Aerocourse ATPL ground school/seminar worth it?

[shylnj26]

Hello,

I am planning to start studying SAMRA/SARON and I found there is Aerocourse ATPL ground school/seminar (virtual or in-person classroom format).

Is it worth to take that seminar? Or will studying by myself with Aerocourse's Airline Transport Pilot Licence Workbook be fine?

Thank you in advance.

[Otto Pilot]

Yes, do it.

[skybell]

100% worth. well put together seminar. fell on my face writing the first time without the seminar, sat it and passed.

[C-GKNT]

Yes, but you should know the material somewhat going in. The course is primary to refresh your memory and focus what will be on the exam.

Also, you book your exams a few days apart IMMEDIATELY after the course before you forget it all.

[Flight94]

Some people can self study effectively and some can't. If you have the discipline and ability to do it in your own then no, I would say the course isn't worth it. I never took the course but I studied hard for 2 weeks and did well on the exams.

[PilotDAR]

I took the course, and was very happy with it. As said, study before you go in, the material comes at you pretty quickly!

[futboler14]

Take it.

If not for the course content, you'll meet people in the industry. I sat next to Simon at the Viscount in YWG back in 2009. Months later he was killed.

viewtopic.php?t=61742&sid=ee38dc9336dea ... 564a83fa07

RIP Simon

[co-joe]

I didn't find I needed it, but the MRU program had really well prepared me to write them. If you trained at a club or basic flight school, you should take the aero course.

[lownslow]

I didn’t take the course myself (though I did have pirated copies of their course book and exam book) but I know an awful lot who did and they all swear by it.

[SpyPilot]

Not pertinent to the OP request but I wanted to chime in and mention the AeroCourse ATPL seminar I took with Peter Shewring at YVR in December of 1990.
In a word. Excellent.

[shylnj26]

Thank you everyone for answering my question

[cfjoepilot]

I took the Aerocourse ATPL a few months ago and instructor was very clear, they offer the 70% solution. You need to do the rest yourself. Went through the questions in their book and while not the same, the questions will be similar. If I didn't understand or had to review, I used every source available including Youtube. I did use the Nizus online exams for 3 months, but didn't really find it useful. What was good was the explanations after the exam. I started with the SARON first and spent 3 weeks reviewing everything till I had a pretty good understanding but didn't memorize anything until the last few nights. Wrote the SAMRA a week later and passed as well. I know we are all professional pilots but remember its 70%.

Hint...For the SAMRA, tons of question regarding GFA's, TAF's, METAR's and comparing. Honestly believe that if you can't get most of them right, You should be VFR pilot for ever. Its our bread and butter.

I ended up with SARON 10 and SAMRA 14. Typical TC question. Have to read them 3 times. There are always 2 answers that make you go hmmmm.

Anyway, not difficult if you put the time and energy. What I do NOT suggest is memorizing the questions in the aerocourse book and hoping to pass. You will not!!

Have fun

[WWSGomes]

I took the course, and was very happy with it. As said, study before you go in, the material comes at you pretty quickly!

Which practice material do you suggest for the exams in addition to Aerocourse Workbook?

[xplane]

I didn’t take the course myself (though I did have pirated copies of their course book and exam book) but I know an awful lot who did and they all swear by it.

Do you still have the book pdf ?

[lownslow]

Sorry, it’s looooong gone

[WhataYoke]

Hello,

I am planning to start studying SAMRA/SARON and I found there is Aerocourse ATPL ground school/seminar (virtual or in-person classroom format).

Is it worth to take that seminar? Or will studying by myself with Aerocourse's Airline Transport Pilot Licence Workbook be fine?

Thank you in advance.

If you got the money to spend go for it but if you got time on your hands and determination then I'd say stick with self paced study and save yourself $650. I found the practice NIZUS exams and doing a workbook either through sharper edge or the aerocourse workbook was more than enough back when I did it.

[IndianJones]

Hello,

I am planning to start studying SAMRA/SARON and I found there is Aerocourse ATPL ground school/seminar (virtual or in-person classroom format).

Is it worth to take that seminar? Or will studying by myself with Aerocourse's Airline Transport Pilot License Workbook be fine?

Thank you in advance.

If you got the money to spend go for it but if you got time on your hands and determination then I'd say stick with self paced study and save yourself $650. I found the practice NIZUS exams and doing a workbook either through sharper edge or the aerocourse workbook was more than enough back when I did it.

I agree. If you have the time go for self study. I spent on an average of 90 minutes daily for about 60 days post which I still took the 3 day course. I scored in the mid 80s.
I believe Self study helps you pass the exam while the 3 day course helps you streamline your knowledge. Not much new to learn in the course if you already have studied thoroughly except for some nice trick questions.
PS- I have never flown in Canada and directly gave the SAMRA/SARON for ATPL conversion hence wanted to attend the course.

[lownslow]

I didn’t take the course myself (though I did have pirated copies of their course book and exam book) but I know an awful lot who did and they all swear by it.

Do you still have the book pdf ?

More than one person has PM’ed me over this so I’ll clear it up here before the next person does. I’ve had my ATPL for a while now and my pirate edition was a photocopy. Even if I knew where it was, the information within is old enough that you don’t want to use it to study now. Sure the mechanics of weather or principles of navigation haven’t changed but enough new things have been added to the exams in the interim that you need new study material.