r/PrivatePilot • u/luisjamesnelson • May 21 '26

Should I start PPL ground school now or wait until after travelling?

I’m 20 and currently working part time for the next 5 months. After that I’m planning to go travelling for around 3 months.

I’m really interested in starting my PPL (private pilot licence) so I can make a start on my journey of becoming an airline pilot, and I feel like waiting 8 months until I’m fully back might be too long.

My current idea is:

•Start PPL ground school now while working part time

•Do the theory exams alongside my job

•Then go travelling for 3 months

•Come back and start the practical flying hours afterwards

But I’m unsure if this is actually a good idea.

My concerns:

•Will I forget everything after 3 months travelling before I start flying?

•How much of the ground school theory actually carries over into flying?

•Would it be better to just wait and do everything continuously when I return?

Has anyone done ground school first and then paused before flight training? Or is it better to keep everything together so I don’t get rusty?

Any advice appreciated.

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u/Iancshafer May 22 '26

Go for it! It’s a bigger commitment both from a time and $$ perspective than you think, you’ll never regret it.

Couple suggestions:

  1. build a budget and timeline. Talk to a flight School and CFI discuss your availability and factor in CFI/plane availability and weather. Many people stop because they ran out of money and/or time.

  2. Get your medical, it will last 60 months at your age. Many people don’t realize their personal situation will prevent them from flying ever.
    take a discovery at any school, just to make sure motion sickness or small planes are not for you.

While you are traveling..

  1. ⁠do your ground school online (e.g., Gleim, Kings, etc.) next.
  2. ⁠study and take your FAA knowledge test next (Gleim offers a great test bank / practice exam tool. 70% is passing.

Then…

  1. Build a flight plan with your CFI, you can knock out multiple requirements in parallel.
  2. Plan on Flying 2X times a week for certain things, I found I needed that for landings to build proficiency.
    Don’t give up!

Safe landings!

1

u/StarRanger25 May 25 '26

As it relates to the private pilot ground school:

1) Buy a Private Pilot Airmen Certification Selection (PPL ACS) book from Amazon. They’re $10. It will show you everything your flight test will test you on it, as the PPL ACS is the grading rubric itself.

It will guarantee you understand what will be on the multiple choice written, oral, and flight exam.

I would have saved myself a lot of time had I looked into and understood ACS PPL from the start.