I began my flight training many years ago with an intro flight out of Canton, GA. I remember it being very cold and I knew minutes into the flight that this was something that I had to do. It was a whole different world at 2500 feet and I wanted to live there.
There were a few things that I did not realize when I signed up for regular flight training that should have been obvious but weren’t. First of all, was the cost. I was not a well-to-do business owner and didn’t come from money. Every dollar that was handed over to the school was small and took a lot to earn. Honestly, I wasn’t in the financial class of life to make it affordable and not put a major strain on my home. Therefore, I had to bail out of flight training more than once over my course of training putting me way behind and, at times, having several years of gap. The love of aviation, however, never left my heart.
Another vital part of flight training was the frequency that I went to train (When I was able to go). When I did have a little disposable income I was only going about 1 time a week. It was never drilled into my head just why it was so important to come multiple times a week. When there is a significant gap in your training days you lose part of what you learned the last time. You will spend a portion of the next day relearning what you had learned last time.
Another key component was the amount of my home study time. I was already short on my time juggling work, family, and flight training, I didn’t have a lot of time to spend studying at home. A key requirement to a successful training session with your instructor is the preflight homework, being ready to learn.
If I had to begin again there are a few things that I would do a lot different to better utilize my time and take as much advantage as I could. Oh well, it’s all hindsight now but maybe I can get the next young pilot thinking before he or she steps into the cockpit for the first time.
Tommy Eldridge
