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OK, you’ve decided; you’re going to learn to fly. Congratulations on your decision, and welcome to the world of aviation! But now what? Probably the first step is to determine the path you want to take. Do you want to begin work on your Private license, or do you want to start with a Light Sport license? There’s also the Recreational license to consider, though very few have pursued that historically, and that small percentage is likely to become even smaller with the growing popularity of the Light Sport certificate. You may have already decided upon which option you wish to pursue, but if not, reviewing the information provided on this website about each of the certificates may be helpful. Of course, with either the Light Sport or Recreational licenses you have the option of upgrading to a Private license should you so choose at some point in the future. And you don’t even have to get a license at all to fly an ultralight if that is what appeals to you (but DO get some training!). Whether you decide upon getting a Private, Light Sport, or Recreational license, the process will be about the same, with variations in the quantity of training required, and the types of airplanes used for training. Any flight school will offer training for the Private and Recreational licenses, and many also offer Light Sport training, but not all. The implementation of the Light Sport certification is recent enough that not all flight schools are set-up to offer training toward this certificate, though the number that do is rapidly increasing. If you are going to train for either the Private or Recreational certificate, it’s generally recommended that you get your medical exam out of the way before beginning training, just to be sure that you have no medical problems to prevent you from qualifying for the certificate. If you’ve decided upon getting a Light Sport certificate, you will not need a medical if you have a valid driver’s license. For some, the first trip to a flight school can be a little intimidating. The world of aviation is a new environment for most, and quite different from anything they’ve experienced before. But for the most part, any flight school you choose will be staffed with very friendly people, who want nothing more than to help you fulfill your dream of becoming a pilot; after all, that’s their business. If you happen to encounter a flight school that you don’t feel comfortable with for any reason, then try another. If you were shopping for any other product or service, you wouldn’t accept anything less than optimum, and there’s no reason to approach the task of shopping for flight training any differently. Once you’ve settled upon a flight school and have begun your training, continue to evaluate whether you’re happy with the instruction you are receiving. To facilitate learning, the relationship between student and instructor must be comfortable and pleasant, and the instructor must inspire trust within the student. The vast majority of flight instructors are skilled and dedicated professionals. They’ve undergone a considerable amount of training and acquired hundreds of hours of flight experience to earn the title of flight instructor, and they must periodically undergo recurring training to maintain the title. But that doesn’t mean that there won’t occasionally be personality conflicts between instructor and student, and when that happens, it’s usually best just to change instructors. Remember that you are the consumer, paying for a service, and you have the right to be satisfied with your purchase. Your training schedule will be determined by a number of factors. Your work schedule, family, finances, and just the general ebb and flow of life’s activities and commitments may impact how frequently you’ll be able to fly. And, of course, stretches of bad weather may occasionally lengthen the time between flights. But to whatever degree you can control your training schedule, remember that the more frequently you can fly, the better. You’ll likely make more consistent progress if you can fly several times per week, as opposed to flying just once every two or three weeks. Having to scrape a bit of rust off what you’ve already learned before you’re able to take the next step forward tends to slow the whole learning process somewhat. But if you’re simply unable to fly frequently, that’s OK. Just stick with it, and you will become a pilot. Learning to fly is a wonderful adventure, but also a challenge, and it requires some hard work and determination from the student. The learning process will be a series of steps and plateaus, with some of the plateaus more frustrating than others. But there are very few people who, with perseverance and dedication, cannot master the art of flying and become a safe and competent pilot. And there are very few activities in life more satisfying and rewarding than rising to the challenge of becoming a pilot. Good luck, and have fun! |
