Started PPl at flight school
Posted by Competitive-Top2461@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 14 comments
So im beginning a commitment with a local airport that has a part 61 style one on one , flight time building course or whatever you wanna call it since its not technically a class or anything.
What kind of things should I look out for in terms of making sure im not burning money & things I should ask about so that i take advantage of the opportunities i have. Like, I see in their syllabus they mention for instrument rating all the hours they train you will be dual hours , but they have an approved red bird simulator and I’m thinking, why would I willingly go dual for every hour when I can do up to 20h (correct if wrong) solo , on the approved simulation device
But thats just an example , in paying out of pocket one lesson at a time, my first day the winds were real 10+ KTS so we just did a 1h ground session @ $80hr which I was okay with to get familiar with my instructor but I don’t want to do that again
minfremi@reddit
The FAA minimum to get your Private Pilot Certificate (assuming in Airplane Single Engine Land), is 40 total flight hours, among other requirements. However, most people pass the test at 60-90 hours. If it wasn’t obvious, 60-90 hours is more money than 40. I passed after my second attempt at 91 hours.
Dedicate yourself to studying the subject matter (at home mostly), fly at least twice a week, acquire more than you forget, be lucky with weather maintenance scheduling. If you follow these, you should be on par with minimizing the time and money needed to pass your practical test (aka checkride) with the least hours possible. However, if things go slow, don’t pull your hair out over the fact; it is normal that this happens. It is though a different matter if you’re being taken advantage of.
If you run out of funds, well, then get a job or two. If the passion for flying is large enough, you’ll be able to overcome this obstacle.
And as others have mentioned, forget anything related to the instrument rating. Earn your private pilot certificate first, then think of your next step.
Quick English lesson. Your first person pronouns are always in upper case: I, I am, I’m. If you’re combining two words, use an apostrophe mark. Punctuation marks have *no* space *before* it. People will treat you more seriously if you put more effort in basic sentence structure for a serious hobby/profession.
ltcterry@reddit
And modern autocorrect even makes it hard to not capitalize.
ltcterry@reddit
*Training* is by definition with an instructor. AKA "dual."
The simulator time would be with an instructor to count towards the *training* for the instrument rating. The Redbird is a good tool for instrument training. But rather than simulator hours you may find greater value in using the airplane and making the hours cross country. It's better training and ultimately you will need a lot of cross country time.
Why are you worrying about instrument training requirements when you haven't even finished Private?
I'm not a fan of the "un-safety pilot" approach to instrument training, but if you do a lesson with a CFII then repeat that same lesson with an un-safety pilot there's not a lot of risk involved. But this is putting the cart before the horse. There's an 80% drop out rate at Private.
If you are on some sort of "zero to hero" career plan here, don't lose sight of the fact that you have started building the resume details that will/won't get you the first job. There's a massive over supply of people just like you and you need to float up to the top 1/4 or so to be competitive.
Get used to it. Your search for some sort of perfection seems misplaced at this point in your training.
!RemindMe 6 months
We'll see 20 or 80, u/Competitive-Top2461?
RemindMeBot@reddit
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EliteEthos@reddit
You’re using a lot of made up terms.
What is “…part 61 style one on one, flight time building course…”
Are you getting your PPL from a flight school that operates under part 61?
What “opportunities” are you hoping to have?
You’re wrong about the simulator and you don’t need to worry about instrument training until after your PPL is complete.
Given__To__Fly@reddit
Also, going 20hrs solo in an FTD without an instructor would be the next best thing to useless. You kinda need an instructor for IFR....
EliteEthos@reddit
I wish I would’ve thought about simply going up without an instructor. I would’ve saved THOUSANDS!
HardCorePawn@reddit
Flight Schools hate this one simple trick
Given__To__Fly@reddit
I only failed 6 times!
pilotshashi@reddit
🫵🏼 You didn’t quit; that counts.
EliteEthos@reddit
You know the old adage: 7th time is the charm.
dylanm312@reddit
You must have an instrument instructor present to conduct the lesson and sign your logbook for ALL simulator time which you intend to count towards your aeronautical experience requirements for a pilot certificate or rating. You can do solo sim time for currency, but not for experience for a rating.
But anyway, as others have said, walk before you run. Don’t worry about instrument till you’re done with private. I promise private will give you enough to worry about all on its own.
Over_Topic_7233@reddit
Best bet for saving money (using your example of the red bird) get familiar with the regs, 61.103, 61.109 are the eligibility & aeronautical experience requirements for ppl. 61.65 are the instrument rating requirements. They will spell out what can & cant be done in a sim. (Im a Cfi applicant) so my 2 cents are, nothing will replace the experience in the airplane itself. However if you’re questioning if a school is gouging you, it’s worth asking why they want to go do certain training a certain way.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
So im beginning a commitment with a local airport that has a part 61 style one on one , flight time building course or whatever you wanna call it since its not technically a class or anything.
What kind of things should I look out for in terms of making sure im not burning money & things I should ask about so that i take advantage of the opportunities i have. Like, I see in their syllabus they mention for instrument rating all the hours they train you will be dual hours , but they have an approved red bird simulator and I’m thinking, why would I willingly go dual for every hour when I can do up to 20h (correct if wrong) solo , on the approved simulation device
But thats just an example , in paying out of pocket one lesson at a time, my first day the winds were real 10+ KTS so we just did a 1h ground session @ $80hr which I was okay with to get familiar with my instructor but I don’t want to do that again
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