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Ground Knowledge Is Important

How to use a E6B flight compute
Learn how to use a E6B flight computer. [Stock photo: Shutterstock]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Private pilot ground school provides foundational knowledge, and a strong score on the computer-based knowledge test is crucial as Designated Pilot Examiners (DPEs) use it to tailor the subsequent check ride's oral exam.
  • Ground school can be completed face-to-face, online, or via self-study, and thorough engagement is vital, including mastering practical skills like using a manual E6B flight computer.
  • Effective test preparation involves consistent practice tests (aiming for 90% or higher repeatedly before the official test) and understanding that the ultimate goal is to acquire knowledge for safe flying, not merely to pass.
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One of my great joys as a flight instructor is teaching private pilot ground school, because that’s where flight training begins for many aviators. The candidates come in fresh, and it’s the instructor’s job to nurture their interest and to help them obtain foundational knowledge. It is serious business. 

Sadly, many pilots in training see private pilot ground school as a means to pass the knowledge exam (it hasn’t been a written test since the 1990s—it is completed on a computer) and that’s it. Some student pilots have a “just get it over with” mentality for the knowledge test, with the idea that 70 percent is the minimum passing grade, and anything higher than that is overkill. 

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.

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