Do you guys prefer online ground school or in person?
What are the benefits of each one?
What do I cover in ground school? Do I fly at the same time I learn or?
I can’t speak for all schools. I can only speak for those I’ve looked into. To expect to be “taught” what you need to learn to be come a pilot (i.e. sit in a classroom, be assigned an hour of homework or maybe two etc.) is not normal. That’s college or high school. Flight training requires a massive amount of personal dedication to self-study. You use “Ground School” time with the instructor (CFI) to have difficult concepts explained or get deeper insight. It’s not “school” like most people think.
I’m not familiar with Embry-Riddle or the other aviation colleges, maybe they assemble you in a lecture hall and kill you with PowerPoints and homework assignments to kind of (forgive me if this seems rude) spoon-feed the information in digestible amounts class by class, giving you written tests, grading them and handing them back and reviewing with you. But to do that at a flight school, again, those I’ve looked into, would cost you many, many extra dollars.
Reality is: You read, you read, you watch YouTube videos or any other media to help the info sink in, you test yourself using electronic testing databases, you make flashcards and drill. Then, you show up on the day of the flight, review a little and then demonstrate/physical experience in the air (which is not a great place to attempt to digest new book knowledge…there’s a lot going on in the cockpit!). A whole lot of personal drive is required to master the material and then apply it.
I prefer a combination of both. At the airline level we are given computer-based training modules that we can complete on our own time, and then we attend in-person ground lessons to enhance what we’ve learned.
Ground at ATP is conducted in the same way. Students are expected to complete self-study modules, including readings from FAA publications, and then the instructor schedules in-person ground sessions to polish the knowledge learned.
Tory