Where can i study for my pilots licence for free. Online websites or programmes that are cheap?

Question

Im learning all about flying at the moment but it is from lots and lots of different places ie, asking questions on here and scouting websites buying magazines etc. I would like to be able to take an online lesson or a lesson on my pc from some software but like any hobby of the rich, you get charged through the nose as soon as you show an interest.

Is there anything out there which is good and cheap or free even? I had tossed up buying a flight simulaotr to learn from.

Answer 1

Hi,

I don't know whether you mean for a private licence or commercial, but presuming you mean a JAA (European) Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL), a good site is: http://www.wiljam.com

It's not a certified training course, so before you do the exams you would still have to attend a course (or study at home on distance learning), but it gives you a good chance to study!

Hope this helps

Answer 2

What's the point? Say you find a free Web site that allows you to study for your written test. You still have to learn to fly and that's expensive no matter how you cut it.

Be happy reading books and online stuff to satisfy your curiosity. But trying to find anything for free related to being a pilot is a waste of time.

Answer 3

You can't learn to fly an airplane while sitting in front of a computer.  It requires HUNDREDS OF HOURS of real, live, hands-on flying experience in a real airplane to become a commercial pilot. If you live in the USA and take lessons from your average local FBO, it's going to cost you $8,000 to $10,000 to get your private license, and much more for your commercial ticket.  In other countries, it's even more expensive...

If you just want to play games on a computer, then I suggest Microsoft Flight Simulator as a good place to start. The program is not that expensive, and has a good tutorial section to teach you the basics of flying.

Answer 4

I'm not aware of anything free; you're right, flying is expensive. You can take ground school courses from some junior colleges that offer them or buy computer courses on DVD from a few different sources. I'm not sure of the cost of the JC courses but the DVD courses usually run $3-400. They are expensive but they are pretty involved and must be kept up as the regs change with some regularity.

I might recommend a couple of websites in case you haven't seen them yet:

www.beapilot.com

www.aopa.org/learntofly/

Otherwise, about the only thing open to you is books and magazines for low cost.

Microsoft Flight Sim is a fun program and can teach you a little about flying. But it is just a simulator program and is not certified to take the place of real training or more expensive certified simulator.