I've wanted to be a pilot since I was a kid. Life had different plans and so I ended up being a Captain in the Merchant Navy and then in Advertising and then Software. Yet the thought of wanting to be a pilot was always there in the back of my mind.
I had a couple of flying lessons in San Francisco when visiting and then 1 in New Zealand. When I was posted in the US a couple of years back, I thought maybe its time to do this.
I started taking lessons a couple of times a month when the weather, availability of an instructor, a plane and myself all aligned. I also did the written part of the FAA exam. This has a 2 year validity and was expiring in November 2015. I realized in September that there was no way I was going to be able to get a license the traditional way. And so did what I've done all through life. Look for a crash course.
I actually found one. The first sign that they may be legit was the name. Since a crash course in flying sounds ominous, they smartly called their training, "Accelerated Flight Training".
I wrote to them and they were extremely prompt in responding and in answering all my questions. I didn't really think this was possible in 2 weeks, but since it was a life long dream, decided to take a chance. They trained across the country but availability was an issue. And I was in a hurry.
Luckily, they had an opening in St. George, Utah for the week startng Oct. 19. Its now been 2 weeks and it was everything they said it would be. Eric my flight instructor had only 1 job and 1 student and that was me. His plane was dedicated to me. And it all revolved around Eric training me to get my private pilots license.
He was very professional and it was a delight to see him work. Thats when I wasn't flying and on the receiving side of his instructions. Each of the FAA requirements were neatly listed, planned for, crossed out when completed, re-scheduled when things didn't go exactly as planned and reviewed on a daily basis.
Eric would meet me at 8 at the hotel for breakfast and even that was a training session. He would go through the plans for the day, the theory I needed to know, answer questions I had from the previous day, quiz me on stuff I was supposed to have read up on, ... Most days ended up as a minimum 12 hours day and sometimes more.
What I found most interesting was that while the end goal was the private pilot certificate, the main goal was a safe and good pilot who could use his skills in the real world. As an example, I needed to do a cross country solo flight of over 150 miles. I picked up a route that complied with the rules and took me to places I had been to with Eric. I though he'd be pleased. On the contrary, he looked at me and said, "Why would you go to places you've been to. Pick up places we haven't been to". And nervous as I was, his confidence gave me the confidence to plan such a flight and then execute it.
Today is a holiday when I've been told to relax. Not being able to do that I've been going through my notes and preparing for my FAA exam which is tomorrow. The reason for writing this blog today is that, the result is immaterial. Eric and the folks at AFIT have done everything to enable me to take the FAA check-ride. Whether or not, I get it now, is completely up to me. They couldn't have done a better job.
For anyone who wants to get a flying license, do evaluate the AFIT option. It works. And is far more effective in terms of time invested, time taken to complete as well as costs that its almost a no brainer.
I could go on, but I better get back to my books and allow AFIT to tell you their story through their website.
http://www.afit-info.com/
I had a couple of flying lessons in San Francisco when visiting and then 1 in New Zealand. When I was posted in the US a couple of years back, I thought maybe its time to do this.
I started taking lessons a couple of times a month when the weather, availability of an instructor, a plane and myself all aligned. I also did the written part of the FAA exam. This has a 2 year validity and was expiring in November 2015. I realized in September that there was no way I was going to be able to get a license the traditional way. And so did what I've done all through life. Look for a crash course.
I actually found one. The first sign that they may be legit was the name. Since a crash course in flying sounds ominous, they smartly called their training, "Accelerated Flight Training".
I wrote to them and they were extremely prompt in responding and in answering all my questions. I didn't really think this was possible in 2 weeks, but since it was a life long dream, decided to take a chance. They trained across the country but availability was an issue. And I was in a hurry.
Luckily, they had an opening in St. George, Utah for the week startng Oct. 19. Its now been 2 weeks and it was everything they said it would be. Eric my flight instructor had only 1 job and 1 student and that was me. His plane was dedicated to me. And it all revolved around Eric training me to get my private pilots license.
He was very professional and it was a delight to see him work. Thats when I wasn't flying and on the receiving side of his instructions. Each of the FAA requirements were neatly listed, planned for, crossed out when completed, re-scheduled when things didn't go exactly as planned and reviewed on a daily basis.
Eric would meet me at 8 at the hotel for breakfast and even that was a training session. He would go through the plans for the day, the theory I needed to know, answer questions I had from the previous day, quiz me on stuff I was supposed to have read up on, ... Most days ended up as a minimum 12 hours day and sometimes more.
What I found most interesting was that while the end goal was the private pilot certificate, the main goal was a safe and good pilot who could use his skills in the real world. As an example, I needed to do a cross country solo flight of over 150 miles. I picked up a route that complied with the rules and took me to places I had been to with Eric. I though he'd be pleased. On the contrary, he looked at me and said, "Why would you go to places you've been to. Pick up places we haven't been to". And nervous as I was, his confidence gave me the confidence to plan such a flight and then execute it.
Today is a holiday when I've been told to relax. Not being able to do that I've been going through my notes and preparing for my FAA exam which is tomorrow. The reason for writing this blog today is that, the result is immaterial. Eric and the folks at AFIT have done everything to enable me to take the FAA check-ride. Whether or not, I get it now, is completely up to me. They couldn't have done a better job.
For anyone who wants to get a flying license, do evaluate the AFIT option. It works. And is far more effective in terms of time invested, time taken to complete as well as costs that its almost a no brainer.
I could go on, but I better get back to my books and allow AFIT to tell you their story through their website.
http://www.afit-info.com/
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