I hear students many times say, “Do I have what it takes to be a pilot?” or “Am I good enough to learn how to fly”? These questions usually come when a student realizes how much hard work is really involved in getting a pilot license. They start getting overwhelmed after the first couple of lessons and start wondering whether they even have the capability of being able to do it.
When a student gets to this point, many times they quit flying without giving it enough of a chance. There is so much new information coming all at the same time that they can’t imagine the possibility of ever being able to grasp it all. They get frustrated and begin to question things. Some students are very hard on themselves which adds to the stress.
Some students look to put the blame elsewhere because they don’t want to fail at something. These are usually pretty smart people that have always been successful at things and the thought of failing at this is too much for them. They will find something or someone to blame. In many cases they either quit flying or switch flight instructors just to find out that their problem didn’t go away.
Here’s the good news for student pilots
It is normal to feel this way and if the students would just realize that it is a natrural part of learning to fly, then they can move on and give it their best shot. Everything falls into place eventually. The flight instructors know it because they’ve been through it themselves and have seen it a million times. You have to accept that you don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle and you are forming opinions based off missing information.
I’ve watched stressed out students go from almost quitting to becoming awesome pilots. I’ve had students leave me for another instructor, thinking things would be better, just to quit flying a few lessons later when they realize it wasn’t the instructor causing their issue. There are too many new things happening at the same time and it takes dozens of lessons for a student to start feeling comfortable with them. You can’t break down a lesson small enough to try to master only one piece at a time because there are several things that happen at once whether you want them to or not.
Here is my advice to new student pilots
My advice to any new students out there is to stop worrying so much because, confusion, the feeling of things happening too fast, fear, anxiety, not feeling smart enough, etc. all pass with time. It is natural. There is no perfect solution to stop it. There is no perfect book that explains every little detail just the right way. Trust that your instructor knows what he is doing, do the best you can and study as much as possible and it will all become second nature in the end. The instructors job is to fill in the blanks for you and you have to trust that he will. Follow his advice and keep communicating and it will happen. You must trust that.
Remember, the experienced instructors and pilots that you see that seem to do this so easily all started exactly where you are and were going through the same thing. Can anyone learn to fly? Probably not everyone is cut out to handle all the work that is involved, but most can push their way through with a little trust and a lot of studying!
For you guys that are uncomfortable flying into control towered airport, here’s a video for you.
Hopefully you will feel a little more at ease after watching this when you realize that there really isn’t much to flying to a towered airport.
Now don’t laugh because it’s my first real attempt at making a video. I was really nervous making it and I felt really weird talking to myself but hopefully you’ll like it. There are controls in the lower right corner to raise the quality of the video and make it full screen if it’s too hard to see. Sorry if it’s too long, I will try to make them shorter!
Please leave a comment below and share this with your pilot friends if you like it. Thanks!
Can you get your pilot license if you are color blind?
After requesting an article from our readers, one of them offered to write this for me and allowed me to post it on this site. He has hands on experience with the struggles of getting a pilot license with color blindness. He has written everything he had to go through for anyone that may be wondering what their options are with this condition. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks Sam!
Getting your pilot license with color blindness
Article written by Sam Cribbs
I remember being so infatuated with being an Army helicopter pilot as a child that it drove me silly. One day while interviewing (or more realistically drooling in the presence of a superhero) a helicopter pilot, I found out that my red/green color blindness was a disqualification and that I was “not gonna fly for the army little guy.” World = Shattered.
I think only about 2 percent of the population has a red green color deficiency but I do remember when I was doing my research, there was absolutely nothing out there that was helpful. Those color vision tests made up of circles with the numbers in the middle of the circle… I see only circles. However, now I know that I am a very physically capable pilot regardless of this.
I spoke with countless AME’s regarding my hiccup towards a medical and student pilot certificate. Each of them had a different opinion and most were concerned with getting me in for an examination or referring me to a friend of theirs. I really couldn’t get a clear answer from anyone. Finally, I found an AME in Phoenix, Az who specializes in helping guys through with their color deficiencies. After consulting with him I learned that although incredibly rare, there are aviation medical examiners out there who offer the alternative test that goes by the name of the Farnsworth Lantern. It is essentially a re-creation of light gun signals that would be given by an ATC tower in the event of communication failures (as you well know i’m sure.) There is another test given which I found to be even easier (the Optec 900 I believe it was) which is the same design, just a bit easer
Mind you, this is to have a medical with no restrictions placed on it. If I were to fail even this test, I would have only the restriction of “not valid for night flying, or flying by color signals.” But let’s face it, if you’re trying to fly for compensation or hire, that’s not something you want to have. Even if one does get that restriction, they can go to their local FSDO and take an examiner up with them to prove that they can see the light gun signals in the air and can read an aeronautical chart correctly. If they pass that successfully, the restriction is lifted.
But ultimately, I would recommend to anyone who is going through a similar (and truthfully god awful) situation to what I was a few months ago talk to Dr. Forred. WWW.MYFLIGHTSURGEON.COM He specializes in this whole color vision shenanigans and is more than willing to tell anyone where an AME is with the aforementioned rare alternative testing equipment is, even if it isn’t himself.
Hope this helps someone… if only one person. That was the worst damn 5 months of my life getting tossed around from person to person who didn’t have a color deficiency nor the knowledge on how to pursue their passion with one.
So, you’re getting close but you’re still worried about passing your private pilot checkride.
First let’s talk about some of the fears you may have about your checkride and then we will talk about how to overcome them. Many people are just nervous about taking tests. You have to understand that this is normal. You will alway be nervous about it, even when you feel you are ready. It’s the unknown that is making you nervous. Will you remember the answers? Will the examiner be fair? Did you learn enough? Just flying with someone you’ve never flown with is enough to make you nervous on your checkride. The nervousness won’t go away but you can minimize it by making sure you are prepared.
Are you ready for your checkride?
This is a question many people have and are afraid of. Since the PTS (Practical Test Standards) is what the FAA Examiner is testing you on, then as long as you can do everything in there, you will pass. Make every page in the PTS a checklist item. Know all the limitaions of the maneuvers and make sure that you can hold those limitations. If you’re allowed 100′ then give yourself a little room and make sure you can hold it within 50′ instead. When it comes to the knowledge part, make sure you can give a “what, why and how” for every line in the PTS. When you can do those things, you will be more than ready.
What if I don’t know the answer?
This is another fear. You don’t need to know all the answers to pass your private pilot checkride. You just have to know where to find them. In real life, you’d look something up. The only difference is that you can’t look up every answer and when you do look up an answer it should be in a FAA publication. You can’t use your student pilot manual. Practice looking up answers in the FAR/AIM. Many people go right to the front of the book to search and I go to the back in the index. It’s much easier to find things back there. When searching for things, think outside the box a bit. For example, if you are looking for the visibility and cloud clearance requirement in class C airspace, don’t just look up class C. Look up any word associated with what you want to find. Be specific too. If you look up weather as a key word and don’t see it then look at all the words related to the word weather. Think of what kind of weather you are looking for. Is it VFR or IFR weather? Try looking under VFR and look under it at all the subcategories listed there. It won’t always be under the first thing you think of. If you find an answer and it references part 135, then move on because that doesn’t apply to you as a private pilot. If you know part of the answer, then give it to him and let him know that you can’t quite remember the rest and tell him you’ll find it for him. He may want you to find it or he may just move on from there.
How much do I say to the FAA Examiner?
People are afraid that they are going to say too much and say something wrong or dig themselves a hole. This can happen so be careful. The best way to present the information is to explain things in simple terms as if the examiner doesn’t know anything about flying. Pretend you are teaching him and be sure to include a “what, why and how” in your explanation. Remember to keep it simple when explaining. If he wants more detail, he will ask, otherwise it should be enough. If you include those 3 items in your explanation then your answer shouldn’t be too short nor too long.
Things you should know for sure!
Airspace and what you need to fly in the various types. Emergencies is another one. You should always know where you’re flying and what to do if something goes wrong, but in order to do that you need to know aircraft systems. To make good decisions, you should know aviation weather too. If you’re weak in any of these areas, then study!
The last tip I have is to make sure you are studying and flying right before the checkride. Don’t go two weeks without flying and then try to take your checkride. Also, make sure you get sleep and eat well and if you’re not comfortable with the weather, then reschedule. I hope this helps!
This is what the S-Turn should look like. Notice how the wind is at the tail when you enter. Many people say it doesn’t matter because it doesn’t say it in the PTS. Entering with a tailwind is the proper way and it does say it in FAA publications. Why does it matter? There are a couple of reasons, one is that this maneuver is helping you with the skills you need for landing setup. When you come into the pattern you enter with a tailwind. The second is explained next.
You should enter with a tailwind and this is why; when you do your ground reference maneuvers, you want to plan them to not exceed 45° of bank. The distance from the road should be pretty tight, usually around 1/2 mile or less. Let’s assume that the winds were really strong and you entered the maneuver into the wind.
Turning required very little bank because the wind was pushing you back. By the time you get half way through the turn 1/2 mile from the road, you may only be in a 25° bank turn. As you turn toward the road for the second half of the maneuver, the wind is at your tail pushing you fast. You now begin the second half of the turn attempting to make it match the first half which was 1/2 mile from the road.
This is where the problem comes in. You’ve reached 45° of bank attempting to keep the same distance as the other side but the wind is pushing too hard. You have to exceed 45° of bank or increase the distance from the road. One will give you a bank that is too steep and the other will not give you equal semi circles and you will find out about it only when it’s too late.
If you entered with the tailwind first and attempted the 1/2 mile distance, you would see that holding 1/2 mile wouldn’t be possible with the current wind. You’d stop your bank at 45° and whatever the distance ended up being, you’d easily be able to do the same on the other side of the road because you’d then be going into the wind.
Another tip I have is for judging distance from the road. If you’re having a hard time maintaining equal distance on each side of the road while practicing S-Turns then use the section lines in the fields if you’re from an area that has them! They are nice and straight and easy to see and can help you judge your distance at a glance. Those who are from areas that don’t have them, sorry, you will have to use your best judgement.
Below is another picture from my ground reference maneuvers e-book that I’ve been sitting on for awhile. I haven’t made it available yet so if you guys like it enough I will make it available.
Wings level, over the road at the start of the maneuver we are looking to the left for fields of equal size to judge our distance. Two of them will be about 1/2 mile. As long as you keep an eye on the section lines and make sure you don’t go past the one you choose or turn short of reaching it, then you will equal distances on both sides.
One last tip I have is to choose the highest altitude allowed to do your ground reference maneuvers. In the PTS it says to choose an altitude between 600′-1000′ agl. The latter is more common to what you’d see in a normal traffic pattern which will be more familiar to you and it will also give you more altitude in case of engine problems! I hope you enjoyed this!
Unless you’re able to devote a lot of time to flying and studying, you will probably fall into the average time range of 60-70 hours to get your pilot license. If your average is higher than that and your instructor is not signing you off for your checkride then there is a reason. These reasons usually fall back to the basics.
One example would be holding altitude. There are many students out there that still can’t hold their altitude without losing or gaining more 100′ after over 40 hours of flying time. Instructors will remind them over and over about holding altitude but the students will continue to let it exceed allowed limits.
Not maintaining limits in airspeed, heading or bank is also a problem. Can you hold airspeed during a climb? Do you lose airspeed when you descend? Do you still struggle with radio communication or entering the pattern at unfamiliar airports? Lack of knowledge in areas that you should know without looking up, such as; Airspace, Emergencies, Basic Problem solving or Weather are problem areas too. You need to study these to the point of knowing it all without help. You need to know the limits in the practical test standards so when you fly, you practice holding those limits.
How many times do you have to be reminded to use right rudder or use your checklist before it finally sticks? Many of these things can only be fixed by you. If you have a problem losing altitude every time you get onto the 45° entry or on downwind and you know it, then do something about it. Make it a priority to control your altitude! When you’re out soloing, then pay extra attention to your altitude if you know it’s a problem. Make every flight count. If you’re off by only 20′, then correct it right away because if you don’t, then chances are pretty high that you’ll be twice as far off the next time you look at it. Before you know it, you will be off more than 100′.
Many people lose altitude on downwind when they slow down to land. When they take power out to slow down, they lose altitude because they don’t do anything to compensate for it. Think back to your slow flight maneuvers and how you stopped losing altitude as you slowed down. Any power reduction will need additional lift to hold altitude and your pitch must be increased. When you put in flaps, you get lift. Lift makes you go up. If you know this much, then anticipate that you will go up when you are putting in flaps to land and push forward slightly to prevent the plane from going up when putting them in. Don’t let it balloon up 50′ and then correct for it.
Some people end up high or fast on final because they powered back to descend too late. If you know you are supposed to power back at a certain point and you don’t, you will be behind the plane. Do you know where to power back? If you do, then why aren’t you doing it? This is another thing that only you can fix. Remember when to do it, and then do it. If you are busy and miss the point you should have powered back, then compensate for it. Power back more than you usually do until the plane is back where it should be.
At some point you have to say to yourself, I AM THE PILOT! I am going to do this without anyone reminding me of what to do. I know what to do because I’ve done it 100 times before. I’ve heard my instructor a million times saying the same thing and there’s no reason I can’t remember it by now.
When I was learning, my big thing was holding altitude. I got so frustrated that I was repeating the same mistake that I finally made it my number one priority and goal for that flight to hold it within limits and figure out exactly what I needed to do to make sure it was never a problem again. I nailed it on that lesson, figured out exactly how to correct, and where to position my nose in relation to the horizon to fix the problem. I corrected when it was only 10′ off instead of being happy leaving it where it was.
It all comes down to making your weak areas a priority and studying, asking questions to clarify and fixing it once and for all. Flying is a lot of hard work and many drop out when they get frustrated. Don’t give up. Pay attention to your weak areas and do everything in your power to fix them right away so you don’t waste money and time. The sooner you fix the problem, the easier it will be.
It is normal to feel this way and if the students would just realize that it is a natrural part of learning to fly, then they can move on and give it their best shot. Everything falls into place eventually. The flight instructors know it because they’ve been through it themselves and have seen it a million times. You have to accept that you don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle and you are forming opinions based off missing information.
