I'm sure most people will recognize the picture here as the famous ground school scene from the 1980's blockbuster movie Top Gun starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer.

In this scene Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and Lt. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) are being "educated" about the proper way to dispatch their enemy (MiG-28) in a dogfight by their teacher, Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (Kelly McGillis).

In the movie, the ground school seems to be drastically over-shadowed with all the F-14 Tomcat action in the air over the California desert near Miramar. But what about your ground school? How important is it, really? Is it really enough to just pass the FAA written test? Is there not more to it than that?

In my talking to prospective "pilots-in-training", I am often asked about ground school. Sadly, all too often, the perception of ground school is limited to the concept of preparing the student for the FAA written test.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

The real purpose of a bonafide ground school is to teach the pilot-in-training how to fly the airplane. Preparing the student to pass a 60-question multiple-choice test from rote memory should be a side-benefit of a legitimate ground instruction program. Knowing the correct answers to the FAA's test questions will help you pass a test. Knowing the how's and why's behind those test questions can save your life!

SunState Aviation utilizes an FAA Approved Computer Based Instruction (CBI) program as the basis for all of our flight training programs. These CBI applications are designed to teach the pilot-in-training everything he/she needs to know to prepare him/her for the next flight lesson. No guess work or boring very expensive holes in the sky. The student knows exactly what he/she is to do - and how to do it before the lesson begins!

I often say, "the cockpit is a fun place to be, but it's a lousy classroom." In other words: We LEARN on the ground. We PRACTICE what we learned in the airplane. And unless your pockets are very deep, this is an important concept to understand to keep your flight training on-budget.

Ground school may not be the sexiest part of flying, but it sure will help you to perform like a star!

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