[SLoB]

Hi.
I am a newbie here.
Long story short: background is that my mother was a flying instructor and for years I have flown (with instructors and other pilots), but many hours not logged. Now in a position to start PPL training properly.

Have looked to see if this topic is covered elsewhere, but cannot see it. If it is covered elsewhere please point me to thread. Thanks.

I have a load of my mother's books and appreciate that some are out of date, but others may not be. What I need to know is which are worth reading and which to ditch for new versions? Just about to book first batch of lessons and verbally been told to do some background reading (they know my background and that I ahve some experience). I am fairly sure of the basics and which of the books mentioned below are useful or partly useful, but not sure about some.

To keep it simple, I have:
'Flight Briefing For Pilots" published by Pitman in the mid 1970s. The ones I have are:
1 - Introductory Manual to Flying Training - I guess this is all still relevant?
2 - Advanced Manual of Flying Training - again I assume still relevant?
3 - Radio Aids to Air Navigation - I assume this is outdated, but is any of it OK?
4 - Associated Ground Subjects - a mix of stuff some of which is OK and some outdated?
6 - Check Pilot Exam Q&As - again a mix of some useful some not?
7 - IMC Rating - I assume not useful or indeed relevant at this stage?

"The Air Pilots Manual" (Trevor Thorm series) from 1995. The ones I have are:
2 - Aviation Law and Meteorology - I guess air law is out of date, but perhaps not the Met stuff?
3 - Air Navigation - I guess the basics remain the same?
4 - The Aeroplane Technical - I assume this is OK even today?
5 - Radio Navigation Instrument Flying - not sure this is relevant yet, or even still relevant?
6 - Human Factors and Pilot Performance - I doubt this changes, but is it still OK to use?

Do the aircraft specific checklists go out of date? I am likely to be learning on a Cessna 152 and I have my mother's old checklist.

There are a number of other books, but I won't bore you with them yet.

Doubt I will be doing exams until well into next year, but want to do some reading and get up to speed as best I can over winter months. Guidance/thoughts would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.


Stephen

[Andrew Sinclair]

Hello SLoB,

I wouldn't throw any of them away but if you insist throw them in my direction

[riverrock]

"Flight Briefing for pilots" I can't comment on - older than me!

The Trevor Thom series are still in print, with constant minor changes to them over the years.
You'll need to buy a new version of air law (as it has changed significantly since 1995). The others should be good enough (the laws of physics don't tend to change so most will still be fine). Radio nav will be useful well into your course (although you wont need everything within that manual). There is a vol. 7 containing radio comms which you'll need.
I used / have a different series but they follow the same pattern.

If looking for a place to start - start by reading in depth / learning the first few lessons within Ch 1, Vol 1 before getting into the air. As you've been in the air before, I suspect it will seem familiar to you anyway!

Checklists are an "ask your instructor" thing. They generally aren't provided by the manufacturer so they are all aftermarket.
Some schools teach you not to use them at all (instead you use flow checks), some places use their own custom ones, some places use them from a specific supplier. Bring them to your lesson and get your instructor to advise.

[SLoB]

Thanks for speedy feedback.

Therefore, I really only need worry about updating books re Air Law and Radio Comms?

[cockney steve]

The big river company is, most certainly, your friend, when it comes to the acquisition or disposal of books. Although many publications do not give the issue-number, or date of publication,, the cover-illustration can be an instant reference, as can the ISBN.
Huge savings can be made. (well, a £15 book for a fiver is "huge" in my eyes....66% off! )
Rumour has it that the recently- introduced CAA booklet , condensing the gist of the rules, is an excellent substitute for "air-law" can't remember the title off the top of my head.

[Earl Grey]

Rumour has it that the recently- introduced CAA booklet , condensing the gist of the rules, is an excellent substitute for "air-law" can't remember the title off the top of my head.

The excellent Skyway Code?

EG

[cockney steve]

^^^^^^YEP! thassa one -getting old and senile, that's my excuse!

[SLoB]

Thanks. Found the Skyway Code and downloaded.

I now have a lot of reading to do!