From the Ground Up – 30th Edition
$94.95
The standard Canadian pilot textbook, and the core text of our ground school. First published in 1941 and revised ever since, this is the book most Canadian pilots learn the theory from.
- 30th edition, published September 2025
- 403 pages, full colour, softcover, 8.5 x 11 inches
- Covers the whole Transport Canada written exam syllabus
- Sample examination, glossary and index at the back
- Set text for our Private Pilot and Commercial Pilot Ground School
Low cost flat rate shipping anywhere in Canada.
Description
From the Ground Up, 30th Edition
If a Canadian pilot owns one book, it is usually this one. From the Ground Up was first published in 1941, out of the training effort that became the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, and it has been revised continuously ever since. Eighty years of instructors correcting it have made it the clearest single explanation of why an aeroplane does what it does.
It is a textbook rather than an exam crammer. It teaches the subject, which is why it stays on the shelf after the written exam is behind you and why it is still the book instructors reach for when a student asks a question that an exam guide does not answer.
What it covers
Five major sections, divided into twelve chapters, spanning the whole Transport Canada written exam syllabus for the private and commercial licences.
What changed in the 30th edition
This edition is a genuine revision rather than a reprint with a new cover. Hundreds of content updates were made where regulations and procedures had moved on, new subject matter was added that no previous edition carried, and the figures and illustrations were upgraded again on top of the redesign introduced in the 29th.
The sample examination at the back was completely rebuilt, and the index was expanded and tightened. The colour coded chapter pages are still there, which matters more than it sounds: when you are looking something up mid revision, finding the right section by the colour of the page edge is faster than working through a contents list.
This is the book our ground school teaches from
Our Private Pilot Ground School and Commercial Pilot Ground School are built around this text. The video lessons follow its structure, the practice questions draw on the same material, and when an instructor tells you to go and read a section, this is the book they mean.
You can study the course without it. Most students who do end up buying it anyway.
What else you will need
- The From the Ground Up Workbook, the companion exercise book that makes you apply each chapter rather than just read it
- The Flight Training Manual, which covers the flying itself where this book covers the theory
- The Ground School Kit, which bundles this book together with the regulations, the Flight Training Manual, a flight computer, protractor, logbook and bag
- The rest of the pilot shop for charts, kneeboards and supplies
Questions about From the Ground Up
Is the 30th edition the current one?
Yes. The 30th edition was published in September 2025 and is the current edition. If you are buying second hand, check the spine: an older edition will have out of date regulations in the air law chapters, which is exactly the material the written exam tests hardest.
Do I need this if I am taking your ground school?
The course is complete in itself, but this is the text it is built around. Students who have the book alongside the videos tend to do better, because being able to reread a section at your own pace is a different kind of learning from watching it explained. It is also the book you will still be using after the course ends.
From the Ground Up or the Flight Training Manual?
Both, eventually, and they do not overlap much. From the Ground Up is the theory: why the aeroplane flies, how the weather works, what the regulations say. The Flight Training Manual is the flying: what each exercise looks like, what the instructor will demonstrate, what good looks like. This one is for the written exam, that one is for the aeroplane.
Is it enough on its own to pass the written exam?
It covers the syllabus, which Transport Canada sets out in TP 12880, and the sample examination at the back is a fair test of whether you have absorbed it. What a textbook cannot do is make you practise under time pressure or tell you which of your weak areas will cost you a section. That is what a ground school and a set of practice exams are for.
Is it used for the commercial licence too?
Yes. The same book carries both syllabuses, which is part of why it is worth buying properly rather than borrowing. Our Commercial Pilot Ground School works from it at the commercial standard, going deeper into the same chapters rather than into different ones.
How does shipping work?
We ship across Canada at a low flat rate from Ontario. The book is large format and reasonably heavy, so it is worth ordering it together with anything else you need rather than separately. If you are buying several items, look at the Ground School Kit first.
Additional information
| Publisher | Aviation Publishers Co. Ltd. |
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5 reviews for From the Ground Up – 30th Edition
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Ivan (verified owner) –
Great book thx
Aditya (verified owner) –
Got this book with the workbook. I love it. Goes well with the ground school from Canadian Flight Trainers. Thank you!
Lynne (verified owner) –
While not required for ground school with air cadets, having this book is a big help to our son for studying and following along with the lessons. Came as promised and as expected.
David (verified owner) –
I took my private pilot’s course in 1980. FTGU was there and at every turn there was a new edition to meet the changing needs in aviation instruction and knowledge. I am the Officer In Charge of an aviation ground school for teenagers and we use the latest version of the book. It is a readable encyclopedia.
Mike (verified owner) –
If you study for your PPL in Canada, this is the absolute reference.
What is nice is that the illustrations are well-made and the book is clean looking.
I wish the altitude section was explained with more illustrations however, but otherwise, very clear.