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Learn to Fly
What's involved in flight training?
Learning how to fly is a lot like learning how to drive: there's training in the vehicle, there's training away from the vehicle, there's a written test, there's an oral test, and at the end there's a practical test with an examiner in the vehicle. Taking flying lessons and earning your pilot's license is not as challenging as it may seem. Obtaining your private pilot license is one the most rewarding accomplishments. It opens up a world of new possiblilites as simple as flying to the beach in a few hours or starting a track to an exciting career in aviation.
What does it take to be a pilot?
Generally speaking the steps to becoming a pilot is divided into two parts: ground training and flight training. Ground training will involve a wide spectrum of subjects including principles of aerodynamics, aircraft systems, weather, and aerial navigation. Ground instruction will also include preparation for a required multiple-choice knowledge test.
During flight training you will learn how to operate an aircraft safely and efficiently. Flight and Ground instruction is accomplished with your instructor on a one-on-one basis. As your instructor guides you through the syllabus, you will be preparing to demonstrate your flight and ground knowledge to an examiner who will administer a Practical Test or "Check Ride" to obtain your license. In order to be eligible for the Practical Test you will have recorded the minimum flight time, taken the multiple choice knowledge test, and completed the necessary ground instruction. Please look at the courses page to see the specific hourly requirements.
How long does it take?
It depends on how intensely you focus. Training times are usually controlled by two factors, scheduling and weather. Weather patterns are something you will learn about during training. While some training can be completed on rainy and cloudy days, the majority of your flights will require good weather. Scheduled lessons are sometimes not able to be kept and this will extend training. Scheduling is a factor controlled by you. Our instructors work around your availability to make sure training is accomplished in a timely manner. If flying every day were possible then one could finish a license in as short month. But in the real world with family and work, the training will typically take four to six months. Shorter time between lessons shortens the training time and of course the opposite is true as well. Someone flying only once a week will take much longer.
What does it cost?
Plan on a total cost of around $7000 to earn a Private Pilot certificate. Since most people do not learn to fly by using the family airplane, renting the aircraft is usually the biggest part of the cost. In the price list, the Solo column shows the cost per hour of renting each type of aircraft in our fleet. The Dual column shows the Solo rate plus the cost of having the instructor in the plane with you during that hour. In addition to flight training, you'll need to receive ground instruction, which is just the cost of the instructor, and which can either be one-on-one or in a classroom setting. The written exam (on computer, actually) is a flat fee, as is the cost of the checkride (the final practical test where you fly with an FAA examiner). Also, there's the cost of materials: headset, books, charts, navigational tools, etc. Cost is dependent on a couple of variables. The primary element is the amount of hours it takes to complete the flight training. While 35 hours is the minimum required for a private pilot license, the national average varies between 50-70 hours. Completion at closer to 40 hours is very possible with dedication in studying between lessons and minimizing the time between lessons in an effort to aid in retention. The aircraft used is another variable to consider. Current rental rates for initial training aircraft are $109 an hour. The instruction rate for primary training is generally constant at $48 an hour.
Can it cost more?
Yes, if you don't make flight training the top priority in your life. As with driving a car, the more frequently you practice, the faster you internalize facts into reflexes. You learn most efficiently when you fly at least every other day. If you drop that frequency to, say, once every other week, it will require more total flight hours to acquire the same skills. And that's how months become years. Then again, if once per fortnight is all the time you can spare at this point in your life, it may still be worth the higher total cost purely for the joy of occasionally doing something that fewer than one in a thousand people ever get to do. But only you can judge that.
What does a Private Pilot certificate give me?
This certificate is comparable to the driver's license most people carry. That is, a standard driver's license permits you to drive for fun, and to commute to a place of work, but it does not qualify you to earn money from driving. If you want to be a chauffeur or drive a truck or a taxi or a bus, you need additional licenses/permits. Likewise, someone who holds a Private Pilot certificate can fly for fun and commute, but cannot fly for hire or let passengers pay more than their fraction of the cost of the flight.
What comes after Private Pilot?
The most common next step after Private Pilot is the Instrument rating, which qualifies you to fly via IFR (instrument flight rules) instead of VFR (visual flight rules). After that, a Commercial Pilot certificate is the minimum requirement for earning money directly from flying, while an ATP (Airline Transport Pilot) certificate is required before captaining an airliner or a corporate jet. Other ratings qualify you to fly different types of aircraft such as multi-engine, jet, etc. Also, especially if a career in the airlines or the corporate world is your aim, along the way you'll most likely become certified as a flight instructor.
What types of in-flight training do I receive as Private Pilot?
Several distinct skills are necessary to be a proficient pilot. The FAA has declared minimums for the amount of training required in each of these areas. For Private Pilot under Part 141 of the regulations, they are:
At least 20 hours dual (with instructor) including:
3 hours of night flying
3 hours of instrument flying
3 hours cross country
At least 10 hours solo including both local flight and cross country
At least 35 flight hours in total
Typically, though, most students have 40-50 total flight hours by the time they take their checkride with an FAA examiner. The additional time is spent in whichever areas of study you and your instructor together decide need more practice. Again, the more frequently you train, the less additional training you'll need, but don't stress if it takes you longer than the minimum to pick up a particular skill. The goal, after all, is to become a Pilot In Command, a professional who is always thinking one step ahead of the vehicle. Some of the most professional pilots in the world have never flown an airliner or a corporate jet. Instead, they fly their families to the beach for a weekend every now and then. Being fast on the uptake of a new skill is nowhere near as important as a commitment to perfect that skill.
About flying solo
There's a point in every student pilot's life when it's time to fly the airplane alone. That point is never the same for any two students. It won't be time for you to fly solo until two things come true: you think you're ready, and your instructor thinks you're ready. The minimum record at our flight school was soloing after only 11 hours, partly because the student had grown up in a family of pilots and so was already highly comfortable behind the controls. The maximum record, on the other hand, was 65 hours, mostly because the student was 38 years old and so therefore was no longer immortal.
A student's first solo flight is brief and as simple as possible: take off, make four left turns (or right turns), and land on the same runway in the same direction as your take-off. In essence, you fly a rectangle. This rectangle is called The Traffic Pattern. Be assured, before your instructor lets you take off alone, the two of you will have flown this exact same pattern until it's so familiar that you'll find yourself doing it in your sleep. After your first solo flight through the pattern, while your adrenalin is running high, you'll fly a second and third takeoff and landing just to chalk up a larger amount of bragging rights. Don't be surprised if your instructor has to talk you out of flying a fourth pattern.
Some students schedule their solo flight in advance, often inviting family and friends to witness the event. Other students prefer to make the final decision on the spur of the moment, often while flying the pattern with the instructor when it occurs to both of them that the student is "in the groove" and conditions are perfect. Either way, it's entirely your choice.
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