Learn to Fly - Here are all the Details

There are many benefits in being a pilot. Not including the prestige of being an aviator, there are a lot of concrete ways that flying can make your life better.

General aviation pilots start, as you might expect, as students. There are three main types of pilot certificate that you can target, but much of the training is identical.

The sport pilot certificate is becoming more and more popular. Sport pilots are licensed to fly light sport aircraft (LSAs). These are typically two-seaters with a limited weight and airspeed. As a sport pilot, you can have great fun flying in uncongested airspaces with one passenger.

Most people will aim for the private pilot certificate. This allows for more advanced operations than those available to sport pilots. Private pilots are not limited to any specific number of passengers or a top airspeed.

Both private and sport pilots can travel for leisure or for business. They both see the same wonderful views and can fly long distances in just a few hours. Private pilots simply have more options available to them.

An FAA-mandated medical examination is required of private pilots. It is not, however, required of sport pilots. This has allowed many people who prefer not to undergo a physical examination to remain in aviation. As fuel prices continue to climb and regulations continue to tighten, more and more people will join the growing sport pilot ranks.

Flight training is usually charged by the hour. A student will pay an hourly fee for a flight instructor and for airplane rental. These fees vary based on a variety of factors. Flight instructors will generally charge between $30-$70 per hour. Airplane rental can start as low as $70/hour and run on up to $200/hour. It is mainly based on the type of airplane and its age. Newer, expensive airplanes will obviously cost more to rent.

Your training will require a significant amount of time when you are not in actual flight. Most instructors will charge for this ground instruction just as they do for the flight instruction. Clearly, if you do your homework diligently, you can minimize the amount of time you will need to spend with an instructor covering the conceptual material.

The bottom line? A private pilot certificate will likely cost you between $6,000 and $10,000. The more you study at home and the more you apply yourself during your flight training, the less money you will ultimately spend.

Although there are formal training programs, most students plan their flight lessons as their schedules allow. The average person who takes one flight lesson per week will probably spend about six months in training. A person who can fly three times a week will finish the training considerably faster.

While the FAA sets a minimum of 40 hours of training for private pilot candidates (20 hours for sport pilots), this is a bare minimum. Very few people will complete their training, mastering all the necessary skills, in these minimum time periods. The U.S. average for private pilot training is approximately 70 hours. This does not include a significant amount of time on the ground studying and working with an instructor.

You begin training as a student pilot. A medical exam is required (except for sport pilot students) and doubles as your student pilot certificate.

Training consists of a mixture of flight and ground training.

Flight Training - Students must learn to operate the airplane under a variety of conditions and in several ways. A pilot must be able to maneuver properly while navigating and possibly talking on the radio, all at the same time.

Private pilot maneuvers that must be mastered start with the "four fundamentals" - straight-and-level, turns, climbs, and decents. Next, a student must gain proficiency in slow flight, stalls, steep turns, ground reference maneuvers, and takeoffs and landings under various conditions.

Flight lessons progress through the following basic steps:
(1) Pre-solo training
(2) First solo flight
(3) Student solo practice
(4) Dual (with an instructor) cross-country training
(5) Solo cross-country flights
(6) Dual (with an instructor) night flight training
(7) "Checkride" preparation (mastering all the skills and maneuvers)
(8) The Practical Test ("checkride")

Ground Training - In addition to learning to physically fly the airplane, a student pilot must learn a good bit of conceptual material. The is no requirement for a formal groundschool, but the student must acquire the knowledge somehow.

Options for ground training generally include a combination of several of these:

(1) One-on-one training from a flight instructor
(2) Studying from books
(3) Studying from recordings (DVDs, audio CDs, etc.)
(4) Use of online resources
(5) Formal ground school