[Update 1/24/2012]: My instructor wrote in with some suggestions. Changed landings at a towered field to three landings at a towered field. Defined Flight Service as FSS at its first appearance. Added info that instructors will only sign off for students to take the written after satisfactorily completing a course of study for said test.
I’ve had three or four folks ask me how long it takes to become a pilot, what the costs are, how much work is involved and other similar questions. I want to use this post to try to answer some of those questions.
There are two types of flight schools, Part 141 and Part 61. I went through a part 61 school. See this link for an analysis of the differences. All of the information in this post relates to my experiences in a Part 61 school.
Please note that everyone learns at their own pace, so I can’t tell you for sure how long it will take you to solo or to get your license. All said and done, you’ll probably have 50 to 80 hours of flying time. Some of that will be solo, where you just pay for the airplane, and some of it will be dual, where you also have to pay an instructor. If you fly once a week, you’ll probably get your license in one or one-and-a-half years. If you fly twice a week, probably six months. You’ll be investing somewhere between $5,000 and $8,000.
Once you get your private pilot certificate, you will be able to fly single-engine airplanes in visual conditions and you can carry passengers. There are some restrictions (horsepower, max. weight, etc.) that can be lifted with various ratings and endorsements. You will not be able to fly seaplanes, you will not be able to fly for monetary compensation and you will not be able to fly in poor weather. See the end of this article for more information on how to do those things.
Overview
There are a few distinct phases and key milestones that you’ll achieve before you can take your check ride. You’ll start with a discovery flight, then complete pre-solo work. After your instructor feels that you are capable, you will make your first solo flight. When you and your instructor are comfortable, you’ll move on to dual cross-country flights and then on to solo cross-country flights. At some point, you will also do a dual cross-country night-flight, ten landings at night and you will take the FAA Knowledge Test (the written test).
There are specific requirements for the amount of hours that you need and what type of flying those hours must include. I won’t go too deeply into specifics but you’ll need 40 hours total, at least 10 of them solo (five of which must be solo cross-country), three landings at an airport with a control tower, other specific cross-country requirements, and 3-hours of “hood” time (flying by instruments), among other things. Your instructor will go over all of this and make sure that you complete everything that you’ll need to complete.
There is a piece of advice that a very wise pilot once told me and that I’ll pass on to you in my own words: Truly value your journey as a student pilot. Some of the most significant learning experiences you’ll ever have will occur during this time. You’ll master yourself, you’ll learn about weather, navigation, planning, organization, and build the skills necessary to safely pilot an aircraft. It’s an enjoyable experience in its own right – don’t rush it, enjoy every second. When you get that ticket, you’ll not only look back on your training with a great deal of pride, you’ll look forward to a life of previously unattainable possibilities.
Discovery Flight
Your first lesson will typically be a discovery flight. This is meant to be a gentle introduction to the world of aviation (usually, it’s gentle on the wallet, too). In many cases, the flight instructor will show you a chart that looks like the one below.
The instructor will use the chart to point out where you will go and he or she show you some landmarks to look for while you are flying.
Next, you’ll go out to the airplane and do a pre-flight. The instructor will show you what to check for and explain the various components of the airplane. Assuming all checks out, you’ll hop in the plane, start it up, and taxi to the end of the runway where the instructor will likely perform the engine run-up.
Finally, the takeoff! It’s quite likely that you’ll get to do the takeoff under the supervision of the instructor. The second the wheels leave the ground, you’ll experience an incredible and indescribable feeling of freedom and excitement.
You’ll spend time trying to keep the airplane level and at a particular altitude. The instructor may have you try a turn, a climb, or a descent. In general, this flight is meant to be fun and get you familiar with the idea of piloting an airplane.
After what seems like no time at all, you’ll be heading back to the airport. Your instructor will probably perform the landing. It will certainly be an interesting experience, as most people never see an airplane landing from this perspective.
That’s the discovery flight! If you are hooked, you’ll move on. If you find that it’s not for you, I’d still encourage you to take a few lessons. Especially take this advice if you don’t want to continue due to fear.
Having fear or apprehension when flying, especially during your initial lessons, is absolutely normal. You are in a machine that you don’t fully understand nor trust, with someone who’s capabilities you don’t know, rocketing around the sky at over a hundred miles per hour. It’s absolutely normal that your brain will be screaming out at you. This same sense of fear will keep you in check and help you to make good judgement calls later on. Eventually, your understanding of the aircraft and having confidence in your abilities will subdue the fears that you have.
Pre-Solo
The first part of your flight training will center around getting you to the point where you can safely solo an airplane. You will practice various maneuvers like steep turns, aerodynamic stalls, traffic pattern operations, radio communications, and aircraft preflight operations. You’ll also do some ground lessons, mostly having to do with these topics.
It’s quite likely that you’ll spend between ten and twenty hours in this phase, practicing your landings and maneuvers. One day, you’ll do a few landings with your instructor, you’ll start taxiing back to the runway and your instructor will tell you to stop. He or she will get out of the airplane and tell you that they are completely confident in your ability to fly the traffic pattern by yourself. The instructor will tell you that it’s time for your…
First Solo
You’ll take off, surprised at how fast the airplane climbs without the weight of the instructor and you’ll land the airplane by yourself. You’ll probably do this three times during your first supervised solo.
After this, you’ll likely do two more supervised solo flights, where your instructor will watch you fly the traffic pattern around your home airport. Once complete, he will sign you off and you’ll be able to fly solo in the traffic pattern without an instructor watching you!
This step in your flight training is a huge milestone. You’re capable of piloting an aircraft around your home airport by yourself! At this stage, my instructor also took me to a towered field (Trenton Mercer Airport, KTTN) and then signed me off to fly solo there. Your instructor may do the same thing. If he or she does not, feel free to ask! It’s always fun to fly to another local airport.
You’ll also be continuing your ground lessons, learning more about navigation, weather, aircraft systems and more. After some time of flying yourself around the traffic pattern, your instructor will prepare you for your…
Dual Cross-Countries
You’ll be learning about planning flights, getting weather briefings, and filing flight plans among other things.
You’ll likely plan your first cross-country flight with your instructor on the ground. These flights are at least 50 nautical miles (straight-line distance) to another airport. My first dual cross-country was from Doylestown (KDYL) to Atlantic City Intl. (KACY).
After planning the flight, getting a briefing and filing your flight plan, you’ll fly the cross-country with your instructor. You’ll note the takeoff time, start on to your first checkpoint, open your flight plan with Flight Service (FSS), and navigate to your destination. Then, you’ll navigate back to your home airport.
Around this time, I did my night flights. I did a dual cross-country at night from DYL to HZL, and then did a dual flight to Quakertown to finish up the 10 night landings requirement. Your experience and timing on this may vary.
Once you and your instructor agree that you are comfortable, you’ll move on to your…
Solo Cross-Countries
Here’s where things really start to heat up. Now you are going to fly cross-country flights by yourself. At Doylestown, they have you do three solos. Two of them are 50+ miles each way, and one is a 150-mile round-trip that hits three airports.
Your first cross-country solo flight will be the farthest you’ve flown by yourself. You will probably be talking on the radio to some sort of approach or center controller. You’ll be talking to Flight Service to open your flight plan and Flight Watch to give pilot reports. You’ll be marking times on your navigation log, recalculating your speed and wind correction with your E6B and somehow still find time to fly the airplane. In all of this commotion, you’ll probably have a smile from ear-to-ear and a blissful feeling of adventure. You’re flying a distance long enough to require navigation and you’re doing it by yourself. What a thrill!
Your second cross-country will probably be similar to the first. In my case, my original destination was socked in (fog), so I flew to Millville (KMIV) a destination that neither my instructor nor myself had been to. Was it a problem? No way! Plan your flight and fly it! It’s an adventure, a new discovery. I would encourage you to use your second cross-country to go to a location that you’ve never been to.
Finally, you’ll do your long cross-country. This is the big one. You’ll land at three airports, including your home airport. You’ll fly over 150 miles, with at least one leg being over 50 miles long. Try to fly through some controlled airspace, like a Class C, try to go to at least one new airport, and experiment with different altitudes. You should really take advantage of this flight to exercise all of your skills and to experience new freedoms. My long cross country was Doylestown (KDYL) to Hazelton (KHZL) to Lancaster (KLNS) and back.
All of this will be a rewarding and liberating experience. During this period, you should be studying for your…
Written Test
After you have satisfactorily completed a course of study to take the written test and your instructor finds you competent, he or she will endorse your log book and you will take the FAA Knowledge Test. This test is, if I recall correctly, two-and-a-half hours, with sixty questions. The questions are from a pool of around 700 possible questions, which the FAA makes public.
I would encourage you to use some test prep software (I used Sporty’s. It was decent but a bit pricey) to get yourself ready. Most of the software will drill you on the same questions that you’ll see on the test.
Immediately after taking the test, you will get your report. It will give you a score and will only identify weak areas, not give you individual questions that you got wrong. If you score less than 100%, you will need to receive ground instruction on the weak areas and get an endorsement stating that this instruction was received.
Test Prep
Finally, you’ll move on to test preparation. You will fly with your instructor according to the FAA’s Practical Test Standards in preparation for your check ride.
It’s likely that you’ll review maneuvers that you have not practiced for a while (stalls, short- and soft-field landings and takeoffs, etc.). At Doylestown, you’ll spend at least three hours doing this. I’m not sure if that is a requirement but your instructor can tell you.
Once your instructor feels confident that you can perform according to the practical test, he or she will sit down and help you fill out the application on the FAA’s IACRA website.
In many cases, there is a designated pilot examiner that works closely with the FBO. Talk to your instructor and talk to other students and find out how their checkrides were. You also have the option of taking the test directly with the FAA. The advantage here is that it’s free – however, a DPE that works with the FBO is probably familiar with your instructor.
In any case, you’ll call the DPE or FAA examiner and schedule your…
Check Ride
This is it: the check ride, the day of reckoning.
The examiner will ask you to plan a flight prior to meeting with him. He will give you a destination that is near the limits of your airplane. He will give you his weight (for your weight and balance calculations). He’ll tell you what to bring (ID, foggles, weight and balance, takeoff and landing distance calculations, flight plan, etc).
One piece of advice: Take your time on the calculations and flight plan. Be thorough in your planning because it will pay off – the examiner will notice. If you have to, plan the route multiple ways and pick the one that makes sense. Mention to the examiner that you explored other routes and picked this one due to [safety, prominent landmarks, etc.].
On the day of your checkride, you’ll probably get to the airport early. After what seems like hours, the examiner will arrive. He will review your paperwork and the oral portion of the checkride will begin. You and the examiner will spend some time together (perhaps one hour, perhaps three hours) talking about aircraft systems, FAA regulations, charts, weather, your flight plan, the airworthiness of the airplane and anything else that the examiner needs to ask you.
Don’t psych yourself out over this. My oral checkride was very relaxed. It was basically a conversation about airplanes, charts, navigation and other fun aviation stuff.
Assuming you pass, you’ll head outside and pre-flight the airplane, using all of your checklists. As long as you follow the checklist and don’t rush, you’ll do fine.
Finally, you will hop in the airplane and fly! If you treat this like a normal flight, one that you’ve done plenty of in the past, you’ll do fine. The checkride will take you through the skills that you have learned throughout your training. The practical test standards that you are being tested against are specific and fair; there are no surprises here.
Once you’re all finished, you’ll land and taxi to parking. You’ll get either a white slip or a salmon slip. If the latter, you’ll need to try again. If the former, congratulations on becoming a private pilot!
What Next?
First and foremost, fly! Share the joy of aviation with your friends and family but remember: be gentle. Put your passengers in control, let them know that you can turn back and land at any time. Take them up once or twice in the traffic pattern to let them explore aviation without having to venture far from the airport (and they’ll be back on the ground in only a few minutes if they really don’t like it!).
As for further training, there are plenty of ratings that you can obtain, some of them are below:
- You can get an instrument rating, which will allow you to fly in poor weather.
- You can get a multi-engine rating, which allows you to fly airplanes with more than one engine.
- You can get a complex endorsement, which allows you to fly planes with retractable landing gear and a controllable pitch prop.
- You can get a high performance endorsement, which allows you to fly faster aircraft (over 200 horsepower).
- You can get a tailwheel endorsement, to fly a tailwheel aircraft.
- You can get a commercial certificate, to allow you to fly for compensation. From there, you could become a flight instructor or go on to fly for a living.
