To become a student pilot or not become one....

Janel

Janel

Filing Flight Plan
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Aug 25, 2017
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JIMK
I love flying! I love it, I love it, I love it!

Can I commit myself to being student pilot? Do I have the resources to make it to the end?

So that's my question. What do I need to go from decision to becoming a pilot to actually getting that coveted title? I like lists and the best folks I could think of who could help me compile the pro - con list are, well, private pilots.

Thanks!!
 
You need roughly 10K, determination to not quit when you want to quit, because you will want to quit at some point. A safe airplane to rent and a good instructor. You will need the will to block out the naysayers who claim it's too ________________. Don't spend a dime on "stuff" until you have flown a few hours because it would suck for it to sit in the closet if you decide you don't want to fly, that's what really happens to most people, they get a few hours and quit. So, if you are determined and have about 10K, you are set.
 
Learning to fly consists of time, money, & commitment. I was lucky & got all my ratings before I was 18. Back then there were ton's of good FBOs, new airplanes rolling off the line, & it was a booming industry. The present state of GA today it would take a lot of determination to get a PPL.

When I was a full time CFI I saw many people start flying that lacked the money & time to commit to it. Many had the desire though. It was always sad to see them drop out after they got started.

So...how bad do YOU want your PPL?
 
How do you know you love flying? Have you done a discovery flight yet? Or a second one? Or third? (By the way, all that time can be logged as flight time... so keep your logbook handy.)

Make sure you have the money available for flying. The fastest path is one where you can fly at least twice a week, maybe more often if possible. You will need time to be able to study the ground school materials. Don't take that lightly... you NEED to know that material.

Only you can answer if you should become a pilot. You need to ensure you can make the commitment both in terms of money, but in terms of time as well. If you can answer "yes" to both (being completely honest with yourself), then there's no reason why you couldn't earn your certificate.
 
Pro-con list?

Yes, you may have to turn pro to afford to be a pilot.
If you turn pro and get caught you may end up a con.

Does that cover it?
 
Since you asked for a list:

1. Obtain your 3rd class medical (be extremely cautious; research; ask questions here first...this is the dream killer)

2. Buy a log book right away (don't buy anything else yet)

3. Go to a few different FBO's that do training, meet the people, sit in the planes and take two lessons You can log these hours! Find out what plane you like. Try to find a instructor that is not gonna bail. Have them do some steep banked turns so you can feel something a bit more than 1G. I would avoid turbulence on your first flight so go early in the morning or late in the evening. You can ease into the chop/bumps/turbulence later on. Have them demonstrate just how long the plane will fly if the there is no engine power - way longer than you might imagine :)

...here is your chance to bail with the least amount spent!!! At this point you will have spent around $500 unless you have some crazy medical problems. You'll know if you get airsick in calm conditions and you'll get a sense of how you and the instructor will get along.

4. Budget for the training (the $10K number is a great starting point)

5. Expect to be incredibly frustrated or even think of giving up at some point...DON'T (eg. mine is cross-wind landings!!!)

6. Expect it to take more hours than you think. If you think you'll do it 40, don't be surprised if it takes 65!

7. Keep going, do not stop....even with a bad day try to fly once every 2...3 days if possible. If you can only fly one day a week expect the overall training to take more total lessons.

8. Don't expect to solo after just a couple of flights. The training is purposely layered and you'll get there - maybe 10hrs, maybe 15hrs or 20hrs or who knows but you will get there. I'd say to expect around 16...20hrs.

9. Be prepared for each lesson, get plenty of sleep the night before and make sure you have some energy going into them.

10. It really is a 3 steps forward, 2 steps back.

...I'm almost done and the list above has me about 5..8hrs out from the checkride.

Aside: My wife was already a airline pilot when I decided to take lessons and she pretty much gave me the same list above. The big question then was "How do I pick the instructor". She just said: "Find an old cargo pilot, they've flown everything and flown in everything." So that was my mission and was lucky enough to find one. At 11,000hrs he's not leaving for the majors and can do things with our plane I never thought were possible. He told me a few weeks back when he renewed his CFI and checked with the FAA: "I now have over 100 students and have never had a written or check ride failure....DON'T WRECK IT" :) Talk about pressure.

Flying is awesome!!!
 
Oh yeah, there is towered vs. non-towered airports. If you are at a towered airport and it is busy expect things to get delayed or slowed down at times. However you might have more FBO's to pick from, there may be more planes available if one goes down, there will most likely be more runway options (for this winds) and you'll get extremely good on the radio. If you'll be training at a smaller, more rural airport you won't have many delays but the lack of runway options on windy days can slow you down and if the FBO is small and the plane goes down it could literally take 2...5 months for them to get it back in service again. I wish I could have worked up just past solo in a rural setting and then switch to towered for the remainder.
 
Sinistar said:
Since you asked for a list:

1. Obtain your 3rd class medical (be extremely cautious; research; ask questions here first...this is the dream killer)

2. Buy a log book right away (don't buy anything else yet)

3. Go to a few different FBO's that do training, meet the people, sit in the planes and take two lessons You can log these hours! Find out what plane you like. Try to find a instructor that is not gonna bail. Have them do some steep banked turns so you can feel something a bit more than 1G. I would avoid turbulence on your first flight so go early in the morning or late in the evening. You can ease into the chop/bumps/turbulence later on. Have them demonstrate just how long the plane will fly if the there is no engine power - way longer than you might imagine :)

...here is your chance to bail with the least amount spent!!! At this point you will have spent around $500 unless you have some crazy medical problems. You'll know if you get airsick in calm conditions and you'll get a sense of how you and the instructor will get along.

4. Budget for the training (the $10K number is a great starting point)

5. Expect to be incredibly frustrated or even think of giving up at some point...DON'T (eg. mine is cross-wind landings!!!)

6. Expect it to take more hours than you think. If you think you'll do it 40, don't be surprised if it takes 65!

7. Keep going, do not stop....even with a bad day try to fly once every 2...3 days if possible. If you can only fly one day a week expect the overall training to take more total lessons.

8. Don't expect to solo after just a couple of flights. The training is purposely layered and you'll get there - maybe 10hrs, maybe 15hrs or 20hrs or who knows but you will get there. I'd say to expect around 16...20hrs.

9. Be prepared for each lesson, get plenty of sleep the night before and make sure you have some energy going into them.

10. It really is a 3 steps forward, 2 steps back.

...I'm almost done and the list above has me about 5..8hrs out from the checkride.

Aside: My wife was already a airline pilot when I decided to take lessons and she pretty much gave me the same list above. The big question then was "How do I pick the instructor". She just said: "Find an old cargo pilot, they've flown everything and flown in everything." So that was my mission and was lucky enough to find one. At 11,000hrs he's not leaving for the majors and can do things with our plane I never thought were possible. He told me a few weeks back when he renewed his CFI and checked with the FAA: "I now have over 100 students and have never had a written or check ride failure....DON'T WRECK IT" :) Talk about pressure.

Flying is awesome!!!
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11. Arrange for direct deposit of your paycheck to your flight school and ask them for a small weekly living allowance.
 
Just take one lesson and you'll be a student, then another, and another. That's all you have to do, you don't need to finish, but you probably will.
 
Janel said:
I love flying! I love it, I love it, I love it!

Can I commit myself to being student pilot? Do I have the resources to make it to the end?

So that's my question. What do I need to go from decision to becoming a pilot to actually getting that coveted title? I like lists and the best folks I could think of who could help me compile the pro - con list are, well, private pilots.

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
 
Don't let the cost discourage you. I let that happen to me in the mid '80s when I was single and making ~$45k. I thought it seemed to expensive... was just a fantasy... all those things we tell ourselves in our twenties.

I'll always regret I didn't start then.

Sure. It is expensive. If you pay as you go you may be a student for a few years.

But if you want to do it, you'll get there when your skills, finances, and life allow. And it will be fun!
 
IMO, there's nothing a person can't do when that person passionately sets their mind to it. Whether you think you can, or think you can't...you're right. :)
 
Sinistar said:
The big question then was "How do I pick the instructor". She just said: "Find an old cargo pilot, they've flown everything and flown in everything." So that was my mission and was lucky enough to find one. At 11,000hrs he's not leaving for the majors and can do things with our plane I never thought were possible. He told me a few weeks back when he renewed his CFI and checked with the FAA: "I now have over 100 students and have never had a written or check ride failure....DON'T WRECK IT" :) Talk about pressure.
!!!
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A lot of people will tell you similar things about what to look for in an instructor. Don't rule out the young guys building hours. Most of the instructors I've really liked have been younger guys building time. And I only lost one of them to the airlines before I finished whatever rating I was working on at the time.

It's important to find someone you mesh with and who teaches in a style that helps you learn. If that's a young guy who just passed his cfi checkride. Great. If it's a crusty old guy who has flown 1 billion hours. Great. Whatever works for you is what's best.

Also keep in mind your goals. When you are training do you just want your rating as quickly as possible? Or do you really just like going up. I was never in a rush to finish and ended up taking longer, but I never had the desire to quit that some other people above mention. For me the goal was to have fun. The rating was almost secondary.

I do realize I'm in a minority here.

Also consider if you really want the Private pilot certificate l or whether a sport pilot certificate would be sufficient. Again it depends on what your aviation goals are.
 
Janel said:
I love flying! I love it, I love it, I love it!

Can I commit myself to being student pilot? Do I have the resources to make it to the end?

So that's my question. What do I need to go from decision to becoming a pilot to actually getting that coveted title? I like lists and the best folks I could think of who could help me compile the pro - con list are, well, private pilots.

Thanks!!
Click to expand...

Shakespear once asked a similar question..."To be, or not to be?". Silly question...only thing that makes sense is "to be" of course. :)
 
Janel said:
I love flying! I love it, I love it, I love it!

Can I commit myself to being student pilot? Do I have the resources to make it to the end?

So that's my question. What do I need to go from decision to becoming a pilot to actually getting that coveted title? I like lists and the best folks I could think of who could help me compile the pro - con list are, well, private pilots.

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Get a medical first and see if u can get it. Consult an AME BEFORE u fill up any form, anywhere, whatsoever

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
Pro:
You can fly - like millions of humans, over thousands of years, have dreamed of.
Chicks dig it.
If you are a chick, guy pilots also dig it.
If you are. . .geez, the permutations can get out of hand, but you get the idea.

Con:
You can get killed
It's expensive
You can kill someone else (accidently, vice for hire)

The rest is noise. . .if you think your instructor sucks, then he/she does; you get to make that call. If you quit, then it wasn't a burning fire in your gut then, was it?
 
Janel said:
I love flying! I love it, I love it, I love it!
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Ditto.

Janel said:
Can I commit myself to being student pilot?
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Do you want to be a pilot?

Janel said:
Do I have the resources to make it to the end?
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Don't know. Post bank statements. LOL.

Most people don't. They earn their way through.

Janel said:
So that's my question. What do I need to go from decision to becoming a pilot to actually getting that coveted title? I like lists and the best folks I could think of who could help me compile the pro - con list are, well, private pilots.

Thanks!!
Click to expand...

List:

A) Be a pilot this year.
B) Be another year older when you do.

People tend to change whatever they need to change to do stuff they want to do.

If they don't change to do the stuff, they didn't really want to do it badly enough.

That's not saying it isn't expansive or couldn't make you "weird" amongst peers who buy other things or decide to do other things with their discretionary time and income.
 
saddletramp said:
Learning to fly consists of time, money, & commitment. I was lucky & got all my ratings before I was 18. Back then there were ton's of good FBOs, new airplanes rolling off the line, & it was a booming industry. The present state of GA today it would take a lot of determination to get a PPL.

When I was a full time CFI I saw many people start flying that lacked the money & time to commit to it. Many had the desire though. It was always sad to see them drop out after they got started.

So...how bad do YOU want your PPL?
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Hopefully you encouraged those students who couldn't fly so often? There were times during my primary training where I didn't fly for 2-3 months, lacking both time/money. My cfi was always positive about what I had retained, and worked with me for nearly my entire ppl training (he got picked up by an airline and I was switched to another instructor but the transition was painless and I was nearly done anyways. I would like to get my cfi someday, even if I never will teach (seems like a slot reserved for the youth?)
 
woodchucker said:
Hopefully you encouraged those students who couldn't fly so often? There were times during my primary training where I didn't fly for 2-3 months, lacking both time/money. My cfi was always positive about what I had retained, and worked with me for nearly my entire ppl training (he got picked up by an airline and I was switched to another instructor but the transition was painless and I was nearly done anyways. I would like to get my cfi someday, even if I never will teach (seems like a slot reserved for the youth?)
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It's a slot reserved for people with free time and no need for a large cash flow.
 
It didn't happen for me until I was 32, I'm 51 now, however...

FLYING!
YES!... A BOYHOOD DREAM.

IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME, IT WOULD SEEM.

NO!... I’M GOING TO MAKE IT REAL.

WORKED HARD, BEGGED AND BORROWED.

BUT I DID NOT STEAL. :D
 
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What do wheelbarrows have to do with learning to fly?
 
Sinistar said:
He told me a few weeks back when he renewed his CFI and checked with the FAA: "I now have over 100 students and have never had a written or check ride failure....DON'T WRECK IT" :) Talk about pressure.
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Hit the nail on the head for me. I don't care if I screw things up; it's how I learn. Failing is part of the process of learning. When I found out that a failure on a check ride hurts my CFI, the whole picture changed. I HATE doing things that harm others...I won't schedule my check ride until I'm 100% sure I'll pass.
 
Doug F said:
Hit the nail on the head for me. I don't care if I screw things up; it's how I learn. Failing is part of the process of learning. When I found out that a failure on a check ride hurts my CFI, the whole picture changed. I HATE doing things that harm others...I won't schedule my check ride until I'm 100% sure I'll pass.
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That's the CFIs problem. And it's a pretty silly one at that. You can always sign someone off for a checkride and they could just have a wicked awful day and flop.

Most instructors will at least mildly micromanage the checkride day and day before a little bit making sure the student hasn't suffered some sort of personal life scenario likely to trigger a checkride meltdown but wants to "power through" anyway, but other than that, you sign when they're really ready and they still might get caught up in some silly pet peeve of a DPE.

They can also just say something dumb they know better about, and then keep digging with a shovel until a fail on an oral.

You coach them not to do that, but it's going to happen eventually.

You're a nice person for worrying about the CFI's "record" but it's not what you should be focusing on. That's their problem. Let them worry about that part. You just work on being ready to be PIC. :)
 
denverpilot said:
That's their problem. Let them worry about that part. You just work on being ready to be PIC. :)
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My head knows that my CFI wouldn't let me do my check ride until I am good to go but I still feel a responsibility to be ready for the day.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
You will also have to commit time to learning and studying outside of the airport. You will have to read, watch videos, and out the effort In on your own time. As a CFI I get very irritated when I have a student that is not doing anything outside of the flight lesson. It takes a lot longer and a lot more money.

Flying is not like learning to drive a car. And just getting in and turning the key then go. Many students have that thought process when they start lessons. It usually doesn't go in thier favor.
 
skier said:
It's important to find someone you mesh with and who teaches in a style that helps you learn. If that's a young guy who just passed his cfi checkride. Great. If it's a crusty old guy who has flown 1 billion hours. Great. Whatever works for you is what's best.
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THIS THIS THIS THIS.

If you go flying 2-3 times with someone and it doesn't feel right, or if they straight-up suck the joy out of flying, SWITCH INSTRUCTORS.
 
Also, make time. You will need about 40 - 100 flight hours and 3X that in study, so 120 to 300hr.
Its like taking a difficult two semester college course. Make the time somehow. Less sleep is ok if you don't fly the next day.
Trips to the airport kill time too.

Every lesson I took was 5 hours. Car to airport - take out airplane - clean airplane - put away - lesson - debrief - car home.

My dear wife has put up with alot of shenanigans.
 
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It's a simple list:

  1. Cash
  2. Time
  3. Determination to see it through

That's all you need.
 
Bill Jennings said:
It's a simple list:

  1. Cash
  2. Time
  3. Determination to see it through

That's all you need.
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1 - 10K
2 - about 250 hrs. (includes study, drive, ground, air)
3 - more than a handful. closer to monumental if you have other obligations (Kids, Job, House etc..) :0
 
Janel? Anyone, Bueller? Did we scare her off?
 
If you want something bad enough, You will find a way.....;)
 
Doug F said:
My head knows that my CFI wouldn't let me do my check ride until I am good to go but I still feel a responsibility to be ready for the day.

Thanks for the feedback.
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A lot of what Nate says is true. Sometimes on check rides you just mess up. usually one item. I had a few fail their PPC check ride, but every time it was for one thing, like a short field landing for instance. I always was there and the DPE I used was willing to hang around while we went up and practiced what the student failed, as I said 99% of the time it was for one item. Then land, recommend the student again, go back up w/ the DPE and they passed. Sometimes I thought DPEs failed a few here and there to make them look like they were doing their job to the FAA. Probably off base there but I wondered sometimes.
 
Janel said:
I love flying! I love it, I love it, I love it!

Can I commit myself to being student pilot? Do I have the resources to make it to the end?

So that's my question. What do I need to go from decision to becoming a pilot to actually getting that coveted title? I like lists and the best folks I could think of who could help me compile the pro - con list are, well, private pilots.

Thanks!!
Click to expand...

Are you still reading this thread? Good answers if you are. Don't be intimidated. There's a lot initially as it's all new. It was that way for most if not all of us, myself included. You might inquire at your local airport flight school if they offer Discovery flights, and go up for one. Or just arrange to go up with an instructor. You'll experience weird sensations at first on the early flights but as you learn more every lesson you'll be a little more relaxed.

Check in if you're still here. We'd like to hear what you think, and answer any questions you have.
 
Thanks everyone!! I had no idea I was getting so many responses since I was relying on an email notification for whenever someone posts.

I have started to flying and it's great! I've gone up in the air twice now and have logged 2.5 hours
 
Janel said:
Thanks everyone!! I had no idea I was getting so many responses since I was relying on an email notification for whenever someone posts.

I have started to flying and it's great! I've gone up in the air twice now and have logged 2.5 hours
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Wonderful Janel! Keep us updated as you progress.
 
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