OK sorry I didn't use the word frugal instead of cheap. Please forgive me for my gross negligence. Already have the headset but thanks.
How to stay motivated
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OK sorry I didn't use the word frugal instead of cheap. Please forgive me for my gross negligence. Already have the headset but thanks.
1RTK1
Pattern Altitude
OK...................
Caramon13
Pattern Altitude
Maybe take your motivation from Carl? This is how he psyches himself up
Sport Pilot
Pre-takeoff checklist
chemgeek
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To bring this back to the original request, I'll offer this as a long-time educator: motivation is a mixture of having a goal that your are enthusiastic about and have fun doing. There are many short-term goals and easy wins you can use as markers to denote your progress and maintain your enthusiasm as a budding pilot. First good landing, mastering steep turns, gaining confidence in slow flight and stalls, first solo, first cross country, passing the written exam, etc. There are lots of early wins and good guideposts to progress all the way to the checkride. You will have to do your homework (hitting the books on aerodynamics, systems, weather, navigation, and procedures) as well as the physical tasks of flying an airplane. The homework is not busywork--it is essential for flight safety.
Flying, like many worthwhile endeavors (like learning chemistry or becoming proficient at a sport) is challenging, requires persistence, and patience to overcome inevitable obstacles. (If it was easy, everyone could do it.) If you find yourself quitting when you encounter challenges and obstacles, you should really examine what is driving your motivation. Why do you want to be a pilot? Is it fun for you? Do you enjoy challenges?
People rarely fail at things they enjoy and/or are important to them. If you do not enjoy flying, then you should re-evaluate why that is so. Flying, like sports, or chemistry for that matter, is not something you can learn online. You need to be engaged in the real thing in the real world. (I've watched a lot of figure skaters over the years, but I can still barely ice skate.) An instructor is essential to ensure that you are practicing good technique. (Practicing bad technique by yourself is another way to set yourself back. This is how my student athletes torture me as their coach.) If money is an issue to regular flying, I would recommend saving your nickels until you can complete a stretch of 75 hours or so of flying in a 6 month span or so. If you spread out your training over a long period (say years), you will spend twice as many hours learning half as much. I think 4-8 months is a good target for efficient progress toward certification. (You can go faster, but that has other learning issues.)
I wish you the best. If you want to fly and have fun doing it, you will succeed.
Flying, like many worthwhile endeavors (like learning chemistry or becoming proficient at a sport) is challenging, requires persistence, and patience to overcome inevitable obstacles. (If it was easy, everyone could do it.) If you find yourself quitting when you encounter challenges and obstacles, you should really examine what is driving your motivation. Why do you want to be a pilot? Is it fun for you? Do you enjoy challenges?
People rarely fail at things they enjoy and/or are important to them. If you do not enjoy flying, then you should re-evaluate why that is so. Flying, like sports, or chemistry for that matter, is not something you can learn online. You need to be engaged in the real thing in the real world. (I've watched a lot of figure skaters over the years, but I can still barely ice skate.) An instructor is essential to ensure that you are practicing good technique. (Practicing bad technique by yourself is another way to set yourself back. This is how my student athletes torture me as their coach.) If money is an issue to regular flying, I would recommend saving your nickels until you can complete a stretch of 75 hours or so of flying in a 6 month span or so. If you spread out your training over a long period (say years), you will spend twice as many hours learning half as much. I think 4-8 months is a good target for efficient progress toward certification. (You can go faster, but that has other learning issues.)
I wish you the best. If you want to fly and have fun doing it, you will succeed.
My advice: Make your goal just "to become a pilot," and work toward that goal however works best for your place in life. Sounds like the "pay as you go and fit training into your life routine" approach works for you, which is fine... there are many different ways to set a pace towards a goal and there's no one way that's "best" for everyone. But abandon the idea that it will (or can) be cheap or efficient. Learning takes repetition. Repetition is important, and is not a mistake. As my primary instructor told me once, "Nothing can be rushed in aviation." It takes however long it takes. Everyone hits those frustration-points, it's completely normal.
If the expense is causing you stress, then remove that stress by saving up for a bit, however long it takes, so that you can just fly and train how you need to without worrying about it. Stress is a very real hazard in the air.
Re: the "harsh" advice you've gotten here: aviation is full of decisions that you as the pilot in command will have to make. (Fly or book a hotel? Through the weather or take the long way around it? Stop for fuel now or in 50 miles?) And often, VERY VERY often, the cheaper option is the more dangerous one. It is *imperative* to develop a healthy attitude about the relationship between money and safety, so that you can make safe choices. Good flight training is as much about this as it is about handling the yoke.
Good luck, and keep your eyes on the prize,
Ok, you just lost a bunch of credibility there. (Sorry, couldn't resist
)
chemgeek
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Ok, you just lost a bunch of credibility there. (Sorry, couldn't resist
I always tell my friends that it is a tough bet to decide between saying "I am a chemist" and "I am a dentist" as the quickest way to stop a conversation.
Of course, as a chemistry teacher and research scientist, I think chemistry (physical biochemistry and structural biology, actually) is a lot of fun, and not too unlike flying in terms of learning and continuing education.
denverpilot
Tied Down
I would alter this to say people continue to fail until they learn, when something is important to them. And they continue to fail and learn more as they master it.
The certificate is a very low bar when it comes to flying. I still fail in little non-fatal ways on every flight and learn new things, long after the certificate.
Continuous failure is a human condition that can’t be ignored for learning. The question is what kind of failures.
At first, you’ll fail at the main goal, to arrive safely on the ground with the aircraft in one piece, unless the instructor is there to save you. After the building block skills are solidified to accomplish that, then you fail at more subtle things.
If I want to STOP a conversation, I say I am a physicist.I always tell my friends that it is a tough bet to decide between saying "I am a chemist" and "I am a dentist" as the quickest way to stop a conversation.
If I want to START a conversation, I say I am an astronomer.
chemgeek
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I would alter this to say people continue to fail until they learn, when something is important to them. And they continue to fail and learn more as they master it.
I hear you. I was taught to ski by a Texan (friend of mine). It explains a lot about how well I ski. His mantra was "if you are not falling, you are not learning"
1RTK1
Pattern Altitude
I always tell my friends that it is a tough bet to decide between saying "I am a chemist" and "I am a dentist" as the quickest way to stop a conversation.
Of course, as a chemistry teacher and research scientist, I think chemistry (physical biochemistry and structural biology, actually) is a lot of fun, and not too unlike flying in terms of learning and continuing education.
My bio/chem degree was last used 35 years ago in college. Sometimes I wonder if going into that field would have been better or not.
denverpilot
Tied Down
Stat I heard yesterday was that roughly 50% of college grads never work in their field of study. It was mentioned in relation to a book that won’t be out until October but I might see if the digital version has a cite for the stat to see if the study or source is legitimate.
Timbeck2
Final Approach
If I want to STOP a conversation, I say I am a physicist.
If I want to START a conversation, I say I am an astronomer.
My rote answer if anyone asks what I do for a living:
Professional Rodeo Clown
I used to like talking shop - 20 years ago. If I had a nickel for every time someone asked if my job was stressful....
Does that mean roughly 50% of college students are majoring in an area with limited employment opportunities? I once knew a guy with a master's in music; he was running a monorail at Disney World. Job opportunities for a cello player apparently don't come along every day.
Don't you just answer, "No, not really. I hate pilots, so I don't worry about 'em too much."
Timbeck2
Final Approach
Don't you just answer, "No, not really. I hate pilots, so I don't worry about 'em too much."
Not too far from the truth but with the caveat: I hate stupid pilots.
Ed Sokol
Line Up and Wait
There’s a party bus full of smoking hot Playboy bunnies waiting for you as soon as you pass your check ride.
I dunno, that’s all I got. Seems motivational to me at least.
Don't know about the OP. but, I like that scenario!
chemgeek
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As a college educator, I am not surprised. College is for getting an education, not for job training. (Not everyone, including state legislators, understand this. There is a difference.) A good education will prepare you for a variety of career paths. At my institutions, about 25% of our chemistry graduates go on to advanced study or careers in chemistry or related fields. Another 25% pursue advanced study in one of the health sciences. The remainder do all sorts of interesting things not related to chemistry, including but not limited to business, insurance underwriting/actuarial work, investment/banking, law, politics or government policy, secondary school teaching, software, writing/editing, military service, etc. etc. A chemistry degree is good experience for all of these careers. Indeed, most degree programs will require students, if they are engaged and challenged, to develop the analytical, writing, and quantitative skills that are important in the workplace. Of course, not every college student is totally engaged...
vsc
Filing Flight Plan
I recently finished private, where a coworker is more or less in your situation. More about the coworker below. Every student hits at least one plateau in their training. It might be steep turns or landings. It might be the vast quantity of information needed to pass the written test. What helped me finish were a combination of things, including support from pilot friends who honestly had to talk me into finishing up more than once.
With respect to the written there is nothing truly hard in the material, there is just a lot of it. I used King with Rod Machado's book as a reference to clarify material that wasn't clear from the King videos. Get frustrated with all of the material...take a deep breath, you will get through it. I did in less than a month and passed with 95%. Note I did the written after a few lessons and then came back to finish the flight training. In the end I just wanted to get the written out of the way and focus on flying the plane.
With respect to flight instruction I have to admit that I dumped two instructors before I found one that could teach. Not every good pilot is a good instructor, where I think you need a good instructor pilot that is confident that he/she can get out of whatever the student gets into and is able to explain what they are demonstrating and why they are doing what they are doing. Additionally I believe a good instructor has the skill to "debug" a problem perhaps breaking it down into segments working through each part. Think about landings. Small corrections to stay on centerline. Round out / transition at the right point. The flare. In the end I found an instructor that did all of the above well. Don't be afraid to change instructors if it isn't working.
My coworker has taken two runs at getting his private certificate. I have been in the backseat and know he can fly the plane well. His problem comes down to determination. To get through a pilot certification you simply put have to want it. At this point in his life he doesn't want it enough to put in the necessary effort.
To be clear to get through the process you have to make the commitment to push through the frustrating days and ultimately get to the finish line (e.g. check ride).
[edit] I should add that I consider for primary instruction a home flight simulator is next to worthless and a waste of time. I have X-Plane and Microsoft. For at least the DA-40, X-Plane flies nothing like the real aircraft. My sense of Microsoft, at least it's C-172's simulation for landing was more like the real plane than not. That said neither will teach you what you really need to get out of flying the real thing.
What does help is if you are flying a technically advanced aircraft is getting the manufacture's simulator. In my case the Garmin G1000 software for a PC saved a lot of time screwing around in the plane learning to run the G1000.
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