Congratulations!
You are entering the Aviation Zone - the most fun you will ever, ever have!
You've decided you want to fly. How do you get the most for your flight training dollar? How do you learn to plan for a safe flight? If you want to learn the smart way, before you get into an airplane, you master the basic knowledge and mental skills at a good ground school. If you're located in or near northern New Jersey, you come to Sky-Bound Ground.
Sky-Bound Ground is your private pilot ground school - your entrance to the world of aviation. To learn efficiently in the air, you need solid roots on the ground - you need Sky-Bound Ground.
You should begin your ground school 2-3 months before you expect to start flight training.
Why Sky-Bound Ground? Sky-Bound Ground is an independent pilot ground school. We're not affiliated with any particular flight school, and we don't push one airplane over another. Our job is to prepare you to learn to fly, period. It's all we do, and we're good at it. We offer 40 hours (10-16 more than most schools) of the most practical, most exciting, most comprehensive in-depth learning you'll find anywhere, at a great price.
We give you the comprehensive knowledge and tools you'll need to fly safely, prepare you for flight training, pass the FAA exam, and get the most for of your flight training dollar.
Flying involves far more than the physical skill of handling the airplane. It involves knowledge, understanding and mental skills as well. Sky-Bound Ground provides the ideal environment for acquiring the knowledge and understanding you need on the ground to be safe and efficient in the air, and cost-effective in your flight training.
"Learn on the ground; practice in the air."
Mastering the basics of aerodynamics, flight operations, communications, risk management, navigation and systems costs about $14 per hour in a ground school course at Sky-Bound Ground. Contrast this to the $45-$60 per hour you'd typically pay to learn the same material from an instructor one-on-one, or the $130-$210 per hour you'd pay to rent an airplane and flight instructor while learning it in the air, and you'll quickly see that the right place to acquire a working knowledge of the basics is on the ground, at Sky-Bound Ground.
At Sky-Bound Ground, it's not just about passing a test, or getting you into the air as quickly as possible. We want you to be better than that.
Plots need to demonstrate a fairly comprehensive knowledge of aviation. We'll give you that knowledge, and more. We'll teach you to understand your airplane, and the regulations that govern our flying, inside and out, to manage risk, plan, communicate, navigate, to handle problems - so you can be proactive and safe in the air and on the ground.
The Sky-Bound Ground curriculum includes all of the FAA required knowledge areas, plus theoretical background, case studies, lessons learned, handouts, exercises and a heavy dose of common sense.
Our private pilot ground school is 40 hours long, plus homework and selected interactive on-line courses. We meet 4 hours per week for 10 weeks. (That's 10 -16 hours more in depth learning than most schools typically offer)
We don't just read from a textbook. We don't subject you to "death by powerpoint". Instead, we use the white board, handouts, models, exercises and interactive discussion to link related concepts and build up to complex tasks and ideas so that they're easily understandable. We actually teach.
Scenario-based training: flight planning
Attend your first session free, with no obligation, to see what we mean.
- Week 1: Definitions, Basic Aerodynamics
- Week 2: Federal Aviation Regulations
- Week 3: Charts, Navigation, Flight Planning
- Week 4: Atmosphere & Weather
- Week 5: Aviation Weather, Aircraft Performance
- Week 6: Weather Reports and Forecasts, Radio Communications,
- Week 7: Airport Environment, Advanced Aerodynamics, Selecting a Flight School
- Week 8: Powerplants & Systems
- Week 9: Pre-flight Actions, Safe & Efficient Operation
- Week 10: Situational Awareness, Aeronautical Decision Making & Judgment
Tuition: $545 (saves 70% off typical individual instruction at $50/hr)
Class size is limited to a maximum of 8 students per course. Register now to reserve your seat! (Tuition includes course guide and handouts)
Materials: $121 (available from us or bring your own) includes federal aviation regulations, FAA Aeronautical Information Manual, FAA Pilot Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Private Pilot Workbook, practice charts, FAA Airport/Facility Directory, flight plan data forms, flight computer, plotter, notebook, logbook, etc. - everything you need, nothing you don't.
Deposit: $50 deposit against the cost of tuition, course guide and handouts must be received 5 days prior to course start date. Deposit is non-refundable, except in case of in-person withdrawal at end of first class session.
Additional Resources: (recommended by week 8) Students may bring an aircraft-specific pilot operating handbook or information manual appropriate to the aircraft in which they expect to actually learn to fly (cost dependent on aircraft type; available for sale at your flight school)
Course Location:
Madison Community House
(3 blocks from the Madison train station)
25 Cook Ave
Madison, NJ, USA 07940
Convenient to downtown shops and restaurants, public transportation, Morristown Airport, Route 24 and I-287.
Course Schedule:
Classes meet selected Sunday afternoons 12:30PM - 4:30PM. Alternative times by class request.
Full course offered twice per year, beginning January and July (just in time to prepare for flight training in the spring and fall).
Also check out our hands-on refresher classes for Flight Planning, Navigation and Radio Communication.
Take the course and bring a friend, and both receive a $50 rebate with your paid registrations. Talk to us about veterans' discounts, too.
Individual ground instruction also available (rate: $45/hr; $30/hr for enrolled ground school students)
copyright 2010 Sky-Bound Ground, all rights reserved
