I was a professional flight instructor for two years. As with all professions, there are good and there are bad. I had a reputation as someone who would instruct difficult students successfully. It wasn’t always true, but there was one student: He was a young man, Vietnamese, recent immigrant. Broken English. Nobody wanted to take him on. I started training and was utterly astounded by the ability of this young man to never have to be shown something more than once. Unbelievable retention. We blazed through pitch and power drills, airspeed management, stalls, minimum controllable airspeed, pattern work. His ability to set up his demos while doing clearing turns was efficient and time saving. He was so good, that at the stroke of 40 hours (40.0) I couldn’t teach him anything that he didn’t know for the private check-ride. Amazingly I met him, 30 years later, at an AOPA event at Long Beach where I was showing DA-40 Diamond Stars. He recognized me right away. He is now an aviation attorney and a flight instructor and introduced me to two of his students, both Vietnamese.
I got mine in 46 hours, trained 4-5 days a week in a 150 the whole way and payed $11k in california. As much studying at home and being ready for each lesson is huge. Also don’t be afraid to jump on flight sim and practice emergency procedures, running checklists and practicing flows. Ground lessons are important, anything you don’t understand from studying at home can be clarified on a ground lesson, youtube is your best friend during training and if you have any pilot friends use them to give you mock orals if they’re willing. Good luck team 👍🏼
@@TheEcoWin It varies a lot here in the Netherlands. I've seen PPL packages for €12000 including the minimum 45 hours of air time. I hope to be ready for my check ride when I hit the 45 hours required (almost there 🙂), but by that time I'll have spent around €18000, totally worth having my flight school 5 minutes from my home. I fully agree with the suggestion to add some ground school hours, I took some (when the weather prohibited flying) and it has helped me with the practical as well as the theoretical side.
@@TheEcoWin that’s cali prices for you lol. $130 an hour for plane wet plus $75 an hour instruction + an extra 20 or so ground lesson hours at the same instructor rate. Checkrides run about $900 here and that was included as well so I ended up saving a little bit of money just buying a package than paying per hour.
A good friend took me up many times before I actually started flight lessons. Thanks to him I soloed in 5 hrs. and got my PP in 35 hrs (1975). Many years later on an LHR to ORD American Airlines flight, I caught the Captains name over the PA. Sure enough, it was my 1st flight instructor. Gave the purser my business card and sure enough, he came back to coach and we had a great visit. About an hour later, the purser came back to me and said ‘The Captain would like to invite you to first class for the duration. Nice gesture, thanks Jim.
You're not kidding about always learning. I was aircrew on the C-5 (loadmaster, not pilot) and I flew with pilots who had many thousands of hours under their belts. Some of these guys like 10K+. And even still, I'd hear some of these old timers (Colonels and a few Generals) in the cockpit going on over headset about something cool they learned that day. On these aircraft they were INTIMITATELY familiar with. Always admired that. The learning never stops. Which ALSO means we should never become complacent. Even after thousands of hours. These guys were always on the alert, professional, and I never saw them get lazy at the helm. I guess it helps that each flight could be so different. Combat landings are something else. 😅
It had crossed my mind... That said, sometimes a student gets saturated or stressed. Almost done with my CFI, and I think I'm going to try to make lessons 1.5 on the Hobbs as a happy medium...
I got mine in 51 hours including changing from a high wing (Remos GX) to a low wing (RV10) at about 15 hours. It’s possible if you fly regularly and make the most of every hour you’re in the airplane.
Wow did not expect to find @SuperfastMatt here. I'm also about 16hrs into my PPL training, still working towards that first solo flight. I've decided to invest in some flight sim gear so I can get a better feel for emergencies and ATC because that seems to be keeping me from getting to stage check.
Haha thanks and glad you enjoyed it, I saw on your IG that you were just at the FSAE competition too, I was there recruiting for GM. How's your license progress going?
47 hrs…I would stay ahead of the weather, if I saw a lesson was going to get rained out, I would reschedule immediately to the next closest. I was basically scheduling my life around flight lessons.
Haha yes good at flying is definitely an important part! Congratulations on first solo - that's a huge accomplishment no matter when it happens in training! Good luck with the rest of your training!
Simple answer from an instructor and U.K. CAA examiner… be there every day, turn up, be ready, be consistent every day. If your not flying your learning. In Europe and U.K. your at the whim of the weather but I’ve taught many pilots in under 45 (UK CAA requirements) hours with the U.K. weather.
I’m at about 36 hours right now, and have almost completed the night requirement. Just need to do a solo cross country, and get more solo time in general, and I’ll be ready for my checkride.
Ben, I think your video is one of the best and most accurate that I’ve seen regarding flight training - well done! I appreciate your emphasis on the student doing the work on their time before showing up to a lesson; that is absolutely critical. Many do not “get that,” until they’ve spent far in excess of what they originally planned simply because they’re not prepping beforehand and we as the instructors have to backtrack to ensure their understanding and proficiency. Congratulations on earning your Private Certificate (not license 😉), continue to focus on precision in your flying, and proper risk management. -Joe ATP, CFI, CFI-I
Solid video and congrats. I’d say for most, it’s a better strategy to not rush the learning process, it’s not a race! Spend more time and money to master the aviation skillset and make the mistakes that you will and must make to become e a better aviator. Or…rush rush and spin that plane into the ground because ya memorized everything and your knowledge exceeds your real world experience. This is a skillset that needs time to marinate. I’m not referring to you btw
Hi Ben, That was an incredible journey you made. It would be a miracle if i would finish it under 60. Just started my PPL journey. Hope to get my PPL soon.
Thanks Ben! I'm in Canada and got my commercial medical next week. Beyond excited to make this career change. Thanks for your awesome advice. I'll be doing my PPL full time too, hopefully flying 5 days a week.
Good luck! Yeah flying 5 days a week will be great. Just study ground when it's bad weather out and fly when it's nice and make sure to align your flights with hitting the targets that are on that foreflight checklist of PPL requirements.
@@TheBenwolak Awesome, thanks, great advice! So grateful to be doing it full time because I hear of some people hitting 90 or 100 hours part time! Thanks for being such a great ambassador
I stopped and started several times so it took me 60. Would have loved to do a “bootcamp” scenario with a couple weeks of a couple flights a day. Expensive as hell, but you’re going to spend the money anyway. And money today is worth more than money a year from now. (To clarify: inflation is a thing, but your money today is more valuable because the rates are rising faster than my pay raises.) For example: my club rates have gone from $150/$35 to $180/$65 in a couple of years.
Started my checkride with 37 hours. How fast you learn doesn’t matter, only that you do. Lucky my boss let me walk down the street to my lessons. I flew 5-6 hrs a week.
Nice video, Ben! Looks like YT is promoting it! 😊 I'd like to ad to get the medical check done after the discovery flight lesson, before spending any more money. I got that arranged before signing up, just like I learned myself to fly circuits (patterns) and the RT. That was quite funny, as instructors didn't expect me to know that and got kinda cramped when I told I would handle the radios on my discovery flights. I did lots of discovery flights at several schools/fields and different planes to get the best combination for me personal. Gold Seal is terrific for ground school. I'm EASA, but got a good look into that. Further I recommend filming the flights with ATC/audio. I'm unable to take so much flight lessons weekly and looking at my flights in the comfort of my home is extremely helpful also to hear my instructors feedback during the flight. It is also nice to share short movies to get hopefully more people into aviation 😁 Enjoy your privileges and having people for a spin!!! You got yourself a new subscriber 🤗
Nice tips 👍 yes medical early is definitely good and I did the radios on my disco flight actually haha, instructor was surprised by that 😂. And yes recording lessons is a great way to review how to improve manuevers and communication for sure, I did what with some of my flights but not all of them but great job to you for putting in the work required to do that and have fun flying too!
In switzerland the minimum you have to do is 45h, thats why I had to do another flight as I only had 44h 57m when my CFI signed me up for the checkride 😂
Im also doing my ppl in Switzerland. Completing theory first which is nearly done and will start flying spring next year! Any tips specifically for Switzerland?
Great video! Agree with all of your suggestions and never thought of the 3hr lesson which I may do for my Instrument lessons, which I am starting now. I get the feeling that you had a great stint of weather at your location. I had a rough time this year, here in upstate NY, with the weather. It really slowed down my progress due to many cancelled lessons. I would like to know how your checkride went. I had about 60 hrs logged when I did my checkride and probably the last 10 hrs or so were my choice to ensure that I was rock solid (fully meeting the ACS reqs) on some of the maneuvers (steep turn - keeping altitude) and landings (short field - hitting the spot). So it would be great to see your perspective on how your checkride went and would you have done anything differently. BTW- totally agree with you about Foreflight, especially the log book and getting endorsements. Although, my DPE got a little testy with me as he was old school and wanted a written log book even though I printed mine out for him. Thanks for a really informative video.
Glad you enjoyed it! I live in Michigan so pretty similar winter weather to upstate NY for the most part so yeah also had a lot of cancelled lessons due to weather, one of those things you just have to roll with unfortunately. On the days with higher clouds or clear skies, I'd fly 3-4 days in a row and then when the winter storms came through and provided ifr / mvfr for a week straight, I'd get a lot of ground work done, that's how I how I handled it personally. And yeah the 3hr block is a huge time saver but requires a lot of work on the ground to prepare for that long of a flight. I got my instrument rating this year too actually and I took my checkride with 40.2 hours of actual / simulated instrument so I might make another video about tips for that one too but it's a lot of the same stuff. I mostly did 2hr blocks but I always had the plane ready at the start of the block so we averaged about 1.6-1.7 Hobbs per lesson which allowed time for 5-6 approached and a hold or two.
Great video man! I'm in the process of getting my Private Pilot License, would you do a break down cost effective ways on flying often and the efficiencies of being able to go all in. Prior to my first lesson I got my medical and written exam out of the way it was such a great help.
Yeah do you have any specific questions about that? I mentioned a few things in there like taking advantage of the good weather when you get it and getting yourself on the schedule weeks in advance so you can book 3-4 lessons a week
A brief note to people who are aiming to finish their PPL in a record number of hours. There was a fatal accident not long ago in which a dude flew into a cloud shortly after his private checkride. He was a highly driven individual who managed to finish his private in about 2 weeks. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. If we assume he was a completely competent private pilot and demonstrated proficiency in every area during testing - still, was there any way for him to even know what dangerous weather looks like if he's only been flying for 2 weeks? Not only has he not experienced all seasons in his local area, or seen a meaningful variety of conditions in the air - he basically had no idea what things may look like, even in the vicinity of his home airport. Not saying it's necessarily dangerous to finish in around 40 hours, especially in remote locations far away from congested airspace; but do take a moment to think about the fact that maybe your lack of experience could be an additional factor in your decision making for the first couple of hundred hours once you're on your own. I did my training at one of the busiest Deltas in the country, in an area with notoriously difficult weather, and training got interrupted by COVID, so I ended up having 140 hours by the time I took the ride. That was obviously way more than necessary, but I keep thinking about one particular flight in freezing temperatures that happened to occur towards the end of the training. The combination of temperature, humidity, and pressure just happened to be so that the carb kept freezing up, and every time a slight variation in engine noise was heard my instructor would pull the carb heat; but it just kept happening again and again throughout the flight. Had it not been for that one particular flight - I have zero confidence I would have the experience to recognize a similar situation and have the presence of mind to realize it wasn't particularly threatening. That was just that one flight out of 9-10 months worth of training. Something to think about.
@@4kVIDEOS722 The version with cellular has a GPS antenna built in so I would get that if you aren't planning on getting a stratux or sentry or something else like that which have GPS antennas built in too. If you are getting one of those external ADSB-in units, then better to save a bit of money and grab a wifi-only since the GPS signal will be provided by the external unit.
Thanks! And it's pretty similar from my understanding but I don't have any personal experience with it so I can't say for sure if it has all of the PPL focused features that I mentioned, you'd probably have to do some quick research on that
Thank you. I'm interested in becoming a private jet pilot in Las Vegas. I need to get my ppl to start my career. What jobs can you do to make money after you get the required minimum of 40 hours? Thanks
Hi Marc, you legally need to have a commercial pilot's license in order to be hired for any type of flying work (charter flying, banner towing, survey work, pipeline inspections, ect) which requires a minimum of 250hrs for part 61 training so you'll need to build up your training by getting not only the private pilot license but also getting instrument and commercial before you can make any money flying.
Got mine in 42 hours. I had studied my ass off since I was a kid, took practice exam and passed the knowledge exam before even a single hour in the air. Tons of home sim time and tons of research, videos, etc. 37 hours I got the sign off for a checkride, but did a bit of practice before the checkride. The harder you study, the less it cost!!!
Nice, yeah definitely a case of the more time you spend working on it on the ground, the faster you get it overall, the faster you get it, the less it costs. Knowledge test early in the process helps a ton too as I mentioned and just getting fully immersed with aviation is great too with watching videos and listening to podcasts and stuff too. And yeah I got my endorsement right about 40 and then did another practice flight or two and then took the check ride too.
I soloed in 6 hours , did my solo x-country in 10 was ready for my check ride in about 2o hours but had to have my 40 hours to get my ticket .Now with multi , helicopter , A320 ratings and some 2K hours . Too many good times .
CFI here. For the love of God, please do not just assume because this guy did it in 43 hours that it is normal, or even expected. The majority of my students are well into the 50, 60, even 70 hour range. It really doesn't make any difference. You are ready when you are ready, and if you want to expedite, put in the time on the ground and completely immerse yourself. The only way this is feasible is if you quit your day job, and put 5-6hrs PER DAY into flying, and even then it doesn't always happen. Just my two cents.
"This guy" here haha, so this is a bit overblown, I flew an average of 3-4 times per week for an average of probably about a 1.6 on the hobbs across all lessons across 3 months total of flying training. The tips I mentioned here definitely aren't a guarantee of doing it in 43hrs but more of some ways to hopefully cut down on the number of hours / cost for those who are willing to put in the work on the ground that it takes to do that. Being well prepared for lessons and getting the ground done before most of the flying is really the biggest thing.
@@TheBenwolak Nah, I'm saying you have above average learning capabilities, and I think that a video like this unfortunately does a disservice to a lot of new pilots. That is not to say I'm saying your video is bad or wrong, just that many (especially younger) students will jump in and think they are able to complete their PPL in ~40 hours. The truth is, you are an outlier, more than the standard. Sure, many people can get done in that time, but the reality is, that most students don't understand what it takes to do that. Regardless of all that, any new students reading this: Everything that OP states, and what the video mentions, is all necessary if you want to get done in said time. 3-4 times per week over 3 months is absolutely possible for the average Joe. Just understand that if you take longer, do not be discouraged. Everyone learns at a different pace, and the importance of the Private Pilot is it learn and understand flying at it's most basic, so that you are prepared to be a safe and effective aviator. PS, you need 250 hours for your commercial license anyways *shrug*
3-4 times per week is definitely the best way to get it done quickly. It's definitely expensive and trying to pay for it paycheck to paycheck is not the way to go - much better idea to save up the money over time and then hit it hard when you can afford it and you're draining from your savings for flying specifically as opposed to only flying once a week or once every 2 weeks as there's room in your paycheck. So yes definitely expensive and that's why saving for it in advance so you can fly 3 times a week is the way to go to save money in the long run. I saved for it for about 2 years before I started lessons but your timeline for saving just depends on how much you make vs how much you spend on average. Trying to get to a goal of $10k before you start your flying isn't a bad idea. You can also work on learning all the ground school knowledge in this time since that's way cheaper and useful to know before you start flying anyways.
@@willyuan1 or just save money over time (months / years) while studying all the ground knowledge and then do all the flying at once after you have enough saved up for it
Hi, I first solo'd at about 17 hours I think but that number doesn't mean much in general because it depends on how you're instructed. I've heard of people who train takeoff and landings and just fly patterns for the first lessons and solo at like 7 hours but in my case we did stalls, slow flight, ect and just gradually practiced patterns and landings at the end of those lessons and only flew straight patterns later on when we were in the middle of training working on the performance takeoffs and landings.
@@CatInTheHand Yes emergencies are one of the first things you learn usually and I did my PPL training at a non-towered but I'm based out of a towered now. The non towered airport I got my PPL at is still fairly complicated from a comms perspective because we're right near a class B
Hi Ethan, I did my training in Howell, MI and then switched to a flying club in Ann Arbor, MI (Michigan Flyers) which was full when I first wanted to start my training but had an opening for me when I finished.
@@TheBenwolak cool! I am preparing written test and planing to be trained in Solo aviation. I didnt want to pay monthly membership fee to Michiganflyers.
@@ethanliyiran Ah nice! Good luck! Yeah we have the $55 per month but I think it's well worth it personally since we do a lot of fun events too and we also have an hour long airplane cleaning session every Monday and if you attend one of those per month, your dues for the month are wiped so that takes care of the monthly dues.
**didnt watch the video** Did my PPL in exactly 1 month, to the day, and 42.7 hours. It's called a part 141 school. Expensive but worth it. That was 3 weeks ago and my IFR checkride is in 5 days and im at 78.4 hours as i type this. I start my commercial rating 8 days from now. I'll have that checkride in about a month and a half's time at around 120hrs. If you want a career as a pilot go to a 141 school. It's worth it.
Somewhat true... the quicker you get to flying without paying an instructor and being able to split flight time with friends doing fun trips instead of training (paying for whole airplane and instructor), the cheaper your overall cost will be though even building hours.
Hey guys, when you’re going flying, please do not use up as much time as possible on the block schedule because there are other pilots that want to go flying. if you only intend on being in the air for one hour, just do a two hour block at most. I said it before and I’ll say it again there are other pilots in your city that want to go flying. You’re not the only one.
As an instructor, I wholeheartedly agree with you. When students book longer blocks it really messes with aircraft a availability and definitely prevents others from flying. Also, at the PPL level, most students aren’t ready or able to fly longer lessons due to becoming overwhelmed with new learning. A 1.2 is plenty of time for demonstration and practice without over saturating and leaving the student more stressed.
@iceeblister @grimandproper For the average student, I would agree. This video is geared towards those like myself who were 1) trying to get it done without breaking the bank and 2) mentally willing to put in effort outside of the cockpit too. I definitely agree with you that if you just show up without knowing what you're going to do that day or do any prep ahead of time, you're going to get overwhelmed and a 3hr block isn't worth it. However, if you are trying to get it done for less cost, you can cut a huge amount of total time on the ground (start up, taxi, run up, ect) which is all wasted time really once you learn how to do those steps and spend more time in the air practicing maneuvers, getting XC time in, ect if you prepare for it ahead of time. An instructor's purpose really at the end of the day is to give you an endorsement for whatever you're trying to do next, solo, solo xc, checkride, ect. A good student should try to learn things before the lesson (the mechanics of a stall, how wind correction works for ground reference maneuvers, ect) and the time in the airplane should be spent putting that knowledge into action and getting the feel for how it actually works and showing your instructor you met the requirements. This really comes into play for higher ratings too like IR - if you show up to your first approach lesson without having looked at an approach plate before or knowing any of the ground material ahead of time, that's going to be a way less useful lesson. I still think that for the prepared student who wants to save money, a 3hr block is a very useful tool to save cost and make your training more efficient overall however it only works if the student prepares for lessons ahead of time so they don't get overwhelmed by what's going on. You should be aiming for a 1.9-2.2 on the hobbs for a 3hr block, if people only fly a 1.2, it's definitely not worth booking 3hrs.
What’s up man thank you for the video. I just got sportys for my ground school. For the written test, do they just do the endorsement or can you take the actual FAA test with sportys?
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I was a professional flight instructor for two years. As with all professions, there are good and there are bad.
I had a reputation as someone who would instruct difficult students successfully. It wasn’t always true, but there was one student:
He was a young man, Vietnamese, recent immigrant. Broken English. Nobody wanted to take him on.
I started training and was utterly astounded by the ability of this young man to never have to be shown something more than once. Unbelievable retention. We blazed through pitch and power drills, airspeed management, stalls, minimum controllable airspeed, pattern work. His ability to set up his demos while doing clearing turns was efficient and time saving. He was so good, that at the stroke of 40 hours (40.0) I couldn’t teach him anything that he didn’t know for the private check-ride.
Amazingly I met him, 30 years later, at an AOPA event at Long Beach where I was showing DA-40 Diamond Stars. He recognized me right away. He is now an aviation attorney and a flight instructor and introduced me to two of his students, both Vietnamese.
Where are you located lol wanna teach me
@@MrImdifferent
Central Valley California, Modesto.
I got mine in 46 hours, trained 4-5 days a week in a 150 the whole way and payed $11k in california. As much studying at home and being ready for each lesson is huge. Also don’t be afraid to jump on flight sim and practice emergency procedures, running checklists and practicing flows. Ground lessons are important, anything you don’t understand from studying at home can be clarified on a ground lesson, youtube is your best friend during training and if you have any pilot friends use them to give you mock orals if they’re willing. Good luck team 👍🏼
Wow, 11k for 46hrs in a C150 is a lot. Was planning to do my PPL in the US, but your case is as expensive as doing a PPL in Europe🤔
@@TheEcoWin It varies a lot here in the Netherlands. I've seen PPL packages for €12000 including the minimum 45 hours of air time. I hope to be ready for my check ride when I hit the 45 hours required (almost there 🙂), but by that time I'll have spent around €18000, totally worth having my flight school 5 minutes from my home.
I fully agree with the suggestion to add some ground school hours, I took some (when the weather prohibited flying) and it has helped me with the practical as well as the theoretical side.
@@TheEcoWin that’s cali prices for you lol. $130 an hour for plane wet plus $75 an hour instruction + an extra 20 or so ground lesson hours at the same instructor rate. Checkrides run about $900 here and that was included as well so I ended up saving a little bit of money just buying a package than paying per hour.
@@Drewairplane Thanks for the details!
@@kaasmeester5903 Yes, these numbers ring a bell. Very close to German prices...
A good friend took me up many times before I actually started flight lessons. Thanks to him I soloed in 5 hrs. and got my PP in 35 hrs (1975). Many years later on an LHR to ORD American Airlines flight, I caught the Captains name over the PA. Sure enough, it was my 1st flight instructor. Gave the purser my business card and sure enough, he came back to coach and we had a great visit. About an hour later, the purser came back to me and said ‘The Captain would like to invite you to first class for the duration. Nice gesture, thanks Jim.
You're not kidding about always learning. I was aircrew on the C-5 (loadmaster, not pilot) and I flew with pilots who had many thousands of hours under their belts. Some of these guys like 10K+. And even still, I'd hear some of these old timers (Colonels and a few Generals) in the cockpit going on over headset about something cool they learned that day. On these aircraft they were INTIMITATELY familiar with. Always admired that. The learning never stops. Which ALSO means we should never become complacent. Even after thousands of hours. These guys were always on the alert, professional, and I never saw them get lazy at the helm. I guess it helps that each flight could be so different. Combat landings are something else. 😅
This is golden.
These are great tips, I didn’t consider the ‘3 hour block’ but it makes total sense
It had crossed my mind... That said, sometimes a student gets saturated or stressed. Almost done with my CFI, and I think I'm going to try to make lessons 1.5 on the Hobbs as a happy medium...
I got mine in 51 hours including changing from a high wing (Remos GX) to a low wing (RV10) at about 15 hours. It’s possible if you fly regularly and make the most of every hour you’re in the airplane.
Thank you starting my PPL journey today
Got mine in about 80 hours because I switched flight schools and because it was part 141, they made me start from the very beginning.
Dang that's pretty crazy, yeah I'm not a big 141 fan, I think 61 is the way to go personally.
Great info. I'm finishing up the ground school now. i'll be taking this advice to the next step.
Also, nice FSAE car :)
Wow did not expect to find @SuperfastMatt here. I'm also about 16hrs into my PPL training, still working towards that first solo flight. I've decided to invest in some flight sim gear so I can get a better feel for emergencies and ATC because that seems to be keeping me from getting to stage check.
Haha thanks and glad you enjoyed it, I saw on your IG that you were just at the FSAE competition too, I was there recruiting for GM. How's your license progress going?
Best advice 3 hour flights. Makes total sense. Thank you,
47 hrs…I would stay ahead of the weather, if I saw a lesson was going to get rained out, I would reschedule immediately to the next closest. I was basically scheduling my life around flight lessons.
I see you taking off Rwy 31 at OZW in a Crosswinds Aviation plane 😊. That's where I trained myself.
I just did my first solo and I'm already at 38 hours.. so I think tip #6 is be good at flying, but I digress. That's an awesome accomplishment!
Haha yes good at flying is definitely an important part! Congratulations on first solo - that's a huge accomplishment no matter when it happens in training! Good luck with the rest of your training!
Excellent content and presentation!
Simple answer from an instructor and U.K. CAA examiner… be there every day, turn up, be ready, be consistent every day. If your not flying your learning. In Europe and U.K. your at the whim of the weather but I’ve taught many pilots in under 45 (UK CAA requirements) hours with the U.K. weather.
I’m at about 36 hours right now, and have almost completed the night requirement. Just need to do a solo cross country, and get more solo time in general, and I’ll be ready for my checkride.
Ben, I think your video is one of the best and most accurate that I’ve seen regarding flight training - well done! I appreciate your emphasis on the student doing the work on their time before showing up to a lesson; that is absolutely critical. Many do not “get that,” until they’ve spent far in excess of what they originally planned simply because they’re not prepping beforehand and we as the instructors have to backtrack to ensure their understanding and proficiency.
Congratulations on earning your Private Certificate (not license 😉), continue to focus on precision in your flying, and proper risk management.
-Joe
ATP, CFI, CFI-I
I did mine in 49 granted I had three different instructors throughout and grounded for about two months with the midwest weather
Excellent advise!
Solid video and congrats. I’d say for most, it’s a better strategy to not rush the learning process, it’s not a race! Spend more time and money to master the aviation skillset and make the mistakes that you will and must make to become e a better aviator. Or…rush rush and spin that plane into the ground because ya memorized everything and your knowledge exceeds your real world experience. This is a skillset that needs time to marinate. I’m not referring to you btw
Hi Ben,
That was an incredible journey you made. It would be a miracle if i would finish it under 60. Just started my PPL journey. Hope to get my PPL soon.
Nice! Good luck and comment back how it goes or if you have any questions 👍 you got this!
Thanks for taking the time. Very good information.
Thanks Ben! I'm in Canada and got my commercial medical next week. Beyond excited to make this career change. Thanks for your awesome advice. I'll be doing my PPL full time too, hopefully flying 5 days a week.
Good luck! Yeah flying 5 days a week will be great. Just study ground when it's bad weather out and fly when it's nice and make sure to align your flights with hitting the targets that are on that foreflight checklist of PPL requirements.
@@TheBenwolak Awesome, thanks, great advice! So grateful to be doing it full time because I hear of some people hitting 90 or 100 hours part time! Thanks for being such a great ambassador
I stopped and started several times so it took me 60. Would have loved to do a “bootcamp” scenario with a couple weeks of a couple flights a day. Expensive as hell, but you’re going to spend the money anyway. And money today is worth more than money a year from now. (To clarify: inflation is a thing, but your money today is more valuable because the rates are rising faster than my pay raises.)
For example: my club rates have gone from $150/$35 to $180/$65 in a couple of years.
Got mine in 84, all paper, 42 hrs twice a week twice a month, Oh Inst was 20 bucks, AC was 30 buck wet in a 172 🎉😊
Great video and tips, thanks for sharing =)
Also great to have some online schools to prep before starting :)
Started my checkride with 37 hours. How fast you learn doesn’t matter, only that you do. Lucky my boss let me walk down the street to my lessons. I flew 5-6 hrs a week.
Did you do the training at a 141 school? Or how did you get it under 40 if part 61?
Nice video, Ben! Looks like YT is promoting it! 😊 I'd like to ad to get the medical check done after the discovery flight lesson, before spending any more money. I got that arranged before signing up, just like I learned myself to fly circuits (patterns) and the RT. That was quite funny, as instructors didn't expect me to know that and got kinda cramped when I told I would handle the radios on my discovery flights. I did lots of discovery flights at several schools/fields and different planes to get the best combination for me personal. Gold Seal is terrific for ground school. I'm EASA, but got a good look into that. Further I recommend filming the flights with ATC/audio. I'm unable to take so much flight lessons weekly and looking at my flights in the comfort of my home is extremely helpful also to hear my instructors feedback during the flight. It is also nice to share short movies to get hopefully more people into aviation 😁 Enjoy your privileges and having people for a spin!!! You got yourself a new subscriber 🤗
Nice tips 👍 yes medical early is definitely good and I did the radios on my disco flight actually haha, instructor was surprised by that 😂. And yes recording lessons is a great way to review how to improve manuevers and communication for sure, I did what with some of my flights but not all of them but great job to you for putting in the work required to do that and have fun flying too!
In switzerland the minimum you have to do is 45h, thats why I had to do another flight as I only had 44h 57m when my CFI signed me up for the checkride 😂
Im also doing my ppl in Switzerland. Completing theory first which is nearly done and will start flying spring next year! Any tips specifically for Switzerland?
liked and subscribed
Great video! Agree with all of your suggestions and never thought of the 3hr lesson which I may do for my Instrument lessons, which I am starting now. I get the feeling that you had a great stint of weather at your location. I had a rough time this year, here in upstate NY, with the weather. It really slowed down my progress due to many cancelled lessons. I would like to know how your checkride went. I had about 60 hrs logged when I did my checkride and probably the last 10 hrs or so were my choice to ensure that I was rock solid (fully meeting the ACS reqs) on some of the maneuvers (steep turn - keeping altitude) and landings (short field - hitting the spot). So it would be great to see your perspective on how your checkride went and would you have done anything differently. BTW- totally agree with you about Foreflight, especially the log book and getting endorsements. Although, my DPE got a little testy with me as he was old school and wanted a written log book even though I printed mine out for him. Thanks for a really informative video.
Glad you enjoyed it! I live in Michigan so pretty similar winter weather to upstate NY for the most part so yeah also had a lot of cancelled lessons due to weather, one of those things you just have to roll with unfortunately. On the days with higher clouds or clear skies, I'd fly 3-4 days in a row and then when the winter storms came through and provided ifr / mvfr for a week straight, I'd get a lot of ground work done, that's how I how I handled it personally. And yeah the 3hr block is a huge time saver but requires a lot of work on the ground to prepare for that long of a flight.
I got my instrument rating this year too actually and I took my checkride with 40.2 hours of actual / simulated instrument so I might make another video about tips for that one too but it's a lot of the same stuff. I mostly did 2hr blocks but I always had the plane ready at the start of the block so we averaged about 1.6-1.7 Hobbs per lesson which allowed time for 5-6 approached and a hold or two.
Great video man! I'm in the process of getting my Private Pilot License, would you do a break down cost effective ways on flying often and the efficiencies of being able to go all in. Prior to my first lesson I got my medical and written exam out of the way it was such a great help.
Yeah do you have any specific questions about that? I mentioned a few things in there like taking advantage of the good weather when you get it and getting yourself on the schedule weeks in advance so you can book 3-4 lessons a week
A brief note to people who are aiming to finish their PPL in a record number of hours. There was a fatal accident not long ago in which a dude flew into a cloud shortly after his private checkride. He was a highly driven individual who managed to finish his private in about 2 weeks. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. If we assume he was a completely competent private pilot and demonstrated proficiency in every area during testing - still, was there any way for him to even know what dangerous weather looks like if he's only been flying for 2 weeks? Not only has he not experienced all seasons in his local area, or seen a meaningful variety of conditions in the air - he basically had no idea what things may look like, even in the vicinity of his home airport. Not saying it's necessarily dangerous to finish in around 40 hours, especially in remote locations far away from congested airspace; but do take a moment to think about the fact that maybe your lack of experience could be an additional factor in your decision making for the first couple of hundred hours once you're on your own.
I did my training at one of the busiest Deltas in the country, in an area with notoriously difficult weather, and training got interrupted by COVID, so I ended up having 140 hours by the time I took the ride. That was obviously way more than necessary, but I keep thinking about one particular flight in freezing temperatures that happened to occur towards the end of the training. The combination of temperature, humidity, and pressure just happened to be so that the carb kept freezing up, and every time a slight variation in engine noise was heard my instructor would pull the carb heat; but it just kept happening again and again throughout the flight. Had it not been for that one particular flight - I have zero confidence I would have the experience to recognize a similar situation and have the presence of mind to realize it wasn't particularly threatening. That was just that one flight out of 9-10 months worth of training. Something to think about.
Very useful info! You mentioned "stratiks" with a RPi kit ? Got some more info on that?
Yeah it's spelled Stratux actually so you should be able to find more info if you search that term 👍
@@TheBenwolak found 'em. Very cool. Thanks!
The spelling was a massive help, thank you.@@TheBenwolak
KARB represent 🫡
How are you connecting the audio to your camera/phone?
I have an audio recorder with a 3.5mm input split from airplane intercom and syncing the audio to the camera video in editing.
Great Video! What is the Ipad that you are using?
iPad 5 mini
Do you recommend buying the version with Cellular data or Wifi?@@TheBenwolak
@@4kVIDEOS722 The version with cellular has a GPS antenna built in so I would get that if you aren't planning on getting a stratux or sentry or something else like that which have GPS antennas built in too. If you are getting one of those external ADSB-in units, then better to save a bit of money and grab a wifi-only since the GPS signal will be provided by the external unit.
I am planning on getting a Sentry. Thank you for your advice!@@TheBenwolak
Hey thanks for the great tips, especially the 3 hour one. Any idea if Garmin Pilot is just as good as foreflight?
Thanks! And it's pretty similar from my understanding but I don't have any personal experience with it so I can't say for sure if it has all of the PPL focused features that I mentioned, you'd probably have to do some quick research on that
@@TheBenwolak appreciate it bro!
Hey we from same area I see.. what school did you go thru!!??
I went to crosswinds aviation for my PPL in Howell and now I fly with the Michigan Flyers club in Ann Arbor
Hi- Where did you do your flight training? Great videos btw.
Thanks! I did my training at Crosswinds Aviation and I now fly out of the Michigan Flyers club.
Thank you. I'm interested in becoming a private jet pilot in Las Vegas. I need to get my ppl to start my career.
What jobs can you do to make money after you get the required minimum of 40 hours?
Thanks
Hi Marc, you legally need to have a commercial pilot's license in order to be hired for any type of flying work (charter flying, banner towing, survey work, pipeline inspections, ect) which requires a minimum of 250hrs for part 61 training so you'll need to build up your training by getting not only the private pilot license but also getting instrument and commercial before you can make any money flying.
www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/active-pilots/safety-and-technique/operations/commercial-pilot-certificate
What level of ForeFlight for a beginner?
Hi! I use basic plus personally which is their lowest paid tier, it works great for private pilots.
Got mine in 42 hours. I had studied my ass off since I was a kid, took practice exam and passed the knowledge exam before even a single hour in the air. Tons of home sim time and tons of research, videos, etc.
37 hours I got the sign off for a checkride, but did a bit of practice before the checkride.
The harder you study, the less it cost!!!
Nice, yeah definitely a case of the more time you spend working on it on the ground, the faster you get it overall, the faster you get it, the less it costs. Knowledge test early in the process helps a ton too as I mentioned and just getting fully immersed with aviation is great too with watching videos and listening to podcasts and stuff too. And yeah I got my endorsement right about 40 and then did another practice flight or two and then took the check ride too.
I soloed in 6 hours , did my solo x-country in 10 was ready for my check ride in about 2o hours but had to have my 40 hours to get my ticket .Now with multi , helicopter , A320 ratings and some 2K hours . Too many good times .
Hi Ben, what version of Fore flight did you purchase for your Private Pilot training? Thanks!
Hey Ken, I just used the cheapest tier, I didn't see a need for profile mode or the geo referenced plates for PPL
@@TheBenwolak Thank you!
CFI here. For the love of God, please do not just assume because this guy did it in 43 hours that it is normal, or even expected. The majority of my students are well into the 50, 60, even 70 hour range. It really doesn't make any difference. You are ready when you are ready, and if you want to expedite, put in the time on the ground and completely immerse yourself. The only way this is feasible is if you quit your day job, and put 5-6hrs PER DAY into flying, and even then it doesn't always happen. Just my two cents.
"This guy" here haha, so this is a bit overblown, I flew an average of 3-4 times per week for an average of probably about a 1.6 on the hobbs across all lessons across 3 months total of flying training. The tips I mentioned here definitely aren't a guarantee of doing it in 43hrs but more of some ways to hopefully cut down on the number of hours / cost for those who are willing to put in the work on the ground that it takes to do that. Being well prepared for lessons and getting the ground done before most of the flying is really the biggest thing.
@@TheBenwolak Nah, I'm saying you have above average learning capabilities, and I think that a video like this unfortunately does a disservice to a lot of new pilots. That is not to say I'm saying your video is bad or wrong, just that many (especially younger) students will jump in and think they are able to complete their PPL in ~40 hours. The truth is, you are an outlier, more than the standard. Sure, many people can get done in that time, but the reality is, that most students don't understand what it takes to do that.
Regardless of all that, any new students reading this: Everything that OP states, and what the video mentions, is all necessary if you want to get done in said time. 3-4 times per week over 3 months is absolutely possible for the average Joe. Just understand that if you take longer, do not be discouraged. Everyone learns at a different pace, and the importance of the Private Pilot is it learn and understand flying at it's most basic, so that you are prepared to be a safe and effective aviator. PS, you need 250 hours for your commercial license anyways *shrug*
I get needing to practice flying but how the hell can you say fly 3-4 times per week? Who pays for that? Who goes to work to pay rent and food?
3-4 times per week is definitely the best way to get it done quickly. It's definitely expensive and trying to pay for it paycheck to paycheck is not the way to go - much better idea to save up the money over time and then hit it hard when you can afford it and you're draining from your savings for flying specifically as opposed to only flying once a week or once every 2 weeks as there's room in your paycheck. So yes definitely expensive and that's why saving for it in advance so you can fly 3 times a week is the way to go to save money in the long run.
I saved for it for about 2 years before I started lessons but your timeline for saving just depends on how much you make vs how much you spend on average. Trying to get to a goal of $10k before you start your flying isn't a bad idea. You can also work on learning all the ground school knowledge in this time since that's way cheaper and useful to know before you start flying anyways.
step 1 have rich parents
@@willyuan1 or just save money over time (months / years) while studying all the ground knowledge and then do all the flying at once after you have enough saved up for it
at what time did yo do your first solo?
Hi, I first solo'd at about 17 hours I think but that number doesn't mean much in general because it depends on how you're instructed. I've heard of people who train takeoff and landings and just fly patterns for the first lessons and solo at like 7 hours but in my case we did stalls, slow flight, ect and just gradually practiced patterns and landings at the end of those lessons and only flew straight patterns later on when we were in the middle of training working on the performance takeoffs and landings.
@@TheBenwolak Did you also have to be proficient with emergencies before solo? Do you fly out of a towered airport?
@@CatInTheHand Yes emergencies are one of the first things you learn usually and I did my PPL training at a non-towered but I'm based out of a towered now. The non towered airport I got my PPL at is still fairly complicated from a comms perspective because we're right near a class B
Were you trained in Ann Arbor?
Hi Ethan, I did my training in Howell, MI and then switched to a flying club in Ann Arbor, MI (Michigan Flyers) which was full when I first wanted to start my training but had an opening for me when I finished.
@@TheBenwolak cool! I am preparing written test and planing to be trained in Solo aviation. I didnt want to pay monthly membership fee to Michiganflyers.
@@ethanliyiran Ah nice! Good luck! Yeah we have the $55 per month but I think it's well worth it personally since we do a lot of fun events too and we also have an hour long airplane cleaning session every Monday and if you attend one of those per month, your dues for the month are wiped so that takes care of the monthly dues.
@@TheBenwolak I didn’t know that. Maybe I’ll join after I got my ppl
You lost me on foreflight, what ?
**didnt watch the video** Did my PPL in exactly 1 month, to the day, and 42.7 hours. It's called a part 141 school. Expensive but worth it. That was 3 weeks ago and my IFR checkride is in 5 days and im at 78.4 hours as i type this. I start my commercial rating 8 days from now. I'll have that checkride in about a month and a half's time at around 120hrs. If you want a career as a pilot go to a 141 school. It's worth it.
So no simulator at home but simulator at the school
That school did have a simulator but I didn't use it ever, more useful for instrument procedure practice than for PPL.
@@TheBenwolak ok and congrats
If you want to become a commercial pilot the time it takes to become private is irrelevant
Somewhat true... the quicker you get to flying without paying an instructor and being able to split flight time with friends doing fun trips instead of training (paying for whole airplane and instructor), the cheaper your overall cost will be though even building hours.
Hey guys, when you’re going flying, please do not use up as much time as possible on the block schedule because there are other pilots that want to go flying. if you only intend on being in the air for one hour, just do a two hour block at most. I said it before and I’ll say it again there are other pilots in your city that want to go flying. You’re not the only one.
As an instructor, I wholeheartedly agree with you. When students book longer blocks it really messes with aircraft a availability and definitely prevents others from flying. Also, at the PPL level, most students aren’t ready or able to fly longer lessons due to becoming overwhelmed with new learning. A 1.2 is plenty of time for demonstration and practice without over saturating and leaving the student more stressed.
@iceeblister @grimandproper For the average student, I would agree. This video is geared towards those like myself who were 1) trying to get it done without breaking the bank and 2) mentally willing to put in effort outside of the cockpit too. I definitely agree with you that if you just show up without knowing what you're going to do that day or do any prep ahead of time, you're going to get overwhelmed and a 3hr block isn't worth it. However, if you are trying to get it done for less cost, you can cut a huge amount of total time on the ground (start up, taxi, run up, ect) which is all wasted time really once you learn how to do those steps and spend more time in the air practicing maneuvers, getting XC time in, ect if you prepare for it ahead of time. An instructor's purpose really at the end of the day is to give you an endorsement for whatever you're trying to do next, solo, solo xc, checkride, ect. A good student should try to learn things before the lesson (the mechanics of a stall, how wind correction works for ground reference maneuvers, ect) and the time in the airplane should be spent putting that knowledge into action and getting the feel for how it actually works and showing your instructor you met the requirements. This really comes into play for higher ratings too like IR - if you show up to your first approach lesson without having looked at an approach plate before or knowing any of the ground material ahead of time, that's going to be a way less useful lesson. I still think that for the prepared student who wants to save money, a 3hr block is a very useful tool to save cost and make your training more efficient overall however it only works if the student prepares for lessons ahead of time so they don't get overwhelmed by what's going on. You should be aiming for a 1.9-2.2 on the hobbs for a 3hr block, if people only fly a 1.2, it's definitely not worth booking 3hrs.
What’s up man thank you for the video. I just got sportys for my ground school. For the written test, do they just do the endorsement or can you take the actual FAA test with sportys?
Just the endorsement, written test has to be done in person at an faa approved testing center
appreciate you man thanks alot!@@TheBenwolak