Student pilot's library: a selection of books and manuals

Becoming a pilot is an exciting adventure that requires a lot of planning and preparation. You've dreamed of being in control of an airplane, or more modestly, an ultralight aircraft or a drone... and finally, you decide to take the leap. Then you go through the first steps: researching, understanding the levels of progression and what it will cost you, choosing your school and your training. All that's left is to get started... but perhaps also to fill your library.
Because you will need various books and manuals to study: the essential, the useful, the inspiring ones. To help you in your choices, here is our top list of the best books for student pilots.

Aviation: Knowledge at Every Level

First Steps: the BIA

Before diving into learning how to fly, younger students will start by familiarizing themselves with the world of aviation by taking their aeronautical initiation certificate, or BIA. To brush up on your knowledge and review before the exam, you will find the basics in the manual "Introduction to Aeronautics – Preparing for the BIA". This general knowledge book, created by teachers and experienced pilots, presents the different types of aircraft, the functioning of their components, the principles of piloting, and its environment.
Equally comprehensive but a bit more fun and divided into four volumes collected in one box, the BIA pack may be your preference. According to his own teaching method, author Jean Nicolas uses colored drawings and sketches, as well as characters who will guide you in your learning. With this approach, the technical explanations might be easier to memorize.

Becoming a Pilot: Theory and Practice

It will obviously be a bit harder to pass the next steps, which will lead you to fly on your own after successfully completing one of the two certificates – LAPL or PPL – that will make you a private pilot.
For the theoretical part of these certificates, you will need the essential "Pilot's Manual". Educational and well-structured, this reference manual presents in ten chapters all the theoretical, technical, and practical information you need, along with the necessary knowledge and skills.
However, this must-have might seem insufficient to fully prepare you. You can also find it in our store, accompanied by supplementary books in the "Pilot's Briefcase". This set will perfect your knowledge, as it also contains a progress booklet, weather summary sheets, and flight preparation and management guides.
The last option, especially if you're about to start the practical part: choose the "Duo Briefcase", which, in addition to the documents already mentioned, adds the manual "Flying Lessons". Now you're ready for the entire duration of your LAPL or PPL training.
Let's still emphasize an important aspect of training: weather, a crucial point for any aviation pilot. We strongly recommend adding the manual "How to Make Your Weather File" to your library. This book will teach you in detail how to easily find weather documents, how to use, interpret, and analyze them. In other words: how to take off with peace of mind on every flight.

Final Step: Professional Pilot

Of course, professional licenses will still require some effort to pass the theoretical parts of your certificates, along with the maturity needed to acquire the required flight hours.
Whether you're aiming to become a pilot of an airplane or helicopter, to pass the ATPL or CPL, the essential manuals are available in the collections of the Institut Mermoz. A specialist in theoretical training for civil aviation pilots, it offers not only a complete set of manuals but also distance learning courses and full-time courses. From law to engines, from emergency equipment to radio navigation, from weight and balance to... the essential topic of weather, you will find the full range of thematic books to succeed in your training.

Piloting an Ultralight Aircraft, It Can Be Learned Too

If you hold a pilot license for an airplane or helicopter, you will receive equivalency for the theoretical part of your training to pilot an ultralight aircraft, but you will still need to pass the practical part. In all other cases, both theoretical and practical training, along with corresponding tests to obtain the certificate, will be necessary to earn your ultralight pilot's license.
As with aviation certificates, you can obtain the documentation in a simple format or in a more complete pack.
For the basic knowledge, opt for the essential "Ultralight Pilot's Manual", already very comprehensive with its progressive 11-phase learning, practical approach, and easy-to-read format with illustrations.
Even more comprehensive, the "Ultralight Pack" adds three more useful books to this manual: "500 Questions for the Ultralight Pilot" will help you review and check your knowledge; "Learning to Fly Multiaxial Ultralights and Light Airplanes" will serve for the practical part; and finally, "Ultralight Regulations" will be a handy reference, even after obtaining the license.

For Drones, Rules to Know

One last scenario: you have embarked on learning to fly drones. As you can imagine, the requirements and challenges are not the same, even in terms of theory, compared to being authorized to pilot a commercial airliner, a small single-engine plane, or even an ultralight aircraft. The complexity of flying, as well as safety and risk levels, are incomparable.
Nevertheless, don't think you can do whatever you want with your remote-controlled device. A specific and strict regulation has been governing this recent practice for a few years, and it's advisable to be well-versed in it.
For precise and comprehensive information on this subject, we recommend the booklet "Drone Piloting Regulations", also available in our online store.

In Conclusion: Deepen and Get Inspired

Now you're equipped, regardless of the aircraft you wish to pilot, to learn everything and pass tests and certifications successfully. You can even find other manuals and guides in the Bayo online store's library.
But before closing this chapter, one last piece of advice: let yourself be inspired by historical accounts, real-life testimonials, or fictional stories about aircraft pilots. You'll find them in this section... and it will definitely be useful to strengthen your motivation to learn!