Welcome to Flight Training

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As a new student, you will be expected to study ground and flight information before every flight. Don’t waste your money by showing up unprepared. This is YOUR training, own it.

Take advantage of the time you have with your flight instructor by asking questions while you are with them and if they allow, during appropriate text hours, text them.  

Remember that chair flying procedures, maneuvers, and checklists on your own and before flights will save you the most money in flight training. Chair flying is the most underrated skill. How to Chair Fly: Sit in front of am image of your cockpit. Act as if you are flying your airplane. Follow through the movements, checklists, maneuvers as if you are actually flying. Talk through every step.

Say everything you are doing in the airplane to help yourself stay ahead of the airplane, the maneuvers, and expectations of your examiner and instructor. 

Take a breath between every maneuver to help yourself relieve stress, prepare, and think clearly.

Another highly underrated item. We HAVE to ensure the area is clear before every maneuver. This is a massive safety item.

Every maneuver should end in cruise flight and therefore a cruise checklist should be completed. This one is debatable between Flight Instructors and Designated Pilot Examiners (DPEs), but, it does help you, the student, understand each phase of flight, and reset the aircraft position and configuration. So, allow yourself to prepare and set up for the next maneuver by utilizing this checklist.

Briefs before taxi, takeoff and landing. Call outs during maneuvers, taking the runway before takeoff and landing. These are expectations. They should be a memorized flow (like the SAFETYPC acronym).

Some checklists should simply be memorized and carried out by muscle memory then verified with the checklist. This will help you stay ahead of the airplane and allow yourself to keep situational awareness.

These checklist include:

Pre-Run Up

Before Takeoff

Takeoff (Normal, Soft field and Short field)

After Takeoff / Climb

Cruise

Descent

Before Landing

Landing (Normal, Soft field, Short field)

Go-Around

After Landing

Shutdown

Emergency Failure During Flight

Emergency Landing without Engine Power

Engine Fire During Start

Engine Fire During Flight

Electrical Fire During Flight

Cabin Fire

Wing Fire

The ACS (Airmen Certification Standards) is what you will be tested against come Checkride time. Your instructor should ensure you exceed these standards and are a safe proficient pilot. If you have questions on how to read the ACS, the ACS itself has a section of this, The FAA website has information and your instructor will assist you.

Sources great for written test prep, utilize those recommended by your instructor. Some trusted sources include King Schools, Jeppesen, Pilot Institute, Gold Seal, and Angle of Attack. Sheppard Air is good test prep but, is only available after the Private Pilot level, unfortunately.

In Private Pilot training, you will have two written exams, one given to you that you will fill out and correct to 100% with your instructor (Pre-Solo Aeronautical Exam) and one that is proctored by the FAA. It is required that you complete the Pre-Solo Aeronautical Exam before you solo. However, I recommend also completing the proctored written exam as well before you solo. This will prevent any hold-ups in training.  

You are required to have your student pilot certificate when you solo, so get ahead of the game and apply for your student pilot certificate with your instructor as soon as possible. This is an online application platform with the FAA that you will subsequently use for all of your Checkride applications. 

Digital Flight Bags like Foreflight are great tools and an aid to all pilots. However, since there is a yearly fee to utilize foreflight, I recommend waiting until you are close to your first solo before purchasing. They do typically offer a free 30day trial, so take advantage of that offer, when able, near your first solo. 

As though AI can be quite helpful. It takes information in from ALL sources and has been known to not be quite accurate at all times. For that purpose and safety, we will not utilize AI at this time to preserve the integrity of our training. Your sources should come from the FAA approved ones like the FAA themselves, collegiate sources, and your flight instructor.

Additionally, podcasts and YouTube can be great sources of information, however, as we know, everyone has an opinion and may not be sharing from credible sources. For that reason, stick with tried and true sources like the FAA Wings Program, AOPA, EAA, ERAU Special VFR and others like those. If you think you found a great source of information, run it by your instructor for them to assess and see if it legitimate and can be used in your training. 

There are three classes of medical certificates. There is also a program called Basic Med. (Please see 14 CFR Part 68 to see if you qualify.) You must see an approved Aeromedical Examiner (AME) for your 1st, 2nd, or 3rd class medical certificate. You must obtain a medical certificate before you solo. If you plan on having a career in aviation, I recommend obtaining a medical certificate appropriate to that goal asap before you invest too much in training because if you cant qualify for that medical you may not be able to have that pilot job. Speak with your AME with medical/medication questions. There is also a program through AOPA that may be able to answer questions additionally. 

Bring your friends and family but think safety first. Clear it with your instructor on how many people will be coming and ensure they know ramp/aircraft safety. Now its time to cut shirt tails! Congrats!

The tradition of cutting a student pilot's shirt tail after their first solo flight goes way back to the dawn of aviation. This is when tandem-seat aircraft, (where instructors sat behind students) and they had no radios. They communicated by physically tugging on the student's shirt. A successful solo flight meant the student no longer needed the instructor's physical guidance, rendering the shirt tail ceremonially obsolete.

Today, this rite of passage remains a celebrated milestone across many flight schools. After the flight, the instructor carefully snips off a portion of the back of the student's shirt. The snipped fabric is then decorated by the student with details like the date, aircraft tail number, and airport identifier. These decorated shirt tails are often proudly framed or kept by students to signify the accomplishment. It is truly a day a pilot will never forget.

The amount of time required to gain the level of ground information will vary student to student. However, a good rule of thumb is that if you are scheduled to fly for 2 hours, you should prep for that flight for 2 hours. This would include chair flying, studying charts, sectionals, weather, etc. Then you will need to study as much as possible to prepare for ground knowledge checks, stage checks, and of course your Checkride. Study time should be managed carefully so as to not waste your time. Give yourself breaks in between long sessions, grab a snack, go for a walk or talk with a friend. 

This one is unwritten but you should come prepared to learn. The IMSAFE checklist stands for Illness, Medication/Medical, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, External Pressures/Eating. There are regulations pertaining to a majority of these items listed. Use common sense as well, so get plenty of sleep, eat something (a light meal) before your flight, if you feel unwell, cancel your flight and talk to your instructor. Had a fight with a significant other or a spouse? Cancel the flight. If your mind is elsewhere, your too tired, hungry, etc., don’t fly. 

The Cessna 172 or Piper Archer is not a runway. So keep your wonderfully fashionable clothes at home. Now, that said, don't show us your worst either! Dress casually and comfortable. Keep it clean, be showered and dont over do the cologne or perfume. Shoes are probably the most important item in flying as they allow you to feel the rudders, So no platforms, open toes, or cowboy boots. I know that cowboy boots are worth their weight in gold, however, if you can't feel the rudder pressure and they aren't flexible enough to move with your feet, dont wear them to training. I recommend  light tennis/walking/running shoe. Bring a pair of sunglasses (preferably ansi approved) that are non-polorized. Hats are ok as long as they dont interfere with your headset or operations.