What were your biggest struggles during flight training in the U.S.?

Posted by No_Definition7649@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 21 comments

For anyone that is currently or has done flight training in the U.S. as an international student, what was yours biggest challenges and struggles?

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This. Money is a prolific answer here but sometimes the weather can be extremely limiting for timeline and specific hours/routes you need. Especially if you’re limited to after work or weekends. Depending on region or time of year, you may only be able to fly 1/3 or less of your scheduled lessons even if you can afford them.

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JustAnotherDude1990@reddit

Money is the largest hurdle. Almost anyone can fly, few can afford it.

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Flyingredditburner44@reddit

In my experience instructing at large foreign pilot mills, they had plenty of money but not everyone could fly.

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ashtranscends@reddit

Yeah. It’s ironic that for every great student/skilled pilot who struggles to pay for training, there seems to be another chucklefuck with three personal airplanes, 200 hours and no license who still can’t maintain heading and altitude to save their life

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f1racer328@reddit

My favorite line was “my dad’s not rich” and “my dad bought me a 172” used within the same week. Hell, it may have been in the same sentence. I don’t remember.

What I do remember is the massive iPad Pro of another student being attached to the yoke, to the point where if you let go it would bank the airplane from its weight.

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JT-Av8or@reddit

THIS. I just watched a Columbia unknowingly bust the DC airspace. All those screens and couldn’t stay out of a circle that’s been there for a quarter century.

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Oxygen_Converter@reddit

Sell your soul for 10 years instead.

Pros:
1. Decent pay (before the regional day hike).
2. Interesting flying no matter what you end up in. 3. No clapped out 172. 4. Sweet overnights in random countries and cities you would never otherwise visit.

Cons: 1. Those shitty regional Abilene overnights is your everyday life. Then you get to overnight in a tent next to the runway in Niger.
2. Politics.

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RoutineTraditional79@reddit

What do you mean by sell your soul? Military?

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JT-Av8or@reddit

100%

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TheMonkeyPickler@reddit

You also have to get in which is more difficult than some people make it seem.

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andrewrbat@reddit

Paying.

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skyHawk3613@reddit

Money and finding instructors who cared

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kemccurdy@reddit

Check ride stress, as someone who moved from a Part 61 to a Part 141 school it’s certainly something I haven’t gotten used to and I sometimes genuinely feel worse coming into my stage checks and EOC’s then I did my private check-ride.

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psychoexcite@reddit

Honestly as someone who just started CPL-H training, it’s been confidence. The PIC mindset. I didn’t come from money or aviation and it’s been a weird adjustment even though I have the functioning brain/physical coordination. Confidence for me always comes with competence and it seems aviation has a way of making us feel like bumbling idiots — I don’t see it talked about very much, so I’m jealous of the masses with problems aside from “do I belong here”

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Forsaken_Cost4608@reddit

Same, struggle with confidence.

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is_nihal@reddit

During the summer in Florida, the heat. Other than that it was the best experience ever. Aviation in America is truly fun and you'll enjoy it the most than any other country. Despite what you see in the news, it has some of the most amazing and welcoming people who will make living in the US a memorable onw,.

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bowleshiste@reddit

Definitely money. Ran out of money at the very end of my private. My CFI gave me a mock checkride for free so I could afford the actual checkride. Lost my job while finishing commercial. Busted the ride and had to borrow money for the retest and paid for rentals with a credit card. Now that I'm just kind of treading water because there's no jobs, it's really hard to justify paying for flights to stay proficient.

Close second was probably time. Working full time and having family obligations leaves little time for anything else, and there would be days I felt like I'd rather rest at home than go hop in a 172, especially during the summer.

Third was probably "studying" for the written tests, especially instrument. Memorizing question banks is mind numbing.

The actual flying and learning was always the easy the part

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