Questions I'm always asked, exposed!

These winter months are really bad for flying lessons since heavy snowfall (which there has been a lot of lately) restricts my visibility and thus, grounds me. So this week, I thought I'd answer some of the frequently asked questions that I get from friends and family.

Q) How long does it take to get your private license?
A) Transport Canada requires at least 45 hours of flight time and a minimum of 40 hours of ground school. Currently, I've only about 12 hours of flight time and zero hours of ground school since much of the summer/fall/winter 2008 weather in Waterloo has been rainy or snowed in. A pilot who trains for at least twice a week (ground school and flight lessons within the same week) can expect to graduate in about 8-12 months. For me, I have had a slow start and have only taken flight school which has been canceled for most of the summer due to weather. I am expecting this to take about 1.5 years to complete.

Q) How do you start?
A) You're going to hate this answer, but the answer is really simple: Sign up. I called ahead to explain my intentions and the front desk booked me in for 1 hour to talk about the lessons and a few really simple questions (are you medically fit to be in an airplane, do you like roller coaster rides, etc). The first class is an introductory $80 lesson of which the instructor is audible for the entire flight, explaining everything that he is doing. 30 minutes of airtime takes you around the airport and back - one big circle. There's enough time during airtime to ask a few questions that you may have and enjoy your view. If this is your first flight in a small airplane (as it was for me) brace yourself for turbulence and assure yourself that you will be safe with your pilot. The exterior of the plane is incredibly thin compared to the cockpit of my Honda Civic, but I guess it needs to be in order for the plane to be airborne. After landing, you go back to the front desk and they can set you up for your first real lesson (you'll go over much of the same introductory work you did at the start in this class) or you can decide to think about it and get back to them.

Q) How much does it cost?
A) Typical expenses are about $8000-10,000 for a private's license. Looking at the website for Waterloo, it shows that the total costs are $8095 to earn your license. Understand that this is the bare minimum of requirements and using the smallest plane available. Depending on how fast you learn (generally the more frequent you're able to get to class) the faster you'll learn. There are a few things that will significantly raise this cost to about $12,000 and that is:

• Time to learn each lesson. Instructor led lessons will increase your costs if you require more time with them. This isn't something you want to rush either since you're dealing with your health and responsible flight instructors won't let you go solo until you're ready. Go to class more frequently and you'll learn faster and get out of school earlier.
• Your plane costs. The Cessna 152 is the smallest plane available. It's a two seater that is capable of supporting up to about 350lbs of passenger weight. You'll also notice the cramped room in the cockpit when you're sitting beside your instructor too since the plane is a lot smaller than the 4-seater 172S versions. Per hour, a 2-seater costs $110 where as a 172N (old-school carborator), 4-seater is at $122 per hour. If you move up to the 172S (which is fuel injected) it'll cost $135/hour. You still need a minimum of 45 hours of flight time so you can quickly see how much more this will raise your costs
• I've been told that the Canadian minimum average is about 60 hours of flight time before taking their first test. Likely reasons: Finances prevented people from attending a regular schedule and learning curve.
  

Notice that I did not include other miscellaneous fees like: electronic calculators, headsets or any other administrative fees (your health check will cost another $150).

Q) Can you do tricks?
A) If by tricks you mean, perform a take off and landing? Then, Yes. I can. If by tricks you meant stunt flying, then no, that is something else. Doing that right now would kill me and everyone below me. Oh, and Ryan, my instructor would also perish.

Q) Can you fly jets?
A) Nope. Not even close. Here's what i've learned about flying jets.

• When you're starting to fly, you learn how to fly in a single engine. Your license determines how many people you are able to safely fly in one of these planes (recreational license means you and a friend whereas a private allows for 3 friends + you).
  
• When you have your private license, you can then earn a multi-engine rating which introduces you to a world of new toys: faster speed, turbo engines, GPS, ice-protection, flight instrumentation and my favourite: AUTO PILOT!
  
• Commercial Pilot training. Unless you're John Travolta who can afford his own Jet, You'll need to be able to fly and charge out for your services in order to go career. Going career is just one of the many reasons why you'll want to have your Commercial Pilot's license since it will have a higher chance of putting you in the cockpit and subsidize the costs of flying a jet. A private license on the other hand does not allow you to be a career pilot (you are restricted to an earned an income with this license). Consider that a typical plane available to a private license owner costs about $250,000-600,000 and a jet are upwards of $1,000,000, going career is the only way to go.
  
• Get experience. I'm not clear as to how many hours you need to fly jets (i will find out more details for a later post) but I understand that you'll first be a co-pilot before going behind the yolk and flying solo. Damn, is it even called a yolk in a jet? I think looks more like one of those Nintendo controllers of some kind. Typically, you will need hundreds of hours before stepping into a jet like a Cessna Citation and thousands of hours before getting behind a 737 or A380.
• Licensing. I'm sure there are licenses you need to do fly a jet but that will have to come in later posts as I find out the real answer

As you can see, I'm on my way about learning HOW to fly and am nowhere near flying a jet, let alone a jumbo jet like the Airbus A380 (the worlds largest passenger jet) to the left. That plane is just so big, one its wheels are about the size of a pickup truck. I'm curious to know how loud those jet engines are though, it's too bad they're not all turned on while there are people standing beside them.