In addition to the flying skills needed for a certificate, there is the ‘book’ side of aviation where knowledge about basic aerodynamics, weather, the national airspace system, airplane systems, navigational charts, and more need to be learned.
There is no need for a formal school or classroom to attend and most pilots choose to study at their own pace using an online course at home. This will prepare them for the written test that will need to be passed before the ultimate “Practical Test” (aka the ‘Checkride’).
For online home study, we recommend the Gold Seal online ground school. We feel these lessons contain the best information and more focused instruction for the new pilot which will maximize the amount of learning in the shortest amount of time and it’s less expensive than many other programs.