Pilot School Note Taking

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olek2012@reddit

I’m old school, pen and paper is the gold standard. I still reference the notebook I filled when I was studying for my CFI. I spent so much time studying that thing I know it by heart.

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TxAggieMike@reddit

I am older school…

Stone tablets and chisel. Makes weight and balance a concern.

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vivalicious16@reddit

Notebook and pen has proven to make you remember stuff better than typing on a computer. Cheapest option too

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bgrant902@reddit

I really like to get an Etsy specific planner for each rating. It helped me so much with my private I’m recommending it to everyone lol. https://bluelinestudioco.etsy.com/listing/4507871601

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TxAggieMike@reddit

VSL.aero ACE Guide, an app such as goodreader or similar, iPad, stylus.

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Mindless_Ask_5438@reddit

What is a doctoral in anesthesia btw? Are you an anesthesiologist or no?

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Either_Discount_5916@reddit (OP)

I am a CRNA.

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ltcterry@reddit

Pen. Highlighter. FAA pubs. Notes right there. These official references may be referenced on FAA practical tests. Other pubs/notes may not.

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I went through a couple composition notebooks during my PPL training. I took notes on the modules, and made Quizlet flashcards out of all of the rote stuff. That’s what worked for me (93% on the written & aced my oral)

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Heavy_Notice3544@reddit

The way my brain works so I can’t remember anything that is written digitally. The act of physically writing something down feels more permanent. Same with paper versus digital PHAK and AFH. For some reason when I swipe to the next page on a .pdf my brain wipes what it just read.

Above all is chair fly and group grounds/peer review. That helped my students solidify their knowledge more than anything was having discussions with people that all had a strength/favorite topic.

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nethfel@reddit

As a student pilot going for my ppl, I use an INQ pen and associated notebook. Handwritten notes will sync to my phone and I can review my notes at any time and it will do OCR for easier reading (my handwriting sucks) and copy/paste into other apps (ie creating custom study sheet in word/pages).

It’s not for everyone and it does require using their spiral notebooks but it’s something that works for me - kind of a nice hybrid of pen and paper and still modern tech.

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scofnerf@reddit

One thing I just learned: reading, listening, note taking, are not going to prepare a flight student for the task at hand. Ultimately, the standardized tests are the easiest part of flight school. The Oral exam and Practical exam are the meat and potatoes. I just have pen and paper to scribble down some notes, then I use the notes to remind myself what I need to practice. Then, at home, I practice saying the information out loud, as if I were in an oral examination. And, I use visualization techniques at home as if I were flying a plane and doing all the procedures.

A flight student needs to be able to recite “the notes” from memory, out loud.

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Thomas-Ligotti97@reddit

I’ve always used pen, a flipbook and a kneeboard, I still do as a CFI, however my school gives free Foreflight accounts and they’re pretty cool because they have presets to fill out (like weather, clearances, etc) and majority people I know use that to take notes.

You wanna use Foreflight anyways for instrument (aslong as he doesn’t get dependent on it) but you could also always use the basic notes app on iPad I guess

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Reputation_Many@reddit

Notepad and a pen is best. You get muscle memory with it.

Using an iPad I like GoodReader to take notes. Pretty sure it supports the Apple pen but I never used the pen. Just type it out. It’s really good for highlighting pdfs. I wish they would make a Mac version but they don’t.

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ebaydan777@reddit

microsoft notes. it genuinely has the best note taking ability and organization

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Da_hoodest_hoodrat@reddit

+1 for one note. Can sync it across devices to bring it up on your EFB as well. I’ve used it for the past decade and nothing else has worked the same for me.

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Prof_Slappopotamus@reddit

Small pad and a pen. You can get him a fisher space pen if you want to be astronaut fancy, but the pen I used through my entire CFI career and most of my regional days was a Zebra F-301 with the ultra fine point, 0.5mm.

I always wanted to use a tech device like the reMarkable, but they came along too late for me.

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_FROOT_LOOPS_@reddit

I’ll retweet handwritten notes. Drawings are used often, especially when teaching things like aerodynamics, and being able to recreate those can be helpful. It also strengthens neural pathways or something, but that’s not my area of expertise

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jet-setting@reddit

A notepad and a pen? Honestly thats about the best way in this environment during pre flight briefings and debriefings.

A laptop is fine for ground school, but it’s not going to be a realistic note-taking device for flight training lessons.

Since he already has completed private pilot, you should ask him what worked best for his flying lessons.

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Either_Discount_5916@reddit (OP)

Thank you, very good points and I think it was paper and pen.

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Aggressive_Staff_982@reddit

I always prefer a notebook and pen. There's times when drawing diagrams/figures would be helpful and I always prefer to use a paper and pen to do that over an app.

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N546RV@reddit

IMO this is more of an individual preference thing than something specific to aviation stuff. Whatever he'll use and make sense of is the right choice.

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

Hello, my husband is starting school in a few mi tbs that trains him from instrument rating thru commercial. He has a Mac laptop, what are people’s opinions on best note taking apps ? I just finished my doctoral in anesthesia and I loved noteability but wasn’t sure when it comes to learning about aviation and being a pilot, if there is any other note taking apps that are better suited for that program?

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