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Learn about becoming a private pilot

Is the Flight Simulator not cutting it any more? When you see a plane fly over, do you wish you were up in it? Do you watch Top Gun over and over yearning to be catapulted off an aircraft carrier, go shoot down the enemy, come back to land on the ship and drive your motorcycle off into the sunset? If you answered any of these questions with a “yes”, it is time to make your dream a reality.

Passing the check ride with the FAA is everyone’s final goal in this process, but to achieve that goal does require a lot of time and unfortunately money. So what can be done to maximize the return on your investment? First and foremost, go to an Aviation medical examiner and get your medical certificate. This is required to get a pilots license, if you can’t get this, you can’t be a pilot. It is a basic physical; don’t worry too much about this aspect, unless you have some serious health issues.

A lot of local flight schools offer what’s called a “discovery flight.” This is where you get with a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) and get to go fly in an aircraft for a half hour or so. Typically you get to do a “pre-flight’ with them, and fly the aircraft, and when you are done, they usually go over what is entailed in the training process. I strongly recommend you do this. The cost is very small $50-$100. This makes a great birthday or Christmas gift.

I have found that doing the “discovery flight” does one of two things:

1. Reaffirms the individuals desire to become a pilot.
2. Confirms maybe being a pilot really isn’t for them.

Generally, a nearby airport will offer a few flight schools along with offering rental of aircraft. How do you determine what school and instructor is the right fit for you? Remember this will involve time and money, so try and choose wisely.

Here are some questions I might ask the flight school:

1. What is your safety record? (This should be the schools #1 concern)
2. Who handles your aircraft maintenance? (Make sure a reputable shop handles this and not a “shade tree mechanic”. Remember if you have a problem when you are flying, you can’t pull over to the side of the road)
3. Are the aircraft rented wet? (Meaning is the fuel included in the price)
4. How many aircraft does the school have? (Nothing is more frustrating than trying to go flying and the two aircraft the school has is rented all weekend, or if the only two aircraft are down for maintenance.)
5. What types of aircraft are on the flight line? (Do you want to fly a high wing, or a low wing? Are there a variety of aircraft that will allow you to do instrument work, or commercial training?
6. Are there package deals for ratings? (Sometimes if you put a deposit down, or open an account you can save some money.)
7. How many instructors are employed there? (If your instructor is sick, or gets hired by an airline, is there someone that will be able to take you on as a student? I have know someone personally that had 13 different instructors during his training because everyone was getting hired by the airlines.)

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