iPad RT Manual from Paul Ottersen

0 Responses

1. When I read this press release, I thought it was a good idea to use an interactive medium like the iPad to train something like radio com. After I’ve bought this product, I still think it is a good idea to have a GOOD training book on an iPad, but I would recommend to definitely avoid this product. Even für only $3.99.

   What you get is the following:
   – A book with one chapter containing 5 sections (numbered 1.1 to 1.5) and in total 63 pages, comprising
   – 1 “advertisement” page containing 2 sentences in 7 languages
   – 1 title page, 1 preface page and 1 acknowledgements page
   – first section “ICAO alphabet” (2 pages, including section title page)
   – second section “Standard radio exchanges” (8 pages, including section title page)
   – third section “Vocabulary, abbreviations and typical phrases” (46 pages, including section title page)
   – fourth section “Self testing” (2 pages, including section title page)
   – fifth section “Video” (1 page)

   The most useful section is the second one, however, even this is nothing spectacular.

   The third section is the real yoke. It covers 73% of the book and contains on each of those pages one table with 10 lines (447 lines in total). Each line has one term in one column, and that’s it for most of the lines. 84 lines of them have also a button in one column, which, when selected, plays an arbitrary radio message containing this term. This message is also written in a third column in the line. That’s all. But it is in alphabetical order. It’s like a glosser without explanations.

   The fourth section provides a self test with SEVEN questions (multiple choice, 3 options each).

   The icing on the cake is the video: a roughly 5 minute long black & white promotion video by TWA from the 1950s showing a flight (including radio com I have to admit) in the cockpit of a Constellation (?). The quality of the video is as expected (it’s about 60 years old).

   To summarize: A really huge disappointment. Don’t waste any of your hard earned $ on this product!!!

2. Indeed a good summary would be: utter money making rubbish.

3. From the Author:
   Firstly I would like to thank all who wish to comment on my recently published Interactive RT Manual.
   The comment by this ‘reviewer’ is detailed and correct in the synopsis of the Manual’s content, which is also plainly stated in the iBook store.
   In contrast he and one other do not understand a few points:

   1: iTunes charge 1/3 commission
   2: So does the publisher..
   3: That leaves me with a 1/3 profit, I won’t be buying a LearJet this year…
   4: If I had priced it any lower commissions to others could have been as much as 70%..leaving me with Cents, not Dollars..
   5: For all the work I’ve done, all the money I’ve invested personally, I doubt I ever will even have a holiday…
   6: I fortunately found a video that was copyright free. Yes, the one form the 1950’s. Which I happen to like and think is as true today as it was then..
   7: My RT Interactive manual is the only one in English, ever.
   8: Before criticising, consider all the above implications, including costs, one’s own time, and that of others who helped make this manual.
   9: Of the + 9 countries that the manual has sold in so far, all comments have been positive. This is largely due to the fact that it is intended for Non Native English Speakers and is a Simplified version of the very basics in Radiotelephony, in other words: not to get anybody injured…which sadly has happened often.
   10: Further versions are now underway in various languages, a further cost to me personally. Still no holiday on the horizon..it is not a “money grabbing scam”…(see the first comments)
   11: A Native English Speaker may be interested in purchasing this manual, but to be honest what would he/she expect? They should know all of this already. If they’ve forgotten, fine, use it as a basic, simplified ‘refresher’.

   And finally…interesting that the person writes “Yoke” not Joke, and “für” not For…guess I know the country of origin…

   Capt. Paul Ottersen