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When you are learning to fly, instruction comes in many forms--from ground school instruction to in-air experience. Both are fun and dynamic, although being in the air is always more fun. Weather briefings and flight planning (above) are two tasks that must be completed before every flight. High-performance airplanes such as this Piper Matrix (below) are a great way to travel once you've earned your ticket. |
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Flying, like boating, surfing, golf, or riding motorcycles, is more than just a simple activity-it's a passion. But taking flight is better than all those other activities. It can be practical, getting the family to grandma's house half a day earlier; or just plain fun, like that trip to the beach with your longboard. So if you want to be like Buffett and live the good life, read on. We've laid out the groundwork to take you higher.
There's no magic formula for learning to fly. In fact, the entire process is nothing more than finding a school, meeting an instructor, doing some studying, flying the airplane, and then taking a few tests. But how you arrive at the successful completion of those tests, to the point of holding that beautiful card that proclaims you are free to take to the skies as you wish, can be a varied and winding road. There are big schools, small schools, new airplanes, older airplanes, and myriad training materials. Because learning to fly is a self-guided process with the help of your instructor, set in a framework of Federal Aviation Administration rules, there are decisions to make.
The rules that dictate some of those decisions are set out in a book called the Federal Aviation Regulations. When you hear a school called Part 61 or Part 141, it only refers to different sections of the regulations. In general, you'll be required to fly a total of 40 hours before you can take the test for your certificate (Part 141 schools adhere to a more rigid standard and get a lower 35-hour requirement as a result). But while 40 hours is the minimum, the national average hovers more in the 60-hour range. Often, you can reduce that by making certain decisions up front, many of which are described below.
Although you can simply walk into the nearest flight school and sign up for lessons, it pays to be an educated consumer. We'll discuss some big factors to consider before taking the plunge-our Web site has even more.
Nonaviation considerations
Because most of us have family, jobs, and friends, we aren't free to disappear to the airport whenever we want, for as long we want. All of us have other demands on our time and some of those demands definitely take precedence over our personal goal of learning to fly.
Our family and the time equation. There really is no such thing as free time. It all comes from somewhere, and nowhere is that more evident than in a family situation. The time we take for ourselves to spend at the airport is time we've taken away from other things, such as household chores and family activities. There is no faster way to create an aura of animosity around learning to fly than to let family members feel cheated.
Finances. Talking about money seems to sully the image of flying, but the truth is, aviation is expensive. Even so, the cost of learning to fly is almost always much less than a golf club membership or owning a boat and belonging to that community. The good news is the expense can be spread over a year or two, if you so desire, but extending the time to spread the expense will always increase the total cost. The most cost- effective way to learn to fly is to either save up or borrow the money so you can hit the learning process hard, which will minimize the brain drain and greatly increase your learning efficiency. Schedule no fewer than one-and, preferably, two-lessons each week, every week. If you can arrange to do more, it'll save money in the long run.
Establish your goals. What is it you want to do with your new skill? Do you want to fly somewhere for breakfast on Saturday mornings, or make two-week trips with the entire family to Alaska? It makes a difference in terms of whether you pursue a recreational, sport pilot, or private pilot certificate. Recreational and sport pilot certificates are less expensive but have some restrictions (smaller, slower airplanes, for example). However, you can always upgrade later.
Seasonal timing
Learning to fly is something that can take anywhere from 30 days to a lifetime, depending on your commitment. Depending on your geographic location, however, it shouldn't take more than a year. In the South, where sunshine is the norm, it should take less time. So, if you plan on doing it locally and the weather can be harsh, remember that training often slows down in late fall and winter.
Scheduling your training
When you decide to start flying lessons, have the financing and the family in place. Then, for the period of time you're learning to fly, try to push some of the nonessential things out of your life. For however long the process takes, try to concentrate on one thing. By scheduling at least two flights a week, you can lose one to weather and still keep your training on track. If you can do more, so much the better.
It is critical that you not look at this in the same way as learning golf or bowling. Safety is important and your success in the air is totally dependent on how well you've learned your lessons. Learning to fly cannot be viewed simply as "something you do." It has to become part of who and what you are. Otherwise it will be a superficial skill that will wane quickly with time.
Accelerated training or normal?
There are flight schools that guarantee a pilot certificate in 30 days. During those 30 days, you're living and breathing nothing but flying. For obvious reasons, most of these schools congregate in the Sun Belt, and they have pluses and minuses.
On the good side, they are generally in good weather zones, so fewer flights are cancelled and the students are treated to full-immersion training. That could be an advantage if you can leave home and do nothing but fly airplanes. Those who don't favor this approach point out that in some cases everything happens so quickly the student doesn't retain the knowledge and skill.
Selecting a flight school
Assuming you're going the more traditional, local flight school approach, the considerations are more specific.
Large school versus small school. There are pros and cons for both large and small schools. The larger schools generally have more aircraft and instructors so scheduling is easier, but big doesn't necessarily mean better. The quality of instruction is a function of the attitude of the management and the quality of the individual instructors. Also, smaller schools tend to have more experienced instructors because they usually aren't recycling their CFI graduates back into instructing.
Airport type and proximity. There's a lot to be said for having a minimal commute to the airport. However, the personality of the airport often drives the quality of the instruction you'll receive. A giant, wildly busy airport can trash both your learning efficiency and your budget because too much time is spent waiting to take off or droning around in huge patterns. On the other hand, a quiet country strip, if it's home to a quality mom-and-pop flight school, can be just the ticket to learn-although it won't expose you to the discipline required to fly at bigger airports. However, the better the school and the smaller the airport, the less it's going to cost and the more you will learn.
Choosing an instructor
Finding an instructor who is good, available, and fits both your personality and your learning style isn't easy. In fact, choosing the instructor is far more important than all of the foregoing points put together. When it comes down to it, learning to fly is two people sitting in a small space while one tries to communicate with the other. Once you're in the airplane, all of the other factors mentioned fall away and the instructor becomes your entire focal point.
Your specific location and situation may not allow you to choose among airports or flying schools, but in all but the tiniest flying operations you have a choice in instructors. Even though the manager may assign you to a given instructor, nothing says you can't ask for someone else. This is important to remember because, as a student, you'll very quickly know whether this is someone who has empathy for you and understands your learning style.
Over everything else is the personal chemistry between the two of you. If it doesn't work, the learning process will be aggravating, drawn out, and painful. If it does work, you'll look forward to every flight. If, after you've flown with your instructor for a few hours and you know he or she isn't the one, don't be shy-ask to fly with someone else.
If the school is the kind that utilizes an "instructor pool" approach and you get whatever instructor is available at that time, rather than flying with the same instructor every flight, look for another school. Learning to fly is an intense, one-on-one experience and it will take any good instructor several hours to figure out how best to teach you. The theory behind using an "instructor pool" is that the instructors are so standardized in their approaches that it makes no difference with whom you fly. But that overlooks the personal differences in both instructors and students, and how they communicate and relate to one another.
Hopefully, you have some points to think about. More important, we hope we've established a rough framework around which you can build your learning-to-fly investigations. The important decision has been made: You're going to learn to fly. Now, do a little homework and have at it. Enjoy!
Budd Davisson is an aviation writer/photographer and magazine editor who has written approximately 2,200 articles and has flown more than 300 different types of aircraft. A CFI since 1967, he teaches about 30 hours a month in his Pitts S-2A Special. Visit his Web site.
