Valiant

Greetings, very new here. And have very rudimentary knowledge of aviation. Walked into local flight school. Did a tour of aircraft. Flashed my passport and ID. Signed a bunch of docs. Filled out a blue card. Instructor told me to buy either speedy's or kings ground school and then he only signed me up for an hour of flight instruction. He didn't really give me a detailed plan of action.

So did he want me to get set up with a ground school and get some studying done and then give me the first flight lesson. Or was he just tryna blow me off???

What should I watch out for in a flight instructor??
Need experienced help.

viper548

A lot of places only schedule one lesson at a time. That's probably the case, and they'll schedule lesson 2 when you finish lesson 1.
I'd recommend the King course. There's a course for the private pilot written exam and another for the practical test. I'd recommend both. If you're planning on getting all of your ratings they have a package to get all of the courses. I think I paid 700 or so for my daughter. I'd suggest you get through several videos before taking lessons. The airplane makes for a pretty horrible classroom. Things go smoother if have a lot of the ground portion taken care of before flying.

Valiant

Thanks Viper. Appreciate the feedback. So if Im only gonna fly 2-3 times a week how do I practice those skills throughout the rest of the week??

Also from your post it seems that I should focus alot more on ground school and drill that info in my mind. Then use that to prepare me for lessons in the airplane??

Does flight training work like Driving School where they dont really teach much until you get a learner's permit??
Does FAA have a DMV equivalent of rules of the road??

Im buzzing with questions but like I said I'm VERY new.
Cheers

tm602

Ask away, we're all glad to help.



Answers in red above.

cow0man

Two other books to get, both available for free on the FAA website.
Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge
Airplane Flying Handbook

viper548

There's a lot to learn for the Private. The reason I recommend getting the ground school stuff done or at least a good chunk of it done first is if you start flying first you'll have no idea what's going on and get overwhelmed faster. For instance on your first several flights your instructor will probably be telling you "more right rudder." It would be really helpful if you know why you need more right rudder and where to look to tell what rudder inputs are needed. 3 times a week is probably ideal when you first start out. It takes time to process what happened when you're first learning. Once you feel comfortable flying the plane, picking up the pace on training is fine.
Yes, there are "rules of the road." You'll find those in the private pilot training books and AIM. If you're eager to get started with books, I suggest "Airplane Flying Handbook" "Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge" "FAR/AIM" Sportys.com sells the Airplane Flying Handbook and Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge for $26 for both and FAR/AIM for $12. I'm pretty sure you can download the first two books in PDF form from the FAA for free.

Valiant

Thanks all. Also how does one chair fly??

I will jeep updating this thread as I go along.

Douglas89

When I was first getting started at my flight school I felt the same way had similar experiences to you.

I came in trying to ask questions how to start, etc. only to get blown off and have little information provided. I had filled out all the paperwork and had $5,200 cash for a deposit. They jerked me around a couple times.

I think if they had someone who could sit down a new student and explain:

1. Go get your 1st class medical (if you are a career change) 3rd class if you only want PPL.

2. Get this ground school program and start doing “x”

3. Get a knee board, chart, and other misc items, etc.

4. Go on the website and start scheduling your lessons. You can book up to 1 month in advance so be Johnny on the spot so you can get your day/time/aircraft/instructor reserved.


I come from a management background and am used to cutting through all the noise and creating a list of action items. I expected the flight school to guide me through the onboarding process but that was not the case.

I don’t know if they were trying to blow you off, but I know at my school there is no one that takes prospective students and runs them through a brief onboarding process etc. in an organized and easily understood manner. (I could do something like this to prospective students at my school in 10 min)

I use king schools. Personally I do not think it is very good. Very outdated videos. Poo explanations. I have used sportys as well. It has better videos etc. but like anything has its issues too.

You will be fine with King schools, but also check out YouTube videos from “8MA”. He is a flight instructor and has great YouTube videos that explain things a lot better than most ground school programs I have seen.


You should try and do some ground school with one of the programs or at least “8MA” and start at the beginning of his series. Develop a basic understanding of the aircraft, controls, etc. before your first flight.


Good luck.

tm602

Sit in a chair, as if in the cockpit, and go through procedures and maneuvers. When you get good at it, bounce a ball with your non-dominant hand while going through the stuff. Once you can do that, you'll find it easy to remember in the plane.

Valiant

Good info. You guys. I cant tell you just how much I appreciate this feedback.