Flying Lessons

Regardless of whether you are aiming toward a private pilot license or your commercial pilot license you will need a course of flying lessons to gain proficiency as a pilot.

Through primary and intermediate flight training you will gain and refine your basic airman-ship skills to the level required to qualify for your private pilot license.

Flying lessons are provided by numerous flight training centers and aero clubs throughout the United States and other countries.

Choosing Your Flight School

A qualified flight instructor will provide lessons in the air and also during ground school.  Your instructor will be an experienced pilot who holds a commercial pilot license with a flight instructor rating.  It’s important to find someone you trust and feel comfortable with as they (as well as you) will be responsible for your success as a pilot.

Your first goal should be to organize an introductory flying lesson or introductory flight so you can be sure that getting your pilot license is something you want to follow through with.  This will also give you an opportunity to get to know your instructor.  Your first flying lesson will probably only last half an hour or so, but will give you the opportunity to take the controls of the aircraft and experience the sensation of flying a small plane.  Your introductory flight is able to be logged in your pilot log book and counts towards the time required to obtain your license.

Helicopter Flying Lessons

If you goal is to learn to fly a helicopter, you will need to find a flight training center that offers helicopter lessons.  Almost everything that applies to finding a flight training center for fixed wing aircraft also applies to helicopters.  Find a center and instructor you can work with and trust.  Much of the basic airman ship and ground school study covered when gaining a private pilot license for fixed wing aircraft, also applies to flying helicopters and will be much the same.

Cost of Learning to Fly

Flying LessonsPilot license cost varies a little depending on where you take your flight training and how quickly you learn to operate the aircraft to the level required to successfully pass your “check ride”, but we can still break down the costs involved to give you a ball park figure of how much you will need to pay.

Factors you need to consider which will significantly impact your total costs are:

  1. Price per hour charged by the flight instructor
  2. Price per hour for the aircraft used for tuition (this will be significantly more for helicopters)

Depending on where you live, these two figures can vary significantly.  In addition to these figures there are other factors which can impact your total cost such as the skill of your instructor.  If they aren’t good at teaching, it will take you much longer which makes it harder to get your pilot license in a cost effective manner.

A realistic figure to spend on obtaining your private pilot license for a small fixed wing aircraft is around $8,000 – $9,000, incorporating around 50 hours of flying time. This is of course dependent on all the factors discussed above and where you are in the country.  For example, in some parts of the country the private pilot flight test only costs around $250 while in Phoenix AZ it is over $400.  All of these little differences can add up to hundreds of dollars.

Tips to Save Money

One of the best ways you can save money getting your pilot license is to do a lot of the ground school study yourself in your own time.  This negates the need to pay an instructor to teach you what you can learn independently.  There are a number of self study courses available which will cut down the amount of ground school time you require.

Remember, that “flashy” and new is not always best.  There are many flight training schools dotted around the country which look very attractive, but when you get involved you may find they fall far short of your expectations.  Make sure you do your homework first.  Talk to other independent pilots who have done their pilot training and had flying lessons through the school and listen to their testimonials and ask lots of questions, particularly around how long it took them to complete their training.

Home Study Courses

There are many good home study courses available for around $300.  Some flight schools may request you purchase their own DVD study packages at a much higher cost – ultimately you must do what you think is right for you.  All materials, regardless of who provides them are based on the information provided in official publications made by the FAA and it is that same material which is used for your practical flight test and makes up the foundation of your flying lessons.

Resources

Federal Aviation Administration http://www.faa.gov/pilots/become/

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association http://www.aopa.org/