Can anyone recommend any books for learning to fly? I searched the bookstore and couldn’t find anything relevant.
Would also consider any other aviation related books worth recommending
Can anyone recommend any books for learning to fly? I searched the bookstore and couldn’t find anything relevant.
Would also consider any other aviation related books worth recommending
It depends on what aspect of flying you are interested in.
For landing of an aircraft I can recommend an authoritative work: ‘Make Better Landings’ by Alan Ellesmere Bramson. It is about 40 years since last edition, but landing an aircraft didn’t change that much since, I assume.
Hi there, Here’s a link to the FAA Books…Handbooks & Manuals | Federal Aviation Administration
This looks like some nice content, and free too, thanks!
“Stick and Rudder” an explanation of the art of flying by Wolfgang Langewiesche is an old but very clear book that explains the basics of flying in a really clear way.
It’s probably a good idea to check out a few reviews to make sure it’s what your looking for but I would certainly recommend it to someone who is interested in learning to fly without getting bogged down in too much theory to start with.
Instrument Flying by Richard Taylor is great, but if you want to learn to fly I would recommend getting your hands on the Pilot Handbook of Aeronautical knowledge AKA a U.S. pilots bible or other FAA publications
Almost every single person who has learned how to fly in Canada from the 1940s to the present (including the humble writer of this post) read From the Ground Up (originally written by “Sandy” A. F. MacDonald but updated many times since) as the reference book to got them started. The book does have a specific Canadian focus when it comes to air regulations (although many of those are based on international standards), but the chapters about theory of flight, navigation, meteorology, radio procedures, etc. are universal and applicable to anyone interested in learning more about aviation. Highly, highly recommended!
Amazon link below (this is not an affiliate link; I do not get any kickback if you buy after clicking this):
I’m a huge fan of “The Student Pilot’s Flight Manual” by William K. Kershner.
I love his writing style and this book was my gateway to understanding piloting and drove my love of aviation.
I’ve also got his other books: “The Instrument Flight Manual” and “The Advanced Pilot’s Flight Manual”.
Thanks Seedy! Lots of great responses in the thread, gonna have to break into the add-on piggy bank for some books this time around
Forgot about Kershner’s books. Quality content there for sure.
Everything in moderation…
I completely agree with this.
If you want a free but also very good alternative, with the same focus and mindset, see this:
Looks great! Thanks for sharing!
Stick and Rudder is very good despite its age. But I wouldn’t recommend it as a starting point as it is very much about the theory of flight and not necessarily the practice (although what it does so well is help unpack the theory so the pilot can better understand what is happening in practice).
What to chose depends on where you plan on doing most of your flying and your intentions. If you think simming may lead to your becoming an IRL pilot, then use the instructional material for the country where youmplan to get your liscence. That way it will directly aid your flight training and you might have less to ‘unlearn’.
If your interest is more general then it’s kinda hard to beat the FAA ones already linked as a free resource, or the free guides published by the UK CAA such as the Skyway Code. The Pooleys Air Pilot Manuals training manuals are the definitive UK instructional books - not cheap, but you don’t need all of them just for simming.
The free articles on the Bold Method website are a great resource too.
Those are very well written for government publications.
Would the pilot’s handbook and flying handbook be a good start for the PPL written test?
I ordered a hard copy of the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. I’m really loving that book. It’s full of wonderful geeky knowledge.
Much of what’s in there is good knowledge even outside of aviation. I had a former boss that had been a high level engineer on developing the F-22. He applied similar techniques on risk management, use of checklists, and human behaviors, etc. when it came to project management.
Reading through it has also made me realize how much I’ve actually learned from MSFS 2020.
Yes, in concert with flight instruction or ground instruction/ground school. There are ways to learn it wrong and you should have someone qualified to give you direction and feedback. This is especially so when applying the knowledge within to actual flight operations.
Learning/teaching “to the test” in a rote memorization manner is an unfortunate reality we have to deal with and it should go way beyond that. We can see evidence of that from folks who read something and discuss the knowledge here, but aren’t making the broader connections and implications you’d get from working with an instructor on the ground and in the air. This is okay for simming, where there’s no risk and we are able to silo these things and learn as we go (often the hard or wrong way), but not okay for actual flying. A good instructor will be able to ascertain whether you truly understand things and are able to apply and correlate that knowledge to flying.