Here we are at week #10 and the final step in becoming a pilot in Canada.
A Quick Look Back at Where We Have Come From
Step #1 - The Medical Exam - I'm going to assume that you have this already. If you're under 40 you'll need to update every 5 years, if you're 40 and older, it's every 2 years. Your CAT 3 Medical is required at the Private Pilot level. You can do the self-declaration CAT 4 if you are stopping at a Rec-Permit, but really, there's a lot of limitations to the Rec-Permit, such as the requirement to stay in Canada, so most pilots do just a bit of extra work to complete the Private Pilot Licence instead of just a Rec-Permit. Read more about it here.
Step #2 - The Radio Exam - Get your Radio Certificate as early as you can. Somehow in my training I missed this altogether and nearly got to the end before I even realized that I need this certificate. If I could do this again, I'd recommend getting this as early as possible so that you can better understand the jargon required for communicating via the VHF radio. Read more about it here.
Step #3 - The PSTAR Exam - Pre-Solo Testing of Air Regulations... or the PSTAR Exam is something you'll need to fly solo as a student pilot. The stage you usually start doing this is once you figure out how to land and can prove to your flight instructor that you are consistent with this, then you'll need to fly solo many times in order to "do circuits" as it's referred to, which means, flying around in the circuit of the airport in order to practice your landings. If you had a chance to check out my free PSTAR App, then you get the idea of the Air Regulations. Remember, these laws and regulations mainly exist for safety reasons. Know what the regs. are and you'll be a safer pilot.
Step #4 - Ground School and Flight Lessons - You require 40 hours of ground school in order to qualify to write your Transport Canada written exam to get your PPL. All ground school courses in Canada follow the same syllabus as outlined by Transport Canada, so ground school courses aren't recommended by Transport Canada, but rather, you are required to put in your 40 hours of ground school in order for a Flight Instructor to be able to give you the recommendation which is required by Transport Canada in order to write your Private Pilot written exam. Your Flight Instructor will only give you the recommendation if you have done your 40 hours and he/she feel like you have been successful at multiple practice exams. In order to take your Flight Test you will also need to be recommended by your Flight Instructor. You can read more here.
Step #5 - The Ground School Kit - There are a few things you should consider purchasing to make your ground school and flight planning easier.
Step #6 - Give Yourself a Debrief After Each Flight Lesson - Are you taking the time to read your Flight Training Manual before you take each of your Flight Lessons? As Einstein is quoted as saying, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." Don't be insane. Take the time to learn where your mistakes are and how to correct them. The pilots who prepare for their up-coming flight lesson often learn quicker and easier with just a little time on the ground preparing. When it comes to most things in life, you get back what you put in... and this is particularly true for aviation.
Step #7 - Get What You Need for your Flight Bag - There are things that you need and are essential, there are items that may be a preference, and then there's certainly ways to waste your money. Bottom line, each pilot is different and places value in their own way. However, there are some items, like From the Ground Up or the Transport Canada Flight Training Manual that just seem like they're essentials for most pilots across the country. What's essential for you? You can check out my list here.
Step #8 - Everybody Needs to Do Their Two Weeks - Last week I walked through the process of setting aside a full two weeks to drill down and study all your ground school resources. I talked about an action plan of studying your notes, using software to practice PPL exams, then writing a practice exam at your local Flying Club, and finally, taking the "official Transport Canada" practice exam. The point was, there is a system for doing this in a logical way. You don't want to be the guy/girl who walks out of the last Ground School class and take your first practice exam at the Flying Club and get an embarrassing mark like 39%. (I know someone who did this.) Read this post if you want to increase your odds of succeeding.
Step #9 - Ok, You've Passed Your Transport Exam, Now What? - Some of the greatest advice I've received from a Transport Canada Pilot Examiner was, " The way you fly your airplane on any given Tuesday is the way you should fly your airplane for your Flight Test. And the way you fly for your Flight Test should be the exact same way that you fly your airplane on any given Tuesday." In Step #9 I mentioned Edgar Dale who was an American educationist who developed the Cone of Experience. He made several contributions to audio and visual instruction, including a methodology for analyzing the content of motion pictures. Often referred to as the Cone of Learning, the big takeaway here was that if you want to be efficient and effective in your learning, you need to learn in ways that engage your brain, such as doing quizzes, things that challenge you to think and develop. The bottom line, if you want to learn efficiently and effectively: Analyze. Define. Create. Evaluate.
If you want to travel fast, go alone. If you want to travel far, go with others.
This is an African proverb that is certainly worth taking time to consider, and I'm sure many of you already have thought about it... but have you tried to apply this way of thinking to aviation?
Have you applied it to your study time?
Have you applied it to every other area of learning how to fly?
In short, aviation needs to be thought of in regards to long-term thinking, not short-term thinking.
Nobody gets their PPL in a few weeks, and rarely does it happen in a few months.
It takes consistent and steady small steps forward, often just one day at a time, hour by hour, and topic by topic, in order to arrive at your destination, the goal of becoming a Private Pilot.
It is possible, if only you can believe.
The Most Successful Pilots tend to be People Who Don't Fly Alone
If you listened to my interview about the Common Mistakes Made by Student Pilots, you heard about a great way to double your flying time. Essentially, the advice I got from a Class 1 Flight Instructor on this point was that if you want to fly more frequently, get around 2 or 3 other guys in your local area and start having some adventures.
This means "don't fly solo."
Fly with a buddy, get a friend.
No matter who you are, if you can join your local flying club and get around other pilots, you're going to meet someone in your local area that you get along with, and you'll certainly have aviation as a common interest!
Bottom line, sure it's fun to fly alone sometimes, but it's always better to experience the adventure with others.
When You Build Your Hours, You Build Your Experience
If you're not at a flying club that offers fun and exciting getaways with other pilots, then you may need to consider looking into another flying club.
You should be able to meet other pilots in your area who you can fly with, even if you're just a passenger once in a while, you're going to pick up and learn so much just being on board.
Ok, So You've Become a Private Pilot... Now What?
In the coming weeks and months we'll be releasing a series of posts about the options you get when you have your PPL. For example, as a friend of mine who is a Transport Canada Pilot Examiner mentioned to me, and as something you can hear in the tutorial I made here, the next thing you should consider is working towards your Night Rating. This is easy to do, it's fun, and if you're building hours anyways, why not work towards expanding your horizon, which will open up a whole new level of excitement letting you fly beyond daylight hours.
Get your Aviation Education from Hangaaar's Online Ground School
One of the challenges I had when I was trying to become a private pilot was that I kept missing my ground school classes. As you probably already know, Transport Canada requires that we take ground school and gain the knowledge and learn the regulations required to operate an aircraft in Canada.
As you can imagine, if you miss your ground school on Meteorology Theory, it makes learning about Meteorological Weather much more difficult. It's the same with all topics. There is a step-by-step way that makes the learning easier.
I also thought that if I had to spread out my learning over a period of several months, it'd be nice to have a single source that would allow me to review and catch up on the knowledge I've already picked up without having to wait for the course, or worse, having to pay again for some online course.
That's what Hangaaar's Online Ground School courses offer. Once you buy a course, you become a member and get access to that course for 12 months. If you decide to remain a member at Hangaaar, you can continue to have access to all of the courses you've bought for the membership fee of $199/year. Check out more details here.
Moving to a Whole New Level as a Company
The last thing I'd like to leave you with is a bit of encouragement.
It's seems like every week I meet more people who say, "I almost became a pilot but life changed and blah, blah, blah... "
It hurts me.
Seriously.
My goal is to make it so easy to NOT give up, that nobody will ever be able to use that excuse again.
If I can leave you with one piece of encouragement...
Remember, "whatever your mind can conceive and believe, you can achieve." - Napoleon Hill
Here we are today at HANGAAAR, celebrating with all the amazing things happening, and now moving to a whole new level as a company.
We wouldn't be able to make it to this point without the support of our customers who do believe in us!
That's you.
Thanks for your support!
THIS HAS BE AN ON-GOING SERIES OF EDUCATIONAL POSTS TO HELP YOU BECOME A PILOT IN CANADA. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE AVIATION INDUSTRY, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US. 1.844.264.2227 That’s toll free, 1.84HANGAAAR.
