Hi. Welcome to the group!

The schools I know of do not require it until you begin to solo, but they recommend you obtain it anyway. Here's why: the school's insurance which provides coverage in the meantime can have a large deductable which the student may be responsible for. In addition to any damage to the aircraft, there might also be lost revenue due to the aircraft being temporarily unavailable for use. You might end up having to pay several thousand dollars in damages, which could eat up the money you had saved up for your lessons. There could be any number of things that could happen. You might hit a parked plane's wing, or a gas pump or a building or even a person, with your wing while taxiing. Even if you don't end up having to pay a lot of money for damages, it could lead to conflict between you and the school or between you and another student or instructor. The insurance costs only about $200 a year. The AOPA has discounted rates for their members.

Colton, welcome to the group. I am a very new beginner student pilot, but I have heard that joining the military will not necessarily give you an opportunity to get hours. I think what many people do is get a CFI rating, then they get their hours while teaching others.
However, maybe other members with more experience and knowledge are in a better position to answer you.

Allen, Welcome to the group!
I'm very new but I know there are several different companies that make such DVD's. Two others I've heard of are Jeppesen and Gleim. I've also heard of "Cleared For Takeoff" which I think is Cessna's own brand.
I have some of the King Schools materials from helicopter training and I like them a lot but I cannot make a comparison because I haven't used any others.
Some flight schools require students to purchase a particular one, so you might check with the school(s) you're interested in first.

I know this is an old thread but I just joined and saw it. I'd like to post a response that I feel may help anyone who reads it, not just the original poster.
Notice he mentioned that the uneasiness went away as they got closer to the ground. It is common among those who are nervous or fearful to be so only when high up, not when merely a few hundred feet up. (Not counting those who are afraid of heights.) I think it has to do with the fact that at higher altitudes there is the illusion that the plane is not moving forward; it appears to be suspended in the air. Thus the anticipation of falling. At low altitudes you can see from ground references that the plane is indeed moving forward rapidly. At high altitudes if you pass small clouds they too provide visual proof of forward motion. We've been conditioned to accept forward motion as safe because we ride in cars, trains, bicycles, strollers and so on from infancy.

Hello everyone. I just discovered this site this evening. It looks like a real nice group here.
About a year and a half ago I wanted to try flying as a new hobby. Then I found out a close friend in another state started to pursue getting a Sport Pilot License and that motivated me too. I wanted to get into helicopters but after researching I found it would be too expensive for someone who's not looking for a career in it. I enjoyed the discovery flight in the helo very much though. Decided I'd get into fixed wing then maybe get a helo add on in the future. I checked out 2 local fixed wing schools and did an intro flight at each. Plan to do another this weekend. I liked school #1 but it is far. They have nice clean late model Cessna 172's but I can barely reach the pedals. School #2 is nearby and cheaper, and they have 152's which are just right for me but I don't want to go back there. The school I'm looking into now is not too far away and they have different aircraft, with a stick instead of a yoke. I'm looking forward to trying that.