AOPA Flight Training
Magazine Review
Visionary Roger
Stenbock, developer of new FlightPrep ground school courses from
Stenbock & Everson, Inc., brings an impressive background to his work.
Stenbock first created
the flight-planning program called Flitesoft, still sold today by
RMS Technology. Then he founded Mentor Plus, offering the popular
FliteStar flight-planner software, and FliteSchool ground
school courses.
When Jeppesen bought
Mentor Plus five years ago, Jeppesen paid Stenbock not to compete in the
ground-school arena for the next five years (FliteSchool is still
sold by Jeppesen on CD-ROM). Even for a big company like Jeppesen, the
German-born Stenbock posed too great a competitive threat. What did this
flight instructor and entrepreneur do while twiddling his thumbs and not
competing? He built and sold hangars at Oregon's Aurora State Airport and,
for the heck of it, got a law degree in 1998 at age 56. He had no interest
in handling other people's problems - he just wanted to satisfy his
curiosity about the law.
Now the no-compete
period is up and Stenbock is back, still working in the same building
where he created Mentor Plus in Aurora. His FlightPrep home study
courses are available for recreational, private, and commercial pilot
certificates, and instrument, flight instructor, and helicopter ratings.
They are offered on a variety of media: DVD, videocassette, and the
Internet. A paper workbook is included.
Stenbock said the best
way to use his courses is to purchase the DVDs for prices ranging from
$165.95 to $208, depending on the course, and back it up with additional
training over the Web site. Alone, the Internet program, which drills FAA
questions and offers explanations of the answers, ranges in cost from $40
to $80. Stenbock offers packages that combine the DVD and Internet
programs for $205.95 to $250. The private pilot videocassette course only
is $155.95.
The best way to view
the DVDs is to use a DVD player hooked to a television set, Stenbock said.
Most computers use software to solve MPEG2 encoding needs, sometimes
resulting in flickering and sound that doesn't quite synchronize with the
picture. DVD players feeding television sets use a hardware solution for
encoding, and the result plays like a movie. While a slight flickering was
noted in the private pilot DVD when viewed on a computer, it was limited
to the movement of the instructor and did not interfere with learning the
material. While the sound did not quite synchronize with the picture, the
instructor's voice was clear and easily understood.
The online course
offers sound feedback. Selection of an answer, for example, brings up an
explanation of whether the choice is correct. A checkmark is placed
alongside the number of the question on the left side of the computer
screen, indicating that the question has been answered correctly. If the
student gets it right on the second try, a question mark is placed by the
number, indicating that while the question was finally answered correctly,
more review is warranted.
The courses make
extensive use of 3D graphics, topnotch instructors, and real-world
in-flight video to provide low-snooze, high-energy viewing.
For more information,
contact Stenbock & Everson Inc., 22781 Airport Road Northeast, Aurora,
Oregon 97002; telephone 800/966-4360 or 503/678-4360; or visit the Web
site: www.flightprep.com
.
Alton K. Marsh
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