Rating: 
Summary: How about teaching how to actually fly an airplane?
Review: I've read this book to prepare for the FAA test. The material is well presented and has a refreshing approach to presenting what is essentially dry material. It does cover most of what the FAA test requires, but omits to actually teach how to fly an airplane.The scary thing is that readers may be fooled into believing that reading this book is the only theoretical instruction one needs to safely fly a plane - Wrong! Information that is vital to flight safety is missing from this book. Most of it can be found in Langewiesche's "Stick and Rudder".
The latter should be required reading for pilots. I guess the blame falls more on the FAA for failing to incorporate this information into the official knowledge test, but Rod Machado shouldn't use that as an excuse for the omission of this kind of life-saving information in a book that presents itself as a one-stop pilot license manual.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Used this book as my main resource book as I worked toward my Private license. I had the King tapes (CDs actually), but when I needed clarification or real insight, I picked up Machado's handbook. Although his sense of humor can become a tad tiresome at times, his ability to take the complex and explain it in simple concepts makes this book worth its weight in aviation fuel. Received the Priv. license in 2 months.
Rating:
Summary: A durn good book
Review: This book is great! It has in depth and accurate explainations of pretty much everything that is covered in private pilot training. It is fun to read as well, with Rod's excellent humor. This book is a good resource to me even after I have my license. Get this book if you are starting your private training, and good luck!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference for beginner pilots
Review: This book is unique in that it explains complex topics to newcomers in a clear and fun manner. Rod starts with the basics of flight principles and takes you all the way to advanced flight planning, avionics, etc. He uses numerous visual aides to reinforce his points as well as add humor. This book also instructs through examples and stories of questionable truth - doing an excellent job of conveying both the concept and its application. I highly recommend this book to anyone learning how to fly. Don't try to read it all at once... its too much.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I ordered this book before I started training for my PPL to get some background information. Rod writes with humor in a way that makes everything easy to remember. By the time I started ground training, I found that I knew just about everything that they covered and this book is much easier to read and much more interesting than the materials that came with the private pilot kit that I bought for ground training.
Rating:
Summary: Rod Machado's Private Pilot Handbook
Review: A very, very, excellent book for students, or pilots of yesterday, and the Flight Simulator enthusiasts. Having difficulty understanding some subjects such as VOR or Radio Navigation, ADF's, DME's, use of Radio Comm gear, Transponders, Gyros/instruments, Flight Planning, Radio communications, use of the flight calculator [better than the manufacturer's instructions], understanding flight charts, Air Space manuevering, etc.? This is a book you cannot afford to miss. It contains good color photographs of flight charts or maps which are a poor display as photocopies in other manuals allowing you to really see and catch on to details. And Amazon.com now makes their ordering forms simple with a push button and mailing to you right away. Amazon is great!
Thus when the little lady, your wife, tells you to go fly a kite, pick up Rod's book and go fly a plane. That is how Rod managed to write this book...his little lady sent him to fly a kite often.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Education
Review: This book was excellent in many ways. I read it cover to cover once but used it as a reference many more times throughout my training. It helped me make a 93 on the PPL written, but more importantly it allowed me to thoroughly understand the concepts and ultimately pass the oral and practical tests. The illustrations are EXCELLENT, and there are a lot of them. Highly reccomnded.
Rating:
Summary: Well done!
Review: I'm still working on getting myself prepared to take the written test. I tried reading other books on the subject before but gave up because I got bored and my brain blanked out. Not so with this book - Rod has a very entertaining way of explaining technically complex things. I'm starting to think I might actually read the whole book and take the test after all . . . :-)
Rating: 
Summary: Good Follow Up after Obtaining Your License
Review: I have a private pilot rating and found the book to be a very good referance book AFTER obtaining my rating. If I had to use it for a study guide for the knowledge test I would have wasted alot of time and energy doing so. It is a very good book, but due to his extensive illustrations and coverage it would have been more of a distraction then help in learning the necessary
information for the written test. This book goes further into the facts then necessary for scoring well on the knowledge test.
His illustrations, humor, detail and perspective are excellent which is why it makes it more suitable as a referance book after the fact.
Rating:
Summary: Must reading for pilots in training! (and its very funny)
Review: The author takes extremely complicated issues and describes them thoroughly but in a way a 5 year old could understand. He has a great sense of humor and a firm grasp of technical issues and an ability to explain some of the more mundane or boring information with respect to flying. Also, after reading his book I never see these issues as boring or mundane - I keep remembering his explanations. The book is full of illustrations and anecdotes on the side. He can help anyone understand the basics of piloting. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a pilots license. I wish he would write even more. I give this book 5 stars.
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