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Feature Article: The Student As A Student
How much does it cost? Depends on motivation of student.
How long does it take? 62 hours is average. My students may take
longer but they know more and are better prepared for the flying
world.
Larger airports in metropolitan areas tend to take longer and
cost more. Airport procedures can take 20% of the lesson time.
Weather is an uncontrollable factor. The dedicated student will
rearrange life style to give required mental and physical presence
required to lesson preparation. The closer together the lessons
the less slippage of learned material between lessons.
Neither money nor time should become part of the problem. Get
enough money available be fore starting. Four flights a week are
ideal in the beginning until solo. After solo, one lesson a week
coupled with two directed solo-flights works until beginning proficiency.
Don't learn to fly in a situation where your needs are treated
second to other priorities. Request and demand first preference
for your lessons as scheduled. Make a fit with your instructor.
If something about the instructor or training situation becomes
an annoyance, change the instructor and situation as required.
Total immersion is the best way to learn. Borrow and buy selectively
of materials at your level. Don't start with jets. Get to the
airport earl and get cockpit time. Read the aircraft papers and
POH. Visit and talk with people on the airport. Ask questions
about other planes. Carry a question card to keep track of things
you plan to ask your instructor. Watch airplanes land. Visit the
Tower.
Becoming an efficient student requires some planning. An inappropriate
instructor is the most likely reason you will have for quitting.
Learning to fly is a shared responsibility. The instructor must
give you things to do in preparation for the next lesson. You
must come to a lesson prepared. Have the instructor outline the
program you are expected to follow so you can study ahead. Frequent
flights are best. Even a brief flight will contain a complete
review of all aspects of flying. Fly safely and efficiently. Unplanned
flying is not a practical use of time and money.
Fly to satisfy yourself. Not all of every lesson will be to your
satisfaction. Make note of aspects that are causing stress and
discuss them with your instructor. The making of mistakes is an
essential part of the learning program. The more self satisfied
you are with what you are doing the more motivated and efficient
will be your progress.
You expect your instructor to be the product of a program that
assures experience in flying and the teaching of flying. It helps
if he has an additional commitment to instruction, personal maturity,
and knowledge of
what is to be learned by the student pilot.
It takes great trauma to etch what you know at a given moment
to be permanent in your memory. Memory is selective and built
upon experience. You get out of a situation directly in proportion
to what you bring into it. Skill retention is intellectual, procedural,
and manual. If you do not fly regularly you will undergo a rapid
and significant deterioration in flying skill and ability. You
will not forget how to fly. You will lose those little touches
of finesse and anticipation that only come with a continuous flight
program. Even more quickly will you lose and be unaware of intellectual
requirements. Pseudo-agnosia, again. Such pilots assume their
demonstrated skills to be much higher than in reality. Such pilots
believe that their desire will substitute for practice or training.
It doesn't.
Don't expect excellence in the beginning. You and the instructor
are climbing a hill of worry together. The hill must be climbed
a step at a time. If too much time occurs between lessons the
hill turns to sand and each step begins to slip backwards. Even
in the best of learning conditions the student may experience
a plateau. This leveling of the learning curve is a normal and
to be expected part of becoming a pilot. The student pilot should
expect to experience one or all of the following plateaus:
1) Prior to solo;
2) Prior to solo cross-country,
3) Subsequent to taking the Practical Test.
There may be others and it is unrealistic for a given student
to expect never to have a plateau.
The plateau breeds frustration. Quitting is a very real consideration.
The rapid initial progress has slowed and possibly regressed.
The first reaction is an undirected internal anger. The situation
feeds on itself. If the student fails to communicate this anger
or frustration to the instructor, it just gets worse. Learning
to fly is a complex activity requiring both conscious and unconscious
parts of our mind. It takes time for the mental areas to season
and blend what we have learned. 95% study currency is required
to balance the 5% physical aspects of flying if a student is to
maintain progress.
Often it is the best students who consider quitting. Never stop
practicing your four basic skills and reviewing your knowledge.
Any decrease in your performance skills will decrease your confidence.
You are more likely to experience problems in later flying in
direct proportion to the amount you ignore your previous experience.
First things first, and the first thing is thinking about flying.
Last Modified February 17, ©2026 TAGE.COM
