Beginning Flight Training

If you are considering taking flying lessons, there are many things to consider. As an experienced pilot and instructor, I may have some unique insight on the world of earning your wings!

The first thing we need to address is your reason for taking up flying. You probably fall in to one of two categories:

Category 1 - You desire to earn your pilot certificate for pleasure and personal use. Maybe it's something that you've always wanted to do and now you have the time and money to finally do it. Your local airport probably has flight training and this would work fine for you.

Category 2 - You are considering aviation as a career. Maybe you dream of flying large jets at 35,000 feet and get paid to do it! You might look into "big" flight schools around the country, like the one I instruct for, which are geared for airline-bound individuals. You can also accomplish your training at your local airport.

Here are some things to consider when looking into a small flight school at your local airport (under Federal Aviation Regulations-FAR part 61):

• Look at the number of aircraft available for rent and the number of instructors on hand.


• Ask to look at the condition of the airplanes (I've seen some rental airplanes that have duct tape on the wings! I'm not kidding). You can count on paying somewhere between $80-$130 per flight hour for a typical Cessna 172 and $35-$50 per instructional hour for the flight instructor. Again, these are typical figures. With airplane rentals, you really do get what you pay for. Newer planes may rent for more.


• Ask about the qualifications of their current instructors. You can choose your instructor. Most people do all of their flying with the first instructor they go up with, regardless of how happy (or unhappy) they are with the instructor. I think it goes back to the "I'm comfortable with that person because they are the only instructor I've flown with and I don't want to hurt their feelings." I say hogwash! You are paying the bills here; demand someone else if you're not completely satisfied with the level of training you are receiving.


• Is the office of the flight school a pleasant place when you walk in or are there airplane parts sitting on the floor in the corner with oil spots on the carpet? Often, the condition of the flight school office is a reflection of how the airplanes are maintained.


• Ask how scheduling works. Some schools have "block scheduling" where you pay for a two hour block, for example, even if you only fly for 1.5 during the time period. I don't agree with this type of scheduling and I think it's a waste of people's money.

The bottom line is, ask some questions about the school and instructors before starting training. To earn your pilot's certificate at a local flight school will probably cost between $5000-$6000. But, you will be pilot for life! It's worth every dollar.

The FAA has minimum flight training time that a person must achieve in order to be eligible for a Private Pilot certificate:

• 40 hours total time in an airplane (some is with an instructor and some will be solo), which will include the following:
• 5 hours solo cross country
• 3 hours cross country instruction with instructor (a cross country is flying to an airport beyond 50 nautical miles from the airport of origin)
• 3 hours of night flying with instructor
• 3 hours of flying the airplane solely by reference to the flight instruments (with instructor)
• 3 hours of flying in preparation for the practical test with an FAA examiner

Just so you know, the majority of people take more than the minimum 40 hours. In fact, the national average for people earning their certificate is closer to 60 hours of flight training. This is usually due to the fact that people have very busy schedules with family and work and only fly once or maybe twice a week.

My recommendation is start training when you know you have the money and you can make time to fly two to three times a week. You will actually save money in the end by not stretching training out over a year's period. I saw it all the time when I instructed at the local airport. People came to me only once a week or so and they were really rusty at what they learned seven days earlier. We had to spend half of that lesson on retraining on the last lesson's maneuvers. Flight training is something that must be tackled several times each week. Until you are an accomplished pilot, the skills need to be practiced regularly.