North Aero · Private pilot

Ground school

This is the ground half of the North Aero private pilot program. It runs alongside your flight training — four phases, mirroring the flight syllabus, each module matched to the lessons you are flying that week.

Start with Before we begin. It is short, and it is the reason the rest of this exists.

Modules

The rebuilt modules are being published phase by phase.

Phase 1 — before your first lesson

• Module 1-1 — PAVE and ADM · the decision-making frame every later module looks through. Start here after the introduction.
• Module 1-2 — The Regulatory Framework · which book holds which rule, the pilot's own authority under 91.3, and what the NTSB must hear about.
• Module 1-3 — Student Pilot Certificate and Personal Limits · the card, the medical and BasicMed, what you carry, the flight review and the 90-day rules, what you may be paid for, and why none of it measures whether you can fly tonight.
• Module 1-4 — Airworthiness Essentials · the five documents, what airworthy means and who decides, the day and night equipment lists, the inspections, and the walkaround.
• Module 1-5 — Aerodynamics and Spin Awareness · the angle of attack, load factor and the stall speed, the four stalls that kill, spins and the Warrior's six-step recovery, and its limit speeds.
• Module 1-6 — Systems 1 · the stabilator, the manual flaps, the O-320 and its magnetos, the fuel selector with no BOTH, the three starts, the runup, and the tie-down.
• Module 1-7 — Flight Instruments · three airspeeds, the altimeter and its errors, the gyros, the compass and its two mnemonics, and the cross-check that catches a dead instrument.
• Module 1-8 — Unusual Attitudes and Spatial Disorientation · the illusions, hypoxia and carbon monoxide, alcohol and medication, the two recoveries, and the way out of a cloud.
• Module 1-9 — Systems 2 and System Emergencies · the electrical system and its failure, the pitot-static and vacuum failures, ice and oxygen, fires, the emergency descent, the ELT, and the kit.
• Module 1-10 — Traffic Patterns, Collision Avoidance, Wake Turbulence · the pattern and its entries, the CTAF, right-of-way and minimum altitudes, the scan, wake turbulence, the stabilized approach and go-around, crosswinds, and LAHSO.
• Module 1-11 — Communications and Light Gun Signals · the CTAF and the self-announce call, talking to a controller, readbacks and line up and wait, the light gun, the transponder, flight following, and declaring an emergency.
• Module 1-12 — Airport Signs, Markings, and Lights · the signs, the holding position marking, runway markings, the beacon and the runway and taxiway lights, VASI and PAPI, pilot-controlled lighting, and the taxi discipline that keeps the airplane off the wrong runway.
• Module 1-13 — Airspace Preview · the six classes and their shapes on the sectional, Salinas with and without its tower, the special use names, and the legend habit.
• Module 1-14 — Lost Communications (The Mumble) · the silent-radio checklist, which half is dead, 7600, the light-gun arrival at a towered field, the non-towered field, the electrical cause, and the phone.
• Module 1-15 — Engine Failure Decisions (When the Fan Stops) · airspeed first, the Warrior's restart flow, why engines stop, the field and the forced-landing pattern, the takeoff emergency and the impossible turn, securing, calling, and after the stop.
• Module 1-16 — Diversion Decisions (The Real Pickle) · the triggers, personal minimums as tripwires, choosing the alternate, turn first then the math, amending with ATC, minimum fuel, the solo brief, and external pressure.
• Module 1-R — Phase 1 Cumulative Review · one Leg per Module in summary, the sixteen Anchor Accidents in one list, and the Block gate quiz that re-serves every Point of Phase 1.

Phase 2 — the cross-country build

• Module 2-1 — Cross-Country Planning (ACS Task D) · what 91.103 requires, the chart and the Chart Supplement, the route, the EFB, the MEF and the hemispheric rule, time and fuel on the nav log, the VFR flight plan, interception, PAVE by the leg, flight following, the fuel decision point, and night planning.
• Module 2-2 — Navigation: Pilotage, Dead Reckoning, VOR, GPS · the heading chain, checkpoints and brackets, the wind side of the computer, groundspeed checks, the VOR and its cross-fix, RAIM and the VFR receiver, flight following, the transponder and ADS-B, and the five Cs when lost.
• Module 2-3 — Performance and Limitations (ACS Task F) · the charts and the margin, pressure and density altitude, wind and runway, ground effect and load factor, weight and balance from the datum to the envelope, the CG forward and aft, the V-speeds and limit loads, climb and cruise, and the computed runway decision.
• Module 2-4 — Weather Services and the Go/No-Go · the two outlets and the compliant self-brief, the three briefings and their cadence, the METAR and the TAF decoded group by group, the categories, the no-go triggers, written personal minimums, the divert point, and brief, compare, decide, document.
• Module 2-5 — Airspace Applied: Charts, Entry, VFR Minimums · the rings read off the sectional, the entry test for D, C, and B, the transponder and ADS-B rings, the speed caps, the VFR minimums by class, the 1,000 and 3 surface-area test, special use and TFRs, and the NASA report.
• Module 2-6 — Night Operations · rods and cones and the night scan, the airport and airplane lights, the three night clocks and full-stop currency, night pilotage and the lights going out, position-light logic, the night illusions, and the night forced landing.
• Module 2-R — Phase 2 Cumulative Review · one Leg per Module in summary, the six Anchor Accidents in one list, and the Phase 2 gate quiz that re-serves every Point of Phase 2.

Phase 3 — the solo era and the second knowledge build

• Module 3-1 — Solo Requirements and Endorsements · the solo gate, the pre-solo exam, the fifteen training areas, the make-and-model endorsement and its 90 days, night solo, the instructor's duties, and the eight 61.89 limitations.
• Module 3-2 — Airworthiness: ACS Task B in Full · the two-part test, who is responsible, return to service and the check flight, the inspection calendar, maintenance records, ADs, service bulletins and SAIBs, special flight permits, preventive maintenance, the three paths and four screens of 91.213, and the certificates.
• Module 3-3 — Weather Theory · the five ideas, density, adiabatic cooling, dewpoint, stability, and wind, then fronts, clouds, turbulence, thunderstorms, icing, fog, and the sounding.
• Module 3-4 — Weather Services at Checkride Depth · PIREPs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, the GFA and the charts, winds aloft, the outlook, radar, satellite, the datalink and its latency, FIS-B, and reading the products as a set.
• Module 3-5 — Airspace: ACS Task E in Full · each class with its entry rule and equipment, the full 91.155 table, Special VFR, special use airspace, TFRs, the ADIZ and the SFRAs, the transponder map, and the Cerritos midair.
• Module 3-6 — Solo Cross-Country: 61.93 Applied · the two triggers, the two exceptions, the three endorsements, the instructor's five determinations, the twelve training subjects, the 61.109 solo hours and the long cross-country's geometry, and the Archer that ditched in Tampa Bay with fuel in the other tank.
• Module 3-7 — The FAA Written · the PAR test's numbers, who can sit it and what passing it does not do, the authorization and the FTN, the ACS as the study map, the test report and its codes, the 24-calendar-month clock, how a question is built, and the 172 that took off from its own landing roll 15 days after the checkride.
• Module 3-8 — Maneuver Briefs: Areas IV and V to ACS Standard · the five parts of a maneuver brief, the normal, short-field and soft-field takeoffs, the two field landings, the forward slip and what it can cost, the go-around, steep turns, ground reference maneuvers, and the Cessna 150 that took off from a 1,720-foot grass strip that the chart said needed 1,792.
• Module 3-R — Phase 3 Cumulative Review · one Leg per Module in summary, the eight Anchor Accidents in one list, and the Phase 3 gate quiz that re-serves every Point of Phase 3.

Phase 4 — checkride convergence

• Module 4-1 — Checkride Week 1: Tasks A and H · the two oral Tasks element by element: the certificate and the three clocks, privileges and documents, the medical and BasicMed, currency against proficiency, 61.53 and IMSAFE, ADM and PAVE, the hazardous attitudes, the twelve aeromedical conditions, alcohol and medication, the escape from cloud, and the Lancair that took off into a moonless night about five minutes before moonrise.
• Module 4-2 — Checkride Week 2: Tasks B and G · what makes an airplane legal and what is inside it: the two-part definition of airworthy, the owner's duty against the pilot's, the certificates and the inspections, the logbooks, airworthiness directives, the special flight permit, preventive maintenance, the day and night equipment lists, the 91.213 flow screen by screen, then the airplane itself from the flight controls to the oxygen rule, and the rented Cherokee whose paperwork was perfect and whose oil filter had not been opened in eight months.
• Module 4-3 — Checkride Week 3: Task C · the largest Task in Area I, in the order an evaluator asks it: where weather comes from and which briefing you request, the METAR, the PIREP and the TAF group by group, the charts, the GFA, the winds aloft, the Convective Outlook and the advisories, then the twelve meteorological conditions from density and stability to fog and volcanic ash, the flight deck displays and their latency, and the go/no-go itself, anchored to the Bonanza whose pilot was told twice that VFR flight was not recommended and departed on the surface observations.
• Module 4-4 — Checkride Week 4: Tasks D, E and F · the cross-country plan on the table and everything the evaluator asks of it: the preflight action 91.103 requires, the chart and the Chart Supplement, the cruising altitude rule, the fuel and its reserve, the flight plan and the intercept procedures, then the navigation Tasks the plan is flown by, the airspace ring by ring from Class A to Class G with the 91.155 table, Special VFR, special use airspace and the temporary flight restrictions, and Task F from the performance charts to the weight and balance envelope, anchored to the Cessna 172 that took off 224 pounds over gross weight because nobody had asked the passengers what they weighed.
• Module 4-R — Final Cumulative Review and Mock Oral Bank · the last Module of the program and the largest, 830 Points across forty-nine Legs: first the checkride itself, which is how the ACS is built and coded, what the evaluator must cover in each Task, the plan of action, what satisfactory means, the five listed grounds for disqualification, the three outcomes, the two clocks that run after a discontinuance, the retest, the 61.39 prerequisites and what the airplane must bring, then the graded tolerances for the steep turn, the ground reference maneuvers, slow flight, the stalls and the short field, then every Module of Phases 1, 2 and 3 re-served one Leg each, then eleven examiner-style oral scenarios to run with your instructor, and the thirty accidents this program is built on.

The documents this program rests on

Every module ends with the FAA handbooks, advisory circulars and regulations it draws on, each one linked to where you get it. You are not asked to read them end to end. What matters is that you have them and can find your way around inside them, because on the checkride you may open the handbook and you may not open this site.