Going on a 12+ hour road trip in a few weeks. What is your recommendation for ground school-like audiobook?
Alvin,
Personally I load up on some good traveling music. The reality is until you start flying and have some context, pilot ground school will probably sound like a foreign language.
Adam
I’m already in an online ground school, I’m looking for reinforcements.
Then Id ask them what they recommend.
Adam
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Audible has the Airplane Flying Handbook and the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge available from the FAA for free I believe. They are a bit dry and a bit of a foreign language with out actual flying experience.
FYI
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Thank you. I realize a lot won’t compute, just trying to become familiar with a much as I can with the time I have before attending flight school.
I highly recommend Jason Shappert’s Pass your Private Pilot Checkride on audiobook. I listen to this multiple times before starting training and then several more times during training. Yes, it sounds like another language at times but it will provide some knowledge base for when you start.
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Awesome, thank you so much!
Id second the recommendation to skip the technical audiobooks, but not as much for getting bombarded with aviation technical jargon, but to not distract you to the point you’re so into the audiobook, you miss a speed limit reduced sign and road pirates get you. And also, ground school comes with a lot of visual information in form of videos, pictures, diagrams, etc. I couldn’t imagine trying to learn a sectional chart by audio alone without a paper sectional in front of me or at least on skyvector on a computer or my phone. Instead, id recommend some easy listening aviation audiobooks. I used to work an hour away, and after a month or so and 2 hours in my car each day, I ran out of music to listen, and discovered audiobooks. Man, they were a godsend. Here are a few that I really enjoyed:
Highest Duty by Sully. Autobiography as it refers to US1549
747 by Joe Sutter. Autobiography about his rise up the Boeing ranks and eventually being the chief engineer of the 747
Skunk Works by Ben Rich. Autobiography about being Kelly Johnsons successor and the creation of F117
Operation Overflight by Francis Gary Powers. The U2 pilot shot down over soviet union
Dangerous Lessons and Guardian Angels by PJ Spivak. Awesome stories about flying a DC8 freighter in Africa and all the sketchy things flying an old plane in 3rd world countries entails
If we are getting into non technical books, check out “Flying the Line” by George Hopkins. It is a great introduction to the history of the airlines and airline pilots.
Chris
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Here goes Chris indoctrinating new pilots with union propaganda! 
Adam
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“Pilot to Pilot” is a great aviation podcast as well that covers a wide variety of topics. Listening to those about the state of the industry would also be beneficial!
Hannah
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