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For Learners
Getting your wings – part one
By Althea Allen
 There’s nothing quite like it: soaring high above the earth, captain of your own plane. People have been fascinated by flight for over a century now and once you’ve caught the 'bug', there’s no way out!
Before you go
The key part of learning to fly is finding a school that suits your needs. Shop around, talk to other student pilots, and when you’ve narrowed it down, visit the flight school to get a feel for the instructors and who you’ll be learning with. A good instructor can make your flying experience so much sweeter. If you want to make your transition to solo more seamless, it’s a good idea to book in for a medical exam. Don’t worry, you don’t have to run 10 miles or climb tall walls, just be in general good health. Your flight school should also be able to help you obtain a student pilot license, which is required by CASA (Civil Aviation and Safety Authority) to fly solo. Prior reading isn’t necessary, just hope for good weather and don’t worry about coordination – it takes time. Just be ready to follow instructions and have fun.
First Lesson
A normal lesson will run for about one hour, and your first will most likely be centred around feeling the effects of controls. It’s a basic, turn left the plane turns left kind of lesson designed to get you familiar with general handling of the aircraft. From there on you will learn something new each lesson such as medium level turns, straight and level, climbing and descending. Next are circuits, where you put all your skills together and actually fly. Depending on your flight school and how quickly your skills develop, circuits can usually last anywhere from 5-30 hours of lessons until you’re deemed safe for solo. Here, the key is to be patient and give yourself time to learn your new hobby.
Licences
Once you have completed a few lessons and decide that flying is for you, you should discuss with your flight school the options for licenses and what you want to get out of your flying. The four main license types for recreational pilots are a Student Pilots License, GFPT, PPL and CPL. A Student Pilots License requires the least experience and allows you to fly with an instructor and fly solo in the circuit pattern. The next move is the GFPT (General Flying Progress Test) that you must sit a written and flying examination for. The privilege of this license is that you can now fly solo navigation exercises and best of all, take passengers in the training area of your flight school. Next comes Private Pilots License (PPL) and Commercial Pilots License (CPL) both of which take extensive cross country navigation training which will be further explained in our next article of the series.
Tumbles and Tantrums
 As expected with learning a new skill, there will be the occasional fit of frustration. You’ll soon find out that you are at the whim of the weather and particularly the wind, which can wreak havoc when it’s a sunny day and you want to fly. As you gain more experience you will be allowed to fly in more difficult conditions, but it's best to learn when weather is good so always trust the instructor’s judgment. A complaint that I commonly hear is that people feel they make progress one lesson, then go backwards! This happens to the best of us, there will be days you botch landing and muck up circuit pattern. Flying isn’t an exact art; it’s a matter of learning good judgment for your situation, which takes time and patience. One snag that some people encounter is a bit of airsickness. This is usually a mix of nerves and being in an unfamiliar environment, just remembers to relax and airsickness pills can also help you through this. It’s worth remembering that you’re not auditioning for Top Gun. Relax, and don’t be in too much of a hurry. Before you know it you will fly like a pro and land like an angel.
Triumphs
So what’s the up-side, you ask? There will also be those fantastic lessons. The ones where you will ace the checks, have a great instructor and feel like you own the sky. By this point you’re probably not too far off solo. In my humble 140 hours of experience, there has never been a more exhilarating and terrifying moment than rolling onto the runway, applying full power, nothing but plane underneath you, sky ahead and a big goofy smile on your face. Solo is the best reward imaginable for your hard work. It helps to provide proof to yourself and others that you can really do this; You’re truly a pilot. Attaining your different levels of licenses are also mile-stones to celebrate. The different licences give you more freedom, opportunity and are highly rewarding. One way to enrich your experience and gain knowledge without a textbook is to join you local aero club. They are usually located at the local aerodrome and socialising with like-minded propeller heads can help to keep you interested.
Costs
 Inevitably you will encounter some costs along the way, which can add up to a lot. The costs are made up of aircraft hire, instructor, fuel plus landing charges -- the latter are minimal at rural aerodromes. A lesson in a basic single-engine aircraftwill cost anywhere between $180 and $250 per hour, depending on what type of plane you fly and where. If you can, fly in the smaller option aircraft and try to keep up the lessons – at least one every fortnight to keep your skills fresh. When you approach a more advanced level you will also want to do the BAK (Basic Aeronautical Knowledge) test to attain you next licence, and the GFPT(General Flying Progress Test) that allows you to take passengers in a restricted area. This will require extra cost for lessons on theory and textbooks. They are a necessary tool and will help you to move on and have a greater understanding of your aircraft. Some flight schools will also charge for the cost of headsets, which you can borrow from them for the duration of the lesson or, if you’re keen, you can purchase your own.
Worth it?
In the end flying is challenging and highly rewarding. You will have your tantrums and bumpy landings but they soon become a memory. The first solo flight is amazing and becoming confident with your skill comes with time. One of the greatest rewards I enjoyed working towards was being able to take your friends and family for a short flight, show off a bit and share your passion for flying with them. You never know, they might catch the bug as well!
We’ll add more to this series as time goes on -- Editor
Useful links:
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Key clubs
Aircraft Owners & Pilots
Helicopter Association
Recreational Aviation
Sport Aircraft
Women Pilots Assn
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