Customer Reviews

The Student's Pilot's Flight Manual: From First Flight to Private Certificiate, Ninth Edition

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I actually read, and used extensively, the 7th edition of this book. Mr. Kershner has a easy to read and follow style that has helped me tremendously on my way to getting certified as a private pilot. Whenever I was having diffuculty learning a particular aspect of flying I referred first to this book and got the straight and skinny on the subject. Mr. Kershner obviously has a grasp on what a student pilot goes through to understand the technical jargon and concepts of flight principals, navigation, cross country flying, flight instuments, and landing an airplane.

The illstrations are clear and concise. The photographs are very good.

I highly recommend this book to any student pilot as a supplement to ground school, or anyone interested in what it takes to learn to fly, or anyone who flys in a light plane as a passenger and wants to learn more about what's going on in the cockpit and the pilot's mind.

This was a great tool for my flight instruction. Kershner has a way of explaining things that is better than the other books I was able to find. I read this on my own instead of ground school and past my written and practical - so, it worked!

Excellent, practical information for a student aviator (or anyone with even a passing interest in the topic). I particularly like Mr. Kershner's sections called probable errors. For each flight maneuver (such as a crosswind landing), the text describes likely errors, their cause and the way to correct the error.

Earlier editions of this book had a well deserved reputation for excellence. Kershner is a master of taking the highly technical subject of flying and distilling it into an efficient, enjoyable learning experience.

Imagine my surprise to find the ninth edition rife with errors! Examples:
- erroneous definition of Class A airspace;
- erroneous decoding of wind speed and direction in a sample TAF weather report;
- erroneous Sigmet description;
- Weather Depiction Chart doesn't match explanations in the text.

These are some of the errors that I found and I'm not yet a pilot. The skills required for actually flying an airplane haven't changed much since I purchased my much-thumbed 5th edition 20 yrs ago but airspace regulations and weather reporting have changed considerably- probably not a coincidence that the errors I found are in the newer material. A quick calculation of Kershner's age at the time of the 9th edition publication makes me wonder if he was even involved in creating the updated sections.

All the content of this book is available for free via a few different downloads off the FAA website. Thus the major reason for buying this book is to cut to the chase on the body of knowledge required to earn a private pilot license because the FAA downloads though well written, cover everything from powered parachutes to jumbo jets. At least the first two of the above errors would cause wrong responses on the private pilot written test causing me to question the value of the $40 I spent on this book though I did just notice that Amazon recently cut the price by a third.

THIS OUTSTANDING BOOK IS VERY INTERESTING. AS ALWAYS, BOOKS ABOUT GETTING YOUR LICENSE ARE BORING. THIS BOOK HAS IT'S BORING SPOTS AND KERSHNER MAKES IT MORE INTERESTING BY USING HUMOR. KERSHNER IS A WONDERFUL MAN AND KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TO AIRPLANES. BUY THIS BOOK AND YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!!!

This book covers all the stuff you need to know for the private or recreational certificates, and makes a pretty darn good review of fundamentals for anyone needing a BFR. I had been out of the cockpit a number of years, and this book made the trip back easier, faster and more enjoyable than I had thought possible. Only downfall is lack of specifics on the FARs, but this is likely to prevent obsolescence. Overall, a good value for the money.

Informative, articulate, and carefully edited -- a must have reference for aspiring pilots. Especially impressive is Kershner's ability to avoid the most common pitfalls of writing technical material: the text is tight, complete, succinct, and perhaps most surprisingly, a real treat to read.

I purchased his book (an earlier version) on recommendation of my flight instructor when first starting out. If your looking strictly for study material to score high on the written test there is more information than you need. If your looking for a good referance book after the written test then purchase Rod Machado's pilot manual. I use Rod's book now after earning my private license. Whenever I pick it up it either refreshes my knowledge or I am able to learn something new with further depth. Rod's book is well complimented with illustrations and diagrams to help understand the subject matter. If you want a book to use strictly for the knowlege test they are both overkill.

I recommend this book to all my primary student

I fly an ultralight and am currently in the phase of reading everything I can. I bought this book after seeing it recommended on some guy's plane website.

I'm glad I bought it. It is a large, heavy volume chock full of information. The author writes with a clear, easy-to-read style with bits of humor thrown in to hold your interest. There are plenty of clear (and sometimes complicated) diagrams and drawings to help visualize situations, too. They're great. The facts and theory are sound and would trust nearly everything in the book. It will surely help me even more as I build hours.

For leisure reading and/or cash-strapped purchasers, save some money and buy an earlier edition. I bought the 7th or 8th, when the 9th is most current. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that most flight theory for small piston aircraft hasn't changed much in the last 20, 10, 5 years.