Looking for advice on DVD/online refresher

[beeryboats]

There are so many different Private Pilot refresher courses out there, I'm asking the group for advice. I'm way, WAY, out of date but I found a CFI willing to work with me. He supported my idea of an online study, but he wouldn't single out any course. Sporty's has a bunch, but they range from $300 to $35. And they even have one on how to talk on the radio.

[Geowitz]

I understand that if you just want a simple straight forward already arranged program that you probably wouldn't mind paying for it, but if you're willing to do a little searching, YouTube has pretty much everything you need. It will at least get you started.

[efwd]

Good Question Beeryboats.
I have set up my vacation for next spring and will be doing the same as you then with Stick and Rudder. I have requested information on the exact topic from Paul Leadabrand. They are out in the sticks doing training until Monday. I think I will be speaking to him sometime soon and will share with the group what he has to say once I have the information. Most everyone here is current but I am aware of a few of us who aren't by a long shot so what we discover may help those of us who need to do some work.
Eddie

[southwind32]

Anything Rod Machado puts out is well worth it. He's very knowledgeable, organized, and has a lighthearted approach to instructing.

[rv9ralph]

Try faasafety.gov. It is the new home of the WINGS program. You can do online courses to satisfy the ground instruction portion of your Flight Review, or just to refresh your previous training. The source of the courses is varied. Some are from AOPA and are very good. Some are from CFIs and are so-so. I used them to freshen up on some areas that I felt I had become rusty.

The web site can be a little cluttered and confusing because it is trying to provide a lot of information and options.

Give it a try, can't hurt. And, it's free.

Ralph

[aviator79]

As others have said, I wouldn't pay for a refresher course when there are so many quality sources for free. You do need to be a little careful about randomly searching youtube as it can be difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.

This document is what the FAA publishes for flight instructors to use as a guide for conducting a flight review. You might use it to guide your study, and branch to other sources as needed.
https://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/media/flight_review.pdf

Also, FAA-H-8083-3B, The Airplane Flying Handbook, is actually really good. I refer students to this often overlooked publication all the time. It reads easily.

[offroute]

Here's a couple good online courses that have worked well for my clients:
https://www.gleimaviation.com/shop/prc/
https://www.gleimaviation.com/shop/frgt/

Then find yourself an instructor get comfortable again in the airplane you want to operate in and finish up with EMT training, DVDs and books from:

http://richstowell.com

[bumsteer]

May also want to consider attending on of the AOPA Rusty Pilot seminars. About 3 hours long and qualifies as the ground school portion of a biennial.

Rick

[beeryboats]

May also want to consider attending on of the AOPA Rusty Pilot seminars. About 3 hours long and qualifies as the ground school portion of a biennial.

Rick

I would loved to find one that's local. Seems like they are all six hour drive or more.

[Cherrybark]

Getting back into radio jargon can be eased by monitoring traffic with https://www.liveatc.net/ You can listen for free in your browser or buy a phone / mobile app. The various "Listen" links will open flash player windows in your browser so you can listen to multiple frequencies, say DFW tower and departure.

Open a link to FlightAware and you can watch the virtual airplanes with their contrails. Hover the mouse over a plane to get details of the flight.

If I get these links right, here is DFW Departure radio and corresponding FlightAware.

https://www.liveatc.net/flisten.php?mount=kdfw10

http://flightaware.com/live/airport/KDFW

[jiott]

I agree Carl, but I wish those live atc sites would include the smaller towered airports where the radio calls are more like we actually use. The chatter from commercial pilots is not very useful to me.

[Cherrybark]

On the LiveATC site, try "Browse LiveATC Feeds" then "Class D / Other...". There might be some reasonable sized airports with enough weekend chatter to make it interesting. I haven't spent much time on the site.

A favorite is to listen to Oshkosh or look for YouTube recordings. What a remarkable job those controllers do keeping everyone relaxed and the traffic flowing.

[efwd]

I found my local towered airport KFUL here in Anaheim area. Type in the search box on the Left of the screen. I put in KFUL and it came up.
Thanks Carl, pretty neat.

[efwd]

I have also been watching the fire fighting spotter plane (a C-172) fly circles around and around the local fire here on the other site. That site is kinda strange. I can type in someones Tail number, even law enforcement, and follow them around in the sky.

[jiott]

Thanks Carl, I'll try again to get some small class D airports.

[Rodney]

Found a really neat YouTube channel: steveo1kinevo

He flies a TBM mostly IFR, but I have really learned a lot by listening to his radio interaction with ATC. Nothing like listening to the real thing.

I think you would really enjoy it and find it very educational.

Regards
Rodney

[Esser]

This link is from my company. Slightly Canadianized but the info is 99% the same. If you're looking for what you need to know VFR wise. This covers everything.

https://www.navcanada.ca/EN/media/Publications/VFR%20Phraseology.pdf

[Rodney]

Beeryboats;

I have a complete set of the King Take-Off course. I think there are 18 DVD's in the course.

I'd be glad to send it to you so you can review the material. Just return it when your finished.

If you want me to send it, send me an email at Stinson97502@gmail.com with name and address, etc and I'll get it sent out.

Also works great if your having trouble sleeping. Just pop in a DVD and your off to dreamland. LOL:D

Regards
Rodney

Esser - thanks for the download. It's very helpful

[mscotter]

Beeryboats, I'd recommend going with a course where you can watch a couple sample clips and determine if the presenter is interesting to you. As a personal example, I can't stand John and Martha King's presentation style, so I have stayed away from their material. Don't get me wrong - they know their stuff without a doubt,and their material is very well put together. It's just that for me, they didn't capture my interest and I couldn't stand listening to them for hours. I've got a couple older Sporty's course's and they were ok. I've heard Rod Machado is very good, and I can tell you I've enjoyed very much listening to him speak at Sun n Fun, so I'd lean toward checking his courses out, but that's just my personal preference. I find him to be an interesting, engaging speaker, so therefore I'd prob pay much better attention watching one of his courses, and retain the information much better.