I want to get my pilot private license during the summer, but before that I would like to study all the related theory stuff myself.

Taking into account I am a complete beginner and I want to get to the point where you know as much about flying as a private pilot, which book/s should I buy? I don´t care about price, I care about contens, clear explanations and helpfull tips or advices. It is fine if the book contens include more information than I actually need to become a private pilot.

Thanks for the answers!

You should get this book: Flight Training Handbook
It's writen by the Department of Transporatation
FAA. ASA published it! It's a blue book with planes
on the front ! You should get this book first! Then you
should get the RED book "private pilot" by GLEM !!
That book is a must!! I have GLEM books from all
my ratings! Hope this helps! Live the dream !!

I thikn if you study ground school it will make no sense until you start flying. I studied ground school and now I am just about understanding it!! But books on flying and the basic controls and instruments would be good. GO to the flight school you are flying out of and speak to an Instructor he will now of the good ones and will help you along the way.
Iain

Jeppenson Sanderson and ASA both have good materials. The FAA also publishes it's own Flight Training handbook. It is what all the others have to go by. I didn't know Gleim had a flight study book, I usually only see the test preps that they put out.

The FAA written question blank is available to download, I belive it is on www.fedworld.gov. Unlike the comercial books it won't have the answers on it but it will give you all 711 posible questions and choices. The FAA training guide is also downloadable but don't bother doing that. The hard bound version is much better. At a minmun you should consider getting the following:

Advisory Circular 61-21A Flight Training Handbook (FAA)
Advisory Circular 00-45D Aviation Weather Services (NOAA/FAA)

Keep in mind these are govenment books and the writing can through you sometimes.

I would download the PAR test question blank from www.fedworld.gov and wait untill you are actually ready to take the test to get a commercial book with the answers. I also think really highly of the practice test disks. It will through you a sixty question test just like the real one. They are priceier then the books but worth it.

Do you know what texts your instructor likes??? You may want to get a hold of the instructor you plane to eventually take lessons from and find out that publisher he prefers. There is no point in spending thirty bucks on a book to find out the instructor wants you to get a different one that he teaches out of.

If you have a good flight simulator on you computer you should be able to go and practice the area you want to fly around. No. it isn't like the real things but it is pretty close. A lot of time if you have a student that has abosultely no flight experice they will stick him on MS flight simulator or a simular program just to get used to what the controls do and what the gauges do. Also I know that on my version of MSFlightsim 95 the navaids and airports around Seattle are in sinc with what is on the charts. If you know where you are and can bum some expired approach plates you can practice that. You won't need it unless you go for your instrument but it may inpress your instructor. Also there is so much freeware out the for MS that you have a good chance of finding a scenery area for where you are. I pratice flying back in Alaska with one map area I downloaded.

If there are any other questions let me know.

I have a freind that knows a site that gives a pretty good run down on how a wing works and aerodynamics. I'll ask him if he still has the address.

Many thanks to all of you for the information! I hope some day we can met at an airport commercial pilots' launge!!