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How to get started in flying |
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In order for you to do anything with your training you must have a student pilot’s license and the FAA specifies that in order for you to get your student pilots certificate you need to: 1.) Be 16 years old 2.) Be able to read speak, write and understand the English language 3.) Hold a second class medical certificate. So you have the first two on the list and you are wondering how to get the third. You’ll need to go to a designated aviation medical examiner and get a student pilot medical certificate. (You can find a list of aviation medical examiners here) He will administer a physical exam and have you fill out some paper work. Once complete and everything is satisfactory the examiner will issue you your medical certificate which will also include your student pilot certificate. Now there are several levels of medical certificates first class, second class, and third class and are good for a certain time period and privileges. The first class certificate is the strictest and is for air transport pilots and is good for 6 months, second class is for commercial pilots and is good for 12 months, And third class is for student pilots, recreational pilot, and private pilots and is good for 36 months if you are under the age of 40 and 24 months if you are over 40. Now that all of that is taken care of you are ready to start flying. Now your scratching head thinking to yourself, were do I head from here? If I was talking to you at this point I would point you to your closest FBO (Fix Base Operator). If you have never been up in a small plane before I would recommend you start by taking an introductory flight with an instructor and make your decision from there. There are a lot of people that think it would be cool to fly but as soon as they get into a small airplane they no longer think its fun. So give yourself a chance and make sure you can handle small planes with all the little bumps, etc. So you’ve taken your introductory flight and you loved it. You’re hooked and there’s no turning back. Look out world a new pilot has been born (Pause for applause). Now, not to burst your bubble but, you have now made it through the easiest part of flying. From here is where it gets tough. First off, flying isn’t cheap; expect to lay down $5000-$8000 for your private pilot’s license. I would recommend that you have enough to pay for all of your training through your private pilot’s license before you even start flying, otherwise it can lead to delays as well as well as make your training cost more. If you are going to run out of money it usually happens at the most inopportune time. When you’re out of money things come to a complete stop, and when you are not actively learning you forget stuff, and you sometimes have to go back and relearn some of the things you learned previously. So Have enough to pay for it and not just earn it as you go along because more often then not things just do not work out. |
