How Important is Ground Study for Private Pilot Certification?

he FAA has never come up with a metric for how many hours of ground study a person needs to be a pilot. [Credit: Flight Safety International/ file photo]

Question: I am making plans to acquire my private pilot certificate this spring. I understand there is a lot of ground study in addition to the flying part. I work full-time and have a family, so my time is very limited. How much time should I budget for studying?

Answer: The FAA has never come up with a metric for how many hours of ground study a person needs to be a pilot. You will find, however, that most of the face-to-face ground schools are approximately 40 hours of instructional time over 10 weeks.

If you are doing your ground school online, you can go at your own pace. Commit to at least four hours a week. When you start flying, plan on at least an hour to review the syllabus for the flight before each lesson and an hour afterward to review what you have learned and practiced. You may find you need more time with the material to really learn it, but the "one and one" idea is a good starting point.

Congratulations on your decision to learn to fly! It truly is a life-changing event.

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Meg GodlewskiAuthor

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.