So you want to start flight training! How do you prep for it? How do you find a school? How do you cultivate the proper mindset? Let's get into it.
Note: I'm writing this from the perspective of a USA resident, but there's relevant information in here for anyone in any part of the world.
Before You Do Anything!
First thing's first. It's best not to spend a penny on flight training until you know you can hold a first class medical certificate. If you are interested in working your way to an airline eventually, you need to know you can acquire one. If you're more interested in flying as a hobby and don't intend to make money flying, a third class will do just fine. Do a search in your local area for a doctor known as an aviation medical examiner, or AME. These are the people that can issue you a medical certificate. If you encounter any problems, you'll be able to look into solving said problems before you've spent any money on training. I've read too many stories where people will put thousands of dollars into flying only to find out that they aren't medically fit to fly.
The only exception here is a discovery flight. Get out there, go flying, and make sure it's something that you want to do!
Cultivate the Right Mindset
I think a lot of people get into flying because they think it'll be easy. This is definitely not the case. In fact, it may very well be one of the hardest paths you ever walk. I won't sugarcoat that fact by any means; I want everyone to understand exactly what it is they're getting themselves into. Yes, some people will latch onto concepts more naturally, but working your way through training is no small feat. The best thing you can do before you begin training is ready yourself mentally for the mountain ahead of you. You are going to make mistakes, and you are going to fail. But guess what? That's 100% part of the process. The key here is to allow yourself not only to be ok with making mistakes and failing, but also to be ok with receiving constructive criticism. There is no such thing as a perfect flight, and a good instructor is always going to find something to talk about. This is all part of the process, and developing the ability to receive criticism early on is going to do wonders should you choose to pursue a professional flying career. In the airline world, we debrief every flight at the gate and talk about what could have gone better and what went well. We constantly seek improvement so that we can operate our aircraft as safely as possible at all times. As soon as you believe that you've achieved perfection, you block yourself off from continued learning and you open the door for complacency which is something that has no place in the cockpit.
Finding A School
I can't exactly tell you what flight school is right for you; that's your call in the end. However, I can tell you what to keep an eye out for. This is kinda like finding a college or a job. Firstly, there are tons of flight schools around the US so there's going to be something that fits everyone's needs. There's no reason not to look around where you live first, but being ok with moving elsewhere obviously gives you far more options.
Secondly, how structured of a program do you want? If you're looking for flexibility and only want to fly a couple times a week or on the weekends, look for a Part 61 program. These programs don't typically have a syllabus (other than what's legally required in the regulations for each certificate or rating), and you can fly when you want as much as you want. The beauty of Part 61 is that you can truly tailor your training to meet your needs, and possibly save yourself some money in the long run. However, if you want a more structured environment, look for a college program or a Part 141 program (some college programs are Part 141). The beauty of this environment is that you get more built-in structure, and you'll be flying more often. This is the environment you should seek if you're looking to buckle down and immerse yourself in your training. Each certificate or rating you work towards will have its own FAA-approved syllabus, and each flight will have specific tasks that need to be accomplished. Be warned that it is a little less flexible than Part 61, and it could potentially cost you more money. Sometimes, you can even pay a lump sum that covers all of the training to be done within the syllabus. However, this is based on the assumption that you will complete the syllabus and pass the checkride at the end within the flight time allotted to each course. If you encounter struggles along the way or fall behind, most schools will charge you more on top of the lump sum that you paid.
Thirdly, how fast do you want to get training done? Again, if you want flexibility and don't want to rush, just find a local school to fly when you can locally. If you really want to buckle down and make a career out of this, I'd recommend going somewhere where you can immerse yourself in the training environment completely. Whatever you decide, you want to make sure you're flying at least twice a week with minimal time in between lessons. Flying is a perishable skill, especially when you're first getting started. You'll want to establish some consistency at the beginning so you're not constantly relearning what you learned during your last lesson. This will save you a good chunk of money.
Paying For Training
This is most definitely the largest barrier to flying of all. Flying is expensive; I paid about $72,000 for my training. It almost stopped me, although I was lucky enough to be in a position where I was approved for loans that covered my training. I've known people who had the entirety of their training covered due to inheritance or prior well-paying jobs, and I've known others who have taken out partial debt. Then you have people like me who financed the whole thing with loans. The less debt you can take on, the better. I do wish I had prepared more prior to starting my training; I'm losing out on income that could be better placed in investments and the like, but I've learned a ton from the experience so I can't say I regret much of anything. If you have no choice but to finance, just make sure you have a solid plan for paying everything off.
The good news is, there are plenty of ways to lower the cost of flight training. One of the best ways to do this is to seek out scholarships. I encourage everyone to do this so that they can lighten the load on their finances. It's not uncommon these days to receive sign-on bonuses when you start working for an airline as well, so that is another plus. Keep in mind that the volatility of the aviation industry means that airlines will stop giving these out when the travel industry takes a beating. Finally, some flight schools will pay for you to acquire new ratings in exchange for a given period of time. For example, the school where I worked paid for me to get my CFI-I ticket in exchange for a year of work. They again gave me $3000 to put towards my multi-engine rating in exchange for another year. These two opportunities saved me thousands in training costs.
Summing Things Up
Hopefully this gives you a place to start when you're looking for a school at which to begin your flying! It is no small task, so make sure you take your time and don't rush into everything. By taking a little more time in the research period to ensure you're choosing a school that will meet your needs, you're potentially saving yourself time, money, and headaches later on. Best of luck! Feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any questions too, I'd be happy to answer any questions that I can.
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