Ground School

This starts week one of twelve for ground school. My class and I are sitting in classroom India, or "I" for those of you who are unfamiliar with the phonetic alphabet. This is how all the classrooms are identified, and how any letter is stated over the radios to avoid confusion with similar sounding letters. I'm fortunate enough to already have this down not only from ZG but I spent one college summer as a Park Ranger near my parent's home in North County San Diego.

Our instructor from Amarillo, Texas, began quenching our mind’s thirst with information from the fire-hose of knowledge. The pace is fast and by the end of a day's 3 hour class I'm shocked my head hasn't burst like an over-filled water balloon. Some questions asked by my classmates are answered; others are put in a good question category because as it was stated in orientation "That requires more time to discuss than we have." Basically we don't have enough time to cover what we need to know in this 12 week period to get sidetracked. A sarcastic "Great" goes through my mind. I’ve never been one for a monkey see monkey do approach for learning. I'm the guy that wants to see how a puzzle piece fits into the entire puzzle of a subject for it to really sink it. If I know the purpose of why something is, it’s easier for the other pieces of the puzzle to fit in where they belong in the bigger picture of a subject.

We have all been asked to buy two particular books from the long list we have been given. The Gleim books. Gleim's Priavte Pilot is one and Gleim's Instrument the other. These books have all the questions that the FAA tests use. Again... we are told not to try and understand the questions and answers, but instead told to memorize the questions and answers. Again... a sarcastic "Great." These are also in the computer lab on CD-ROM and we are able to create quizzes for ourselves to learn memorize the questions and answers. We have had quite a few students in the classes ahead of us tell us to mainly stay on top of homework, and to memorize the Gleim, memorize the Gleim, memorize the Gleim.

There doesn’t seem to be much competition here. No one vying for the Top Gun trophy, because, well... there IS no Top Gun trophy. This seems to be the only drawback for type A personalities which makes up the majority of pilots. I guess I'm in the minority as a type B+ personality and I am certainly not missing out on any competition.

I wish you could see all the hand outs we received on day one and since then.

I have one sheet just for acronyms to help remember different types of checklists. AVIATES to remember inspections, FLAPS for visual flying at night, ICET for different types of airspeed, but my favorite one is ATOMATOEFLAMES which must have been written by Dan Quayle with that extra "e" floating in there. Then again, the way some of these other acronyms are written, it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s ATOM A TOE FLAMES or A TOM A TOE FLAMES which makes as much sense as TTTVVVNAPG for remembering other types of airspace. What this sheet reinforces is how much the aviation world LOVES acronyms.

Our instructor today was in a meeting and he sent another CFI to let us know we were taking a field trip, to the maintenance hanger.

We have been learning all the parts of the engine of the Cirrus SR20, and how they work including how it affects us as a pilot. Now we are going to see all the parts together including the electrical system. The head maintenance guy started at the nose and propeller of the plane and ended at the empennage or the tail of the plane. We also have been given information on using the CAPS system or Cirrus Airframe Parachute System. As the video shows, this is a parachute system for the plane itself, and not for the passengers. Apparently if you have a good landing and the plane isn’t destroyed, Cirrus can fix the plane. However... That would run you about $280,000 and the planes msrp is about $300,000 so you might as well buy a new plane. The maintenance team here at DCA has been awarded the 5 Diamond award by the FAA for some 15 years running. This award goes to those who meet the highest level of safety through maintenance. I’ve heard stories that the maintenance guys get more upset if a plane gets grounded than the student whose flight just got canceled because of the issue, and they are not upset because it’s more work for them. Talk about pride in the workplace. I know a certain couple of companies that need more of this.

So, in trying to learn memorize the questions and answers within the Gleim I have discovered something that is way better than sliced bread. The Gleim books on CD ROM. THIS is the way to memorize it! Create study sessions per section. Even tell the computer how many questions total you want and which chapters to pull from. Instant feedback so you don’t go an hour with the wrong answer in your head. This is the way to do it!

Here we are Friday, and we have covered about 5 chapters already.

Everything from aerodynamics to low and high pressure to how the "6 pack" or the 6 main instruments we use are actually built from the inside out. I'm starting to feel completely lost; however I'm not the only one. According to our instructor, it’s okay to feel this way, since next week we will be assigned our flight instructors who will give us a more hands-on approach. THIS is where everything should come together for me.

In studying the Gleim I have come across quite a few similarities in which the correct answer for some questions can be found. Patterns have emerged such as: If an answer has FAA in it... that’s the correct answer. If the multiple choice options are in feet; such as A) 1000 ft B) 2000 ft or C) 1500 ft. the answer is always the middle altitude, so in this case 1500 ft is the correct answer. This will help a great deal.

I am so glad Friday has finally come. I need the breather and a rest for my brain which is complete mush right now... but it’s not the weekend yet... not before midnight... It’s still Friday and I have to get back to the “Gleim stone!”

Keep the comments coming... I love to hearing from everyone!