Learning to fly, or thinking of learning? Post your questions, comments and experiences here

Moderator: AndyR

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By Milty
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1905757
I'd like to echo what @Cessna571 said. There's a lot of pressure (mainly imaginary) for students to get caught up on timescales but one of the many things that I've learned in my 30 hours so far is that we are all different. With so many variables, it's no wonder that we all get to milestones at different rates. I mentally wanted to race to solo and was a bit disappointed when it didn't happen as quickly as my instructor had indicated it might. However, weather had got in the way as well as my difficulty in judging when to flare (still learning). But when it happened, I felt comfortable (nervous and rightly so, but comfortable).

Enjoy your own journey through the learning process and there's really not a lot to be gained from judging your progress against others in this game.
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By AndyR
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1905772
Take an hour over each of the initial lessons.
Exercise 4 to 10 teach you the basics for the rest of your flying career.
A good solid foundation would be:
Ex 4.1
Ex 4.2
Ex 6.1 often combined with 7.1
Ex 6.2 often combined with 7.2
Ex 9 (don’t be shy about a couple of hours at this)
Ex 10 in its various guises (again be really comfortable with all aspects of this).

Good solid building blocks.
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By Gamatech
#1905902
Wow! My post got a huge response! Many thanks for all of the insight and welcome each of you have offered me, each of them are greatly appreciated. I will do my best to respond to some of the highlights on this thread.

@T6Harvard
T6Harvard wrote:I would add that for ground school, take a look at https://www.easypplgroundschool.com/


That looks like a great resource, saved it for future use!

T6Harvard wrote: Which area of the country are you going to be flying from?


My local airfield is Brighton City Airport, along the South coast. From my layman's perspective, it's a really great location for learning: Grass and tarmac runways, plenty of Class G airspace as well as more complex airspace a short flight north. It also has open water, and it's only 20 minutes from international airspace as well. That's not to mention the views on offer at the South Downs and English Channel!

T6Harvard wrote: What did you think of the experience flights? Which aeroplane are you likely to be learning in, have you decided?


My trial lesson(s) have both been in the acrobatic variant of the Cessna 152. The school I am likely to go with also has the "standard" 152 and the Piper PA-28 on offer for use. I would like to fly the Piper, however my current plan is to do most (if not all) of my training in one of the 152s. The reason being that spending a few lessons in the Piper *afterwards* to acquaint myself, is far more financially economical than using it for the entirety of the course.

For the time being, I intend to use my potential PPL as a recreational hobby: In an ideal world I'd love to go further. But for now at least, that's more of a pipe dream. I would be beyond content with a PPL alone. But should further opportunities arise in the future, I'd certainly chase them!

@TopCat
TopCat wrote:Putting undue pressure on yourself to get good, results in slower progress, not quicker...

...learn from mistakes but don't constantly beat yourself up about them.


I feel like this is a great reminder that I will oft come back to. Much like driving a car, I expect that dwelling on a mistake will only lead to *more* mistakes. Best to get in the habit of wiping the slate in one's head clean when something happens!

@Rob P

Rob P wrote: Don't buy commercial 'Starter Kits'...

...Use school headsets if you can, or again buy used.


Yes, this seems to be a common one! It can be very tempting for someone like me who is brand new to everything to buy a kit, as there are lots of items and equipment that we're not familiar with. A "bundle" with everything one needs can easily be comforting concept.

Rob P wrote: Don't quote an entire humongous post just to comment on one part of it. Edit your quotes down.


I've taken this one to heart, as you can see!

@Micromouse

Micromouse wrote: Things are going to take you twice as long and cost you more than you think. Double it and add 50% and you might be close.


This sounds like quite a solid life mantra, beyond just flying!

Micromouse wrote: You will have more cancelled days than flying days. get used to it.


I'm happy you mentioned this. I can imagine I'd start to become rather disheartened if this happened, and I wasn't advised in advance!

@Grelly
Grelly wrote: I could recommend reading this by one of our regulars: https://leiafee.wordpress.com/how-to-learn-to-fly/


Another bookmarked resource added to the list! Many thanks

@StratoTramp
StratoTramp wrote:I would recommend documenting a short review after each lesson.

What went well?
What could be improved?
What will I do differently next time?
Extra Points for - What will I do differently next time?


I've already bought myself a nice book to write notes, do some independent study, and write up reviews from lessons! It's small and flexible too, should I ever need to put it on a kneeboard.

@FlyingBoot
FlyingBoot wrote: If you will have another trial lesson, get a logbook as they count towards your hours.


Yes! I need to get myself a proper logbook. The flight school I ran my trial lesson with graciously set it up so that once I go back for the full course, they can add the hour or two I've already completed to my record.

@Cessna571
@Milty

Many thanks for that perspective! That's precisely the reason why I wanted to find a forum like this: To continue gathering information, opinions, and perspectives from as many different sources as possible. I'll be sure to keep what you said in mind, some food for thought.

Once again, thanks to all that took the time to write something back for me! My CAA application has been approved, and my medical has been booked. Once that's behind me, I can finally start approaching all of this with certainty instead of just reserved anticipation!
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By Rob P
#1905907
I get the feeling we are going to be treated to another excellent "Stude's Progress"

The old hands here have seen dozens, and I'm sure I speak for most, if not all, when I say we never tire of vicariously living the amazing days of ppl training once more.

When many of us qualified the Internet wasn't a thing so we just had to bore the pants off friends and family.

One teeny thing...

Aerobatic, not acrobatic :D

Rob P
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By StratoTramp
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1905910
Rob P wrote:Aerobatic, not acrobatic :D Rob P


I made this mistake in my vertigo video... I spotted it myself - but naturally it's after it's all rendered and uploaded. Couldn't be bothered to re-upload, so made a joke about it in the YouTube title :lol:

Bit like a Cover letter for CV I've just send off - I must have checked that thing 20 times! Only when it's in PDF and you have sent it to the potential employer do you see the 4 mistakes :lol:
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By T6Harvard
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#1905912
StratoTramp wrote:[]

Bit like a Cover letter for CV I've just send off - I must have checked that thing 20 times! Only when it's in PDF and you have sent it to the potential employer do you see the 4 mistakes :lol:


Not applying for a proof reading job, I hope :lol:
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By StratoTramp
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1905913
Nah, Trying to shift from defence into robotics after almost 20 years - Luckily the job description didn't say "attention to detail". I constantly type "think" rather than "thing" too and "send" rather than "sent" as you see above!
By Gamatech
#1905921
Rob P wrote:Aerobatic, not acrobatic :D

Rob P


Bugger, and here I thought I did pretty well for literacy in that post! :lol:

Rob P wrote:I get the feeling we are going to be treated to another excellent "Stude's Progress"

The old hands here have seen dozens, and I'm sure I speak for most, if not all, when I say we never tire of vicariously living the amazing days of ppl training once more.


I'd love to be able to share developments, outcomes, and mishaps as I'm learning. I had just assumed that as this is a "students" section of a flying forum, that it would be oversaturated with that subject and viewers would just scroll past out of boredom. I've heard a few people mention sharing it now so in that case, perhaps I'll do so anyway! ^^
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By Milty
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1905922
Please share. I know I’ve found it valuable to read the experiences of others and it’s been therapeutic and of massive benefit to share mine. The beauty of a forum is that if people aren’t interested, they can scroll on by. If they are interested, they can engage.

Someone mentioned before about the benefit of summarising you lesson as a learning exercise. I choose to do this on the forum. Is primarily for me and I welcome and appreciate the feedback that I get. Hope you can enjoy the same experience.
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By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1905923
Gamatech wrote:as this is a "students" section of a flying forum, that it would be oversaturated with that subject

Well it is, of course. But you're wrong to assume that....
viewers would just scroll past out of boredom

There are quite a few of us here that aren't remotely bored by it.

I recall my troubles and tribulations as a student pilot only too well, but I look at them now with the perspective that 30 years and 1200 hours or so of flying inevitably brings.

It's actually quite nice to be able to travel with you guys as you go through similar joys and traumas. Don't think for a moment that those of us old farts that post (hopefully) helpful stuff in the students' forum, that it's only for your benefit :)

You'd be surprised how much there is to learn, in fact, from watching people go through it all from the beginning.
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By Micromouse
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1905960
[youtube][/youtube]
Paul_Sengupta wrote:
Micromouse wrote:If you have ANR (Active noise reduction) headphones. Don't forget to switch them on.


Sounds like the voice of experience! :D


Yup. :lol:
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By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1905977
If you're going to use an ANR headset, and actually even if you're not, always start up without the headset, and listen to the engine for a bit before putting the headset on.

You're a lot less likely to hear odd sounds from the engine or anything else if you put the headset on first.

I usually taxy a little way too, before putting the headset on.
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1906001
What an excellent first post: You seem to have thought it through thoroughly and I look forward to reading your progress.

Most people on here say don't be in too much of a rush, relax and enjoy the learning experience, take as long as you like....

I guess I bucked the trend as I signed up at my School the moment I landed from the trial lesson: I was fortunate to click immediately with my allocated instructor, had 96% of my lessons with him and was in a hurry to get my PPL.

Fortunately I trained during the mildest winter for decades in E Anglia and knocked it off Nov-April with only one weather cancellation.

The advantage of the same instructor and frequent lessons reduces the 'two steps forward, one step back' syndrome when you end up repeating stuff already covered but either forgotten or not known to a different instructor.

But of course this will depend entirely on your school: Too long and your fave instructor will be off to join the airlines and you have to get to know another.

I guess I was in a hurry to take the kids, friends and family flying as I certainly wasn't in the first flush of youth when I qualified!

Enjoy the experience at whatever pace you choose and remember there is no such thing as a daft question on here: most of them have been asked before a dozen times.

Oh and welcome to the Forum. :wink:

Peter
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By AndyR
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1906073
@Gamatech I fly from Shoreham, amongst others. If you fancy a chat over coffee anytime, I’ve flown from there for well over 20 years now, own a share locally and fly from there too.
Look forward to hearing your updates.