nice one (",)
I learnt to fly some years ago. I never quite finished it. There are several distinct stages. Obviously everyone has heard of a solo. The day this happens won't be especially planned. If on that day the instructor feels you are ready, instead of the usual touch and goes, they'll instruct you to full stop on the runway (after advising control or whatever). They'll jump out, and off you go! A solo only allows you to fly solo doing circuits of the airfield. Or a bloody international airport in my case! Damn long circuits... I was actually more excited to see a fellow student get his solo while I was doing a circuit.
Next stage you'll be flying in a 'training area'. This is towards an 'area solo', or GFPT (general flight progress test). It won't be as impromptu though. It will consist of a test. The engine failure aspect always had my heart pounding even though you know you aren't actually going to crash! That's the most important part of the test, consisting as it does of a whole bunch of procedures you need to go through, all while looking for somewhere to land. I managed to get it on my second test. Getting an area solo was much more exciting!
Once you've done that you can take friends and family for joy flights around the training area. Since I lived in a coastal area, it made for very scenic flights. I even took some backpackers for a joy flight.
I got as far as doing my first navigational exercise, which was about a 3 hour flight. I miscalculated crosswind on the first leg though. DOH!
I actually gave some advice to someone else recently. Just realised I still have it, so i'll cut and paste the rest:
"Things I would do if I did it all again:
Buy a radio scanner and get immersed in the lingo. If you live near an airport, try and correlate the talk to the action. If you don't live near an airport. Go to one when you aren't flying. Actually, this is something you can do before you even start flying. I really struggled with radio calls. Granted, since I was flying out of an international airport, there were a lot more calls to be made. I think from take off to landing we were using FIVE different frequencies! Seriously, being at ease with radio calls is a huge pressure off. You have to absorb and comprehend what was said in a short time, and normally repeat all of it back to the control tower. None of this ROGER business. What does ROGER prove?
When you get your area solo (called a general flight progress test- GFPT) start using a flight sim. Not for flying (because it really doesn't relate, you'll see). But to practice navigation. It should be brilliant for that. Set it up for a realistic flight, in your actual flight area and then do it properly, with paper maps etc. That way you can get proficient at working out cross wind components, correcting for errors etc without the expense of actually flying. I have never really gotten into flight sims, but from what little Ive seen, it seems you can have all the factors in there, in real time.
Try not to miss more than one weekend of flying. Where I lived, we suffered from HUGE ---smurfing--- tropical storms. Quite often my lesson would be cancelled in the wet season. But what I should have been doing is looking for the very next available lesson. Instead, i treated it like Ferris Buellers Day off. WTF? Didn't i WANT to fly? Who knows. So sometimes Id go several weeks without a flight. Learning wise, thats two steps forward, one back. Anyway, if a lesson is cancelled and you cant get another that weekend, keep busy with the other things i listed -radio scanner, flight sim navs etc. Always be doing something.
I think thats the key- always be doing something. I squandered a great opportunity because I wasn't very focused. For me it was a little difficult. I have difficulty picking up stuff. Who knows why. It's not that hard really.
true story- When I was in highschool, there was a girl named Leslie in my tech drawing class. Quiet, unassuming. One day i saw her in the paper. She had become Australias youngest pilot at 15 and 3/4 years! Can you imagine how jeasous I was?! Anyway, she later became a sign writer. Go figure. Point is, if a 15 year old girl can do it, and someone as retarded as me can NEARLY do it, you sure as hell can!"
Good luck, and have fun
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Topic: Booked my first flight lesson! (Read 3027 times)
