Learning to fly was a great experience, but if I had to do it again I would probably do some things differently. Some because I have more experience now, others because aviation changed since I got my license. So if you’re about to start your flight training, here are a couple of tips for you.

I learned to fly in Geneva, Switzerland, and airport with a 4 kilometers long runway. The VFR pattern was typically 7 minutes long in a basic trainer. On one hand, this gave some time to my Instructor to de-brief the previous touch-and-go while flying on downwind. On the other hand, compared to a 4 minutes circuit, this makes a significant difference. I soloed after 140 landings, mostly done flying in the pattern. A three minutes difference means 7 hours more with a 7 minutes circuit than with a 4 minutes one… Because I learned to fly at a controlled airport, working with ATC is not a problem for me, unlike for some pilots who are always a bit afraid to talk with a tower controller and say wrong things.

When I started to learn to fly, Light Sport Aircrafts (LSA), or Ultra Light Aircraft as we call them in Europe were not even existing. The first aircraft type I flew in was the AS-202 Bravo, and other typical basic trainers were Cessnas 152 or 172 and Piper Warriors. Now, the Aero-Club in Geneva uses Tecnam P2002 JF for basic training. They are registered as standard aircraft but could also enter the LSA category. They sip much less fuel, reducing the flight training costs. Building some flight experience on an LSA or on a classical aircraft makes not a lot of difference in terms of airmanship, flight preparation, and basic handling.

If you’re about to start with your flight training, you probably have to make a decision between classical instrumentation or computerized, glass-cockpits. I’m personally an aficionado of glass-cockpits, but this is certainly not new to usual readers of this blog. There was a great discussion on the “Glass cockpit or traditional gauges for primary training” post on www.askacfi.com.

All European pilots are also faced-up with a classical question: learn to fly in Europe or in the USA. Taking a six weeks leave and get a pilot certificate in Florida or Arizona is possible, and can be less expensive than doing it in Europe. Even with price of a transatlantic flight and accommodation, it could be less expensive. When I started to take flight lessons, my personal context was not compatible with such a trip, and the US Dollar was 20% more expensive.

What would you change if you had to go through primary flight training ? Do yo also have tips for newcomers ?