| Ryan's Pilot Page | |||||||||||||||||
| What steps should I take to pursue my private pilots certificate? |
People train to become pilots under numerous circumstances. There is an enormous amount of flexibility in finding the training plan that is right for you. For the most part it depends on your location, schedule and most importantly, your goals. If you plan on training at a local airport, plan on investing around $4,000 in getting your private pilots license. There are schools that specialize in aviation training. These schools come in a variety of shapes and sizes and offer anything from advanced courses to four-year degree programs. You can find these schools in aviation publications, giving rates of training plans and toll-free telephone numbers. If you want to earn your private pilot's license in a hurry, taking time out from your everyday life and going away to a school may be the right thing for you. This would be good for someone seeking a degree in aeronautics. For myself, I wish to blend pilot training with school and work. It is very possible to fly only a few times a week in your local area and then attend ground school at the offices at your local airport. Another plan, for the budget-minded, would to join a flying club. In a club, members own or lease a few planes. To hold down costs they provide a rental rate that does not include a profit margin. Then you hire an instructor who will train you in the club aircraft | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
|
To earn a private pilot certificate you will have to fly a minimum of 40 hours in training, including at least 10 hours of solo flight time. During the early flight lessons you will become familiarized with the basic aircraft controls. Next, you will begin exploring the airplanes handling in flight and experiencing different wing positions. While in flight you will be flying an aircraft in different configurations such as when wing flaps are extended. After that you will be learning to maneuver the aircraft in accordance with the objets on the ground. This teaches you how the planes speed is affected by flying into the wind and helps you maintain the desired direction of flight. After the person becomes familiar with these basic ideas and has mastered them in the airplane, it is on to practicing takeoffs, landings and airport traffic-pattern operations. These skills take several hours of practice but after a certain amount of it the landings usually take on an acceptable quality. When those landings become consistent you know that the solo flight is just around the corner. The first solo is something is something I look forward to, that golden occasion when I take off from that runway alone with my plane. I'm sure it will be one of my fondest memories. Cross-country training is next. This is when your flight exceeds 50 nautical miles. With the instructor, you will begin to plan, and fly, cross-countries in preparation for doing at least five hours of cross-country flying en route to earning your private pilot certificate. During cross-country flying you will grow as a pilot, as your instructor challenges you to constantly asses the progress of your flight, make in-flight command decisions, and communicate over the aircraft radio. As you close in on the required flight time minimums, it is time to focus on your upcoming flight examination, which is a combined oral and flight test. As you practice in solo sessions and with your instructor, there should be no doubt as to whether your performance will be acceptable to PTS standards. If so, you will pass. | What are the requirements to become a private pilot? | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| What can you do with a private certificate and what does it take to move on from there? |
This private pilot certificate will allow you to carry friends and family into the wild blue sky. However this does not have to be the stopping point. He next step is usually going for the instrument rating. "If the private pilot certificate is the airmen's bachelors degree, the instrument rating is graduate school." For me I plan to take my training to the commercial certificate. Even if you don't plan to fly for a living, working on your commercial pilot certificate can be a great idea. Essentially, you do a lot of the same things while working on your commercial license that you do for the private, you just have to do them better. The written exam will be harder that the private pilot exam and covers areas pertaining to commercial aviation. This is usually the standard check-off point for the person planning to fly for a living. It is also a good way for the recreational flier to gain increased confidence and become more professional in the cockpit. | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Favourite links | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
|
This page has been visited
|