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Getting Started with Aviation

So you’re interested in flight school. Well… I hope you like abbreviations and acronyms. If you don’t get that joke yet, don’t worry, it won’t take you long in training to realize what you’ve gotten yourself into.

Flying is the greatest freedom we have, it truly is amazing but the training takes a lot of work. This post is your Ultimate Guide to Flight School. I will share how to pick the best flight school for you, what to consider when picking a flight school, the best practices to get through training efficiently and in both time and money, and then share what my personal experiences have been with different types of flight schools and my journey through training.

When I completed my private pilot certificate, a mentor shared two things that a friend of his told him when he completed his private. The first was, “Congratulations, and welcome to the most exclusive fraternity/sorority in the world. ” In the United States, less than 1% of the population are pilots. It is truly an honor to be part of such an intimate group of society. Conversations with friends and family who aren’t pilots can be frustrating because they just don’t get it. They don’t speak pilot! So knowing other pilots is such a blessing that makes the journey more enjoyable. The second thing that he said to me was, “You just received your license to learn. The day that you stop learning should be the day you cut up that certificate and throw it in the trash.” That piece of advice has stuck with me. Even now as a CFI, I regularly remind my students that even though I am still learning that I can learn as much from them as they can from me.

The most successful people in the world never stop trying to improve themselves, they are not stagnant. If you think that you want to be a pilot, I need to tell you before you continue reading this post that it is a lot of work. If you are not sure of your “why” for becoming a pilot, I suggest doing some soul searching and finding it before starting. I say this with seriousness and sincerity because if you do not know why at some point in your training I can guarantee you that it will seem like too much work. I strongly encourage you to ponder on your “why” before continuing, it will help prepare your mind to absorb everything to come.

Now, we have a lot to cover. Let’s take off together on this flight through flight school.

How to pick the right Flight School

In this section, I will define a few of the common topics and terms revolving around flight schools. With this information, you will be able to effectively analyze different flight schools and which may be right for you or your child.

Part 61 vs. Part 141

Perhaps the most prominent difference between flight schools is whether they are Part 61 or Part 141. “Part” refers to the parts of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs). The CFRs are divided into Titles and then the Titles are divided into Parts. The Title that covers aviation is Title 14, Aeronautics and Space. Nearly all regulations that pilots should be aware of come from 14 CFR, the applicable parts should be taught during flight training by a flight instructor. Within title 14, there are different parts. Two of which are Part 61 and Part 141.

Part 61 and Part 141 also have different hour requirements to complete private and commercial certificates. Under Part 61, a private pilot certificate requires a minimum of 40 hours, and 250 hours for a commercial certificate. Under Part 141, a private pilot minimum is 35 hours and a commercial pilot is 190 hours. While these differences in requirements could potentially speed up the time in training for a 141 student compared to a 61 student, remember to start with your why when considering a school. If your ambitions are to be a commercial pilot or airline pilot you will need a significant amount of hours more than 190 or 250.

To be an airline pilot you need a minimum of 1,500 hours to qualify for an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate unless you attend a Part 141 flight school in which case you can obtain a Restricted ATP (RATP) at 1,000 hours. I say this to help you make the most educated decision for yourself. It is all about what your goals are, Part 141 is well suited for aspiring airline pilots but it is possible to still become an airline pilot through Part 61.

Part 61

Part 61 is all about the certification requirements for pilots. It includes the requirements to become a private pilot, commercial pilot, flight instructor, etc. Part 61 includes eligibility requirements to become a pilot, aeronautical knowledge, and aeronautical experience requirements. Pilots often joke that Part 61 is how you get your certificate and Part 91 (which deals with operating rules, mainly what we can and can’t do in airplanes) is how you lose your certificate. Most flight schools are “Part 61” schools. Meaning that they certify pilots under the regulations in Part 61 and those are the regulations that they are legally liable for.

Training & Scheduling: Part 61 flight schools are known for more flexible schedules, and training at the student’s pace. The quality of training is not necessarily different than 141 flight schools in all cases but 141 is much more regulated in terms of how the school is structured. Typically, at a Part 61 flight school, a student will have one instructor and they work together to get flight activities scheduled. In Part 61 training it is possible to have the same instructor for multiple certificates and ratings which can be a help in the consistency of instruction. On the topic of consistency, one of the best things to look for in any flight school is Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Most 141 schools will have an SOP manual, but Part 61 schools are less likely to have such a document. The purpose of SOPs is to design and define a flight school’s way of doing a task in order to mitigate risk and establish clear expectations with students and instructors. An inherent challenge with schools without SOPs is differences in teaching between instructors. So if a student has to fly with another instructor because of a scheduling challenge, they may have a different technique of completing a checklist, flying a maneuver, or pre-flighting an airplane that can cause more harm than good for a student who is new to flying. Part 61 schools can be a good fit for hobbyists or students seeking a career as a pilot.

Syllabus: Part 61 schools do not require FAA-approved syllabi for their courses but some Part 61 schools still use them. I highly recommend ensuring any flight school that you contemplate training with has a syllabus. The Part 61 school that I instruct at now uses a syllabus and it makes it so much easier on the student and instructor because if the student ever has to fly with another instructor, it is clear what they need to do next.

Cost: Costs of Part 61 schools are usually less than that of Part 141 schools. Always make sure to compare rates. It is possible to fly with an instructor who uses someone else’s plane and establishes their own fee but usually if the instructor is employed by a flight school and the flight school owns the aircraft, then they will determine the rates. For a Part 61 school, anything in the ballpark of ~$200-300/hour wet is a great price. The next section defines what “wet” means.

Part 141

Part 141 regulates flight schools themselves. It defines the requirements for a flight school’s training courses, syllabi for each course, hour requirements, pass percentages, and the number of students. A flight school can become certified under Part 141 if they have met the requirements listed in 14 CFR Part 141.5. While 141 schools must comply with these regulations there can still be differences between 141 schools. For example, 141 syllabi and courses for a given certification may be different however they both will have had to be approved by the FAA, and determined to be in compliance with Part 141 regulations. Many Part 141 schools are in conjunction with Universities. Some of the most well-known schools are Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the University of North Dakota, Ohio State University, Purdue University, and Western Michigan University.

Training & Scheduling: Part 141 flight schools typically have assigned schedules or “flight blocks” for students and instructors. So an instructor and student will be paired together and fly on specific days at a specific time. For example, during my time at Embry-Riddle for my multi-engine training I had a flight block that was 0600-0900 on Tues, Thurs, and Sat. As a student, you will know when you are flying and you are expected to remain free during your flight block time just like a class. One frustrating consideration of Part 141 schools that are in conjunction with a University, such as the ones aforementioned, is that depending on your class schedule changing between semesters, you may have to change your flight block too. Flight block changes often bring about an instructor change as well. So, you may not have the same instructor for a given certificate and you will certainly not have the same instructor for different certificates (i.e. private and commercial). This is very rare. Part 141 flight schools are formal and rigorous in comparison to Part 61 schools. If you are interested in a career as a professional pilot I would highly recommend a Part 141 school because you will become accustomed to the expected level of professionalism, SOPs & callouts, scheduling, and swapping aircraft every flight. All of which are standard in the airline and even charter environments.

Syllabus: The syllabus for a specific course must be followed and each module/lesson and line item within a module completed before the student can go for their check ride. These flight schools also include “stage checks” in their training in which the student will fly with another instructor and cover everything that they’ve learned up to that point in their training. Stage checks are essentially mini check rides and are a module in the syllabus itself.

Cost: Typically, Part 141 schools will be more expensive than Part 61 schools however there are many considerations. For Part 141 flight schools, typically the school will determine the price of instruction. It is common for Part 141 schools to market the price for each entire course as opposed to their hourly rates on their website. Which looks like this for example:

Private: $15,000

Instrument: $6,000

Commercial: $12,000

Multi-Engine: $14,000

Total: $47,000

Normally Part 141 schools will be more expensive because they have more expensive aircraft, on-site maintenance, fueling services, flight departments, scheduling, training managers, check airmen, etc. This means that they can do almost everything “in-house” most notably maintenance and check rides. Designated instructors will also serve as check airmen for certification rides.

Dry Rates vs. Wet Rates and Instructor Fees

No. Dry vs. Wet has nothing to do with your seaplane rating.

Flight schools determine their prices based on the price of factors such as aircraft, rent, maintenance, and fuel. While I’ve already provided rough guidance on cost. It is important that you understand what the cost includes because they are not all the same. Out of the factors listed, fuel tends to fluctuate the most.

So some flight schools will not include it in their hourly rate, instead, they will just charge you for the fuel in addition to their hourly rate. This is called a dry rate because it does not include the price of fuel. For example, let’s say a flight school charges a dry rate of $150/hour you would pay the $150/hour plus the cost of fuel. Many schools will also work in an additional margin on the fuel charge in order to make money on this transaction as well.

Other flight schools will include the price of fuel in their hourly rate. This is called a wet rate because it does include the price of fuel. For example, a school may charge a wet rate of $200/hour which will include the price of fuel and the aircraft.

A final piece of information regarding price is whether the instructor fee is included in the marketed price. Sometimes, like fuel, a flight school will market an hourly rate like $150/hour but there is also a $50/hour instructor fee that you have to pay as well.

When contacting a flight school for the first time here are some questions to ask about pricing:

What is your hourly rate? Is it a dry or wet rate?

If dry, how much does fuel typically cost?

Does your hourly rate include an instructor fee or is an instructor fee added to that price?

CFI’s, Finding Flight Schools & Scheduling

A Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) is your teacher through flight training. Most CFIs are employed by flight schools but they can instruct through the use of someone else’s plane at an airport. If you are familiar with LewDix Aviation on YouTube, this is what he does. He instructs in someone else’s airplane without direct association with a flight school. It is possible to find CFIs that work in this manner, but more commonly CFIs can be found through a flight school. It is important to note that you may not always have a say on who your CFI is if you are training through a flight school. I would recommend speaking with the owner about which CFI would be the best fit for you. It would be wise to ask about a CFI’s personality, experience, training history, and goals. Some CFIs want to be career CFIs but the vast majority of CFIs are building their hours for a job with airplanes that fly faster and higher than training airplanes. Becoming a CFI happens to be the fastest way to build hours so it is appealing to many pilots. My caution is to make sure that your CFI is not in it just for themselves.

A bad CFI will only be concerned with building their hours, paying little attention to the learning process and development of their students. A good CFI will make sure a student knows what they need to know to pass a check ride. But a great CFI I will make sure that the student is armed with the knowledge to think like a pilot and understand why they are doing something. Great CFIs train their students beyond the minimums to pass a check ride and most importantly they’ll make flying fun.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any apps to match with CFIs… yet. But there is the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), which is committed to improving flight training and aviation as a whole, and they have a great resource for finding flight schools. AOPA’s Flight School Finder allows you to search for flight schools based on:

• Aircraft Types (single engine, multi-engine, helicopter, tailwheel, aerobatic, etc.)
• Simulators (advanced aviation training devices, flight training devices, full flight simulators, etc.)
• Ratings (instrument, multi-engine, seaplane, etc.)
• Certifications (Private Pilot, Recreational Pilot, Sport Pilot, CFI, Commercial, etc.)
• Services (Annual Recurrent Training, Flight Reviews, Drone/UAS, Ground School, Instrument Proficiency Check, Simulator, etc.)
• Classifications (Part 61, Part 141, etc.), and
• VA approved or not

When searching for a flight school I would strongly suggest considering who the school’s primary customer is. Is the school producing professional pilots or general aviation (GA) pilots? Another important consideration is how often you can fly, which will be based on the scheduling system of a flight school, the quantity of aircraft and CFIs, CFI availability, maintenance, etc. The next section will cover your frequency of training and how important it is to consistently fly multiple days a week, especially at the beginning of your training. Some flight schools will use an online scheduling system whereas others will rely on CFIs to schedule with their students individually, and others have scheduling departments. It is important that you understand this aspect of a school before jumping in.

Questions to ask a Flight School

I wanted to make a section solely for the questions that you should consider asking any flight school that you are considering. Some have been previously mentioned, and others have not. I hope these help you in your discernment!

• Is your flight school Part 61 or Part 141?
• How does scheduling work at your flight school?
• What type of aircraft does your flight school fly? (the most common are Cessna 150, 152, or 172s and Piper Cherokees)
• What avionics do your aircraft have? (the standard is moving to “glass cockpits”, especially if you are training to be a professional)
• Does your flight school have staffed mechanics and/or a maintenance department? If not, how are inspections and maintenance handled? (accessibility of maintenance is critical to efficient flight training. Inspections and repairs can halt training for weeks if a maintenance plan or system is not in place)
• Are your aircraft hangar kept? If not, do you have pitot tube covers, engine inlet covers, and/or aircraft covers? (aircraft protection is extremely important, flight schools are known for having old, beat-up airplanes.)
• Does your flight school have any simulators? (simulators can help reduce cost and speed up student progress, especially with procedures, flows, etc.)
• What is your flight school’s hourly rate? Is it a dry rate or a wet rate? Are CFI fees included in your hourly rate or is there an additional fee for CFIs?
• Do you have an estimated cost for _______ certificate/rating?
• Does your flight school use a syllabus? (this is extremely important if a student ever has to fly with a different CFI due to scheduling conflict, illness, or vacation).
• What is the average time your students take to complete _______ certificate/rating? (this is largely dependent on the student’s dedication and study habits but it will give you an idea of how efficient the flight school is or not.)

Best Practices for Flight School

There are 3 principles that I recommend for starting your flight training so that you give yourself the best chance to quickly improve and don’t wear yourself out.

1. Frequency

Frequency means how OFTEN you fly. I recommend flying a minimum of 3 times a week when you start. This will help you to build upon what you learn from each lesson because it is fresh in your mind and you can remember what went well and what did not on your previous flight. 

If you take too much time in between lessons, you will forget what has been covered in the last lesson, and what you needed to prepare for the next lesson. 

The frequency will also help you gain proficiency. Proficiency is huge in aviation. Proficiency means being competent and confident in a skill. Good pilots care about not just doing a maneuver but doing it as best as they possibly can. Currency vs. Proficiency is talked about a lot in flight training. 

Currency refers to the legal requirements for something. Whereas proficiency is about how well you can actually do something. For example, in 14 CFR 61.57, the recent flight experience for pilots to carry passengers is stated as needed 3 takeoffs and landings within the preceding 90 days. So currency is the legal minimum. Now proficiency is something completely different. If a pilot has only 3 takeoffs and landings within 90 days, they probably are not that proficient with takeoffs and landings. They might be safe, but they might not. They might be consistent, but they might not. They might forget checklist items, but they might not. See my point?

A proficient pilot should exceed the legal minimum so that they are good at takeoffs and landings, they’ve practiced until they can’t get it wrong. That is the difference. So, back to frequency. 

The less time between flight lessons the better because you will begin to build proficiency from the very beginning. Currency = the minimum. 

Proficiency = can’t get it wrong.

2. Duration

Duration refers to the length of each lesson. There is no better way to improve than getting in the left seat as much as you can, but like my mom always said, “Everything in moderation.” Too much of anything can have a negative effect, rather than the desired positive effect. 

This is true with flight training. Most pilots’ performance degrades over time. This has been a huge topic in the airline industry within the past few decades: pilot fatigue. Crew rest is important to keep pilots performing at their best. 

Flight training can be exhausting. After extended periods of time at the controls, student performance will degrade. That is okay, it is normal. 

Most people don’t think much about the physical demands of flying. To control the airplane, you are working against aerodynamic forces. In cruise flight (90-100 knots for most training aircraft), every time you make a control input you make an input against that volume of air moving over the control surface. 

On top of physically controlling the airplane, the sky has a way of taking a toll on the body. At some point throughout your flight training, you will undoubtedly experience dehydration, back and shoulder fatigue, headaches, sunburn, etc. My point is the best thing to do is to educate yourself so that you can protect yourself. This will keep you as sharp as possible in the airplane. If we think back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, physiological needs are the base of it all. These needs include water, air, food, shelter, sleep, and clothing to name a few. Notice that a lot of the common issues I mentioned could fit into this level of the hierarchy. We cannot expect ourselves to learn efficiently if our bodies are not taken care of. 

In my experience, some of the most common fatigue challenges I’ve faced come from dehydration and turbulence. Staying hydrated has been the toughest obstacle for me. Timing your hydration right so that you are hydrated in the plane but don’t have to… you know while you’re in the air is hard. I recommend drinking about 32oz of water around 2 – 2.5 hours before your flight and then taking water with you. I highly recommend adding electrolytes to your water or taking a sports drink with you that contains electrolytes. This will help you stay sharp and avoid the mental fog that comes with dehydration. Turbulence is more challenging to deal with because you can’t always avoid it. If there are low-level turbulence AIRMETs issued, I suggest simply not flying unless you’re up for the challenge and fatigue. It can be good to experience these types of conditions to an extent. Always check the AIRMETs and PIREPs to see what other pilots have experienced before making that decision. 

During my training at ERAU, for my long commercial cross-country flight, I flew from Daytona Beach (KDAB) to Marathon (KMTH) and then Vero Beach (KVRB) on the way back to KDAB. I logged over 7 hours that day (the most I’ve flown in a day still to this day) and it was great. It was the most beautiful flight I’ve flown so far on the way to KMTH. On the way back from KMTH, there was a scattered to broken ceiling developing right around 3,000 feet so I had to maintain an altitude between 2,000-2,500 feet for almost the entire journey back to KDAB. In case you haven’t experienced this yet, being stuck between a low cloud layer and the surface is a recipe for turbulence. That flight was bumpier than driving a Honda Civic down a country dirt road. I dealt with it all the way back to KDAB, just a constant bounce, and sometimes a large pocket of air would startle me and lift me out of my seat. It was miserable. I didn’t think much of it at the moment other than those pockets that startled me but I noticed it after landing. As soon as I was relaxing from duty time in the cockpit I could feel the worst pains in my back that I’ve ever had. I remember meeting my parents for dinner at a restaurant and I plopped down into the booth, practically laying down and they said, “Wow, you look exhausted.” I never realized until then how unforgiving the skies can be. But I made it. Oh and of course, as I was getting back into KDAB I had turned final for runway 25L and noticed another plane turning base in front of me. They had made a mistake and were on a collision course with me. Just what I needed, the final blow after being the air’s punching bag the whole way home. Luckily, just as I reached for the PTT button to call the tower to tell them I was going around, the tower controller got on the radio and told the other airplane to go around because they were supposed to be following me. Thank God for Air Traffic Control (ATC). As I look back, I am so grateful for this experience. It was a day that challenged me greatly and showed me what pilots have to deal with on a daily basis. Making pilot-in-command (PIC) decisions is hard after a long day and fatigue has set in. 

My point is don’t underestimate this planet. We are so delicate compared to what it is capable of. 

So with all of this said, I highly recommend that at the beginning of training keep your flights between 1.5 – 2.0 hours. This is a sweet spot where you can cover enough topics, get some great stick and rudder practice on new maneuvers, and actually absorb what you’re being taught. Much more than this can become very challenging. Right now I am working with two older students (above 60 years old) and I have realized that they don’t have the endurance as the younger students. It is important to talk about this with your instructor and tell them how you are feeling after flights so that you are both on the same page about what is best for you. I try to keep my flights with those students a bit shorter because they do great within the first half hour usually, but after that their performance begins to decline. If you are older take this into consideration. Again, IT IS OKAY. It is normal, do not feel bad. You have to do what is best for yourself. Consider flying around 1.5 hours and see how it feels. Maybe talk to your instructor about dividing tasks as well for some time in the beginning so that you can build up your stamina. And please, I beg you to keep hydrating electrolytes in your flight bag!

3. 1:2 Rule

Malcolm Gladwell suggests that it takes 10,000 hours to master a complex skill in his book Outliers: The Story of Success. 10,000 hours is a long time. To put that into perspective, it takes most airline pilots about a decade to reach 10,000 hours. 

It is no secret that if you want to get better at something, you have to spend time doing that thing. When it comes to flight training, hours of practice outside of the plane will help you improve your skills in the cockpit. Maximizing your time is so important. 

The 1:2 Rule means that for every 1 hour you spend in the plane with an instructor, you need to spend 2 hours outside of the plane studying to prepare for that flight. This has been the single best practice that I have ever implemented into my training. 

This rule is a challenge because it obviously requires a lot of time BUT if you are committed you will be willing to do it and it will make all the difference. That is why I cannot stress enough how important it is to start with a why. You have to be convinced of why you are becoming a pilot otherwise it will seem like too much work. I just read about this recently in Rich Dad, Poor Dad and I can certainly see it in the people I interact with. Those that have a passion for something are willing to do whatever it takes but those who don’t have a clear passion or reason will give up.

So back to the rule, if you are going to fly as I recommended (between 1.5 – 2 hours) then before your flight you need to spend 3 – 4 hours preparing for the flight. The rule will help you build up time studying but how can you maximize that time preparing for a flight? 

With an awareness of the amount of time you need to spend outside of the airplane preparing, the next step is understanding how to use that study time. I’ve designed a guide for you in order to maximize your learning in the shortest time possible:

Step 1: STUDY

Study upcoming topics BEFORE the lesson you are taught them and ASK questions. This step will ensure that when your CFI teaches you something it won’t be the very first time you are encountering the information. You will build a base level of knowledge before your CFI presents them to you so that only some things are brand new to you.

On top of this, you will encounter confusing things on your own that you can then bring to your CFI and ask them to help you learn. Your CFI will be so grateful that you are studying at home too because it makes their job less frustrating and more engaging.

Step 2: Review Deficiencies

Step 2 starts with a debrief. After each lesson, you and your CFI should debrief, where you talk about what went well, what didn’t, and what you need to focus on improving in the next lesson. This is your chance to ask your CFI how you can address any challenges you had during that lesson. Then take their advice home with you and put it into practice. Read through the topics, maneuvers, or procedures that you struggled with. Go to YouTube University on them, look up videos of other CFIs teaching the same thing, and see what they recommend (sometimes hearing it from someone else makes all the difference). Read through blogs about the topics, I will be adding more posts in the future to hopefully help supplement as much of your training journey as possible. Another blog I highly recommend is Bold Method. Bold Method has all sorts of articles for different phases of your training, ranging from private all the way up to airline interview prep. I cannot recommend Bold Method enough.

Step 3: Chair Fly

Chair Flying is the single best way to get through flight school faster and cheaper. I cannot stress this enough. I was told throughout all of my training. The only time that I did this was to learn checklist flows, and every once in a while when I was struggling with a maneuver. DON’T WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE STRUGGLING WITH SOMETHING.

My multi-engine rating converted me to a believer in chair flying. I was out of the cockpit for a few periods of time for vacations and illness. It was just before my check ride when I was out because I got covid. Then came back with 3 flights until my check ride. During my time at home, I chair flew every maneuver on the check ride twice a day for a week leading up to my check ride. I had one refresher flight during that time period, and then 3-4 days of no flying before my check ride. My check ride was HANDS DOWN the best that I ever flew the maneuvers. I was amazed by how much chair flying had helped me improve. The procedures, flows, callouts, and memory items were like second nature.

How to Chair Fly

During your chair flying sessions, I highly recommend opening a picture of the instrument panel of whatever plane you’re flying on a computer in front of you, or you can buy a poster that resembles your panel.

While you’re practicing maneuvers, periodically close your eyes and imagine what the maneuver would feel like on your body (i.e. the feelings of the yoke, rudder, throttle, mixture, carb heat, and G forces). When I think about it, I began to almost treat chair flying almost as a form of meditation in that regard. I would close my eyes, sit just as I sit in the airplane, put my iPad on my lap, and go step by step through a maneuver. If I screwed up the procedure I went back and repeated it over and over until I couldn’t mess it up. It is a tedious task but I promise that chair flying can be as beneficial as you want it to be. It will get you so in tune with the correct procedures and how to fly a maneuver so that when the time comes in the plane, all you have to do is make corrections.

Another massive advantage to chair flying that I noticed with myself is that I began to ask more questions because I was really getting into the learning mode that a good student should be. That just happened naturally as I practiced more and more. This period of training resulted in the most amount learned in the shortest amount of time compared to the rest of my training. It also brought about the most accurate and proficient flying that I’ve ever done. I was genuinely proud of the check ride that I flew because just two weeks before I was not that confident at all. I was forgetting checklist items, and procedures, and struggling to improve. I hit a learning plateau. The only thing that got me through that struggle was chair flying.

Is Flight School for you?

That is for you to decide. I encourage you to do more research for yourself. This post may not answer every question, but I hope it helps point you in the right direction for your goals. My goal is to inspire and guide as many pilots as possible. Please leave a comment below and join the community.