Training and Proficiency What A CFI Wants You To Know

When Flight Training Stalls

It can be a challenge for novice pilots to determine if progress is being made during training and when it is time to make a change.

Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at 11:57 AM ET

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Learning to fly and obtaining a pilot certificate usually takes a few months, with flying lessons two or three times a week. [Courtesy: Meg Godlewski]

Key Takeaways:

Effective flight training requires consistent lessons (at least twice weekly) of appropriate duration (around 1.3 hours pre-solo) to maximize learning and prevent fatigue.
A good flight instructor utilizes a syllabus, provides comprehensive pre/post-flight briefings, emphasizes ground school, and teaches fundamental navigation, paper charts, and the FAR/AIM.
Learners must assess their progress and be prepared to change instructors if training lacks structure, essential skills, or is not progressing beneficially.

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Do you know someone who quit flight training because they didn’t feel like they were making progress? Sadly, it happens quite a bit for a variety of reasons.

Although it is common for learners to imprint on their instructors, the fact of the matter is that the training connection is a business relationship. There needs to be communication about goals, how to achieve them, progress made, what has been accomplished, and what needs to be done.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.