Today's post is contributed by Vera C. Teschow, who earned her PPL in Toronto in 2013, and blogged about her flight training experiences at CYTZ and CYYG throughout the process. (Visit her flight training journal online here.) This post is aimed at student pilots pursuing a PPL.
| I finally flew the other day -- it had been over a year since my last flight, and I was seriously out of currency!! Thankfully, I have a friend who is also a flight instructor, so we rented a Cessna 150 together at the flight school where I had done my training a few years earlier, and took off along the shoreline of Lake Ontario for a little refresher flight. After finishing my PPL in 2013, I had sort of thought I'd rent a plane once a month or so, and go flying alone or with my kids... even with friends who wanted to get the perspective of being in a small airplane. But without a concrete plan in place, those ideas soon turned into "busy with work and family", and suddenly, several months had passed without any PIC hours in my logbook! |
People who are after a PPL rather than a CPL often embark on their flight training with a plan to earn their license, but no concrete "Next Steps". While a focus on passing the flight test and written exam is important, it's also critical to the long-term health of your flying hobby (and your professionalism as a pilot) that you think about life after the flight test: What are your goals as a pilot? Do you plan to fly with friends or on your own? How often?
I remember when I was training there was an older gentleman who would fly every Sunday morning for an hour. He had earned his PPL some years ago, and had just made a commitment to himself to fly for an hour every week on Sunday mornings. I really envied him: The winds were usually calm, and traffic was not too hectic yet; what a beautiful way to begin the day!
How you will fly is also a consideration: Are you going to buy a plane, or rent? PEI, where I spend my summers, has a strong GA community, and several of the COPA members there co-own small aircraft. This offers an affordable option for those who want to fly regularly, but who may lack the means or the time to be full time single owners.
Finally, there is the matter of additional training to consider: Will you finish your flight training with your PPL, or will you extend your skills by completing additional ratings such as VFR: Over the top or a Night Rating? Both can significantly increase your confidence as a pilot, and expand your ability to fly in various conditions.
One way to ensure your flying dream doesn't die a few months after earning your PPL is to join a flight community such as WIA or your local COPA chapter. Interacting regularly with other pilots can help keep your flying passion strong, and these communities often offer "rust removers" to make for easy currency maintenance.
Whether you put a formal plan in place to extend your training, or whether you fly more informally but regularly with a few friends from ground school, thinking beyond the flight test is an important part of your flight training that will ensure your long term health as a private pilot. Whatever you choose, good luck with your training, and enjoy the flight!
I remember when I was training there was an older gentleman who would fly every Sunday morning for an hour. He had earned his PPL some years ago, and had just made a commitment to himself to fly for an hour every week on Sunday mornings. I really envied him: The winds were usually calm, and traffic was not too hectic yet; what a beautiful way to begin the day!
How you will fly is also a consideration: Are you going to buy a plane, or rent? PEI, where I spend my summers, has a strong GA community, and several of the COPA members there co-own small aircraft. This offers an affordable option for those who want to fly regularly, but who may lack the means or the time to be full time single owners.
Finally, there is the matter of additional training to consider: Will you finish your flight training with your PPL, or will you extend your skills by completing additional ratings such as VFR: Over the top or a Night Rating? Both can significantly increase your confidence as a pilot, and expand your ability to fly in various conditions.
One way to ensure your flying dream doesn't die a few months after earning your PPL is to join a flight community such as WIA or your local COPA chapter. Interacting regularly with other pilots can help keep your flying passion strong, and these communities often offer "rust removers" to make for easy currency maintenance.
Whether you put a formal plan in place to extend your training, or whether you fly more informally but regularly with a few friends from ground school, thinking beyond the flight test is an important part of your flight training that will ensure your long term health as a private pilot. Whatever you choose, good luck with your training, and enjoy the flight!