I tried to do it flying once or twice a month and it just didn't work....got to the point of solo and then got busy again. Finally I got sick of it and quit work to focus on flying. Finished up in less than two months after that and found learning much easier flying several times a week. I had over 60 hours when I did my checkride but had to wait a few weeks on the DPE so I cruised around by myself every day I could.
Question about school
- Thread starter Kylepa28
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Timbeck2
Final Approach
Good, I was hoping it wasn't another school that I would warn you about. I've heard nothing but good things about Kelly.
mscard88
Touchdown! Greaser!
If that’s you, I think I found a photo of Mark with one of his students...
Which Mark, me? Yeah could be, with that Bama shirt on. It's Crimson right?
CC268
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They are right. Don't do your PPL with lessons 2-3 times a month. That is honestly a horrible way to go about it. You need to be flying AT LEAST 2 times a week. IMO 3 times a week is a nice medium.
CC268
Final Approach
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Oh and also...seriously...get the written done before you start the flying. Some people will disagree with this, but I've done that for both the Private and IR and it makes the whole process that much easier. Basically everyone I have talked to agrees.
Kelly is with Kelly's aviation, she isn't currently accepting students until spring unfortunately as that was my first choice. ALpha Air cfi is Dennis Genzman, I think Kelly is right next door though.
I could only find time and money to fly once a week, and with weather I averaged less than that. I passed my checkride at 48 hours, and I switched instructors twice and schools once, which slowed me down far more than not flying as frequently as recommended. So it's not necessarily going to cost you a ton more if you can't fly twice a week. But I did use every bit of spare time reading and studying.
I don't think you have to have the tests taken, but I think it's a good idea to know the material before you start paying an instructor for their time in the air.
CC268
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Whatever works. You should certainly know the material for the lesson that day. You'll spend less time on ground instruction and more time in the air
Yeah he seemed really knowledgeable and genuine. I'm supposed to touch base with him in 2 weeks to determine a plan.
Steve Kanefsky
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The online schools (I can speak for King Schools and Sporty's at least) will generate an endorsement for taking the written exam once you've passed some practice tests.
Matthew
Touchdown! Greaser!
You will need a CFI sign off saying you are ready.
If you do an on-line course, the on-line company handles that.
And Steve beat me to the post!
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exncsurfer
Pattern Altitude
The ~$12 ASA test prep book also comes with an endorsement, they email it to you after you pass their online test.
amazon link: http://a.co/j6xipfS
ok, so they went up to $13
I highly recommend this book if you are just doing self study, it really helped organize all the various info sources.
Ordered book - thanks Surfer!
Rykymus
Line Up and Wait
While I agree that flying 2-3 times per week is a better idea than a few times per month, I would add a twist that I found worked well for me. I flew 3 times per week throughout my training, but once I soloed, I only flew with the instructor on the middle day. For example, if my lesson was on Wednesday, I would fly solo on Monday to review everything I had learned thus far, then fly with the instructor on Wednesday, and then fly solo again on Friday, and practice what we learned in the lesson. I found the time I spent flying solo much better for nailing down the skills that I was being taught, and making them second nature before my next actual lesson. And of course, it wasn't always Mon/Wed/Fri. In fact, it was usually fairly scattered at first, due to aircraft/instructor availability.