Tag Archives: AFH

Flying, Training

“What can I do to increase my chances of landing a job post cfi…?”

A reddit poster asked:

“I’m starting at a part 61 school in NJ in January. I have a lot of anxiety surrounding finding a job once i get my licenses. I don’t have a college degree (almost have enough credits for associates) and have no instruction experience. I’ve worked plenty of jobs and currently work at costco. At this point, the only thing i’ll have on my resume are my hours and endorsements.”

I wrote the following reply which seemed to be well received by those who read it (edited slightly):

A great start would be to be part of the 20% that finishes Private.

Don’t fly faster than your money.

Be part of the 50% of Private Pilots who get an instrument rating.

The pass rate for checkrides is around 80%. Simple math says about 50% of pilots will get to CFI with no failures. Strive to be one of them. Or at least minimize failures.

If you fail you’ll pay for remedial training and a repeat checkride. “Pre-mediation” is better than remediation.

“Amateurs train until they get it right.
Professionals train until they cannot get it wrong.”

Find a CFI who has at least 2-3 successful clients. Don’t be the first.

Be wary of anyone claiming “instruct to 1,500 and get a job.” Don’t pin your hopes on “1,500” or “mins.” This is a setup for disappointment.

Flying is expensive. Really expensive. You can save a lot by genuinely showing up prepared. Insist your CFI use a syllabus and keep records. You use the syllabus to show up prepared.

Select an online ground school with your CFI. Use the matching syllabus.

Print the ACS and spiral bind it. Buy a PHAK and AFH. Have the spines cut off. When you watch the video, highlight the key info in the “text books.” Look at the ACS to find broad topics.

Buy a Gleim Private Pilot test prep guide. After each broad lesson category highlight the right answers for that category. This becomes your rote memory test prep to augment actual learning.

These suggestions address the three four biggest reasons people fail to become Private Pilots:

-Running out of money; this is totally on you.

-An experienced instructor who’s not burned out will help you avoid a crappy CFI.

-Forcing a syllabus and record keeping provides broader structure that is often missing.

-Poor academic prep. (OK, that’s four).

Good luck.

Me and N4304B about to head back to Peachtree Dekalb Airport north of Atlanta

Fantastic write up, I appreciate you taking the time out of your day 🙂

Flying

Pilot Study Materials / Getting Started

Initial Pilot Certificates

Private Pilot – Federal Aviation Regulation 61.109 defines the aeronautical experience requirements for a Private Pilot – minimum of 40 hours of experience, but average is 65-80. See paragraph A. The Airman Certification Standard details the knowledge and skills required – print just the “Airplane Single Engine Land” portions.

Sport Pilot – Federal Aviation Regulation 61.309 defines the aeronautical experience requirements for a Sport Pilot – minimum of 20 hours of experience, but average is about twice that. The Practical Test Standards detail the knowledge and skills required – print just the “Airplane Single Engine Land” portions.

The Minimum Library

The path to your first or next checkride is well defined by the FAA. Here’s what you need to buy, print, download, etc to get started building your study materials. I have some advice on how to use them, too.

Air Space

Air Space is important, and there’s a lot of straight forward memorization. The FAA Safety page has a nice summary PDF worth printing and putting in a binder. When studying, I suggest looking for patterns. “They are all ‘3 152s’ except…” And the exceptions all make sense!

Rod Machado has a useful graphic. I memorized how to draw it, then as soon as I sat down for the knowledge test (‘written’) I sketched out the triangle to be my own reference for the test. I’m not great at rote memorization, so this really helped. Print this for your student pilot binder. Rod has a good video on YouTube explaining this as well.

Instrument Flying / View Limiting Device (‘Hood’)

What you use is your choice. I happen to like/use this one. The owner of the company offer to send me some and let me sell them, but I’ll just refer people to the site!

Summary Cheat Sheet

As you build your study materials, this Private Pilot Cheat Sheet is very good. Be sure to work backward from it to highlight the important bits in your primary documents. Expect for the Private Pilot-specific content, much of this summary is useful for Sport Pilots too.

I instruct Light Sport, ASEL, AMEL, and IFR at Spirit Aviation in Thomson, GA (KHQU) and gliders with the Mid-Georgia Soaring Association in Monroe, GA (D73).