 2008-11-05 - OK, not worth the money
I bought this as I was starting my private, but I never even referred to it as I was studying for the written, and it gathers dust on my bookshelf today. I refer now to my FAA pilot's handbook and FAA instrument flying handbook instead.
It's like many of the Jepp products: they cost a lot, and there are equivalent--or better--resources available for much lower cost, often for free.
 2008-02-05 - Very Good product
This product is same as described in purchase. Delivery was very quickly and good conditions. I recommend this product and provider. Sincerely. Jose Pena
2007-10-21 - Surprisingly bad -- is there no other textbook out there?
I came to ground school with no knowledge of aviation. The Jeppesen text was chosen by our instructor. It is described as a comprehensive textbook that will prepare a student to take the written portion of the private pilot exam. (Jeppesen also publishes textbooks for the practical/oral exam.)
The text is divided into five parts (Fundamentals, Operations, Weather, Performance and Navigation, and Integrating Pilot Knowledge and Skills). These are subdivided into eleven chapters. Each chapter includes a summary checklist, list of key terms, and review questions. In ground school, we are covering one chapter per week in a three-hour lecture.
The chapter-end questions are a mix of fill-in-the-blank, matching, true/false, and essay. Answers and explanations are provided. For further review, Jeppesen publishes a separate Test Guide, which contains brief synopses of each chapter, and then relevant questions from the FAA's list of 900 possible multiple-choice questions for the written exam. The Test Guide includes detailed answers, explaining both the correct choice and the incorrect ones. This separate Test Guide is a valuable supplement to the Private Pilot Manual.
I trust my instructor to give us the knowledge we will need in the cockpit and for the written exam. The most significant training occurs in the cockpit, anyway. However, I am fighting with this text every step of the way.
I am reading this text from a position of no knowledge, and therefore some confusion is expected. However, I have 22 years of formal education, and have seen quite a few textbooks (mostly in the medical field).
The writing style and quality of figures are typical of a textbook written by committee with no principal author. It also contains what might optimistically be called humanizing elements, but which I find distract from the task at hand. It may be interesting to know Amelia Erhart's last words to the control tower, but it is unclear how those words relate to contemporary air traffic control.
Also, many figures are obscure or misleading For example, an illustration of Denver airport shows the skylines of Denver and Chicago floating in the sky above the airport. The two skylines are connected by a one-lane strip of pavement representing the amount of pavement used in the Denver airport.
Overall, this seems to be a popular textbook. I wish I could find something better, but it may be that no such text exists.
2006-08-14 - College type text book
I recommend this book because it covers all the material for the Private Pilot license in an easy to understand manner. It is full of colored pictures and important concepts in bold print. This is a great book for studying to become a private pilot.
2006-01-20 - I used it, now my students do.
Yes, I know it's pricey. Think of it as an investment. Buy it. End of story.
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