Reddit reviews Guided Flight Discovery: Private Pilot
We found 2 Reddit comments about Guided Flight Discovery: Private Pilot. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Private Pilot Training ManualLearn to Fly an AirplaneFlyingAirplanesFlight Manuals
This AMA seems to have died, so I figured I would help out as much as I could (I'm currently training to get my private pilot license).
As far as books, you will definitely want to acquire a FAR/AIM and study parts 91 and 61 specifically. Additionally, my flight instructor owns of copy of this book, which does a fantastic job of explaining things. It would also be a good idea to get a copy of The Jeppesen Private Pilot Manual as your entire private pilot course will almost certainly be based on the Jeppesen curriculum that this book follows chapter by chapter.
I fly Cessna 152's, and climate is controlled by two knobs, one that reads "cabin heat" and another that reads "cabin air". There are also air vents near the top of the windshield for hot days. Be warned, neither the cabin heat nor air are effective until the engines warms up, and even then only marginally so. So if it's frigid outside you will still want to wear a heavy sweatshirt (pilots love their leather jackets) and gloves.
I wish I could give you warning signs about bad instructors, but I seem to have gotten lucky with a very good one. I would say to pay attention to how much they seem to know what they're talking about and how practiced they seem at instructing maneuvers (required airplane configurations, clearing turns, pilot action, etc.) as these are signs of experienced instructors. An instructor who has think about these things or look them up probably isn't very experienced. Also, watch how they land, the more control a pilot has over the plane, the better their landing will be. Talented pilots can touch down and you will hardly even feel it happen.
Personally, I just paid straight up cash for each lesson that I took. It gave me more peace of mind that way knowing that I only had to worry about myself and not repaying a bank back for it.
Depending on where you are, how much airplane rental time / fuel costs and the CFI hourly rate is, you're looking at maybe two lessons per month on a budget like that.. that's assuming one hour of flight time with an instructor at $100/hr for the airplane and about $45 for the CFI's time. Some flights go longer than one hour depending on the lesson or if it's a busy day with many people waiting in line to take off! That can eat into it very quickly... I had one flight from Princeton, NJ to Norfolk, VA and back with a CFI on board that cost me ~$700 for the five-hour flight(this was for IFR training). A single flight from one airport to another that's 50 miles away can easily span two hours, and that will happen multiple times in your training.
As the top poster said, budgeting $7000 is probably a good idea, but understand that it may go a bit over. The more frequently you fly, the less chance of getting rusty in lessons. Personally I'd recommend at least 3-4 lessons per month. Find out how much the rates are for the different airplanes along with the hourly charges for the CFI.
Also, study study study, too. Ground school is a big part of the cost of flying, and there is a lot you can learn on your own before ever stepping in a plane. I highly recommend picking up:
The key is that the more ground school you do now, the more you can concentrate on flying when you have more saved up. You're going to need all of these things anyway when it comes time to get serious about it, so it's better to have a jump on it and come in there knowing your stuff.
Good luck!