FAA ACS-Aligned Curriculum

Ground School Built for
Serious Applicants.

Weekend intensive ground school from Private Pilot through Commercial, plus comprehensive CFI, CFII, and MEI instructor guides — every lesson built directly from FAA Airman Certification Standards.

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4 Certificate Tracks
ACS Standards-Aligned
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FAA Referenced Content

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Weekend intensive courses from Private Pilot through Commercial, plus in-depth CFI, CFII, and MEI instructor guides that double as advanced study material for any rating. Every lesson built directly from FAA Airman Certification Standards.

🛩️ PPL

Private Pilot Weekend Ground

For PPL Applicants

Weekend intensive ground school covering regulations, weather, navigation, aircraft systems, and airspace. Written test prep, oral exam readiness, and aeronautical decision-making — all mapped directly to the Private Pilot ACS.

ACS Reference FAA-S-ACS-6
Lessons 16 Lessons
Areas Covered Areas I–IX
Format Weekend Intensive
🧭 IR

Instrument Rating Weekend Ground

For IR Applicants

Weekend intensive covering IFR procedures, instrument approaches, en-route navigation, aircraft systems, and emergency operations. Oral and flight test prep built directly around the Instrument Rating ACS.

ACS Reference FAA-S-ACS-8
Lessons 24 Lessons
Areas Covered Areas I–IX
Format Weekend Intensive
🏅 CPL

Commercial Pilot Weekend Ground

For CPL Applicants

Weekend intensive covering all commercial areas of operation — maneuver standards, 14 CFR Part 91/119 regulatory requirements, and commercial decision-making frameworks. Mapped task-for-task to the Commercial Pilot ACS.

ACS Reference FAA-S-ACS-7
Lessons 28 Lessons
Areas Covered Areas I–XII
Format Weekend Intensive
🎓 CFI · CFII · MEI

CFI / CFII / MEI Guides

Instructor Cert Prep & Advanced Study for All Ratings

Comprehensive instructor guides covering CFI, CFII, and MEI certification — teaching methodology, asymmetric flight, lesson planning, and DPE evaluator standards. Also used as advanced reference material for IR and CPL applicants.

ACS References ACS-25 · ACS-7 · ACS-8
Guides 50+ Lessons
Tracks CFI · CFII · MEI
Focus Teaching · Systems · Evaluator Stds

EGH Aviation Lesson Guides

Comprehensive, ACS-aligned lesson guides for ground school prep — oral Q&A, risk codes, skill codes, and examiner references built into every lesson. Instant digital download.

  • ACS task-mapped content for every area of operation
  • Oral Q&A sets for IR, CPL & instructor tracks
  • FAA risk & skill codes (R1–R5, S1–S4)
  • Immediate digital access after purchase
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Built Around the ACS.
Designed to Pass.

Every EGH Aviation lesson follows the same structure — so you always know exactly where you stand against the examiner's standard.

1

Select Your Track

Choose the certificate you're preparing for. Each track is independently structured with no prerequisites between courses.

2

Study by Area of Operation

Lessons are organized exactly as they appear in the ACS — by Area, then Task, then element. No guessing what's testable.

3

Master Risk & Skill Codes

Every lesson explicitly maps to ACS risk (R-codes) and skill (S-codes) elements — the exact standard your DPE uses.

4

Drill the Oral Q&A

Each lesson ends with examiner-style oral questions and model answers, mirroring the format of a real practical test.

See What a Lesson Looks Like

Every EGH Aviation lesson follows this structured format — objective, rules, risk factors, oral Q&A, and ACS element codes.

Free Sample

Download the full lesson plan below — see exactly how every EGH Aviation guide is structured before you buy.

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CFI-I Track · Area II, Task A (Section 2)

Aircraft Navigation Equipment

PTS Reference: FAA-S-8081-9D · Area II, Task A — Navigation Equipment

Lesson Objective

By the end of this lesson, the CFI-I applicant will be able to teach a student pilot to identify, explain, and operate the full suite of aircraft navigation equipment — VOR, DME, ILS components, ADF/NDB, GPS with WAAS, and RNAV systems — including signal generation, service volumes, error sources, receiver checks, regulatory requirements, and integration into IFR procedures.

Instructional knowledge must be deep enough to teach in any certificated instrument aircraft, regardless of whether navigation is presented on a CDI, HSI, MFD, or PFD. (Bloom's Analysis / Application level.)

Estimated Ground Time: 2.5 – 3.0 hours (Section 2 only)

  • 14 CFR 91.171 — VOR equipment check for IFR operations (30-day currency; VOT ±4°, ground ±4°, airborne ±6°, dual ±4°)
  • IFH Ch.9 (FAA-H-8083-15B) — Navigation Systems; VOR, DME, ILS, GPS, WAAS, RNAV architecture
  • AIM 1-1-3 — VOR signal principles, service volumes, VOR MON
  • AIM 1-1-8 — Standard Service Volumes (T/L/H and new VL/VH classes)
  • AIM 1-1-9 — Instrument Landing System (ILS) components and categories
  • AIM 1-1-17 / 1-1-18 — GPS and WAAS; RAIM, integrity, LPV/LNAV minima
  • AC 90-100A — RNAV operations (Q-routes, T-routes, PBN)
  • AC 90-107 — WAAS approach operations and mode downgrade procedures
  • WAAS mode confusion: Student sees CDI active but does not check the annunciator at the FAF — LPV has silently downgraded to LNAV. Applicant descends to LPV DA; actual MDA is 200–300 ft higher. CFIT risk. Teach: minimums are tied to the annunciation, not the briefing. (AC 90-107)
  • VOR identification omitted: Student tunes correct frequency, flag shows TO, needle centers — begins navigating without verifying Morse code. Station may be in maintenance (carrier on, no ID = unreliable bearings). Mandate: Tune · Identify · Monitor on every VOR event.
  • Slant range misread as ground distance: On a high-altitude DME arc, DME reads zero or near-zero passing overhead. Student suspects equipment failure. Teach the geometry: DME measures slant range; directly overhead, slant range equals altitude in NM. (IFH Ch.9)
  • LPV called a "precision approach": LPV is an APV (Approach with Vertical Guidance) — ILS-equivalent minimums but not classified as precision under U.S. regulations. Evaluators probe this distinction explicitly. (AIM 5-4-5)
  • False glideslope capture: Intercepting the ILS glideslope from above the FAF altitude risks capturing the false 6° lobe (~twice normal descent rate). Teach: always intercept glideslope from below, established on the localizer first.

How does a VOR generate radial information? Walk me through the signal physics.

The VOR transmits two 30 Hz signals. The first is a reference signal with constant phase, broadcast omnidirectionally and FM on a 9,960 Hz subcarrier. The second is a variable signal whose phase rotates around the station 30 times per second, AM. At magnetic North, the two signals are in phase. As you move clockwise, the variable signal's phase lags proportionally to your radial. The receiver compares the two phases and displays the radial — 360 unique radials, one per degree. (IFH Ch.9, p.9-7)

A student is on an RNAV(GPS) approach with WAAS. After the FAF the annunciator changes from LPV to LNAV. The student is at the LPV decision altitude. What do you teach them to do?

Immediately apply the LNAV minimums (MDA) on the same chart — typically 200–300 ft above the LPV DA. If the aircraft can level off at the LNAV MDA in time, continue as a non-precision approach using altimeter and distance-to-WP for step-down monitoring. If level-off is not possible (already below LNAV MDA), execute the missed approach immediately. Teaching point: WAAS minimums are tied to the annunciation, not the briefing. A change mid-approach changes your applicable minimum. (AIM 1-1-18; AC 90-107)

Explain the four major VOR errors and the regulatory tolerances for the 91.171 receiver check.

Errors: (1) Site error — structures or terrain near the transmitter, small but predictable. (2) Course scalloping — reflections from terrain cause needle oscillation, mostly in mountains. (3) Cone of confusion — signal unreliable directly overhead, ~60–90 sec at typical speeds. (4) Receiver bearing error — small, cumulative. Regulatory tolerances (91.171): VOT ±4°; ground checkpoint ±4°; airborne checkpoint ±6°; dual VOR cross-check ±4° between receivers. Check required within preceding 30 days for IFR; logbook entry required — date, place, error, signature.

Walk me through how a WAAS correction message is generated and reaches the aircraft.

Four steps: (1) WRS — ~38 Wide Area Reference Stations across CONUS receive raw GPS signals. (2) WMS — Wide Area Master Stations compute ionospheric, ephemeris, and clock corrections plus integrity bounds per satellite. (3) GUS — Ground Uplink Stations forward corrections to geostationary (GEO) satellites. (4) GEO — broadcasts the WAAS message on the same L1 GPS frequency; any WAAS-capable receiver applies corrections to its position solution. End-to-end latency ~6 seconds. Typical result: horizontal accuracy <1 m, vertical <1.5 m, with integrity suitable for LPV approaches. (IFH Ch.9, p.9-30; AIM 1-1-18)

The following objective elements from FAA-S-8081-9D, Area II, Task A are addressed in this lesson. The evaluator will probe instructional knowledge of each.

Navigation Systems

2a 2b 2c 2d 2e

GPS / RNAV

2f 2g 2h 2i

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The Briefing Room

Practical guides, regulatory breakdowns, and technique deep-dives published weekly for advancing pilots.

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IFR 6 min

Partial Panel Approaches: Building the Mental Model Before the Sim

The scan collapses differently for every pilot. Understanding the cognitive failure modes before you're in the sim chair makes partial panel work feel systematic instead of reactive.

Regulations 5 min

91.185 Decoded: What AVEF Actually Means in Practice

Two-way radio failure in IMC is one of the most-tested oral topics and one of the least-understood. Here's the regulatory logic behind the altitude and route rules, and how to explain it to a student in 90 seconds.

MEI 7 min

Teaching Vmc: Why Students Always Get the Variables Wrong

There are ten factors that affect Vmc and most applicants can list them. What they can't do is explain why each one either raises or lowers the speed — and that's exactly what an MEI checkride probes.

CPL 5 min

Commercial Pilot Privileges: The Lines Most New CPLs Don't Know Exist

Holding a commercial certificate doesn't mean you can charge for any flight. Part 119, 135, and 91 carve-outs create a maze of privileges and limitations that every CPL applicant must be able to navigate cold.

Technique 4 min

The 5-T Turn: Why Structured Callouts Beat Memory Every Time

Time, Turn, Throttle, Talk, Track. The 5-T method eliminates missed steps during procedure turns and holding entries — and teaching it correctly to students is an examiner signal that you fly with discipline.

CFII 6 min

Writing a CFII Lesson Plan That Survives Examiner Scrutiny

DPEs don't just ask if you have a lesson plan — they ask you to justify every element of it. This guide walks through what a passing CFII lesson plan looks like and what evaluators are actually checking for.