Private Pilot Helicopter

Purpose of this Course

This course provides student pilots with the academic knowledge to pass their FAA Private Pilot Airplane Knowledge Test (PAR) and the relevant portions of the Oral Exam. Most importantly, it gives new pilots a framework for learning. Instead of merely imparting knowledge, we show students how to consult source material, think critically, and broadly evaluate and mitigate risk.

Training Philosophy

Our philosophy is simple: high quality learning is hard work, and there is no shortcut. There is no way around this truth. Our course provides the opportunity, but students must grasp it through engaged, intentional study and honest reflection of their knowledge and ability throughout the course.

The FAA defines learning as “a change in the behavior of the learner as a result of experience.” Learning isn’t reciting information from memory or passing a written test. It’s about internalizing the knowledge in a way that impacts behavior—flying better, making smarter decisions, and so on. This course should be approached with that in mind. Meaningful learning is rarely an efficient process.

We wholeheartedly embrace this. Sometimes, we direct students to relevant portions of government handbooks and ask them to read through and familiarize themselves with them. Other times, we use blackboard-style lecture videos to simplify complex topics so pilots can approach them practically on the ground and in the air. Whatever the lesson, thoroughly learning material requires that students actively engage with the material in ways that work best for them, often some combination of taking and organizing notes, studying flashcards, applying the knowledge in scenarios, asking questions, studying with others, and diving deep into the source material.

That’s challenging, but the good news is that you are not going it alone. We strongly encourage students to use our built-in messaging system to ask questions. We are here to help and look forward to answering them!

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, students should know to:

• Confidently assess and mitigate risk before and during flights
• Apply their understanding of aerodynamic principles to succeed in flight training
• Critically and independently evaluate the quality of advice from other pilots and instructors through a firm grasp of the knowledge and by referencing source materials
• Decrease flight training costs by exceeding training standards in fewer hours as a result of diligent study and practice
• Pass the FAA Private Pilot Airplane Knowledge Test (PAR) through exceptional knowledge

Course Order

Ground School topics can be loosely grouped into physical and regulatory subject areas.

Our first focus is on the physical, including aerodynamics, weather, and aircraft systems. Our reasoning is simple: deficiencies in these areas have extremely high consequences in an airplane. There’s a strong tendency in ground and flight training to over-focus on regulations and neglect the pure fundamentals that make for safe flying.

The second half of our course focuses on regulatory topics, including airworthiness and airspace.

That said, the course order is merely a suggestion. Students and their instructors should feel free to review course material in a different order if they prefer.

Graduation Requirements

We issue a graduation certificate, which doubles as the written exam endorsement, after students:

• Complete all lessons and topics
• Complete all review quizzes
• Pass both final exams with a score of 90% or better