Pilot Under Training

A week after my first trial lesson I had made the final decision that I wanted to go all out and get my Private Pilot’s License. This decision didn’t come lightly. Learning to fly isn’t cheap and I wasn’t prepared to jump into something without knowing what was ahead. I read blogs, I text my flying instructor, I pestered friends and family for input, and everyone said practically the same thing: just do it — you’ll only regret it if you don’t.

There are seven exams to pass before you can apply for your PPL, plus a medical. Each exam costs a considerable amount of money and obviously will require a lot of background reading in order to (hopefully) pass these exams, at the same time spending time in the sky flying and gathering experience. This is a lot of work, especially when combined with my current activities and hobbies so I’ve been disciplined and realistic in my expectations, budgeting far in advance and looking at my PPL progress in years, rather than months.

Despite the obvious mental and financial challenge associated with getting a PPL, I’m still not put off. Not even slightly. As a result, I’ve decided to block book my first five flying hours with landings included. I did my research into local flying schools and have selected to learn to fly with Aeros. While some other companies may offer a slightly cheaper airtime rate, I found it paramount to find a school with a large fleet of aircraft and instructors with a view to spending less time stuck on the ground due to aircraft out for maintenance or instructors off sick. Another thing to note when booking flying lessons is to analyse the small print and see if your lesson cost includes a landing fee. I discovered that parts of the PPL course require lessons of “touch and go” flights where you’ll simply take off, fly a circuit of the airfield, land and repeat. You’ll be expected to shell out nearly £10 a go. Simplified: each time your aircraft’s wheels touch the tarmac, be prepared to pay for it. I’ve been told that this’ll be the most expensive phase of a pilot’s training, as the landing is so very important. I’ve already began saving up for this lesson, months ahead to ensure that I’ve sufficient funds to practice as many landings as I need to.

The bundle that I’ve paid for included five hours of instructed flight (landings included), as well as a pilot’s log book, life time membership to the flying club, a bound PA28 checklist, and a copy of Flying Training by Jeremy M Pratt. This book is a fantastic and interesting read, full of pictures and illustrations to clearly demonstrate exactly what the author’s try to convey. I’d highly recommend this book for anyone even mildly interested in flying. I’ve began reading it and it covers everything and more any student pilot could ever want to know. Such information includes:

• Aircraft familiarisation
• emergencies
• taxying
• climbing, descending, slow, fast, and level flight
• stalling
• spin avoidance
• radio navigation
• instrument flying

I’ve already began reading my book and I intend on making it mine, which includes covering it in Post-It notes and scribbles as I’m sure it’ll never be too far from me during my training. My first lesson is in two days and I can’t wait!