Rod Machado's Private Pilot Handbook

I purchased a copy of Rod's book before I even started my flight lessons. I quickly decided that even if I did not pursue my certificate that I would read this all the way through. It is that well written.The reality is that many introductory aviation books are little more than a list of test questions. While being able to pass the multiple choice test is important, being a better pilot as the result of your studies is even more important. If you only want to pass the FAA test then go ahead and look elsewhere. If you actually want to understand the concepts then buy this book. Years ago I took a Private Pilot Ground school. The text and the instructor both offered all the excitement of eating dry shreded wheat. I never finished the course. Rod's text enables you to actually enjoy reading about seemingly mundane topics such as airfield operations. I only wish he had written some of the Statistics texts we used when I was an undergrad.If nothing else buy the book for the diagrams and illustrations. Then, when you are stumped about a particular subject you will have a reference that will make the concept readily understandable.I consider this book a MUST HAVE for any aspiring pilot or even for anyone just curious about aviation. It will give you everything you need to pass the written AND it will make you a better pilot at the same time.

Covers in immense detail the topics covered in ground school, while at the same time very interesting to read. Full of humor and tons of illustrations. It is almost possible, I've found to gather all information covered in text by looking entirely only at the illustrations. This book is never tedious or dry. You will learn a whole lot more from in than what is covered in the Jeppesen's "Private Pilot Manual", and it is a far far more interesting read. Airspace will make a lot more sense too.Covers Aerodynamics, Engines, Flight Instruments - in great detail how those work the way they do and why, Airspace, Charts, Radio Nav, Weather, Weather Charts, Cross countries and more. Also chock full of neat info. Great for those who hate math as well as those who can't live without it. The end of each chapter contains a "Postflight briefing" that can be skipped but goes into detail about information that might be considered abstract. Such as for instance, how a gyroscope works, or how the jet stream forms.Should definitely be read in lieu of or in conjunction with Jeppesen's Private Pilot Manual.

Many private pilot manuals place all their emphasis on passing the "written" only. Therefore they offer only enough dry material, without any explanations -- just to pass the test. This is a shame, especially for someone becoming an entry-level pilot. This book is different. It's written in a refreshing conversation-like style. It has all the required data one needs to pass the test, but goes one or two steps further in actually EXPLAINING the why's and what-fors. (What a concept!) I found I could actually sit and read about FAA regulations, and NOT begin to get brain fade after 10 minutes. The pages are interspersed with side bars, accident reports, and hangar-talk to give the gray matter a bit of a breather; and there are more than enough graphics to help you to understand a rule or concept. Oh yes, the humor -- well some of it is corny, but not any more-so than one would have during a chat with a friend. Hey, flying is supposed to be FUN. The humor is there to make a particular point, and to help you assimilate the fact easier. I did not find it to be over bearing -- I welcomed it.This book could be used soley as a preparation for the written; though it does not have review questions at the end of each chapter to ascertain if you've retained the particular lesson. I found it would be best used as a complement to a study guide for the written. It's also easy on the brain. It can be read anywhere, anytime; and at the same time, you're not only LEARNING the requirements for the test -- but garnering aviation KNOWLEDGE.

Machado's book covers a wealth of information and interjects a lot of humor to keep some of the drier areas (e.g,. airspace -- yawn) of aviation palatable. I would recommend readers not get too hung up on the FAA Knowledge Exam, aka "the written test." While this book IS an excellent review for it -- except possibly the minor continuous changes in FAA regulations -- it covers far more material. As such, it's an invaluable review for the practical test, as well as a reference when you pursue your instrument and commercial ratings. For example, among the numerous diagrams and pictures, are some excellent cutaway illustrations of instruments. Supplementing this is a good discussion on instrument limitations and errors. Although the same material is in the FAA Instrument Flying book, Machado's presentation is clearer. Especially nice are excerpts from ASRS (aka "NASA form") reports about a particular incident or accident germane to the topic at hand. These help provide the "why" behind the material, e.g., "why do we ALWAYS physically verify that both gas caps are tight?"The humor, while welcomed, can be a little too much at times. For the reader who wants a more direct approach, I'd recommend William Kerschner's books published by Iowa Press. Kerschner is legendary.

I'm an avid reader and a student pilot with 40 hours in a Cessna 172. I've known about Rod Machado's books for some time but never really took the many opportunities presented to actually crack them open, I'm sorry to say. The fact that most of my pilot friends had this book should have clued me in but... Before now, there have been relatively few books dealing with aviation that I have found to rave about (among these are all the Proficient Pilot books by Barry Schiff and those by Trevor Thom). This is one of those rare books. The author outlines principles and concepts in a clear and easy-to-understand format, loaded with illustrations to help the pilot better understand what is being written about. One can tell that Machado deeply understands the subject matter. I would have liked a little more coverage on actual flight training in terms of landing, take-offs, etc. but there are already so many excellent tomes on these subjects that I really can't complain too much about this book's chosen area of coverage. Keep it up, Rod!