New Students

0. Request a Discovery Flight

The best way to get started is to request a discovery flight. To request a discovery flight, simply go to my contact page and shoot me a message; from there, put “Discovery Flight” in the subject and send me a message telling me your availability; otherwise, you can call or text me on my phone number (listed on my contact page), or shoot me an email (also listed on my contact page). Make sure to mention something about requesting a discovery flight as to best expedite my response. When you are ready, we will go up for about 1 hour and help you decide if flying is right for you. If you decide flying is something you love doing and you want to go further, then the next step is to take the necessary steps to obtain your Private Pilot License (“PPL”). To obtain your private pilot license, follow the steps below.

1. Purchase a Digital Logbook

Starting with your first discovery flight, you can start logging the flight time. Logging your flight time is important because every hour you log goes towards your license. Starting with the Private Pilot, you will need a legal minimum of 40 hours; Finishing with Airline Transport Pilot, you will need a minimum of 1,500 hours.

Physical logbooks exist and they are perfectly legitimate; however, it is STRONGLY recommended to use a digital logbook. The most recommended digital logbook platform is Foreflight. To use foreflight, it is required that you have an apple product – either a phone or a tablet. If you do not have an apple product, then other logbooks are available. Click on Foreflight, create an account and buy the annual subscription. This software is the most powerful and widely used software in aviation; not only is it perfect for logging flight hours, but also for navigation, receiving critical information before and during flights, and a variety of other essential needs for aviators.

2. Citizenship Vetting and TSA Vetting via Flight Training Security Program

For US Citizens and US Nationals:

Provide Proof of Citizenship to instructor. This must be done before any training can occur. Produce either:

(a) Valid Passport

(b) Birth Certificate

For Non-US Citizens and Non-US Nationals:

Contact the TSA FTSP and begin the vetting process. The TSA FTSP Help Desk is available at (571) 227-1004 or FTSP.Help@dhs.gov. The TSA may take up to 3 weeks to process your submission and no flight training can occur until this process is complete.

3. Obtain a Student Pilot’s License

Click here to go to the Integrated Airmen Certification and Rating Application website (“IACRA”) and register by clicking “Register” on the right hand side of the page; follow the instructions. While performing this process, ensure to record your FAA Tracking Number (“FTN”). Your instructor will need this number to confirm your registration.

4. Obtain a Pilot Medical Certificate

(a) Click here to go to FAA MedXpress and create an account.

(b) Answer the questions; complete the Application Form; submit; print or save a copy of the application.

(c) Click here to find an Aviation Medical Examiner (“AME”) on the FAA AME database. Set “Designee Types” to AME; perform the appropriate search – either by location or individual examiner; select appropriate medical class sought.

Medical Certificates by Class:

First Class Medical – Minimum medical class requirement for Airline Transport Pilots (“ATP”). This Medical Class Certificate supersedes Second Class and Third Class Medical Certificates.
*If you intend to become an airline transport pilot, then consider obtaining this medical from the beginning; because, if there are any medical issues which your medical examiner will bring to your attention that may incumber or prevent you from becoming an ATP, it is better to know this as soon as possible in order to take potentially necessary appropriate countermeasures – either to correct the medical issue, produce appropriate documentation, or to consider a career where a lower class medical certificate is acceptable. Only a designated AME can make these determinations and properly guide you.*
Second Class Medical – Minimum medical class requirement for Commercial Pilots. This Medical Class Certificate supersedes Third Class Medical Certificates.
Third Class Medical – Minimum medical class requirement for exercise of privileges of Student Pilots, Private Pilots, Sport Pilots, Recreational Pilots, Instructors, and Pilot Examiners.

5. Procure Study Literature, Begin Ground School, and Pass Your Written Exam for Private Pilots

Becoming a pilot is very rewarding with a lot of privileges; however, all the privileges of being a pilot must be wielded with great care and responsibility. Aside from the practical flight training that is required to technically execute the procedural roles of a pilot, it is just as important to gather and learn these procedures from an academic/clinical standpoint. This acquisition of literary knowledge is what is referred to as ground school which has equal weight in importance with flight training. Flight Instructors can provide ground school, however, ground school instruction is often not cheap and, in the interest of saving money and time, personal instruction should be reserved for clearing items up not understood by the student. Not all instructors and not all students are equal; some instructors teach differently than others and some students learn differently than others; therefore, some students may require more personal instruction than others to achieve an appropriate academic understanding of the literature required to be a proficient and safe pilot while others may require less personal instruction. These determinations must be arrived at on a case by case basis. To save time and money, it will behoove you to learn as much as possible from the comfort of your home or local library.

To get started:

(a) Procure literature. You will need:

(i) A copy of the Federal Aviation Regulations and Aeronautical Information Manual (i.e. “FAR/AIM”).
You can obtain a physical copy of the FAR/AIM from amazon or ebay which often contains both, or you can use a digital copy of the two individual books provided by the FAA by clicking here (for FAR) and here (for AIM).

(ii) A copy of the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (i.e. “P-HAK”).
You can obtain a physical copy of the P-HAK from amazon or ebay, or you can use a digital copy provided by the FAA by clicking here.

(iii) A copy of the Airplane Flying Handbook (i.e. “AFH”).
You can obtain a physical copy of the AFH from amazon or ebay, or you can use a digital copy provided by the FAA by clicking here.

(b) Sign up for the Private Pilot Home Study Course on Sheppard Air by clicking here. Follow the instructions and call their phone number listed on their website to setup the software on your computer, phone, or tablet. This course can take anywhere from one to four weeks to complete depending on time and energy invested in study. It is important to get started on this course as early as possible and complete it as it is a pre-requisite for taking your practical test (i.e. “check ride”) for your license. Upon completion of this course, Sheppard Air will provide you with an endorsement to take the actual FAA Exam. It is important to complete the course and obtain your endorsement either from Sheppard Air by calling their phone number with proof of a satisfactory grade, or you can obtain an endorsement from your instructor by demonstrating satisfactory knowledge and requesting an endorsement. With your endorsement, you are now ready to take the exam. It is recommended to take approximately 1 to 2 weeks to complete this task. The faster you complete this task the better!

(c) Take the exam. Register to the authorized testing center by clicking here and creating an account. After creating an account, sign in and sign up for the Private Pilot Test test by selecting “Private Pilot Airplane (PAR)”. Try to schedule your exam date to be as close as possible to the completion of your home study course. This way, you can best assure that the knowledge you have obtained from your studies will be fresh and current.

6. Supplement Steps 1 through 5 by taking Flight Lessons

While you are completing steps 1 through 5 above, it is important to supplement as much as possible by taking actual flight lessons. It is important to go back and forth between studying the books and implementing your studies in actual flight lessons. Minimum recommended flight frequency is once every two weeks. However, the more frequently you fly – even every day – the faster your rate of growth as a pilot will be. Contact me to establish times for flight lessons and I will make sure you get all the practical training you need to achieve your Private Pilot License in the most cost effective manner.