Just finished 1st lesson and having 2nd thoughts

It is like drinking from a fire hose, a lot of new information all at once. It gets better, maybe 3 - 5 flights and then you will hit a wall and all your landings will suck and you'll wonder if you'll ever get to solo. I would do at least two more flights: study maneuvers, chair fly before next lesson, listen to ATC online to get used to what they are saying.
 
Flying isn't for everyone, but you need to give it more time. Temporary discouragement is normal.

That being said, I'm not sure I would think flying is so "awesome" if I had to do it all the time for a paycheck. To each his own though!
 
Alberto Garcia said:
I'm a 27 yr old male thinking of going after a career in aviation, I'm new to aviation I have no one in my family in aviation nor do I have any friends in aviation. I decided to go after my ppl after months of procrastination and after a discovery flight! In my intro flight the instructor let me most of the flying & it was awesome I loved it but when I went for my 1st lesson (different school&instructor) idk what happen but I felt so saturated with info, got a little nauseous at the end & was so exhausted. All I could think of is how am I ever going to learn all of this. I just felt so overwhelmed & started to second guess myself "is this really for me?" My question is are these feeling normal? Anybody go tru this? I was thinking of not even scheduling a 2nd lesson! Any advice would be GREATLY APPRECIATED.
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As many have already said, it's perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed. I remember one person a while ago in response to a similar thread saying "to the beginner student, once the engine starts, 90% of their brain is being used up!"
It does seem like so much is going on at once, and the problem is that for the typical new student, it's all new, so the brain is working overtime to take it all in. And just when you think you've got a handle on it all, the CFI will tell you to turn, or climb, or whatever, and now the brain is freaking out as it now has to perform a maneuver.
I'm just over 50 hours into my training, and coming up on being able to do cross country soloing, and my previous lesson involved VOR navigation, which had me once again feeling a bit overwhelmed. But then I realized just how much has become automatic, and even though I've got a ways to go, I can for instance land the plane without freaking out. Hitting the correct altitudes and speeds while in the pattern have finally sunk in, and I do it almost automatically. It takes a while, but it will happen where you'll be doing things automatically.
Also, as others have said, don't be afraid to inform the CFI that you are feeling over taxed. A good CFI should more than understand. In one lesson I had with a new instructor, we were practicing cross wind landings, and after several, I realized that I was exhausted, and needed a rest. I simply said "man, I need a break", and he then calmly said "OK, we can head back".
The thing is, a good instructor needs to be constantly taxing the student as that is how they end up improving, but it's a fine line between being pushed enough to improve, and being pushed to the breaking point. It took me a while to realize that there is nothing wrong with simply saying "I need a break".
And yes, it seems like there is so much to learn, and it's easy to feel that you may not be able to do it. I once voiced this concern to my instructor, to which he asked me "how do you eat an elephant?". As I looked at him a bit perplexed, he then said "one bite at a time".
Anyways, hang in there, have fun with it, and know that you will improve with each and every lesson.
 
Alberto Garcia said:
I'm a 27 yr old male thinking of going after a career in aviation, I'm new to aviation I have no one in my family in aviation nor do I have any friends in aviation. I decided to go after my ppl after months of procrastination and after a discovery flight! In my intro flight the instructor let me most of the flying & it was awesome I loved it but when I went for my 1st lesson (different school&instructor) idk what happen but I felt so saturated with info, got a little nauseous at the end & was so exhausted. All I could think of is how am I ever going to learn all of this. I just felt so overwhelmed & started to second guess myself "is this really for me?" My question is are these feeling normal? Anybody go tru this? I was thinking of not even scheduling a 2nd lesson! Any advice would be GREATLY APPRECIATED.
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My intro flight and first lesson were completely overwhelming. I HATE rollercoasters (the drops, not the positive G's) and my intro was late afternoon in April. I remember clenching my butt every time we hit thermals. I did this so hard for so long it hurt to poop the next day. We landed and my instructor was like "my next opening is in two days. We'll get you on the schedule for then once we get back inside, ok?" And I was like "ummm sure." Glad I signed up for that next lesson.
 
The mental exhaustion is not at all uncommon for the first several lessons, and it's actually a good thing that you are able to recognize it. A lot of people can't.
 
I dreamt about flying an airplane since I was 5 years old. My dad used to bring me to the airport to watch planes take off and land and it's the ONLY place where I felt at home. So when the first flight came around I was eager to experience all that flying has to offer and I wasn't let down. I couldn't wait to get back in the air for flight #2 and learn more about becoming a pilot. The only time I experienced air sickness was during aerobatics. I still get queasy after a 1/2 hour of aerobatics so there's that. So I guess we all react differently to flying, especially in the beginning stages. There's no right way to begin, just remember to keep going at it because flying is worth all the pain and the setbacks. Good luck and I hope you continue to take lessons.
 
Flying is all about task loading. Think of it as juggling balls. You start out only being able to juggle one ball (aka hold a heading). So while you learn that, your altitude will drift as you fixate on heading. As time moves on that first task becomes easier so it takes less concentration and you can add additional tasks (balls). For me, the primary job of a CFI, other than not letting you kill yourself, is to find that task saturation and take you to it, then relax a little to let you recover. As you get better, he will control the airplane less and less, until he is just a passenger.

With all that said, what you are feeling is EXACTLY the point of flight training. You are suppose to feel task loaded. If it is too much, or the whole flight, then tell him/her to dial it back some. Just relax and realize you are not suppose to be able to do it all...yet. Remember that no matter how many hours or experience you have, you will always have a point where you become task saturated. That is the main reason that large jets carry two pilots. It lightens the load and allows them to "check each others work" during critical phases of flight.
 
Brad Smith said:
I dreamt about flying an airplane since I was 5 years old. My dad used to bring me to the airport to watch planes take off and land and it's the ONLY place where I felt at home. So when the first flight came around I was eager to experience all that flying has to offer and I wasn't let down. I couldn't wait to get back in the air for flight #2 and learn more about becoming a pilot. The only time I experienced air sickness was during aerobatics. I still get queasy after a 1/2 hour of aerobatics so there's that. So I guess we all react differently to flying, especially in the beginning stages. There's no right way to begin, just remember to keep going at it because flying is worth all the pain and the setbacks. Good luck and I hope you continue to take lessons.
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You were doing aerobatics during primary training?
 
After about 400 hours now, I'm like.... I can't believe this is so easy. Dude, I was a wreck going into my IFR. I was like, eff this mess bro. I won't get this crap....too complicated. And that was with ADF and no GPS at all. It's even easier now.

Now I have an ATP in triple 7s and A380, fly a S-76 helo as a side gig and have a type rating in space shuttles.















Actually, that last part isn't true.....but one day!
 
paflyer said:
You were doing aerobatics during primary training?
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Not during flight training but right after I got my certificate. I wanted to know how to recover from spins and it turned into basic aerobatics. It’s a great way to gain confidence in handling the airplane and a lot of fun to boot!
 
Heck, I'm going through it getting my commercial because of a knowledge dump after not flying for 11 years (not the sickness though). And I went through it on my instrument as well. "Do I really want to do this?" lol.
 
Late to the party but totally normal as everyone has said. Get used to being overwhelmed if you are doing this as a career, had those feelings at many points throughout my journey to CFI, and ESPECIALLY while getting ready for my CFI and first few lessons as one. You will progress through it! Just keep at it.
 
OP hasn't posted since their first (and only) post. I'd be curious to know if they've had another lesson since then?

For myself, yes, it is like drinking from a fire hose, and I completely agree with an earlier poster's mention of it being like additive approach to workflow/task management.

Each lesson I learn something new, but then it takes me one or two after that to keep doing it, and reinforce it. I've also had one lesson with a different instructor at the same school (normal instructor is going out of town soon and wanted me to have a lesson with another instructor before he leaves, in case I'm able to fly while he's out of town), and learned new things from him, too.

My last lesson with the different instructor, he started talking about Vx and Vy, and also introducing me to radio comms at an untowered field.

I'm seeing how each lesson builds on previous ones, and keeps you feeling like you just got thrown a couple new balls to juggle. Not so many that you drop them, but just enough it's challenging. I like it!
 
I felt the same way about 1/4 of the way through my training. I kind of wanted to quit but I didn’t want to because I wanted to impress my dad who’s an airline pilot and has spent so much money on the training. I kept going and I just finished and I’m so glad it did. Also, the first half of your training will be very repetitive so do not be discouraged. The second half is so much more fun. Good luck!
 
Hippike said:
What I found extremely helpful for me, on days when wx was IMC and all the planes were on the ground, I would take the keys and just sit in them for hours. (good thing if you live 10 mins from the airport).
I would look at and touch every screw, every panel, every bolt. I would play with the instruments, play with the controls. For me getting very familiar with the cockpit made a lot of help, because when you know the inside of your plane like the back of your hand, you can focus your attention on the outside, on the actual flying.
Keep at it, it will be fun!
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The airlines, and probably the military too, use this in training. They call it Cockpit Procedures Training (if I recall correctly) and it's a tremendous help, especially learning flows and checklists. The same method can be applied to GA flying. I actually teach a flow for the descent/landing check in C152s, 172s, and PA28s we have. Works great in the traffic pattern doing T&Gs.
 
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