Learning To Fly - What is needed to get a Pilot's License, and What to Avoid

by Tilo Sloboda

An old joke amongst pilots goes like this:

Flying truly changes your view of a two-dimensional world! By adding “up” and a direct route of flight, remote areas immediately become easily accessible; distances shrink and your perspective changes. Suddenly destinations that normally require more than 10 hours of driving are reachable in one or two hours — with no traffic jams. You will start thinking of your world from “above”. Learning to fly is truly rewarding, the views are spectacular and you will gain an added sense of true freedom to your life.

There are some good online resources on obtaining a Private Pilot’s License, but they typically don’t tell you what the pitfalls are, what to avoid, and which things are critically important.

Things to consider before starting flight training

Quite a lot of people start flight training and give up at some point before getting the license. What happens? Most of them actually run out of money(!). Others find that they just don’t have enough time to dedicate to the flight training, or that flying is just not for them. Some others have a spouse who is not supportive of them flying, or they might have a life-style change (a new-born baby, a new job, ..) which is very time-demanding.

The two main considerations when wanting to learn to fly are time and money — and how to properly plan ahead.. You should already have a good idea of how you are going to come up with the funds $7..10K for 4..6 months of flight training; know what your maximum burn-rate is. Look at your schedule – how and where will you fit at least three two-hour segments of flight training into each week? This point is really important: you will definitely want to have at least three lessons a week, as a significant portion of it is learning motor skills. If you can’t dedicate enough time per week to learn through repetition, you will forget skills faster than you learn them, which in turn will drag-out your flight-training and unnecessarily raise your cost.

Where to Learn; Instructors; Scheduling

You can take flight training from any FAA-certified flight instructor (CFI). Either hire him/her directly at your local airport or through a flight club, or go to a flight school. Going through a flight club is typically a good idea, because you have a choice of different airplanes and instructors. Locate your nearest airports and compare their rental and gas prices, as they differ between airports. Spend the time to check out a couple of flight clubs and different instructors before you make a decision.

The first and hardest step is to go to your local airport and talk to people. Go to the local flight club or flight school and ask them about the process.Talk to some of the pilots who rent airplanes at the flight club. Ask for an introductory flight lesson, which is usually at a nicely discounted price (around $50). Don’t forget to get a log book right away and to log the introductory flight! An introductory flight is usually 1/2 hour in the classroom and 1/2 hour in the air, but you can ask them to let you fly longer. Most flight clubs will let you take a friend with you in the back, and you can make your first flight also a bit of a sight-seeing flight. There is nothing like the adrenaline-rush of your first flight – why not share it with a friend?

Compare the prices between the flight clubs and instructors. Aircraft rental is usually “wet” and “hobbs time”, which means that gas and oil are included in the hourly price, and that the flight club bills only the time that the aircraft’s engine is running.

Try to fly with a couple of different flight instructors to find the one whose training style is the best fit for you. This is really important and can not be stressed enough; you don’t want to end up in the cockpit with somebody who doesn’t have the right chemistry, or whose teaching style isn’t a match for you. For example, if you are a morning person, consider finding a flight instructor who is also a morning person, and schedule the training sessions before your work hours. If you are an evening person, choose likewise. Summertime is excellent for flight training because of the extended daylight hours. Try to start the flight training early in the summer, so you will finish before bad winter weather may set in.

What To Avoid

Keep in mind that you don’t need to fly with the fanciest airplane and the most experienced instructor to get your private pilot’s license.

Do not go for the most experienced (= most expensive) flight instructor — you don’t need an instument-rated multi-engine gold-wing master CFII. Ask your CFI about his/her total flying hours, the number of students who have passed the private pilot checkride, the student’s pass/fail ratio, and the average student total time for passing the checkride.

Do not fly in the fanciest airplane. You don’t need a new airplane, retractable landing gear, lots of horse power, a glass cockpit, or more than 2 seats. These planes will cost considerably more, draining your budget quickly, and they will also be much more difficult to master. A glass cockpit in particular is often a temptation, but you really do not need this! You need to learn the motor skills of flying by visual reference to the horizon, not the instruments! A glass cockpit is unnecessarily complex and expensive for getting the private pilot’s license; avoid it like a pest. All of the options mentioned above will only cost you more time and money. This point cannot be stressed enough. People who did not listen to this advice had to give up their dream of becoming a pilot because they ran out of money. If an instructor advises you to go for such a fancy airplane, or a glass cockpit, consider that as a reason to be wary of the instructor’s motives.

You can save a lot of money by going to a more remote airport, flying an older, smaller 2-seater airplane like a Cessna 152 instead of a four-seater, and going with an instructor who is relatively junior (as long as they have a good track record of passing their students on the first try). Safety is not an issue here. It does not matter if your training aircraft was manufactured 1950 or 2010 — both have to be maintained according to the same rigorous FAA standards to be airworthy.

How to Pay

Avoid pre-paying for everything “in bulk”. There are way too many cases where flight schools suddenly close, instructors leave for a job at the airlines, or students change their minds about which instructor or flight club to use.. The best payment option is to get a block-rate from your instructor and your flight-club – this way you pre-pay only 10 hours, you limit your risk, and you also get lower prices rather than paying by the hour..

What is Required? And How Much Will It Cost?

To get an FAA Private Pilot’s license, you must:

Only 40 hours? Sounds easy! In reality you will need much more than 40 hours of training. The 60..80 hours time range is more realistic if you fly more than 3 times a week. Ask your flight instructor how many hours his/her students typically need.

Renting a Cessna 152 should cost between $75..95 per hour including the gas and oil. Flight instructors cost between $35..60 per hour. Note that this example is only for the most inexpensive airplane and that there is already a 50% variation. Try to find an airport, flight club and a flight instructor which match the lower of these numbers! Know how much you will be spending per hour, then multiply by 60 and by 80 to get lower and upper bounds for the estimated cost.

Do avoid the temptation to fly a fancy nice airplane! There is nobody you’ll impress with it. Keep in mind that the main risk is that you run out of money if you are not frugal — you do not know beforehand how many hours of instruction you will need — some people need up to 100 hours. Would your budget still support that? Save your money for after you get the license!

Fear

Last, not least — fear — a very useful and critically important resource for your endeavor of learning to fly!
An old saying amongst pilots says: “There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots!”

There are many kinds of fear: fear that you won’t be able to do it; fear you may die; fear of the unknown. You will learn to distinguish the irrational fear from the rational fear. Part of every flight-preparation is to ask yourself: Am I fit to fly today? Is the weather good enough? Did I use all resources to do the flight-preparation? Did I miss anything? The rationalized fear, or shall we call it “respect for your airplane and flying” is very important for keeping you alive. Beware of becoming over-confident or complacent and maintain a healthy amount of fear and respect, just enough to make sure your decision-making is always sound.

Airplanes are incredibly safe, especially when compared to driving cars or motorcycles. Your typical morning commute is much more dangerous than flying in a small airplane. Still, some people are afraid of flying and small airplanes. It is an irrational fear: fear of not being in control, fear of not knowing what is going on and/or fear of the unknown.. The sensation of doing a steep turn or experiencing in-flight turbulence, or the changing engine sound when powering down the engine for landing, or seeing a warning light coming on — all these things can really scare your passengers because they are simply not used to it, and don’t know that there is no danger involved.
When you become a pilot, make sure to always keep your passengers informed and up-to-date on what is going on, so that they always feel comfortable.

A Private Pilot’s License will enable you to carry passengers, which is a big responsibility. If flight conditions are undesirable, keep in mind that you can always postpone a flight, land at an alternate airport; stay in a hotel overnight, drive a rental car back, or take a commercial flight home! Those are only small inconveniences — there is no “losing face” involved. You will be the “Pilot In Command” and your decision-making will be the main contributing factor for your and your passenger’s safety.

After all: “Takeoffs are optional; Landings are mandatory!”

Additional Resources


Godspeed and Good Luck!!

   Tilo Sloboda