Free ground school
Ground school videos
Classes recorded by GQ Aviation instructors. Watch before your first lesson, or review between flights. They're free, and new classes go up on our YouTube channel.
Private pilot ground course
Start with the basics
Work through these classes in order. Ground knowledge like this prepares you for the FAA knowledge test and makes every flight lesson count.
Lesson 1: Start here
The first class of our private pilot ground course.
Lesson 2: Aeronautical decision-making
How pilots make sound, safe decisions, known in training as ADM.
Lesson 3: Certificates and documents
The certificates pilots hold and the documents an airplane needs to fly.
Lesson 4: The airport environment
Part 1 of our ground lesson on finding your way around an airport.
Lesson 5: Signs, lights and markings
Part 2 of the airport environment: airport signs, lighting and markings.
Cross-country planning, lesson 1
Start planning a cross-country flight, step by step at the whiteboard.
Flying the airplane
Takeoffs, patterns and landings
See what you'll practice in the airplane, then rehearse it on the ground before your next lesson.
The short-field takeoff
Filmed in the cockpit, with a step-by-step breakdown: flaps as the manufacturer specifies, full power on the brakes, then climb at Vx until you clear obstacles.
Takeoff, pattern and landing
A whiteboard walk-through from the takeoff, through the traffic pattern, to the landing.
The traffic pattern
A whiteboard class on flying the traffic pattern.
Chair-fly the landing
Rehearse each step of the landing on the ground, so it feels familiar in the air.
Flight maneuvers
A classroom session on the maneuvers you practice in training.
Aerodynamics and navigation
How airplanes fly, and where they go
Whiteboard classes on the four forces of flight, cross-country planning and the airport environment.
The four forces, part 1
Lift, weight, thrust and drag, explained at the whiteboard.
The four forces, part 2
The second half of our class on the four forces of flight.
Top of climb
Where your climb ends on a cross-country plan, and how it fits into dead-reckoning navigation.
Airport environments, full class
Signs, lighting, markings and runway orientation in one longer class.
Instrument training
Holding patterns
From our instrument classes. See what else you'll learn in the Instrument Rating program.
These videos are study aids. They don't replace training with your instructor, your airplane's flight manual or FAA publications. Videos play from YouTube, and the player loads only when you press play. See our privacy notice.
Ready to fly what you've learned?
A discovery flight is your first lesson, and the time can count toward your certificate.