hello forumers....

[Guest simon bourke]

hmm.. as a newbie to the forum,and space between my feet and the ground, im hoping i can be excused for asking for somthing in my first post here.. ive wondering if anyone has knowledge of dvds or books that will help me wade through the learning curve thats smit me since gaining my student licence ?

 

 

[rgmwa]

Bob Tait (link below) publishes a series of text books that are widely used in flight schools. John Brandon also had a series of very good tutorials on the RA-Aus website, but when I checked just now, they have been taken off the site. Anyone know the reason?

 

rgmwa

 

Welcome to Bob Tait's Aviation Theory School

 

PS. here's an on-line reference I came across that may be useful:

 

http://www.av8n.com/how/

 

 

[dazza 38]

Welcome Simon, i use Bob Tait.I go back every once and awhile. and reread things.So i dont forget to much.lol

 

 

[Skippy22]

Hi, I am new here too, I got a dvd made in the UK for about $20 which covers all your basic theory stuff of how aircraft all work etc, sometimes easier to understand when on a DVD. Purchased it from QLD. Have the Jim Davis PPL book got throught flying school. Good Luck!

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

...John Brandon also had a series of very good tutorials on the RA-Aus website, but when I checked just now, they have been taken off the site. Anyone know the reason?rgmwa

I suggest you PM him and ask. When I was doing my BAK study, it all suddenly disappeared (last year) and after I contacted John, he indicated that he was unaware why it had disappeared, and he then restored it again.

 

It is too good a resource to not have available to all.

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

Found the reason John Brandon's tutorials are missing from the RA-Aus web site...

 

They are being migrated to this web site. See the notice on RA-AUS site here.

 

They are expected to be re-published next month.

 

 

[Powerin]

Found the reason John Brandon's tutorials are missing from the RA-Aus web site...They are being migrated to this web site. See the notice on RA-AUS site here.

 

They are expected to be re-published next month.

It looks like John Brandon's tutorials are already here

 

And welcome to RecFly Simon! :big_grin:

 

Peter

 

 

[Powerin]

When I was doing my BAK study, it all suddenly disappeared (last year) .

David, do you think you could pass a BAK using these tutorials alone....or do you still need to buy some books? I've read the See How it Flies online book (at the av8n link above) some time ago and was starting JB's tutorials when they got pulled. They look pretty good (I haven't started training yet).

 

Peter

 

(sorry for hijacking your thread Simon :) )

 

 

[Admin]

Yes, John is migrating his tutorials to here at Recreational Flying. They are still in the migrating stage with John revising them as he does each one.

 

When all done there will be a link on the menu to go to John's tutorial section.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank John and with all the new students and seasoned pilots here they will help many many people in enhancing their flying skills

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

David, do you think you could pass a BAK using these tutorials alone....or do you still need to buy some books? I've read the See How it Flies online book (at the av8n link above) some time ago and was starting JB's tutorials when they got pulled. They look pretty good (I haven't started training yet).Peter

 

(sorry for hijacking your thread Simon :) )

Powerin;

 

John's tutorials are very good and could take you most of the way to the required knowledge for a BAK, but not completely. On the other hand they contain more detailed information in some areas than the BAK... But it never hurts to know more than you need to.

 

The resources you need will partly depend on the way in which you learn and your background knowledge. There are a lot of other resources on the Internet, but as with anything on the Internet you have to be wary of well meaning individuals who post inaccurate information, even here. Thus, if you are going to just use Internet resources, you need to find multiple independent references to verify the information is correct.

 

Please note that I am not an instructor, so I cannot advise you, but rather just tell you what worked for me.

 

I read all John's tutorials before I had my first lesson, but I did have a single flight as passenger, taking photographs, in a 912 trike prior to this. In fact that was what inspired me to learn to fly :) I then started flying lessons and attending ground school. When you have selected a flying school, talk with your instructor about the way in which that school / instructor teaches and what order s/he does things.

 

I obtained Radio, Air Legislation and Human Factors endorsements way before doing the BAK, but it all depends on the learning pathway that you and your instructor follow.

 

I passed the Pilot Certificate (and all prerequisite requirements), Passenger Endorsement and Navigation without buying a single book, but I did buy some aeronautical charts of the area (WAC, VNC, VTC) to assist my study. I was also given a VFR Guide as part of the early training, so also read that cover to cover. At the point where I started Navigation, I bought AirNav VFR (a PC based flight planning / mapping application). That meant I could print off maps to use at a lower cost (if you ignore the initial cost of the software) and more easily than buying and repeatedly photocopying. Again whether this works for you is your own assessment once you reach that point.

 

The current VFR Guide is not published in hardcopy, but can be downloaded as a PDF from CASA web site. The VFRG contains information that covers GA requirements as well as Recreational, so there are parts and aspects that do not apply to Recreational pilots.

 

You can download the Ra-Aus Operations and Technical manuals from their web site. The former contains the syllabi for each certification and endorsement, so that is recommended reading.

 

What I did to study for my BAK was to write down (on a PC) the syllabus of the BAK from the Operations manual and then proceed to write notes and answers to each point in the syllabus. By the time I had finished it ran to some 43 pages. This approach suits my learning style. A few days after completing that I indicated to my instructor, in casual conversation over a cup of tea, that I had completed the notes, as I had told him previously how I was approaching the learning task. He said, "I expect you'd just like to sit the test now?" I said, "err; yes; why not.", so he went and fetched it for me. So I stayed at the table and completed it then and there.

 

My approach has been that I wanted to learn as much as possible to make me a better and safer pilot, so my objective was not just to learn to pass a test. That is probably reflected in the depth to which I researched the various topics, so my approach is probably more than is needed to "just pass the test".

 

One thing I have found, is that some of the questions aren't expressed well, so I have occasionally had to ask questions of my instructor to firstly understand the question in order to answer it.

 

Some other sites that I have found helpful are:-

 

• Airservices Australia
   
   
  
• Weather Bureau Aviation section
   
   
  

 

 

Best wishes for your journey.

 

I think, as others here will tell you... never stop learning :-)

 

 

[Powerin]

Many thanks for that comprehensive answer David! Exactly the info I was after and I was thinking of approaching study exactly as you have (sounds like we're both knowledge junkies :big_grin:). I looked through the Ops Manual syllabus and thought to myself that I knew a fair bit of it already, so I wondered if it was possible to do the research myself (with guidance from the FI of course).

 

Just back from my 2nd TIF...now to choose which school

 

Thanks again,

 

Peter

 

(and I hope that helps you too Simon)

 

 

[Mazda]

Check with the school to see which books they recommend for students as they may have a preference. I used the ATC books and found them to be very good.

 

If you want to save some money keep a look out on Ebay because they do turn up.

 

CASA publishes quite a few DVDs and publications which are FREE. All you need to do is place an order and pay for postage. They include things like weather, operations at non-tower aerodromes, aircraft maintenance for pilots, human behaviour and looking out.