts usage particulars. (paperwork). The more you know about these sort of things, the more of your effort can go to flying, and the quicker you will progress. Nev
facthunter Posted May 12, 2011 Posted May 12, 2011 Sorry Jake, I'm not familiar with those, but generally Keep the theory AHEAD of the flying. On sequences the book should be the one your instructor works from, then you don't get conflict with terminology. Good luck... Nev
.Evan. Posted May 12, 2011 Posted May 12, 2011 Have you read John Brandon's tutorials here at this site? http://www.recreationalflying.com/tutorials/ Lots of great information - and free too!!
Chris Tarran Posted May 12, 2011 Posted May 12, 2011 Hi Jake. I used the standard Dyson-Holland texts supplied by my CFI for all my theory work. They are reasoable priced at about $150 for the full set. I estimate that the ratio of book work to actual flying over the recent months has been about 3:1 so 20 odd hours flying and about 60 book and exams. Cheers Chris
Guest KingAir Posted May 12, 2011 Posted May 12, 2011 I find the Bob Tait or Aviation Theory Center theory books really good - they are really for GA - but I think they are just as good for RA - You cant know too much especially when your instructor starts throwing random questions at you and expects you to be able to answer them.. :P
redozbris Posted May 12, 2011 Posted May 12, 2011 I undertook a structured class at TAFE, Backed up with 2-3 hours per week, that was before I started formal training, and I still have LOTS to learn, I've found that while the course it great (Passed all my exams, except for Met and BAK, which I have to do.. sometime soon... before my brain bleeds all of that knowledge out... I've got a Several Text's which I am working through :- Jim Davis Bob Taits Delta Avaitions RA Training Manuals - Good Read Plus a couple of others that Where passed to me by a good friend, which I have to get to .. one day... I think for my humble 7 hours in the air so far I've put in about 70 hours in theory so far ... Lots of 4 hour lectures at tafe, followed up but even more at home answering lots of questions... red
Piet Fil Posted May 12, 2011 Posted May 12, 2011 Jake, One thing I did was download the CASA Flight Instructor Manual (aeroplane) in pdf format from(http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_90300). Another free CASA product!!! . It spells out the basic skills to master for each element of flying. Using it (as well as my instructors guidance) stopped me from going down into rabbit holes trying to learn things before I needed to know them. It also provides insight into some of the common problems found in trainees for each skill and some suggestions on learning techniques to prevent some of these problems. It was nice to know that some of the skills I struggled with are common difficult areas for the majority of students. Stopped me feeling like an absolute gumby at times. Phil
Bryon Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 JakeF, there is no hard and fast rule Read until your braim hurts, go and try it, and then read some more Simple, the object is to understand and relate Cheers Bryon
sseeker Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 ...The only thing I don't like about this school is that they strictly divide their instructing into phases, 1 being to first solo, 2 being restricted cert. and 3 being the cross country endorsement..... Why's this? You should be thankful they have a structured system. A lot of schools don't. $400 up front isn't bad, you're going to spend it anyway. Just save and pay it. A school with a structured system and experienced, reliable instructors is a school you want to go for... -Andrew
.Evan. Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 A school with a structured system and experienced, reliable instructors is a school you want to go for...-Andrew Sure is Andrew! Great advice!
.Evan. Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 Hey Jake, sorry I missed that one... From the website: The student pilot joining fee is $160.00, which includes the issue of the Student Pilot Certificate, 3rd party insurance cover, Operations Manual, Technical Manual, 12 months RA-Aus membership and 12 months subscription to the monthly Recreational Aviation Australia journal.
sseeker Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 Magazine, student pilot certificate, property insurance of $5,000,000(?) + various other RA-Aus fees. There you go, Evan beat me to it. -Andrew
dazza 38 Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 Jake, there is no hard and fast rule, I have been in and out of this game since I was 17. Im 41 now.I still pick up Bob Taits Books every now and again because I forget things.Not the basic stuff but other things,As Neville Hunter (FactHunter) spells it out."We never stop Learning " end quote. Learning at home in books and here is free. I thought I new a fair bit years ago, went I first joined this site.It didnt take me long to relize that my knowledge was very minimal. I have learned so much here your at the right place buddy.Cheers Good luck with your flying journey. 1
facthunter Posted May 14, 2011 Posted May 14, 2011 jake in response to #12 , there is insurance (significant factor) and other things, that others may be better able to elaborate on, covered by your membership. Your instructor sounds OK. You don't have to "love" him/her, and in some ways a "firm" approach may produce better results with some students who might like to get all "palsy" and be a bit slack. You have to trust him and his knowledge/judgement . You only learn in the ab-initio stage ONCE. IF you have any wrong concepts, you may not correct them later, and they may bite you at a critical time. Training a pilot in the initial stages is a very responsible job, so don't just go for the cheapest quote...Nev
Hildy Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 JakeF,there is no hard and fast rule Read until your braim hurts, go and try it, and then read some more Simple, the object is to understand and relate What if you run out of reading material first?
facthunter Posted May 17, 2011 Posted May 17, 2011 Keep up to date on the rules and procedures. They are NOT easy to understand. They seem to be written in a way that leaves it unclear as to exactly what is meant, unfortunately. Regarding extra knowledge, It's everywhere. There may be a time when YOU have attained enough knowledge to write a book or two on particular aspects of aviation, that you have researched. Then someone else can learn from you. You NEVER know ALL about aviation. The more you research the more you will be able to pick errors in the assumptions some others make, at times. Surprising where you will get your knowledge from. Be skeptical about many things and keep an open mind to new concepts. The basics of flying remain the same as it was, even in the early days, although not so well understood universally.. Aviation is not very tolerant of errors/mistakes/ slackness. That is a consistent fact. Nev
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