As a result, from the outside, learning to fly looks intimidating when it really shouldn’t. Of all the learning processes a person can experience, from riding horses to crocheting, none proceeds in the predictable orderly manner that flight training does. In many ways it comes down to a bunch of little squares that need to be filled in, and if you know what each of those squares requires ahead of time, any fear of the unknown should evaporate immediately.
The entire flight-training curriculum can be boiled down to an outline on a single sheet of paper. If this were done, you’d immediately see that training has several distinct “phases,” and each of those phases prepares you for the next one. This is all guided by a central plot that ties the story together and leads toward an exciting finale in which, after passing an oral examination and a flight test with a government-designated pilot examiner, you are handed a temporary pilot certificate.
Private Pilot requirements: (Before you Start)
- Be 16 years old to fly solo.
- Be 17 years old to receive your pilot certificate.
- Read, speak, and understand English.
- Hold at least a third-class medical certificate for private and recreational certificates. Sport pilots must hold at least a current and valid U.S. driver’s license.