BlackAce wrote on Feb 8
th, 2012 at 9:14am:
I put that how many hours I've done on FSX is how many I do on ground school.
Thanks
I'm not sure if I understand this part... but if you're trying to say that using FSX will in any way help you with the FAA written or oral exams, forget it. The reality of MSFS has very little to do with the FAA's reality. You might as well prepare for the FAA written and oral by playing Call of Duty. I'm not kidding.
You need to focus on the FAR/AIM, and whatever maneuvers and aircraft systems stuff you've been using for ground school (I assume you are taking ground classes...?).
The videos are cool, but my "secret" that served me very well was to make flash cards, based on the material I was studying, including notes taken during ground classes. A little work, but just writing down or typing that stuff may help you remember it better. FAR/AIM chapters, POH chapter, weight&balance, airport markings, VFR minimums, chart symbols, METARs, etc. etc. I'd go through the pile of cards once a day, setting aside the ones I guessed right, then re-shuffling the rest. I'd keep going until there was only one pile. At least once a day, for a few months. It worked, for me anyway, much better than just reading the stuff and hoping it stuck in my head. The key with the flash cards is that you are testing yourself... the written and oral are not reading-comprehension tests, they are knowledge tests. You need to study by testing your understanding of the material, not by memorizing it word by word.
I almost aced the written... only missed one multiple-choice question because I checked off the wrong answer by mistake. There's another tip: take your time; read every question twice, and double-check your answer. You can take the written again if you want, but you need to pass it before you do the check ride. If you just barely pass, relax... but be damn sure you do better on the oral, because a good DE will look at your answers from the written and focus on those weak areas.
Nobody's conspiring to keep you out of the elite priesthood of aviators- they just want to make sure you know this stuff before they turn you loose with your ticket.
I'd also recommend taking mock tests (Gleim makes a great study guide/mock test book)... practice taking the written, have your instructor do a mock oral (good practice for the instructor, too), and have a fellow student pilot (or anybody, really) open the FAR/AIM and ask you questions based on what they see there (from the parts relevant to the PPASEL).
If you're asking "what will they ask me?" I can only say:
For the written, there will be a lot of multiple-choice stuff, mostly very predictable topics. But it will be based on a wide spectrum- everything from how carb heat works to interpreting METARs. So you need to study
everything. There will be simple flight-planning and navigation problems based on a sample sectional chart.
As for the oral, I will start by saying SAY ONLY WHAT IS NECESSARY. Any question that can be answered with only "yes", "no" or "I don't know" should be answered
only with "yes", "no" or "I don't know"You do not get extra points for showing off what you know, and you may be very surprised by what you merely
think you know. If the DE needs more than "yes" or "no", he/she will ask for more, believe me. If you show weakness in any topic, the examiner will dig deeper, which will make the whole thing take longer. So DO NOT volunteer details unless they ask for them. For example, if the DE asks "Do you know what holds an airplane up in flight?" don't start rambling about aerodynamics. Say "yes".
But if you're not sure, by all means say "no", or "I don't know." If you want to lighten the mood, say "Money is what holds an airplane up", but make sure the DE seems to have a sense of humor first.
You can't really fail the oral... if the DE has to refresh your memory or add to what you've been taught, it's OK. You have to be completely unprepared and utterly clueless for the DE to tell you to hit the books and come back some other time. Otherwise, they will just keep you sitting there as long as it takes... so BE PREPARED.
The oral is open-book... BRING THE POH AND ALL OTHER MATERIALS WITH YOU. Print out a METAR for that day, especially if you're doing the check ride that day, and be ready to interpret it, including its relevance to your flight. Know any relevant NOTAMs, too. Know how to find stuff quickly in the POH or FAR/AIM, or you'll end up reviewing that stuff with the DE until they are satisfied. For example, if you can't remember what type of hydraulic fluid goes in the nose wheel strut, you will be OK if you say "No". The DE will probably say "OK, no problem; I see you have the POH with you- where do you look in there for that info?" If you say "I don't know" at this point, it's better than saying the wrong chapter. Safest bet is to admit you don't know, then find it- quickly. This is satisfactory to them because it's the least anyone could expect of any pilot... if you have the POH with you when you fly, it's just like having a written checklist. It's not cheating- it's just good practice. Same goes for the FAR/AIM... so make sure you can quickly look up anything you might forget. But make sure you don't have to do it for every question, LOL!!
Anyway... fly your sim if you like, but make sure you study efficiently. And be sure to get your CFI involved in the preparations- ask about exactly what you should bring for the written and the oral, ask for mock tests, etc.
Good luck... and remember: the most important thing you must demonstrate, for the written, the oral, and the checkride, is that you can
think like you are the pilot in command.
Thinking the right way is better than having all the trivia memorized. It's even more important than flying the airplane well... the check ride is, again, a knowledge test, and a test of your ability to
command an aircraft, not just fly it. You don't get extra points for being a "natural."
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