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What to Expect: Your First Lesson

Preparing for your first lesson gives you a head start. Courtesy Pia Bergqvist
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Familiarize yourself with the aircraft's checklists, basic flight controls, and instruments before your first lesson to reduce overwhelm and save on instruction time.
  • Carefully choose your flight school for flexibility and resources, but most importantly, select an instructor who is patient, professional, and compatible for prolonged training.
  • While potentially overwhelming, the first flight lesson is a memorable and amazing experience that teaches fundamental control and the crucial lesson of trusting instruments over sensory illusions.
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There are a few moments in life that are truly memorable. It might be the day you held your first driver’s license, a crazy party to celebrate your 21st birthday, your very first kiss or the birth of a child. For most pilots, the first flight lesson is an experience that will trigger the limbic system and be cemented within memory for a lifetime.

Pia Bergqvist

Pia Bergqvist joined FLYING in December 2010. A passionate aviator, Pia started flying in 1999 and quickly obtained her single- and multi-engine commercial, instrument and instructor ratings. After a decade of working in general aviation, Pia has accumulated almost 3,000 hours of flight time in nearly 40 different types of aircraft.

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