PPL advice

[redfox52]

Howdy, all. I'm planning to get a PPL this coming summer. From what I understand, the minimum flight hours needed to earn it is 40 hours, but the flight school has told me that can be rare depending on how quickly I learn. They say the average time that people have spent in the cockpit is 50 hours or more. Do any of you pilots have any advice on how to better prepare for the flights so that I could maybe learn faster and perform better?

In addition, the reason I am going for a PPL is to gain the pilot knowledge and flight time so that when I retake the AFOQT next year, I can get higher scores on the pilot and navigator sections before reapplying the second time for OTS.

[discus]

Fly every day until you are done. Do not take any breaks. The more often you fly, the faster you learn. Make it your life. Preferably do it away from home, so there are no distractions. It will end up saving you money in the long run because it will take less hours to accomplish your goal.

[Kenny Powers]

Fly every day until you are done. Do not take any breaks. The more often you fly, the faster you learn. Make it your life. Preferably do it away from home, so there are no distractions. It will end up saving you money in the long run because it will take less hours to accomplish your goal.

+1. Frequency is key.

I did a 141 program and got my license at 35 hours. It is probably a little more expensive going that route but my training was very similar to a college course. I had a syllabus and online training modules, so I knew exactly what I would be doing on each flight from day 1 and could show up well prepared for the flights.

[Learjetter]

+2:

In the eighties, I went thru an AF-sponsored program where Uncle footed the bill...I was done in 41 hours.

First flight: April 19th, check ride: May 13th.

On nice days, we double-turned, having a quick sammich & an hour of pre-brief study between sorties.

Get the syllabus, study for each flight, rehearse each major flight portion (preflight, cockpit checks, takeoff, air work, and arrival/landings).

It can be done in 40--but budget for 50--as it's the instructor that determines when you're "ready" for your check ride, not the number of hours you've accumulated.

Fly early in the morning, every day you can. As much as possible with the same instructor.

Continuity and frequency are key. Good luck.

[Guest]

Continuity is key.

+2:

Continuity is key. Good luck.

Fixed.

Simple answer. Everyone can tell you their personal stories but you get the picture.

[redfox52]

Preferably do it away from home, so there are no distractions. It will end up saving you money in the long run because it will take less hours to accomplish your goal.

That was a fast repsonse! Thanks for the good gouge, everyone!

I get the picture: stick with it and don't half ass it.

discus: What did you mean by doing it "away from home"?

[Vno]

He means go to college and blackout on some bitches tits when you aren't flying or studying.

Edited November 23, 2012 by Vno

[HuggyU2]

is to gain the pilot knowledge and flight time so that when I retake the AFOQT next year, I can get higher scores on the pilot and navigator sections before reapplying the second time for OTS.

You don't necessarily need the flight time to get a high AFOQT score.

I took ground school my senior year in high school (it was actually a class taught at my high school), and despite no flying time, I scored a 99 on both the pilot and nav portion.

But seeing as you are an Aggie,...

- I recommend you take ground school twice.

- See if Gleim on King has a study workbook that you can color.

Edited November 23, 2012 by Huggyu2

[redfox52]

He means go to college and blackout on some bitches tits when you aren't flying or studying.

Words to live by. lol

You don't necessarily need the flight time to get a high AFOQT score.

I took ground school my senior year in high school (it was actually a class taught at my high school), and despite no flying time, I scored a 99 on both the pilot and nav portion.

But seeing as you are an Aggie,...

- I recommend you take ground school twice.

- See if Gleim on King has a study workbook that you can color.

Aggie jokes... lol

I want to get the PPL so that my application will look better when I reapply. I figured that after earning it, the pilot and navigator sections will be easy to score 99s on. In the meantime this Aggie needs to learn how to read apparently. I also want to retake the TBAS and actually take it with more than 3 hours of sleep. Here were my scores the first time I took it:

AFOQT Scores: 87/91/76/38/94

PCSM: 77

Flight Hours: 0

Pilot

Civilian

BS in Marine Engineering Technology

1st time applying

No waivers

Edited November 24, 2012 by redfox52

[Vno]

FWIW, I took my ASTB without studying and with only about 20 hours under my belt, and passed. I then re-took the ASTB after studying the ARCO for a bit and got a better score. However, I felt that my weakness' were in the first half of the test, rather than the last, and therefore I studied up on my math a bit, so I'm sure that was a contributing factor as well. YMMV. But I'm sure since you have an engineering degree that your math skills are exceptional.

[StickShaker]

Some thoughts from a current flight student and things I would have done differently. Treat youself to a couple of glider flights first. Try and find an outfit run by current or ex airline or military pilots. Really focus on the visual picture, and maybe even cover your instruments up for a lot of the time you fly. Get the big Jeppesen book. Buy the Gleim study book. Get the King or Sporty's Private Pilot video prep course. Get at least 9 hours of sleep each night for the two days preceding your flights. Fly a Piper if you can. You may or may not want to pick a quieter more rural airport. I fly out of Class Bravo, and am a better pilot for it, but it has slowed down my time to solo. As a committed flight student you need to eat, breathe, and sleep planes. I'd say fly on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule, and study Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Leave Saturday for whatever. For me on most nights, I plug into a study book, crank up some liveATC on a realistic volume, stare at the free large poster you can get from Sporty's for free, and run some checklist flows from my POH. Frequency is definitely key. After flying bugsmashers for a while, you will learn to appreciate aviation in a whole new way.

[Guest]

stare at the free large poster you can get from Sporty's for free.

What'll that poster run ya?

[StickShaker]

What'll that poster run ya?

Free.99

Sorry, editing mistake.

[redfox52]

FWIW, I took my ASTB without studying and with only about 20 hours under my belt, and passed. I then re-took the ASTB after studying the ARCO for a bit and got a better score. However, I felt that my weakness' were in the first half of the test, rather than the last, and therefore I studied up on my math a bit, so I'm sure that was a contributing factor as well. YMMV. But I'm sure since you have an engineering degree that your math skills are exceptional.

Well not to toot my own horn, but thankfully I can hold my own in math, but like a good Aggie... I can't read. LOL

Out of the whole test, the part that kicked my ass the most was the vocabulary section. As soon as this semester ends, I'm going to start reading some more, among other things, to do better on that section. A buddy of mine, who is going to OTS this January, gave all his study guides to me (Arco, Barron's, etc) so I'll be burying my face in those too for the next 8 months. Thank you for the gouge, Vno.

Some thoughts from a current flight student and things I would have done differently. Treat youself to a couple of glider flights first. Try and find an outfit run by current or ex airline or military pilots. Really focus on the visual picture, and maybe even cover your instruments up for a lot of the time you fly. Get the big Jeppesen book. Buy the Gleim study book. Get the King or Sporty's Private Pilot video prep course. Get at least 9 hours of sleep each night for the two days preceding your flights. Fly a Piper if you can. You may or may not want to pick a quieter more rural airport. I fly out of Class Bravo, and am a better pilot for it, but it has slowed down my time to solo. As a committed flight student you need to eat, breathe, and sleep planes. I'd say fly on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule, and study Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Leave Saturday for whatever. For me on most nights, I plug into a study book, crank up some liveATC on a realistic volume, stare at the free large poster you can get from Sporty's for free, and run some checklist flows from my POH. Frequency is definitely key. After flying bugsmashers for a while, you will learn to appreciate aviation in a whole new way.

I'll make a note of all this. I started volunteering at the Lone Star Flight Museum, and one of the pilots is former Marine fighter pilot and a current ppl instructor. I'll chat with him about his flight school and the recommendations you brought up. Thank you for the gouge, StickShaker.

[Kenny Powers]

To be honest man, getting your PPL is not that difficult. If you want to get it with the min. hours required, then just treat it like a class that you want to do well in. Once you start flying, study the material you need to know for the next flight (and the stuff you screwed up on the last flight) and then go fly when you feel comfortable with the material.

I liked flying at least twice a week (I was also working 50 hours a week, working on my masters in an engineering program at night, and working with my guard unit). The benefit to flying frequently is getting comfortable with the cockpit arrangement, checklists, radio calls, etc..

However, do not jump in the plane for a lesson before you are ready just for the sake of frequency. There are plenty of items that you need to divide your attention between when you're in the air and, if you don't familiarize yourself with the flight before flying it, you will struggle to keep up with it, wasting flight time. This will surely frustrate your instructor too.

Edited December 11, 2012 by Kenny Powers

[ff615]

Red fox: you're getting some solid advice here, like everybody has said fly as often as you can. Study, be prepared for every flight, and ask questions. Your instructor should brief you on what to expect each time before going up and he or she should debrief the lesson and give you feedback on what went well, what you need to work on and what to expect for the next lesson. For the studying portion read the Pilot Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge and the Airplane Flying Handbook both are a bit dry and may help cure insomnia but they are free on the FAA website and cover a good portion of the material on the written. Research part 61 or part 141 that's where the requirements for private pilot are found. Chair fly the maneuvers, pratice the head work it will help. Try to fly out of a quiet field if that is possible, also you don't need to learn in a fancy plane with the latest avionics or gps however do make sure the plane is maintained well, ask to see the aircraft logbooks and if they don't show you find another school. Good luck and make sure ou have fun

[redfox52]

Solid advice from everybody here. Thank you! Thank you! The general consensus is on par with everybody saying to "stick with it," and I really enjoy the little tid bits each individual is sharing from their personal experiences. Keep it coming!

[mp5g]

Keep it coming! (sts)

FIFY!

[Kenny Powers]

I really enjoy the little tid bits (sts)

FIFY

[redfox52]

FIFY!

FIFY

Points taken. I'll leave the fruity comments for other forums.

Edited December 17, 2012 by redfox52