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Student Pilot ground

Asked by: 1736 views General Aviation

How much time should one actually spend time on ground subjects per week with a student? I feel like these students say they'll study at home but really dont. 

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3 Answers



  1. KDS on Mar 13, 2019

    Just as much as it takes to ensure they are a safe and competent pilot, but no more. How that plays out depends on the individual student.

    Here is your study objective and material. Then briefly cover the highlights. Then during the next lesson ask if they have any questions and then test on the material. Based on the results, proceed as appropriate.

    It’s good to ensure they understand that a lot of time spent doing ground training is expensive and can be greatly reduced through home study. Also that flight lessons will be more meaningful if they have studied.

    Beyond that, they are adults and make their own choices.

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  2. Mark Kolber on Mar 14, 2019

    Self-study is a good thing but needs to be monitored. Light quizzing helps uncover lack of studying or areas which need more than self-study. For the recalcitrant, a mini oral can help them see the light.

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  3. ayavner on Mar 14, 2019

    Yeah, ultimately they have to participate in their own salvation, or they are only wasting their time and yours, and their money.

    I spent a lot of time with a student who was getting close to time for checkride (i did this gratis while practicing for my CFI) – it was very clear after about 8 hours over several weeks that he was neither studying nor internalizing the info and had some very basic misunderstandings about a great many things. In the end I told him (and his instructor concurred) that this was a waste of time until he could discipline himself to studying and applying the material. In this case he’s an “older” (>50) student and just had way too many commitments and distractions.

    Though I felt the sessions helped a bit (certainly helped me!) in the end, neither his instructor nor I have seen or heard from him. Hope he’s getting it worked out!

    Take the time to find out what their best learning style is – have you turned them on to the Sporty’s Learn to Fly or King’s courses? Those are wonderful and I think when used in combination with the reading material can really help solidify some concepts. And of course I’d encourage them not to get too far ahead because some things just simply aren’t going to click until they’ve done it… easy to get overwhelmed with too much info.

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