Golden Age Aviation, Inc.

Earl C. Downs, President

 

Ground Training

 

In aviation, ground training sometimes gets a bad rap. After all, training is about improving your pilot skills and it’s natural to want to spend your time in the airplane. This is why some pilots perceive ground training as taking the bad medicine that’s necessary to make the good stuff happen.

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Here at Golden age Aviation, Inc. we take a proactive view of the importance of ground training. If it could be said that good flight instruction forms the foundation of a good pilot, that’s only because ground training provides the gravel that supports the foundation. Let’s take a look were ground training comes into the picture.

 

Pre-flight and Post-flight Training

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Every training flight needs to include ground training before the flight and a follow-up review after the flight. This is what we call pre-flight and post-flight ground training. It’s a proven fact that attempting to brief a trainee about what the flight is attempting to accomplish while you’re flying the airplane is a lousy way to train someone. You can count on pre-flight and post flight training when you fly with us.

 

The Knowledge Test

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If your flight training is for the purpose of obtaining a pilot certificate or certain additional ratings, you’ll have to complete what the FAA calls a “knowledge test.” You’ll sometimes hear people refer to this as the written exam. There are a number of ways this type of ground training can be accomplished. Examples include: one-on-one training, classroom training, specialized training courses on a CD, and online training. There are also ‘rapid-fire’ weekend courses that do a good job of getting you ready for the knowledge test but often leave out a lot of the real “need to know” information. At Golden Age Aviation, Inc., we can mix and match any of these with the augmentation of one-on-one training.

 

Special Subject Training

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We can tailor ground training to cover a specific aviation subject. Sometimes, a formatted ground training program still leaves you wondering about how you apply a specific knowledge to yourself and your airplane. We can tailor our program to fill in the blanks as it applies to your operation. The special training can be one-on-one, or we can work with groups of people who have the same learning goals.

 

 

Practical Test Preparation

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Getting ready to take the practical examination (checkride) can lead to pretest jitters. Before an actual flight examination can take place, the applicant must successfully complete a sit-down discussion with the pilot examiner for general knowledge testing (the oral exam). This is a particularly important part of the check ride because it’s your opportunity to make a good first impression on the examiner. That can be worth a lot as your checkride progresses.

 

FAA Action Test Preparation

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We hope it never happens to you, but if you are involved in an FAA action for something you’ve done wrong, the FAA could require you to meet with an FAA operations inspector for a re-examination checkride. Earl Downs has extensive experience working with applicants who are in this unenviable position. We are here to help you.

 

Rates

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Individual ground training is charged at $30 per hour regardless of the subject. This is also the fee that is applied to flight training for the pre-flight and post-flight briefings.

 

If more than one person is receiving the training, the hourly fee is reduced by 20 percent for each person in the training session.

 

Golden Age Aviation, Inc. can provide training at your location; a negotiated travel fee will be applied.