When you are reading this article, you are likely to be a flight enthusiast or there is a passion for flying a real airplane in you.
What is PPL in general? PPL stands for Private Pilot License in short. How much is PPL cost? As we know real flying lessons are very costly. It can range from $10,000 -$12,000 on average. However, there is a Complete Private Pilot DVD Course that can help to shorten and save cost in the training hours by doing some self-studies. Remember, by doing self-study you are still not allowed to fly the real airplane without real flying hours and proper certification but it at least gives you a good understanding of the dynamics of air planes, requirements of becoming a pilot and etc. over the other student pilots who are taking the flying course.
So what are the steps to become a pilot?
Step 1 Medical Test
You need to be medically fit to become a pilot, check with your local flying schools for the minimum grade allowed. Also, you are preferably to be tested in your psycho motor in the medical test as well because it is pointless to find out that one is unfit to become a pilot due to coordination problem.
Step 2 Ground School
a. Airplane general behaviours, manoeuvres and knowledge
In this area, you will be introduced to the aerodynamics of airplane such as how does airplane flies? Lift-to-Drag ratio. Three axes: Pitch, Yaw and Turn. Bernoulli principle etc.
b. Aviation Law
There is strict regulation for flying an airplane in order to prevent accident from happening. Do check with your local flying school for the updated aviation law as it may differ slightly from country to country.
c. Radio Telephony
The communication with the control tower has to be precise and concise. With good training in radio telephony skill, both the pilot and the control tower staff are able to understand each other clearly and execute the command accordingly.
d. Meteorological and Navigation
This area teaches you the basic of weather and the dos and don’ts. Also, it teaches how to recognise the type of clouds, etc. As for navigation, this area introduce on how to navigate the airplane using the in-flight compass and flight plan to reach your destination.
e. Aircraft Rating
You need to familiar with every single detail and part of the airplane that you fly. In this area, it covers most part of it, most important of all, the airplane must be air worthy to fly with and it has to be constantly gone for service and maintenance.
For the above few points, the Complete Private Pilot DVD Course will explain these areas in detail with graphical.
Step 3 Practical flying hours
There are a few good flight simulators in the market. However, they are different from real flying. They lack the ‘feel’. One example is trimming. You need to trim the airplane’s elevators constantly to release the pressure on the control columns. Flight simulators are good to a certain extent that they give you an insight, accuracies and expectations such as positioning of dials in the cockpit. Do not rely too much on flight simulators as you may build up bad habits through keyboard.
Step 4 Certification
Apart from theoretical test on ground school topics which is part of PPL exam, the student pilot also need to clock enough flying hours before taking the flying practical test. During the practical test, a Certified Flying Instructor will gauge whether the student pilot is able to confidently control the airplane alone as instructed.
The Complete Private Pilot DVD Course will provide more details on becoming a private pilot.
