So You Want To Learn To fly

Ever since your mother duped you into eating those strained peas by pretending that spoonful of mush was an airplane, you've been fascinated with airplanes, flying, and the wild blue yonder. If you only knew how to fly, you could get away from your humdrum life (and that deceitful woman you call "mother") and fly free like the birds. But there's a problem: if you don't learn how to fly, you'll drop like a stone and crash. There are only two options: 1) become stinking rich and hire someone to fly you wherever you want to go, whenever you want, or 2) get a pilot's license. Option 2 is a tad cheaper.

With a pilot's license, you will be able to start a career as a pilot, fly friends and family around on weekends, pilot your own plane for business trips, compete in aerobatics competitions, assist with humanitarian or "search and rescue" missions… the list goes on and on. So read on, and get ready to learn how to fly, dear Icarus… but don't get too close to the Sun (your wings might melt).

A quick word about safety. Human beings are not, by nature, supposed to fly, so it's natural to feel some anxiety at the thought of learning how to do anything at 10,000 feet. While it's true that flying involves some inherent risks, it is about the safest form of transportation we have - much safer than driving. Cars are involved in 10 times as many accidents per vehicle mile as general aviation aircraft (that is, all aircraft except airliners and military). Aviation is heavily regulated by a host of safety standards set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), aviation's governing body in the United States. Your flight training will teach you how to fly safely and how to react during those rare occasions of emergency that are beyond your control.

If that doesn't assuage your fears, take heart: safety experts say that if you were born on a plane and flew continuously all your life, you'd live well past 100 before you eventually crashed (that is, if the food didn't kill you first...).

Forget Video Games: Learn to Fly a Real Airplane - On Line!

Sporty's Pilot Shop, the world's largest supplier of aviation
educational products and pilot supplies, has put you one step closer to
flying with their new online flight training courses.

"You get everything in our Complete Pilot Courses, plus some," says
Sporty's Academy President Eric Radtke. "Along with the award-winning
video, you get interactive test preparation, an interactive maneuvers
section, an online training syllabus, and the entire Federal Aviation
Administration Practical Test Standards."

In order to become a pilot, three tests are required, very similar to
getting your driver's license. First you must pass a written test, then an
oral test, and then a flight test. A flight test, called a "check ride," is
just like the road test you took when you got your driver's license, but
this one takes place in an airplane. If you learn to fly with any of
Sporty's courses, Sporty's offers you a Triple Guarantee. Sporty's
guarantees that if you fail any of your three tests, the company will
refund your money. You can't lose!

Sporty's Pilot Shop makes learning to fly at home easy, and you can do
it at your own pace, with their course which guides you step by step. You
don't even have to wait until you pass the written test to start your
actual flight lessons. Visit any airport with a flight school, and you can
start lessons instantly. That means you could be at the controls of an
airplane, flying over your own neighborhood, tomorrow.

You may be thinking that learning to fly is too expensive and out of
reach of the average person. What you may now know, however, is that most
flight schools allow you to pay as you go so there's no large,
out-of-pocket expense up front. There are also financing programs
available.

Sporty's Pilot Shop is determined to share the joys of flying with as
many people as possible. Picture yourself flying to a ski resort for the
weekend or to cut out those long drives when you visit family and friends.
If you enjoy fishing, being a pilot gives you access to many remote
locations only reachable by air. Or you may be thinking of a career in
aviation, as an airline pilot, a medevac pilot or a corporate pilot.

For people who are just learning to fly, you have a choice of pilot
license. You can be a recreational pilot or a private pilot. For a
description and comparison of each, visit Sporty's learn-to-fly Web site at
http://www.learntoflyhere.com.

Whatever your reason for learning to fly -- even if the reason is
"because I always wanted to" -- Sporty's will help you take the first step.
The Recreational Pilot Course and the Transition to Private Pilot are each
available for $99; the Private Pilot Course is available for $199, and the
Instrument Rating Course is available for $249. Multi-user licensing is
available to flight schools. All Sporty's products may be ordered at
sportys.com or by calling Sporty's at 1.800.SPORTYS.


New And Old Pilots Can Fund Their Flight Training For Pennies - Find Out How Here.

10 Ways To Improve Your Landings

1. A runway is a runway. Don’t establish turn points for entering, downwind to base or base to final by objects on the ground—use your position in relation to the runway. And learn to judge your distance and height above the runway.

2. Have benchmark pattern speeds for downwind, base, final and short final, but be flexible and know how to modify them when necessary for weather conditions and varying aircraft weights.

3. The majority of landing accidents are caused by either being too high or too low on final. Combine that with the wrong speed on final for the conditions, and a landing can be difficult and even unsafe. Always pick a spot and try for a spot landing.

4. The preferred pattern should place your aircraft at a distance and height where, if you experience power failure, you can still land on the runway.

5. It’s essential to maintain proper speed control on final.

6. Make every landing as if you were flying a taildragger—control your drift. If applicable to your plane, stall it on at the slowest possible speed. Current instructors teaching in high-performance aircraft, such as the Cirrus and Columbia, and in light twins now give lessons on “landing attitude” (see number 8).

7. If something about your approach feels wrong, abort, go around and set up again.

8. Your plane isn’t a car. Don’t drive it onto the runway. The accepted method for landing heavier aircraft is landing attitude. The nose is positioned in a positive angle of attack, and this angle of descent is held by using power to maintain the correct altitude—if the plane goes below the glidepath, power up; if it goes above, power back.

9. If conditions permit, hold the nosewheel off the runway as long as you can. This attitude helps slow the plane down without brakes and minimizes wear on the nosegear, tire and wheel.

10. Don’t just know the theory of crosswind, short-field and soft-field landings; practice them under controlled conditions or with an instructor. They’re fun and will increase your landing ability.

Landings can be fun when done properly. Practice approaches and landings at various types of airports, but include some controlled fields to stay current with tower practices. Keep in mind that though a perfect and safe landing should be your goal, it’s not always easily otainable. If you continue making the same types of landing errors, fly with an instructor who can help solve any problems you may be experiencing. Above all else, remember that flying—and, yes, even landings—should be fun.

Man learns to fly in 10 days at Anglesey club

A MAN is set to gain his wings in record time – just 10 days after his first flying lesson.

Kiel McPhillip started learning at Mona Flying Club last Monday. But in lest than a week he has mastered the basic controls and carried out his first solo flight, passed all his ground exams and started on instrument flying.

Kiel, 25 today, was last night en route to Le Touquet in France with his instructor, Dave Lloyd, to brush up on his navigation skills in the single-engined, two-seat Cessna 152.

Before he took off he said: “Learning to fly is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been in the Air Cadets and we made some flights in light aircraft, but that was just sitting in the aircraft while the pilot did all the flying.

“It’s not easy but I’m pleased at progress so far. I wanted to take the course as quickly as possible and the facilities at Mona were recommended to me by a friend who had learned to fly here.”

Kiel, an RAF Air Traffic Controller based in Dorset, said: “The alternative to taking lessons here in a concentrated period was to go to the USA or New Zealand. However, the attitude of flying clubs to foreign-trained pilots can be difficult so I decided on Mona.

“I’ve found the club convenient and competitively priced. The club are probably the cheapest in the UK.”

Dave, the Mona Flying Club’s chief flying instructor, said if the weather remains kind Kiel could take his final flying test before the end of next week.

“It would be a remarkable achievement. Kiel has taken to flying like a duck to water. He quickly grasped the basics and was able to control the aircraft properly after just a few hours. I was able him to go solo after just eight hours. It’s the quickest I’ve ever been able to allow a student pilot to do that in more than 25 years of instructing. I think the fastest before that was 11 or 12 hours. He’s done very well indeed.”

Dave added Kiel’s background as an air traffic controller has helped him.

“Before he started last Monday he had no experience of light aircraft at all. But he does know how to handle the radio, so that was one less thing to worry about,” he said.

But while Kiel may complete the 34-hour flying course in just 10 days he will probably have to wait as long for his licence to be issued.

A CAA spokesman said: “Assuming all the paperwork is in order the department normally takes a week-and-a -half to issue a licence.”

Until Kiel has the licence in his hands he will only be able to fly on his own and not take friends and family for flights.

The Basics Of Learning To Fly

You've been dreaming about it since you were little.

The exhilarating sensation of flight.

You've gazed into the sky and watched airplanes whisk their passengers to far away lands. You've read about Lindbergh and The Right Stuff. You've always dreamed of flying. But you thought it would take too much time, or that it was too expensive. Maybe you thought only daredevils became pilots

It's So Simple

Learning to fly is a lot easier than people think. You don't have to become a commercial or military pilot to fly.

You can be part of general aviation.

Today there are thousands of people, just like you, learning to fly. They come from all walks of life and have a variety of reasons for wanting to be a pilot. Some fly to expand business opportunities. Others to explore careers in the aviation industry. Some are looking for an activity they can share with their family.

Most fly for the sheer fun of it.

Whatever your reason, there are just a few basic requirements you will have to meet in order to fly solo.

Be at least 16, speak English and pass a basic medical exam.

That's all. If you meet these requirements, you can fly. (You can actually fly at any age, but you must be 16 to solo). You don't have to be John Glenn or Chuck Yeager, just a regular guy.

In fact, you don't have to be a guy at all. Female pilots have been around since the Wright Brothers and today are an ever growing segment of the pilot population.

Safety First

Now, let's address the issue of safety.

More so than anything else, safety comes first in the general aviation industry. In fact, safety is the foundation of flight training. Today's training aircraft are engineered and built to rigid federal standards and are constantly checked to make certain they're in ship shape.

Also new technology, like GPS (Global Positioning System), makes navigation safer than ever. Innovations in weather tracking radar and radio communications, combined with the world's most sophisticated and safest airspace system, make today's general aviation aircraft one of the safest vehicles ever invented

Prepare for Take Off

Once you've made the decision, it's time to begin training.

Pilot training consists of both ground and flight courses which cover flight rules and regulations, flight planning, navigation, radio procedures and weather. In order to receive your certificate, you must pass the Federal Aviation Administration written exam (rules and regulations) and then the fun part -- the flying exam.

As a pilot, you choose the level of involvement you want. The more you take on, the more stringent the FAA requirements. From a recreational pilot certificate to an air transport pilot certificate.

It's up to you.

You're In Control

Imagine flying to a nearby community for breakfast or lunch.

Or taking your friends (or family) on a weekend getaway, traveling at more than twice the speed of a car.

Flying is fun! You decide where you're going, when you want to arrive and when to return. And there are more than 5,300 airports across the country in communities just like yours...just waiting for your arrival!

Private Pilots Licence

Flying can become an exciting part of your life. The sensation of breaking the bounds of the earth and navigating above the towns and fields to see our world in a way that few experience, can only be understood by those who have done it.

Flying challenges you, provides continuous learning, builds confidence, and makes you a member of an exclusive and wonderful family called “pilots.”

What are the Basic Requirements for an Airplane Private Pilot License?

The requirements for being issued a private pilot license are governed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

To get a private pilot’s license, you must

be at least 17 years
have a current FAA third-class medical certificate
log at least 40 hours of flight
have at least 20 hours of flight with an instructor
have at least 10 hours of solo flight
pass the FAA Private Pilot Airmen Knowledge written test
pass a FAA Private Pilot flight exam

Although the minimum required flight time is 40 hours, the national average is approximately 65 hours and most additional time is due to instruction.

The amount of flight time necessary to achieve your license is, in part, a function of how often you fly. Students who fly twice a week are likely to earn their license with fewer logged hours than those flying only two or three times a month