So You Want To Be an Aviator? (What To Expect When You Start With Your Flying Lessons)

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and
there you will always long to return.”
— Leonardo da Vinci
SO YOU
WANT TO BE
AN AVIATOR?
Posted on June 27, 2019

So you finally thought about earning your wings —
good for you! Learning to fly is a very fulfilling
endeavor, whether you decide to make a serious
hobby of it earning your private pilot license (PPL) or
making a career out of it later on.
Maybe you and some friends decided to give flying a
try one weekend, or maybe you’ve been a fan of flying
since “Top Gun”. In any case, here are a few things you
should be expecting when you’ve signed up for your
flight lessons to work your way towards your PPL.
CFI — your certified flight instructor.
ATC — is air traffic control.
Glass cockpit — is a cockpit decked with computer
screens (such as the case in most commercial jets),
You’re going to be using a lot of new phrases and
acronyms a lot, so you might as well get used to some
of these:
Terminology

as opposed to the more traditional round steam
gauges.
a Cessna 152 or 172
a Piper PA-28
a Diamond DA40
a Cirrus SR-20 or SR-22
According to Captain Kelsey of 74 Gear, the four most
common types of aircraft flown by those just starting
would most like be either:
One tip he shares with aspiring aviators: don’t pay an
extra fifty bucks an hour to fly a Cirrus when you can
go fly a (Cessna) 152 or 172.
“At the end of the day, when you pass your
commercial check ride (your final exam), they’re not
gonna say. ‘Oh, well you were flying on a 152. Are you
sure you can handle this?’” Kelsey explains.
Common Planes For Beginners

“Budget (can be) tight as you’re going through flight
school, (so) you can save the funds… it’s not gonna
make any difference.”
When it comes to your flight lessons, the reality is,
most CFIs — your course instructors — are just logging
in the flight hours to be able to get their next job.
This means they might not necessarily love teaching or
want to help you, and unfortunately, that’s just
something you’re going to have to deal with.
About Your Flight Course

On the other hand, some might have a natural knack
for teaching or might have a genuine interest in
helping you learn to fly.
So know that you’re going to get all kinds of flight
instructors, and you’re going to have to deal with it
yourself.
Kneeboards — a little metal board that sits on
your leg with a strap around it, and you use it to
write down important notes, instructions, or
clearances as you fly. There’s the VFR Visual Flight
Kneeboard KB-1 and the IFR Instrument Pilot
Kneeboard KB-2
Capt. Kelsey says there are a few things that you’re
gonna need while you’re learning to fly. So here are a
few things you’re going to have to invest in even this
early:
Gear and Equipment

Proper noise cancellation headsets — like the
Bose A20, Zulu Lightspeeds or some other similar
headgear. You might as well invest in a very good
pair that you can use for years rather than get
something cheap that can break apart on you after
a short while.
An E6B flight computer — it’s a metal instrument
that helps you calculate things the traditional way.
A book called the Private Pilot Airman
Certification Standards — Airplane: FAA-S-ACS-
6A, for Airplane Single- and Multi-Engine Land
and Sea (Airman Certification Standards Series).
Everything you need to know by the time you take
your final exam (your checkride) is going to be in
this book.
Optional: a GoPro so you can film your flights and
review them for later.

When you’ve shown that you
can safely fly and land a plane,
your instructors can determine
that you’re ready for your
checkride, which is the final
exam of your training session.
There’s a written test
component (which you also
have to pass), and finally, one
more flight to demonstrate
everything you’ve learned so
far. Once you’ve shown your
instructor you’re a capable
enough pilot, your instructor
can now issue you your PPL.
Congratulations — you made
it!
The Checkride

Captain Kinsey is a commercial airline pilot with a
rather popular YouTube channel called 74 Gear. Here,
he shares instructional videos for aviation enthusiasts,
aspiring aviators, and people who want to be career
pilots as well.
For more great aviation tips and stories, you can visit
his YouTube video channel, or check him out on
Instagram.
About Captain Kelsey
Do You Have What it Takes to Become a Pilot
Important things to check before you use your
aircraft
Do You Speak the Aircraft Language?
Top Aviation Schools in the United States for
Aspiring Pilots
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