Can some pilots out there please give me their opinion on my plan to get my private pilots certificate?

Question

So here is my plan to get my private pilots certificate...

I am writing this on september first of 2008 and i will be 16 in two weeks. I have flown three times before at in at KAVL in north carolina and KHPN in new york. (I live in CT but westchester county airport is the closest to me.) Those flights were to make sure that being a pilot is really what i want to do. (my goal is to be a pilot hopefully for the airlines after college) also this past summer i have read through and studied the gleim private pilot knowledge book (and gotten a 93 on the practice test) and flown almost 200 hours of flight sim.

So enough of my background and now to my plan. Next summer I am planning on going down to north carolina where my grandparents live and doing my training there for my private's as it is alot cheaper there. I am hoping to get it done in 40 hours, 20 dual and 20 solo...and then taking my written exam down there. i am planning on doing all of that in about 3 weeks.

then leaving at the end of august back up to connecticut i will have all of my requirements to get my private pilots certificate with logbook endorsement to take my checkride and oral exam, and my student pilot certificate and 3rd class medical.

then i would go to westchester airport when i turn 17 in mid september and take my checkride and oral exam and get my private certificate.

that is my plan as of now so i would appreciate it if any other pilots out there can comment on my decision making. thanks!!

Answer 1

The flight time requirements are the minimum. It is up to your instructor and how well you perform as a student pilot on when you will be ready to solo. Then you have to get signed off to take the check ride. That will require your instructor's approval too. Don't rush it. The bottom line is safety. Proficiency and Safety go together. Sim time is different from actual. You must have ground training as well as flight training and the courses are designed to go together. First you study and practice the ground lessons then you do the practical lessons in the air. Good luck with your training. Stay sharp in school with your language, physical sciences, math and earth sciences. You'll need weather, navigation, aerodynamics and communication skills to be a pilot.

Answer 2

It's great that you have a plan and you are obviously serious about flying. However I would suggest that you take your time and do it right. Not to say that you wouldn't do it right, what I mean is do not rush your training. Also try not to set time limits on mile stones in your flying career. ex: solo, cross country solo, checkride, etc. If you do that you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Not because of you or your ability to safely and skillfully control an aircraft, but because of other factors. (weather, schedules, health, money, maintenance issues, etc.)  I also noticed that you are looking at the minimum time required to be ready for your checkride. Well in all truthfulness there is a very..very slim chance you will be ready in just 40 hours due to many variables. My advice is to continue studying (good job with the 93 on the practice test!) and just follow your dreams. No matter what happens keep pushing. There is nothing wrong with taking a break from your training if things get to be overwhelming, and always remember that in the end..we are all pilots no matter how, or how long it took us to get there. See you in the clouds! Oh and by the way happy 16th birthday and good luck on your license exam.

Answer 3

Very few people actually finish the Private Airman Certificate in 40 hours, and in fact the average is more like 60 hours.  But if you are very talented, you can do it.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Honestly, it sounds like you are setting yourself up for failure.  I'm not saying that because I don't think you can do it - you're obviously very motivated.  But there are some iffy factors in there.

Like others said, 40 hours is the regulatory minimum.  Not many people are able to finish in that time.  The three week timeframe will put a lot of undue pressure on you to finish everything.  You'd have to fly an average of twice a day every day to finish in that time.  Plan on only flying about an hour or so each flight (1.5 hours max) unless it's a cross country (fact: learning and retention drops sharply after an hour in a cockpit environment).

The biggest problem I see is taking your checkride at HPN after doing all of your training elsewhere.  You'll need to fly there and have an instructor sign you off for solo privileges in order to rent a plane and take a checkride.  After training in AVL, HPN will be a much different environment.

Realistically, flying for 3 weeks, hammering out all of the requirements for a checkride, taking 3 weeks off, then taking a checkride in a different plane at an unfamiliar airport around NYC airspace... Yikes!  Maybe a better plan would be to spend about 20 hours or so practicing maneuvers @ AVL during those three weeks and then get another instructor in the HPN area to work on your cross country flights.  That will give you more recent experience before your checkride, eliminate the need for extensive retraining, and allow for plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the airplanes and area before taking a checkride.  It's also helpful to have an instructor who is familiar with the examiner.  In theory, all examiners check the same basic tasks to the same standards, but realistically, different examiners place more emphasis on certain areas.  It's nice to know what to expect going into a checkride.

Good luck!

Answer 5

the cheapest way is to wait till college (Daniel Webster or Embry Riddle)

the fastest way is to go to a school and ask them to put you on a more accelerated plan (take lessens as fast as you can afford them... two hour lessens once a week worked for me)