Getting the Most from Your Flight Training by Darren Smith is the essential guide to becoming a better pilot, paying the least, getting the most, and finishing as quickly as possible. It includes sections on Becoming a Better Pilot, Ground & Flight Instruction Tips, and Earning Certificates & Ratings.

Darren Smith, a CFII and ATP who has written several books about flying, is the author of a book that helps you become a better pilot while paying the least, getting the most, and finishing as quickly as possible. Smith includes advice on getting started, how to select a flight instructor, getting into the airlines, and an introduction to radio communications. The nitty-gritty advice on saving money is found in the sections on ground and flight instruction.

What's Inside This Book? (59 of the 1000 questions this book answers):

• How to prevent a flight instructor from milking you for hours, page 6
• The proper sequence of Private Pilot Training, page 8
• How to get the least expensive ground training, page 10
• How to get the first 5-10 hours at the lowest cost, page 12 (and make sure you dont get stuck with a lemon CFI)
• How to select the best flight instructor for you, page 15
• How to get on a path to an airline career, page 17 (remember seniority is everything and here are some secrets)
• How to get flight training for free if you're a veteran, page 19
• Part 61 or Part 141, page 21
• How you learn best, page 22 (the average flight instructor will have no clue, you will tell them after you read this)
• How to know if your pilot skills are on the right track, page 28
• How to make sure you're not wasting money on any flight lesson, page 31
• Getting past performance anxiety, page 37
• What makes a pilot successful, page 39
• Attitudes & behaviors that can kill, page 42
• What shortcuts can do to your lifespan, page 45
• The top three accidents and how to prevent them, page 49
• The four things that will kill you, page 53
• How a red rule can save your life, page 59
• The distractions that can cause you to make mistakes, page 62
• How you can enhance your situational awareness during any flight, page 64
• How to avoid a gear up accident, page 67
• The preflight briefing that you've never heard of that you simply must perform, page 69 (hint: SWAPAFO)
• What to look out for when flying with another pilot, page 71 (gotchas that can get you both into an accident)
• How to avoid an inflight breakup of the airplane, page 73 (how not to turn a C172 into ultralight parts)
• The three things you must do if you lose control of the aircraft in IFR conditions, page 77
• What's on the flight review, page 79
• How to screw up a flight review, page 81 (here are the gotchas that can screw you up)
• How your pilot skills disappear, how to prevent it, page 83
• How to take charge of your flight training, page 87
• What the cheapest flying can do to you, page 89
• Eleven things you must do if you want to save money on your flying, page 91
• How to get to solo as quickly as possible, page 93 (here are the gotchas which can drain your wallet)
• What the instructor must do if you dont get 100% on any FAA written, page 95 (most aren't doing it)
• Avoid paying your instructor to watch you preflight the aircraft, page 97 (a great moneymaker for any CFI)
• Taking care of the lowest paid employee at the airport, page 99 (you'll be surprised who it is)
• Things that make your flight instructor's skin crawl, page 103
• How to avoid miscommunication with your flight instructor, page 105 (or any other pilot with more training than you)
• The difference between a pepperoni pizza and a CFI, page 108
• How to tell the difference between fact and opinion, page 111
• Proof your instructor doesn't know it all, page 113
• Eleven things you must do to get the most for your money on ground schooling, page 115
• Thinking about becoming a CFI? page 117 (how to get started, you'll be surprised, its free)
• How to make sure your flight instructor is the best, page 119
• Things that flight instructors must do, page 121 (if their heart is in it)
• What Bruce Willis has to do with your flight instruction, page 123
• Why you'll eventually quit flying, page 125 (seems impossible doesn't it? so prevent it)
• How to save $8,000 if you're going to be a professional pilot, page 129
• What your instructor must do if you're going on a checkride, page 133
• Thirteen surefire ways to fail a checkride, page 135
• Fourteen little surprises the examiner can throw at you during a checkride, page 138 (and your CFI didn't tell you)
• How to make checkride anxiety disappear, page 141
• Shortcuts on the checkride, page 143 to 146
• Eight things you can do to build your flying skills after you got the private, page 146
• A surefire way to complete your rating, page 147
• What can screw up your instrument rating training, page 149 (some of which you will never recover from)
• How to save thousands of dollars on your IFR ticket, page 153
• The one tool you should never leave the ground without, page 158
• What the acronym CAPER means, page 165 (and I'll bet your CFI doesn't have a clue)
• The things you absolutely must know about your aircraft, page 172 (to pass a checkride, checkout, etc)