The first class run was Radio Telephony. This was chosen due to my concern that students were failing to get to grips with the phraseology required using self-study alone. This was very successful so next to run was a course on Navigation, a subject many students really struggle with.

After this I spent the next 12 months writing and preparing courses for the remaining PPL subjects. I can offer tuition in any of the seven Theoretical Knowledge subjects required for the issue of the JAR Private Pilot Licence. The course content has been refined based on experience of how students assimilated the materiel and in 2010 I introduced a course to cover the ground examination for the Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) Rating.

Students have found the courses cover everything they need to know for practical flying and to pass the exam for each subject. Although some background reading is helpful it is not essential. Students have found that much time is saved by doing the courses rather than reading textbooks which contain too much “padding” and other information which is really of interest only to the professional pilot. My assumption when you start the course is that you have no knowledge of the subject and have not read the textbook about the subject.

Almat went bankrupt in early 2010 so I continued classes next door in the AWA Flying Group clubhouse. This lasted until late 2010 when Patriot Aviation (the new owners of Coventry Airport) took over most of Anson House for their own use.

Since then tuition has continued one-to-one or in small groups. The difficult subjects of Radiotelephony and Navigation have been in highest demand and the IMC Rating course has proved to be very popular. A recently constructed extension at my home in Solihull means that individual or small group tuition can be carried out in comfortable, airy accommodation.

Individual tuition costs

The normal tuition rate is £20 per teaching hour for individual tuition – you don’t pay for breaks. A typical session on a weekday evening from 7:30pm till 10pm, with two lessons of one hour each and a break in the middle would cost £40 in total.

You can do a complete course at the rates shown on the Course costs page. Or if you wish you can just do some individual tuition. You pay per session, not for the whole course in advance. If you do the whole course rather than just a couple of sessions the exam cost is included in the course cost.

ATPL Ground school tuition is also available

I cannot provide an ATPL Theoretical Knowledge course because Coventry Ground School is not an FTO (Flight Training Organisation) registered to provide this.

However I can give tuition similar to that provided on “brush-up” courses for people studying their ATPL exams on an ATPL Distance Learning course for most of the subjects. Aircraft General Knowledge; Navigation; Mass and Balance; and Instruments are the ones students find most difficult . This is available evenings and/ or Saturdays for those with work commitments and the cost per hour is the same as for PPL ground school at £20 per teaching hour. Just one or two sessions could be all that is required for you to overcome some difficult-to-grasp concepts that are holding up your progress.

In 2010 and 2011 I assisted Jay Dawson, one of my former PPL groundschool students, with some of his ATPL subjects (see Case Study below). Currently (Feb 2012) I have Paul who is doing the CPL(Helicopter) exams and two ATPL (Aeroplanes) students, who all devote spare time in evenings and on Saturdays to attend individual tuition for the subjects they find most difficult. There is also Andy who is doing PPL subjects groundschool. So far Andy has studied Air Law and is currently doing Navigation. He is happy for you to speak to him for feedback about the ground school.

LATEST NEWS Feb 2012 Case Study – Jay Dawson.

Jay qualified for his PPL in 2009 at the age of 18. In 2010 he started his ATPL (A) Theoretical Knowledge module as a Distance Learning course with an FTO based at Cranfield. Most of the subjects he studied himself but he came to me for the more difficult subjects like Navigation, Mass and Balance and Aircraft General Knowledge. We spent many Saturdays studying these subjects and (with the exception of General Navigation) he got a first time pass in all of them, with an average mark of 96%. He had this to say….

“Thanks again Richard for all your help over the months with the ATPL ground school. Your phrases “sketch diagram…” and “RTFQ” still ring in my ears and the anecdotes plus your inexhaustible knowledge of any aircraft made after 1930 really made the dull stuff very interesting and enjoyable. I can still explain the difference between a twin-spool axial compressor turbojet and a centrifugal compressor jet engine ! My only regret is that I cannot bring you along to an airline job interview for the technical questions, but if I get stuck I will ask them if I can phone a friend. At one stage I thought I would never complete all the exams but now I regret that they are all over. Saturdays will never be the same again ! ”

In December 2011 Jay passed his CPL Flying Skills Test at Coventry Airport. He will be starting the Instrument Rating course in March 2012 and after that he will be applying to the airlines. And if not at first successful... he wants to qualify as a Flying Instructor, and has even talked about teaching ground school himself.

Enquiries

Please do call for a no-obligation discussion. I do ground and flying training as professionally as possible but like your PPL I do this as a hobby and an interest rather than a full time occupation so I am quite happy to discuss all aspects of aviation training regardless of which training provider you finally select.