The Student Pilot License  & Medical Certificates

Your can get your student pilot license at the same time you apply for a medical certificate. They are combined into one certificate for student pilots and they share a common application. Your flight instructor can give you a list of FAA certified medical examiners in your area, and they take care of all the necessary paper work after the exam. At the end of the exam the doctor removes a portion of the form you filled out and this serves as both your student pilot license and medical certificate.

As we mentioned earlier you need to be 16 years of age to get your student pilot license. This is because you have to be 16 years of age to solo, and you instructor must sign off or verify that you are safe to fly solo on your student pilot license.

Training

The first few lessons of your flight training are primarily familiarization of the aircraft you will be conducting your training in. In the beginning you learn the basics of maneuvering the aircraft under visual flight rules or VFR. VFR encompasses flying the aircraft by looking outside and using visual cues for aircraft control and navigation.

After your begin to master the aircraft, training will begin to get you ready for your first solo flight. You learn about the airport traffic pattern and radio communication with air traffic control or ATC. Once you can fly the traffic pattern and talk on the radio unassisted, its time for your instructor to turn you lose for your first solo. This usually consists of a few take-off and landings in the airport traffic pattern. After your initial solo you will be let loose to practice aerial maneuvers on your own within close proximity to the airport you are learning to fly.

After your solo you move on to cross country navigation. You learn various elements of flight planning, navigation via reference to checkpoints on the ground, and fuel management. You usually go on several cross countries with your instructor to put everything you’ve learned to practice. Once you can find your way without assistance from the instructor, he or she will then sign you off for solo cross country flight. Then you do a few solo cross-country flights to build your solo and cross country time in addition to your confidence.

After cross country flying there isn’t much left until your practical test or 'check ride' as it’s more commonly known. Your instructor brushes you up on your aerial maneuvers such as stalls, steep turns, and slow flight. There is also a requirement for flight at night; night cross-country and a few hours practice at flying by sole reference to your flight instruments. Also important are your emergency procedures like dealing with engine failures, loss of radio communications and inadvertent flight into poor weather or clouds.

After you meet all the hour requirements and your instructor is confident in your abilities you receive another sign off in your logbook saying you meet the requirements for the private pilot and your instructor feels you are ready to take the private pilot check ride (practical test). You are then sent to a FAA examiner for the practical test.

Testing

So what are all these tests and check rides about? Well they’re not all that bad, they can be a challenge, but the reward is well worth it. There are two main tests you must pass in order to obtain your private license. They are the FAA Written exam, a 60 question computer test of aeronautical knowledge that CTL can administer at our facility, and the Practical Exam which is the actual flight test were you demonstrate your flying and navigation skills to the FAA examiner. Below is a little about each of the Tests.

The FAA Written Exam

In addition to your flight training, you will receive many hours of ground instruction to prepare you for real-world flying and the written exam. You will learn about the many aeronautical knowledge areas that are covered on the FAA written exam. These areas include, aerodynamics, Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR’s), airspace, navigation, cross-country planning, weather, (very important for the VFR pilot) and performance calculations such as take-off and landing distances and weight and center of gravity calculations. There are many training aides to assist you in your studies including videos, computer programs and review books.

The Practical  Exam

The practical exam is where it all comes together. You finally get the chance to show the FAA examiner that you have the skills to be a private pilot. You will demonstrate the required aerial maneuvers such as stalls, steep turns, and slow flight. Somewhere along the way the examiner will pull the throttle back to simulate an engine failure to see that you know your procedures for making an emergency landing. Once that is accomplished successfully you will then head back to the airport and practice some landings.

Assuming all goes well at the end of the flight the examiner fills out your temporary license (a permanent one comes in the mail) and you are now a private pilot. You are officially licensed as a Private Pilot free to fly on your own.