Learning to fly requires the acquisition of physical skills as well as the absorption of reams of newfound knowledge, theories, and terms unique to flight. All of those who’ve gone before have faced the same challenges. Yet, today’s environment calls for preparing newcomers for some hurdles that are shaped a little differently than the ones seen earlier.

“If this were easy, everybody would be doing it,” as the saying goes. When it comes to flying, truer words were never spoken.

If flying were as simple as driving, it would lose much of its attraction. The challenge of tackling a difficult, even potentially hazardous, endeavor is a reward in itself. And aviation never ceases to present challenges, making it a lifestyle, not a simple course of study.

There’s room for pilots of every stripe—those after a career, the ones needing an adjunct to a business, the seekers of pure recreation, and those wanting another personal travel option. There are challenges in pursuing each of these tracks.

Where Do I Go?

To a beginner, the atmosphere of an airport requires some discernment.

Two distinct sets of airport accommodations have evolved in recent years—the sanitized, secure world of business aviation terminals, with a lobby of polished marble and chrome that carries all the warmth of a dental office, and the semi-abandoned rumpled ambiance of a recreational airport, looking for all the world like a weekend hunting lodge. In both cases, inquiring student pilots may wonder if they are in the right place. Everyone is so taken up with their own tasks that a disoriented stranger may be tempted to look for a bell to ring just to get someone’s attention.

The business terminal probably has an efficient, overworked receptionist, required by security paranoia to guard the doorway to the parking ramp against errant individuals. Somewhere, off in one of the lesser-used rooms, is a flight training desk, to which you will be ushered for your appointment. And sure enough, behind the sterile facade, you will find a break room where pilots can mingle to talk flying around worn chairs.

By comparison, a sport-flying airport’s office may be camouflaged as a lean-to shed on the side of a hangar, where an unmarked door with peeling paint opens onto a disheveled world of abandoned Styrofoam cups and well-thumbed magazines. Strangers are viewed with as much distrust as at the bizjet terminal counter, requiring a proper visa to be shown for admittance. Fear not. Once inducted you’ll be able to claim this homey, lived-in place as your own.

A private club atmosphere in aviation is part of its mystique, but it often leads to misunderstanding by the general public happening to make casual contact. An impression may be given that only those on official business are welcome. As I stress to visitors I escort around our airfield, this is a public facility—treat it as your own, but don’t abuse it. Feel free to park and watch the planes come and go, and walk around all you like.

If we in general aviation don’t make the non-aviator feel welcome, we may find our airport paved over for a strip mall someday.

There’s No Right or Wrong Way

Another source of confusion for learners is the oft-heard objection, “We don’t do it like that,” usually given by a self-appointed, expert old-timer. Pilots who learned to fly 20, 30, or 40 years ago are constantly carping about how the world has gone to hell, how aviation sure isn’t what it used to be, and how much more fun it was back then. This can lead a new pilot to wonder if this diminishing business is worth all the time and treasure they’re putting into it.

And the fact is, things are different today, just as things were different when today’s chronic griper learned to fly two decades ago under conditions then far removed from the world of old-timers of that era. We have more rules now, there’s more traffic around some airports, and everything costs more—but it’s all relative. Today’s learners will naturally adjust to the conditions of this age and will probably tell their kids how cheap flying used to be.

Pilots learning to fly now should ignore doom-and-gloom types and dedicate themselves to the preservation of our freedoms.

Eternal Unpredictability

We live in a time of instant-redo fixes for everything, so it comes as a shock to beginner pilots that things don’t always work out as planned in aviation. There are limitations imposed by weather, airplanes may be down for inspection longer than predicted, and sharing access to an airplane depends on the other person’s success at keeping a schedule. Airplanes are not cars, and we have to learn that they can’t be operated like automobiles.

The risks of aviation must be managed with flexibility. When a preflight inspection turns up a frayed tire, it’s imperative that it be fixed before the airplane flies, even if that means scrubbing today’s mission. It’s not likely that the repair shop will have someone standing by to yank it off while you wait, even if there’s an FBO at the airport with the right tire in stock. Student pilots have to adjust to the reality of being able to fly only if everything works out.

The very day a dual cross-country flight is scheduled as the next lesson on the syllabus, a weather front will stall out across the route. So that carefully plotted learning experience is deferred, and another hour of touch-and-goes is substituted for it. Part of flight training is learning when not to attempt a particular task.

How to Pay for It

Can’t afford to learn to fly? Nothing much has changed in the 63 years since I earned my private license. I finished up $200 in debt, and that represented one-third of the cost of my training. But I knew I should finish the course and then pay off the debt with the certificate earned. My menial job paid but $1 per hour, and I could afford one lesson a week—most weeks.

The point is, as far back as I remember, airplanes have always been expensive luxuries, and if we wanted to fly them, we always had to give up some other part of our life. Saving up a portion of the cost or adding debt to learn to fly is about acquiring discipline, as much a part of aviation as life itself. I wish I could hand out free scholarships to every deserving learner, but the fact is, nobody makes a big profit from light aviation. Your flight school is probably already in negative cash flow, so don’t expect freebies unless you trade out work for air time.

As daunting as the financial hurdle appears, it can be cleared with sacrifice and extra work. Take on a second or third job, keep the old car running, and dedicate yourself to achieving something unique—your pilot’s certificate.

You’re Not All That Different

You may think you can’t fly because you don’t see a lot of pilots like you.

Look beyond the classification you think you’re in. Airplanes don’t see your differences—they are going to treat you the same as anyone else when you grab hold of the controls. You are becoming a pilot—period. Not a hyphenated, first-of-your-kind, special pilot, but a pilot like all the others you see in the break room.

More than most aspects of society, aviation has been a great equalizer. If you prove yourself by earning wings, you’ll be accepted as what you are, a pilot like all the rest. That’s not to say you can’t run into a thick-skulled, bigoted idiot in your flying journey, but they are rarer than you’ll find in less demanding activities.

Don’t ask for your flaws to be overlooked, just expect to be given the same training as all the other learners and become the pilot you want to be.

Terminology

Aviation’s lexicon can be perplexing because it’s new and strange.

Wading through the myriad acronyms, terms, and phraseology is one of the biggest obstacles I see learners struggling against. Even longtime aviators sometimes call the FAA “the FFA” when they get their mouth in front of their brains. V-speeds can be arcane because they have two meanings—a number to fly and a statement of purpose. Radio use has both an official distinctness, as set forth by the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), and a broader application in everyday use, when one seldom hears the term “over.”

The cure for becoming lost in the jargon is to study and listen. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification when a term leaves you baffled. When you took up golf, you probably didn’t know a mulligan from a bogey, but you learned. Two of the least-used features of training texts are the glossary and index, supplanted by Google-ization. The publishers went to considerable trouble to include them, so use them to look up a term that baffles you.

Should ATC throw you a string of gobbledygook instead of a preconceived response, fall back on basic English to ask for clarification. Better to be thought a fool than to proceed blindly and remove all doubt. 

I can’t remove all your training obstacles, but I can assure you that you’ll have plenty of company as you climb over them. Knowing that you’re not the first to deal with them makes the job less challenging.  

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on Plane & Pilot.

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The Flying Musicians Association (FMA) would like to help students discover aviation and enhance their musical skills through scholarships.

The FMA, which was founded in 2009, recognizes the link between musicians and aviators. Both pursuits require dedication, focus, and the acquisition of knowledge and physical skills. And both can bring together people from diverse backgrounds on common ground.

The FMA has two scholarships available. Its Solo Learn to Fly Program will take a high school student up through their first solo, and the Swing Wing scholarship will enable a deserving young person to attend New York Hot Jazz Camp.

“FMA members love assisting others who share our passions of flying and music,” John Zapp, FMA president and CEO, said in a statement. “To be able to assist and watch our student members grow through aviation and music while inspiring and assisting others is such a rewarding experience.”

The FMA has awarded 17 scholarships in 11 years. In addition to the scholarships, each nominee is onboarded as a student member of the association and assigned a mentor. Mentorship is key when beginning an aviation career. A mentor can provide guidance on selecting a flight school, what to look for in an instructor, and offer encouragement along the way.

How to Apply

The  Swing Wing scholarship is open to all members of FMA between the ages of 18 and 28. Exceptions can be made for members under 18 with parental consent.

The scholarships are made available through support of organizations, businesses, and individuals in both the music and aviation industry. One of the association’s key members is country music star Aaron Tippin, who also holds a commercial pilot certificate and A&P rating.

More information about how to apply for the Solo Learn to Fly Program may be found here, and the Swing Wing scholarship here.

The post Flying Musicians Association Now Accepting Scholarship Applications appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The one-and-one is the minimum required per FAR 61.56, and when you add in the time for brief, debrief, and logbook endorsement, you often go beyond an hour, which makes the CFI late for their next client. It is much better to set aside three hours so you aren’t late—and more importantly—aren’t rushed.

• READ MORE: The One-Time Water Landing

Yet many pilots insist that one hour on the ground and one in the air is all they need, or are willing to pay for. Some pilots expect to be automatically signed off for the flight review, even if they don’t demonstrate the requisite knowledge or fly to the level of their certificate.

It doesn’t work that way. Find a CFI who is up-front about this as the Airman Certification Standards for the certificate you hold are what you should be using.

This particular client had held a private pilot certificate for more than 20 years and flew several times a month. Over the years, he had owned airplanes, but at that time, his aircraft was down for its annual, so he was renting a Cessna 172. He didn’t want to rush the flight review. As he put it, he often flew with his grandchildren and was adamant to take his time in the name of safety.

He was more than 25 minutes late. He apologized—traffic was worse than expected when he left work. As we settled into the classroom for the ground portion of the flight review, he discovered he had left his headset at home. He put new ear seals on it the night before and had left it on the kitchen table.

• READ MORE: The Importance of Following Checklists

I offered to let him borrow a spare headset. Instead, he looked at me apologetically and asked if we could stay on the ground rather than fly because his brain, he said, would not be in the airplane. 

He then told me about a rule he had for himself—the rule of three. If three things delaying the flight were distractions, he made it a rule to cancel. I have heard this so-called rule from many other pilots. Three is a cosmic number, one told me, adding that “things happen in threes” is a cliche for a reason. 

I am a student of the accident reports published by the National Transportation Safety Board. When you read them, the bad decisions are clear as day. Often the pilot is rushed or distracted.  Accidents, especially the fatalities, are often a chain of poor decisions.

Distracted = Dangerous

Flying is one of those things that demands our undivided attention. Any distraction can be detrimental to safety. When and if you are in the cockpit of a jet getting paid the big bucks, we hope you’ve learned how to compartmentalize or recognize your own limitations. There will be some days when you are too distracted to fly.

When you fly as a hobby, the stakes aren’t as high. This is not the last chopper out of Saigon, as my first CFI used to remind me. Yet even student pilots can face a lot of pressure to fly, and it comes from all directions. 

It can be a challenge for a student pilot to cancel a flight, especially when the CFI is pressing for it to happen. As a commercial candidate, I encountered a CFI who argued we could “dodge” the thunderstorms that were approaching the airport. The commercial certificate requires more knowledge of weather than the private certificate, and I had embraced this with gusto. The idea of dodging anything didn’t sit well with me.

• READ MORE: What You Need to Know About Tires When Learning to Fly

I had obtained three weather briefings—one the night before, the morning of the flight, and the last one an hour prior to the flight. On that last one the briefer remarked the cold front that was bringing the storms had “moved much faster” than the weather models had anticipated. Based on this available information, I canceled the flight. 

Dark clouds were approaching from the southwest while the CFI somewhat grudgingly helped me put the cover back on the airplane. As we were draping the cover over the fuselage the temperature dropped like someone had opened a window on a cold day. It started to hail. It came down so hard and fast a line boy ran onto the ramp to help us. I felt good about my decision.

Make It Fair

At all times it should be remembered that flight instruction is not compulsory education, but it is a business. For this reason many schools and independent CFIs have a no-show or late cancellation penalty.

This usually takes the form of a signed contract between the school, or CFI and the learner. This policy should be discussed at the first meeting and expectations established. There is often one “free pass” then after that a penalty is levied, such as the cost of one hour of aircraft rental or an hour of the instructor’s time. If the CFI does not show or is late, they owe the flight student a free hour of instruction.

• READ MORE: Don’t Skimp on Ground Instruction in Flight Training

If the learner at least makes an effort to let the CFI or school know they can’t make it, that goes a long way. One of my mentors who ran a flying club for many years took a very hard stance on this, saying if the learner was not responsible enough to make a phone call or at least send a text letting us know they were going to be late, or were not going to be there at all, they were not responsible enough to be a pilot.

When late cancellations or no-shows become a habit, the CFI and/or the flight school may stop scheduling the student altogether. If you have to consistently cancel lessons, perhaps this is not the time for you to pursue flight training.

You are paying a lot of money and investing a lot of energy in your aviation education, so do your best not to get in your own way. If the deck appears to be stacked against you, such as in the form of “the rule of three,” ask yourself if this is the day for you to be in the air.

As for the client who was there for the flight review, a quick text canceled the aircraft reservation. I assured him I was not angry with his decision not to fly, because when a pilot demonstrates good aeronautical decision making—such as recognizing that their head won’t be in the game —I say learning has taken place.  

The post Do You Have the Rule for a No-Go? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to Sporty’s, the partnership integrates Infinite Flight’s scenario-based training with Sporty’s Learn to Fly Course, which bridges the gap between online aviation training and advanced flight simulation.

When paired with Sporty’s online ground schools, Infinite Flight allows the users to practice concepts “in the virtual cockpit.” The scenarios presented are those used in the training environment. With the push of a button, users can transition from watching instructional videos to flying a maneuver in a virtual Cessna 172 Skyhawk.

The system includes an evaluation of the user’s performance and also offers feedback.

Infinite Flight allows users to virtually fly to and from thousands of airports around the world while integrating popular electronic flight bag apps like ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot just as they would in an actual aircraft. The platform also gives users the ability to experience varying weather scenarios and aircraft performance.

For the learner who is struggling to keep up in the cockpit, or who is apprehensive about getting lost during cross-country flights, Infinite Flight allows them to “practice” the flight before they get near an aircraft. 

The post New Sim Partnership Blends Virtual Ground School, Flight Training appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The organization recognized six flight schools and six flight instructors as best in their regions. The regional award winners were selected from a pool of candidates that included “thousands of submissions” to its 2023 Flight Training Experience Survey, AOPA said. 

“The survey polls student pilots, new pilots, and pilots who are pursuing additional training. AOPA is looking for feedback about the quality of a student’s flight training and flight instruction experience,” AOPA said. “It’s an opportunity for students to highlight where instruction was successful and where flight schools might need to make improvements.”  

From this list, one flight school and one flight instructor will be chosen as the nation’s best, and announced at the upcoming Redbird Migration flight training conference, which will be held April 11-12 at the EAA Education Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  

In addition to the regional winners, the organization also selected 32 flight schools and 65 instructors for distinguished awards.

“Successful flight training is about more than just learning to fly,” Chris Moser, AOPA Foundation senior director of flight training education, said in a statement. “Building a sense of community to support the people who are learning takes the experience to a much higher level where they can excel. This year’s instructors and schools have clearly brought their customers into the pilot community.”

AOPA 2023 Flight Training Experience Regional Winners

Flight Schools 

• Central Southwest: In the Pattern Flight School and Rentals, Denton, Texas
• Eastern: NoVa Pilots, Leesburg, Virginia 
• Great Lakes: Blue Skies Flying Services, Lake in the Hills, Illinois 
• Northwest Mountain: Ridgeline Aviation, Bozeman, Montana 
• Southern: MIL2TAP, Goldsboro, North Carolina
• Western Pacific: Bush Air, Cal-Nev-Ari, Nevada

Flight Instructors 

• Central Southwest: Bryan Gutraj, Dubuque, Iowa 
• Eastern: Douglas Auclair, Pawtucket, Rhode Island 
• Great Lakes: Logan Arlis, West Chicago, Illinois
• Northwest Mountain: William Dale Crabtree, Everett, Washington 
• Southern: Brandon Gardner, Orlando, Florida 
• Western Pacific: William Cole Hickcox, Scottsdale, Arizona 

The post AOPA Names Regional Flight School, Instructor Award Winners appeared first on FLYING Magazine.