First flight lesson, what to expect?

Question

I'll be starting flight training soon. For the time being I'll just be learning to solo an aircraft. What all will we do on the first day? (Me and the instructor). Will we be going over rules, practice taxiing to the runway, and studying aircraft parts to start with?

And perhaps my biggest question of all: Is it true the first time you actually fly, will the instructor actually let you land the plane? I would have thought you wouldn't get to land until maybe the 2nd or 3rd time up...

Answer 1

Pretty good answers above.  Indeed, you should expect to fly the airplane and probably make an assisted landing the first time out.

The first thing you should expect to learn is how much different things will be from the way you imagined them to be.  Learning that the forces you experience when in control of an airplane are not what you expected them to be is a major learning process.

The fact that you don't steer with the rudder in flight, that the airplane develops adverse forces you have to correct for, that a coordinated maneuver requires inputs to all control axes at once, and that the pitch control actually controls your speed while the throttle controls your altitude are all things few people grasp from reading, watching films, or playing with a simulator.

If you have a good instructor, though, you will learn to accommodate these experiences quickly, and all of these things will become second nature.

Have fun.  Pay attention to details, and respect your instructor.  It will be a great day.

Answer 2

For your first flight lesson, expect to have fun!  When I instructed, I would discuss the effect of the controls with the student, along with some very basic aerodynamics.  I would teach the basics of maneuvering flight, including concepts of straight and level, shallow, medium, and steep turns, climbing, and descending.  We would talk about some of the basics of the aircraft limitations.  We would also discuss safety procedures, specifically positive exchange of the controls and knowing who's flying and the difference between "my controls", "your controls", or "follow along with me".

Then we'd go fly!  Talk about some systems during the preflight inspection, some practice taxiing to the runway (very strange the first time you do it), and have the student accomplish the takeoff.  Depending on how comfortable or apprehensive the student was, I would sometimes take the controls until reaching a safe maneuvering altitude and then give the student plenty of time to play and experiment.  I would do a lot of demonstrations and then let the student practice.  The first lesson was pretty much limited to the relationship of pitch, power, and performance, the effect of all control surfaces.

I'm a firm believer in teaching the individual steps of flying to the point that the student masters each of the building blocks before adding another task.  This means that I generally don't have the student land on the first time up.  Landing is a pretty complex maneuver that includes elements of slow flight, approach to a stall, airspeed control, pitch attitudes, wind correction, and aileron/rudder coordination.  All of these skills will be taught in separate "blocks" in the practice area before putting everything together in the traffic pattern.  If a student expects to be able to master all of these things on the first flight, it is just a setup for frustration and disappointment.

My main advice is to enjoy the learning process.  Don't get too excited about what you need to know for the first flight.  There is enough excitement involved in just getting to fly a plane!  Don't be hard on yourself and make sure to ask a lot of questions.

Congrats on your first step toward the freedom of flight!  Have fun!!!

Answer 3

the first thing is show you around..

The first "lesson" is basically a meet and greet,  they will show you all the things you will need to get now, what you might want to get down the line, and all the required ppwk out of the way.. (TSA requiremnts for flight schools)

The the real first lesson, they will show you how to preflight an aircraft, how to read and do the checklist, what to look for.. then they might take you up and do a basic flight control demo.. where you actually will get to fly. they will pass you the controls and let you try and fly straght and level , up down and few turns while keeping a eye on you

The next lessons will be on control of the aircraft, coordinted turns, flying straight and level, constant speed climbs, decents, contsant rate climbs and decents..

From there is goes to ground reference, emergecny landings, stalls,  traffic patterns and takeoffs and landing.. after this phase you will have around 25-35hrs or so doing takeoffs and landing, and flying in the pattern.

Then you solo.. and usually the introduction to cross country flight planning and flying.. and then a basic flight instrument indoc of a min 4hrs. thats a private ppl.

Most people finish with around 60+hrs logged..

Enjoy..

Answer 4

Part one of your question:

On the first day there will be certain administrative formalities that need to be taken care of. Various factors permitting and, if it is part of the syllabus of your country (and it should be), will be an introductory flight. The purpose of this is to introduce you to the sensation of flying and the totally new aspect of the ground when seen from the air. Normally you would be shown the area in which the majoriy of your training will be taking place, and certain landmarks will be pointed out to you. You might even be permitted to place your hands on the controls and fly the the aircraft.

Part two of your question:

This is where your serious training begins. The training is divided into a series of exercises, of which each are made up of a theory lesson and their appropriate practical exercises. You will learn to taxi the aircraft after the second or third practial aircraft exercise (referred to as Exercise 5) and learn to land the aircraft round about the tenth practical flight exercise (referred to as Exercise 13).

This will obviously depend on (a) the structure of the training syllabus of your country, and (b) your level of proficiency - some students require more practise to master certain skills than others.

Some advice, don't worry about learning to solo an aircraft, rather concentrate on mastering each new skill you will be taught, and everything else will come together. (Remember: practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent)

Enjoy your training.