Flight Training:
How To Get Your Pilot's Certificate
Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a pilot? Well, you have come to the right place! In learning to fly, getting there really is half the fun! Over the course of your training, you will have many adventures that you'll always remember. And there's hardly a pilot that doesn't remember there first solo!
Your flight training will consist of several phases, all designed to provide a safe, enjoyable, and rewarding flight training experience:
Intro Flight
Your flight training will most likely start with an introductory flight with an instructor. You will be flying the airplane from the very first flight (under the instructor's watchful eye), and exploring what it's like to fly a small plane. You will start with a series of gentle turns, a brief explanation of some the airplane's instruments, and some other items you will need to be familiar with.
Pre-Solo Training
After your intro flight, you will learn some basic flight maneuvers, like takeoffs and landings, steep turns, and some emergency procedures. This training is designed to prepare you for your first solo flight. All of this training is done under the close supervision of your instructor, who will accompany you on every flight.
During this phase of your training, you will likely be attending ground school to prepare for your first solo.
First Solo Flight
When you and your instructor feel that you are ready, you will perform your first solo flight. While this flight will be short (just three takeoff and landings on your own), it will be a day you'll never ever forget.
After your first solo, you will be endorsed or "signed off" by your instructor to fly within a few miles of your home airport. This will allow you to practice maneuvers in the airplane, without having your instructor on board.
Cross-Country Navigation Training
You are now able to take off and land on your own, but most flights won't just take place in the traffic pattern of the airport. Like most people, you probably want to fly so that you can go somewhere! During this part of your training, you'll spend some time flying alone to practice your maneuvers. In addition, you'll spend some time flying with your instructor to learn how to find your way in an airplane from Point A to Point B.
You will learn several different methods of navigation, including:
· Pilotage: Navigating by identifying cities, roads, railways, bodies of water, and other landmarks. This is the oldest method of aerial navigation, and you will learn how to do it, just as the earliest aviators did.
· Dead Reckoning: Flying by using a compass, watch, airspeed, and wind information to calculate a straight-line path from takeoff at Wadsworth to landing at another airport.
· Electronic Navigation: Using ground-based beacons called VORs to fly "roads in the sky." You will also learn how to navigate to other airports using satelite-based Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.
You will refine these skills over the course of several cross-country flights with your instructor.
Solo Cross-Country Flights
Your cross-country training will culminate in a series of solo cross-country flights. On the first, you will fly to an airport at least 50 miles away and return. On the second, you will fly to at least two other airports (one at least 50 miles away), with a total distance of at least 150 miles.
Towered Airport Procedures
During your cross-country training, you will train in flying in the airspace at larger, tower-controlled airports, such as Akron-Canton Regional, Mansfield Lahm Regional, and even Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. You will perform takeoffs and landings at one or more of these airports, learn how to interact with Air Traffic Control (ATC), and experience the thrill of flying into the same airports as the airlines.
Night Flying
You will also receive training on flying at night, including differences in nighttime versus daytime navigation. You and your instructor will also complete an exciting nighttime cross-country flight.
Emergency Instrument Training ("Hood Flying")
You will spend a number of hours flying "under the hood", that is, flying only by reference to your flight instruments. This is designed so that if you accidentally fly into clouds or bad weather, and cannot see the horizon, you can find your way back to good weather. While this training will not allow you to fly into bad weather, it will improve your emergency skills.
Pre-Checkride Practice
At this point, your training is nearly complete. You and your instructor will begin intensively reviewing everything you have learned up to now, to ensure that you are ready to become a private pilot.
The Checkride
In order to receive your pilot certificate, you will need to complete a test with a highly experienced pilot called a Designated Pilot Examiner or DPE. You and the DPE will first discuss many aspects of flying on the ground. Then you will fly with the DPE to demonstrate your skills. You will be demonstrating the same maneuvers that you were trained in, and you will show that you can safely navigate and handle emergencies.
Once your test is successfully completed, the DPE will sign your logbook and issue you a Temporary Pilot Certificate. From then on, you will have all of the privileges of a Private Pilot!