By BEN LOVEGROVE
Your first solo is complete and the euphoria of passing this first major milestone is beginning to ebb away, leaving the rest of the syllabus stretching out in front of you.
After the celebration of flying an aircraft solo for the first time comes the return to study and practice to reach the ultimate goal, the private pilot certificate.
How was that first solo anyway? Did you forget anything? Be honest with yourself as you relive the experience.
The chances are that there are things you could have done better as you flew the pattern. Resolve to improve through practice with the aim of flying a circuit accurately and confidently so that the muscle memory for the downwind checks grows and that instinct often called “seat of the pants flying” is nurtured.
This is not the time to rest on your laurels. This is the time to get back into the cockpit and consolidate your learning.
Keep the Momentum Going
Once the first solo is complete, you should have your flight instruction booked for the days and weeks that follow. It’s important to maintain the momentum and continuity of practice. This will lessen the number of hours you’ll need to earn your certificate, which will save you money in the long run.
Your schedule and the weather in your area may limit your options, so plan carefully. If your week is taken up with work, then book those weekend slots well in advance.
Ideally, you should fly more than once a week, so consider taking some time off work to complete these next stages.
Fly solo again soon and practice the approaches in both normal and flap-less configurations. If the wind is not ideal at your airfield, good! Use this opportunity to hone your crosswind skills.
Be Prepared
You’re paying a lot of hard-earned money to learn to fly and it’s only fair that you receive good value for your cash. This will depend a great deal on the instructor, the school, and the aircraft, but it also depends on you.
Some student pilots have the attitude that all they have to do is show up and the rest is the responsibility of the instructor. This attitude will slow progress. Student pilots need to plan and prepare.
At the end of each lesson, after your instructor has given you a debrief, ask what you’ll be learning next time. Make a note of this and spend some time over the next few days reading and researching that particular lesson so that you can anticipate what you’ll be required to demonstrate when the time comes.
Precision Flying
We all know that practice makes perfect. Precision flying is not only satisfying for the pilot and impressive to watch, but it’s also safer.
Have you ever heard the old saying “you should never let an airplane take you anywhere that your brain didn’t get to five minutes earlier?” This sums up the mental agility required by the pilot. Pilot in Command (PIC) means being in control of the aircraft, not the other way around. It means proactively flying and anticipating the next three tasks.
Student pilots are sometimes a little bit in awe of their instructors, so they are sometimes reluctant to ask for extra time to practice. Don’t be. If you want to nail your landing so that you can put those wheels down on the numbers each time, then speak up and book time with the instructor and the airplane.
There’s a tendency to tense up on the final approach. Time can seem to slow down and the grip on the yoke gets firmer and firmer until it becomes a white knuckle ride. But if you know what the aircraft is doing and why it’s reacting that way you will know what inputs and changes of power and attitude are required — and that only comes with practice.
Ground School
By the time you’ve reached the point in your training where you’re flying solo on cross-country flights, you should have a reasonable amount of understanding of the ground school subjects. If you’re behind on the book or online learning, get current. Don’t leave this until later.
If you find any of the subjects difficult, then speak up and seek out extra help.
Solo navigation exercises include preflight planning and the onus will be on you to make the required decisions. What’s the weather at your destination airfield? What’s the weather en route? What’s it like at your diversion airfield?
By now you should be familiar with TAFs, METARs, weather reports, and forecasts.
You should also have developed a confident amount of knowledge regarding the performance of your particular aircraft, its mechanical and electrical systems, and what to do if any of them malfunction during the flight.
Master the Radio
It’s not uncommon for student pilots to be nervous about making radio calls well into their training. They may be very able at flying the aircraft and navigating, but still feel anxious about transmitting messages and responding to those who sent to them.
This may be due to differing personalities. For some student pilots, the idea of talking on the radio is a bit like public speaking, since you know a lot of other people will be listening to you. Consequently, you may be anxious about your performance and worried that you’ll be judged accordingly.
These nerves may be worsened when the student is required to communicate with a busy tower where a stressed air traffic controller is hastily talking to one pilot after another.
Confidence will develop in time but, once again, it’s planning and practice that nurture it.
Check out some of the aviation websites that transmit live ATC feeds, such as LiveATC.net. Listen to the radio traffic in the comfort of your own home and respond to the ATC calls as if you were the pilot. Write down the runway numbers, wind direction, and other information when it is sent.
Another possibility is the PlaneEnglish radio simulation app, created by two Purdue University graduates. The app’s many lessons guide users through simple and complicated interactions with air traffic control on every phase of flight from taxi out, to takeoff, to airspace entrance, to approaches, to taxi in.
Before you fly, memorize the transmissions required when changing radio frequencies and practice them out loud. Do the same for those when passing through a zone or requesting information. Practice Mayday and Pan-Pan calls as well.
When you’re in the air, mentally rehearse the call before you transmit. Be ready to write down any relevant information in the response. Then repeat back to confirm your understanding as required.
Be Prepared for Those Days
There might be days when nothing seems to go right. It’s very common to reach a point where you just don’t get it.
You might find yourself trying to master an aerial exercise like the stall and recovery from it or some mental arithmetic like the 1 in 60 rule. As you struggle, you may start to imagine you’re hearing irritation in the voice of your instructor as you try once again to complete the task.
This might be a good time to take a step back for a short break of a few hours or perhaps a day or two, but no more — never forget the importance of momentum.
But sometimes all a student pilot needs is a short rest and some relaxation. Then, on the next attempt, things seem to fit into place and what seemed impossible just a few days ago has been mastered.
Ben Lovegrove’s first flight was in a Bell 47-D in 1966. He earned a private pilot certificate in 1991. He’s based at Solent Airport (EGHF) in England. Find out more at BenLovegrove.com.