From: geoff@peck.com (Geoff Peck)
Subject: Re: Jeppesen Student Kit
Organization: Geoffrey G. Peck, Consultant, San Jose CA
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 03:41:26 GMT

In article <9209040257.AA11433@GROUCHO.CS.NYU.EDU> deragon@GROUCHO.CS.NYU.EDU
(John Paul Deragon) asks about the Jeppesen Student Kit.  Several netters
responded rather negatively to this kit; I thought it would be useful to
explain why it really *is* a good idea and a reasonable thing to purchase,
even at a seemingly exorbitant $130.00 in the case of MillionAir at
Teterboro NJ.

First, I have in front of me an official 1992 Jeppesen-Sanderson Price
Schedule.  There are quite a few different versions of the "Kit- Private
Pilot Student", ranging in (list) price from $56.45 to $127.25.  I expect
the kit to which John refers is either
    JS304180   Kit-Private Pilot Student w/Student CSG  $107.95   or
    JS304121   Kit-Private Pilot Student w/FAR/AIM      $114.95

These kits differ only by the inclusion of an FAR/AIM volume in the second
kit, which I would consider "required equipment".  Well, what do these kits
include, and how much would it cost if you purchased the items separately?
I'll expand the second (JS304121) version:

    Manual w/FAR/AIM		$43.95
    Exercise Package		$10.45
    Syllabus Package		$ 7.45
    Maneuvers Manual		$ 9.95
    Record Folder		$ 2.69
    Flight Case (Gray)		$11.35
    Exam Package		$ 9.95
    Student CSG Computer	$ 8.95
    PN-1 Navigation Plotter	$ 5.95
    Practical Test Standards	$ 3.45
    Pilot Logbook		$ 7.95

It also probably includes a few other goodies which I've forgotten.  Add
up all the above stuff, and you'll get $122.09 -- $114.95 is a slight
discount.

Now, is all the stuff in the $115 kit _really_ necessary?  Well, yes and
no.  For a Part 141 "FAA Approved" flight school, yes it is.  The Part 141
agreement between the flight school and the FAA lays out what a student is
to be provided with, and that kit meets the agreement exactly.  One thing
less, and you can't be enrolled in the Part 141 program.  If you don't go
with Part 141, you could delete a few things -- the syllabus and the
record folder, for example.  And you could go without the $11 bag, but it
really is nice to have some place to hold all that stuff...  You could
substitute Gleim for the exam package, at an increase of about $7.

Or you could go out and buy different books, but if the school you're
learning at is using Jeppesen stuff, you'll be on your own in terms of
ensuring appropriate coverage and "linking" the ground instruction with
your flight instruction.  (This isn't particularly difficult, but it does
leave you with more responsibility.) For that matter, you could go find
someone who's selling the stuff used and buy it from them -- but you'd
probably find that it's out of date.  Did you know that Jepp revises their
textbooks once or twice _per_year_ to track current regulations and
practices?  Hmmm.

Usually, when you select a particular FBO for training, they have
standards which they follow to ensure that you receive proper
instruction.  Many FBOs elect to utilize the Jeppesen-Sanderson "system",
which includes a videotape package.  The videotapes are actually fairly
good, in my opinion, and they cover a _lot_ of material in a relatively
short time.

I've used the Jeppesen tapes as the "core" of Private and Instrument
ground schools for the last several years, and I really do like them.
There are a few tapes which are duds, but, well, no one's perfect.  (It's
really hard to get worked up over decoding of teletype weather reports...)

The videotapes are a not insubstantial cost for the FBO -- they have a
**four-digit** price tag, and the FBO must subscribe to an update service
for several hundred dollars per year.  So, you say, "why doesn't the FBO
give me a 30% discount on the Jepp materials?  I'm going to be spending
thousands of dollars on flight instruction and airplane rentals!"  The
answer is that that's about all the markup there is on this stuff, and the
markup pays for the videotapes.  And you'd be shocked at how slim the
margins are for FBOs these days.  FBOs all across the country are going
out of business...

Several netters said that the videotapes were boring.  Well, compared to
flying, yes, they are boring, but they do contain important material.  And
they provide an excellent point of standardization for instruction.  One
of the more amusing things you who have already had your Private
certificate for a year or so might do is this:  go down to an FBO and
watch one or two of the Private tapes.  See how much you remember -- and
how much you pick up when you view that tape a second time.

Let's compare the Jepp tapes to several competitors -- if, that is, you'd
like to spend another hundred or two of your own dollars on someone else's
videotapes which you'll watch once...  John and Martha King are energetic
and "folksy" at the same time, whereas Jeppesen's approach is sort of dull
and slick at the same time.  The King tapes can double as an advertisement
for mid-grade chroma-keyers (bletch), whereas Jeppesen has lots and lots
of live flying shots and semi-reasonable computer graphics at appropriate
points in the tape.  The King tapes spend a substantial amount of time
going over specific questions from the FAA written; Jeppesen spends _zero_
time on this.  Sporty's Pilot Shop has a new series of tapes which appears
to be really good, based on a few short segments I've seen at Oshkosh.
They have even more "live action" than Jepp, as well as newer and better
graphics.

The same warning given above about out-of-date materials applies to the
videotapes.  Things _do_ change in aviation, and if you buy a 2-year-old
used set from a friend, you +will+ be getting stale information in places
-- and it will be rather difficult for you as a student to detect what is
current and what is out-of-date!

Bottom line:  don't complain.  The student kit may seem expensive, but
it's really not such a bad deal.  You'll be paying many more bills along
the way to your Private Pilot license!

							Geoff
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