The Pilot's Manual: Ground School: Pass the FAA Knowledge Exam and operate as a private or commercial pilot

Before taking to the sky, a pilot’s education begins on the ground. For over 35 years, The Pilot’s Manual: Ground School has introduced pilots to aerodynamics, airplane systems and flight instruments, human factors, weather, and flight operations. This textbook provides everything a pilot needs to know to earn a Private Pilot or Commercial Pilot Certificate.

The seventh edition of Ground School covers all the required knowledge tested on the Private and Commercial FAA Knowledge Exams and the oral portion of the practical exam (checkride). With text supported by more than 800 full-color illustrations and photos, students will gain a detailed understanding of complex topics such as airplane and airport operations, regulations, human physiology in flight, chart reading, navigation and airspace, operational weather factors, aircraft performance, flight planning, and more. Content is organized to facilitate a building-block approach to learning and aligns with ASA’s Test Prep series.

Pilots seeking their Commercial Pilot Certificate will find separate, clearly labeled sections throughout this book to prepare for the Commercial Pilot FAA Knowledge Exam. Review questions (and answer keys) for each chapter reinforce essential concepts to aid home or classroom study. An extensive glossary of aviation abbreviations and acronyms and a detailed index are included.

Foreword by Barry Schiff. This book is part of The Pilot’s Manual Series—used by leading universities as their standard classroom texts.

Important note from the publisher:

While AI-generated content can be helpful to identify resources for ongoing study, it is not a reliable resource for learning critical, safety-dependent topics such as aviation. AI content is sterile, often lacks important context, and is at risk of errors. ASA publishes only human-generated content to ensure it is accurate, reliable, comprehensive, and presented in context—so you can become a safe and effective aviator.