PRIVATE PILOT

AIRPLANE, SINGLE ENGINE, LAND
 

COURSE INTRODUCTION

This course is designed to provide flight and ground training, in preparation for taking the knowledge, and practical test, for airman certification as a Private Pilot, with ratings for Airplane – Single Engine – Land; as authorized under 14 CFR, Part 61 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR’s).  The lesson content, outlined herein, is intended to provide at least the MINIMUM requirements for flight experience, flight proficiency, and subject matter knowledge, to qualify for certification testing.

 All study materials are available for free, on-line, from government and other sources.  Students are only required to purchase a minimal number of charts and equipment items that are necessary to legally and safely operate the aircraft.

Flight training will be given as ‘Dual Instruction’ or Solo Training.  During Dual Instruction the student flies ‘one-on-one’ with a certified instructor.  Solo flight training will consist of structured practice and planned cross country trips where the student is the sole occupant of the aircraft and the sole manipulator of the controls.  Ground training is given as a combination of dual instruction and home study.

ELIGABILITY REQUIREMENTS

 Participants in this course must meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. ·        An applicant for this course must show by proper documentation, that he or she is a citizen of the United States, or show proper documentation that they have approval from U.S. Homeland Security to begin training for this certificate.  Additional guidance on this topic is available on request.
2. ·        The applicant may begin training at any age; however he or she must be at least 16 years of age to solo an airplane, and must be at least 17 years of age to be eligible for a Private Pilot Airman Certificate.
3. ·        The applicant must be able to read, speak, write, and understand the English language, in order to be recommended for a Student Pilot, or Private Pilot Airman Certificate.
4. ·        To be eligible to solo an airplane, and to hold a Private Pilot Airman Certificate, the applicant must obtain at least a FAA Third Class Medical Certificate.  Additional guidance on this topic is available on request.

TIME AND RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

 Sequence and Milestones

The quest to earn a Private Pilot Airman Certificate involves four major milestones;

1)     Meet the eligibility requirements to pursue training for the program, and obtain a 3^rd Class Medical Certificate from a designated FAA Medical Examiner.

2)     Complete the training outlined in this syllabus.

3)     Pass a FAA knowledge test.

4)     Pass an oral and practical test given by a FAA examiner.

Training Time Summary

This course is divided into four stages with each stage having an ultimate learning objective.  The following tables summarize how the training time is allocated between flight and ground training, as well as showing the number of hours that should be devoted to home (SOLO) study.  Of course, these numbers are estimates based on the needs of a typical student, the availability of the aircraft, and the suitability of the weather to the scheduled flights.  It is also reasonable and typical to expect some areas of training to require additional emphasis, or remedial training

Indicated hours per flight are approximate.  Flights per stage are estimates.

Materials and Supplies

This course makes use of study resources that are free, and readily available ‘on-line’ (The FAA and others charge a modest fee for bound hard copies).  No purchased study materials are required to complete this course, at this time.

 Students of this course should plan to obtain their own pilot supplies including; a paper copy of the current VFR sectional chart for our practice area, an E6B analog flight computer, and a paper or electronic copy of the Chart Supplement (Airport Facility Directory).

 The following open source publications are available for download, from the FAA (www.faa.gov) as .PDF files.  Some of them are large and may take significant time to download.  Make sure you save or print them for convenient access.

AERONAUTICAL INFORMATION MANUAL (DECEMBER 2015, CHANGE 2 -  NOVEMBER 2016)

AIRPLANE FLYING HANDBOOK (2016, FAA-H-8083-3B)

PILOT'S HANDBOOK OF AERONAUTICAL KNOWLEDGE (2016, FAA-H-8083-25B)

FEDERAL AVIATION REGULATIONS PART 61

FEDERAL AVIATION REGULATIONS PART 91

NTSB PART 830 ACCIDENT REPORTING

AC 00-6B ADVISORY CIRCULAR - AVIATION WEATHER FOR PILOTS (AUGUST 2016)

AC 00-45H ADVISORY CIRCULAR - AVIATION WEATHER SERVICES (NOVEMBER 2016)

RISK MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK (JANUARY 2016)

PRIVATE PILOT - AIRPLANE, AIRMAN CERTIFICATION STANDARDS (JUNE 2016)

The following resource materials are available as free downloads from our website (www.tamarackaviationservices.com):

DR NAVIGATION SMARTFORM  (.XLS spreadsheet) -- This is a new take on the reliable old dead reckoning form.  Fill out the white cells with the flight info from your planned cross country flight and imbedded formulas automatically calculate ground speeds, wind drift angles, leg flight times, and fuel burns.  The calculated information is displayed in the depicted grey cells.

AIRCRAFT FLIGHT MANUAL (.PDF file) -- Also called the Aircraft Owner’s Manual or Pilot’s Operating Handbook; contains detailed information about the operation, performance, and maintenance of the aircraft.

AIRCRAFT CHECKLISTS (.PDF file) -- The same information as depicted on laminated cards kept in each aircraft, including:  Preflight, Normal Operation, Emergency, and Precautionary Emergency checklists.

You should plan on procuring the following materials and equipment from other suppliers in preparation for this course: 

•   Current sectional charts for our area, and chart supplements (facility directories) that can be purchased from on-line resources or at the FBO at your local airport.
•    A dead reckoning flight computer, such as an E6B or electronic equivalent that may be purchased from on-line resources or at the FBO at your local airport.
•    A Copy of the Aircraft Flight Manual or Pilot’s Operating Handbook, or Owner’s Manual for your aircraft
•    Copies of Normal and Emergency checklists for your aircraft.

STANDARDS AND ADMINISTRATION

 Performance Standards

The performance standards used in this program as they relate to aeronautical knowledge, risk management, and flight proficiency, are contained within the; Private Pilot – Airplane, Airman Certification Standards (June 2016), FAA-S-ACS-6.  Satisfactory completion of any training element will be based on criteria published in this ACS.

 Flight Training

Students should familiarize themselves with each lesson outline prior to the scheduled meeting, and complete the prerequisite study assignments.  During the preflight ground training, the specific objectives of the lesson will be briefed by the instructor, and areas requiring emphasis will be covered at that time.

After the flight portion of the lesson, a post-flight debriefing will be conducted by the instructor to identify areas that may need improvement, clarify any areas of misunderstanding, and make note of those areas that were performed successfully.

Both the student and the instructor should retain records of the student’s performance on each lesson.

 Ground Training

Ground study material can be consumed in multiple ways; the student can ‘home study’ the material as outlined, it can be presented by the instructor ‘in class’, or some combination of these approaches.  The course syllabus describes flight and ground training lessons that proceed in parallel and are integrated in a way that coordinates the relevance of the content.  Each flight lesson will include pre and post flight discussions that will be considered as ground training.

 Adaptive Training

This syllabus contains all of the specific topics that are required by the FAR’s, and is organized in way that facilitates learning for most students.   It is recognized that each student’s abilities and needs are unique, and training opportunities can be strongly influenced by weather, medical factors, and financial constraints.  The organization and structure of this syllabus can and should be modified, as needed, to accommodate these realities.

 For example, flight training opportunities are frequently limited during the winter months, and cold weather issues can become an operational concern.  This is a good time to shift emphasis to subjects that do not relate directly to flight maneuvers such as weather and regulations.  In addition, cold weather operations require specific training emphasis during this period, and as a result the cold weather training elements of this syllabus may be taken out of order and allowed to supersede the regular order of the syllabus.  Therefore any weather related interruption of training should be regarded as a training opportunity, and the program should be modified accordingly.

 Lessons may be reordered or expanded as necessary to meet the learning needs of the student and the available opportunities for training.  Note that some lessons may be conducted as either dual or solo training at the option of the instructor.

Training in Student Provided Aircraft

We welcome opportunities to conduct training in student provided aircraft.  That said, it is important to understand that your aircraft needs to be a suitable platform for dual instruction.  Here are some key requirements:

• ·         The aircraft must be fully airworthy at all times and have current airworthiness, registration, and condition inspection documentation.
• ·         The aircraft must meet the performance and equipment requirements for use in a practical test for certification.
• ·         The aircraft must have a fully usable second pilot seat and fully functional dual controls.
• ·         The aircraft must be equipped with an operational 720 channel two way aircraft radio and a two place intercom (or be sufficiently quiet for normal conversation).
• ·         The aircraft must be equipped with a suitable ATC transponder with altitude encoding and/ or ADS-B out capability, if training and an endorsement for flight in Class B,C, and D airspace is desired.