Your thoughts on Private Pilot Training

[FlyMikeFly]

For those who are already in the aviation pipeline, and especially ones who are already in flight school in Pensacola: what are your thoughts on Civilian (Private Pilot) Flight Training prior to API and Primary flight school? Are there benefits? can it be detrimental?

 

[Banjo33]

Try this link:

http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/search.php?searchid=509562

(I just typed Private Pilot Training into the Search function)

 

[phrogpilot73]

For those who are already in the aviation pipeline, and especially ones who are already in flight school in Pensacola: what are your thoughts on Civilian (Private Pilot) Flight Training prior to API and Primary flight school? Are there benefits? can it be detrimental?

Checked in to MATSG with ZERO hours, outside of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Did fine, got what I wanted, and now I'm sitting at 1400 hours. Of course, in the early stages it seemed the guys that had private flight training did better. Of course, my on wing said that they also had to unlearn bad habits. Double edged sword I think.

 

[Ryoukai]

Does anybody have any examples of the bad habits that the guys with PPLs had to unlearn?

 

[virtu050]

well... when i was in primary after I did IFS (25 hrs civilian flight training) my onwing noticed I taxied around with my stick into the wind. He yanked it to the middle and said "don't do that".

let's see.. what else... the landing pattern is quite different... instead of the standard box pattern, in the navy you have a racetrack with a "short final".... my tendencies were to extend downwind too much initially.

when I first said "my airplane" instead of "i have the controls" during CPT 1 the instructor looked at me and said "your airplane? what airplane?"

and consider this... could be a factor for newbies... most civilian flight training is done on cessna type airplanes with a yoke and a throttle... completely different "feel" than a stick and PCL. Also your flare picture will look different.

lots of little things like that.

 

[doubledeuce]

let's see.. what else... the landing pattern is quite different... instead of the standard box pattern, in the navy you have a racetrack with a "short final".... my tendencies were to extend downwind too much initially.

God, I hated that box pattern. I requested short final any time I could in IFS.

 

[kmac]

Having so few hours associated with just a Private Pilot Cert, I wouldn't worry about bad habits. They will quickly be broken. The advantages are several...communication over a radio, a better air awareness (meaning you're not freaking out being at the controls with over 1,000 feet below you), and a grasp of the physiological effects of flying. What it comes down to is that the first couple of flights in the T-34 aren't as bad as someone without any flight experience (of course now with IFS, I guess that doesn't happen). It's probably not going to help you get the top grades later on, but consider this: if you can do better earlier and thereby learn more earlier, you're at an advantage down the road.

Virtu, why would putting the stick/yolk into the wind be a bad thing? If you're smart enough to do it while taxing, it would seem that crosswind landing rollouts would be natural.

 

[virtu050]

Having so few hours associated with just a Private Pilot Cert, I wouldn't worry about bad habits. They will quickly be broken. The advantages are several...communication over a radio, a better air awareness (meaning you're not freaking out being at the controls with over 1,000 feet below you), and a grasp of the physiological effects of flying. What it comes down to is that the first couple of flights in the T-34 aren't as bad as someone without any flight experience (of course now with IFS, I guess that doesn't happen). It's probably not going to help you get the top grades later on, but consider this: if you can do better earlier and thereby learn more earlier, you're at an advantage down the road.

Virtu, why would putting the stick/yolk into the wind be a bad thing? If you're smart enough to do it while taxing, it would seem that crosswind landing rollouts would be natural.

probably didn't want me to turn it into the wrong side... or maybe he was sick of that stick against his thigh... :watching_

 

[lowflier03]

I would say that for the money you are going to spend on it, its not worth it. People with private licenses and such do the same as everyone else. The only difference I saw were the people with a lot of hours. Ie some guys came in with Aerobatic licenses, 1000 hours, Tomcat RIO's. Those people did well, but were also put on a different syllabus that actually helped their grades out. IFS will be plenty of flight time to get a feel for it. If your worried about the radio calls listen to this site. (Especially SoCal approach) I did during RI's and ever since I have been complimented on how professional my radio calls sound. http://www.liveatc.net/feedindex.php

 

[kmac]

Good point about the money. For me, it was part of my major in college...and I was BDCP so I figured it was a wash. I'm not sure though that the statement "private license and such do the same as everyone else." For those with a private license, you can skip a couple of flights which do (as Lowflier stated) improve your grades. It's not just the guys with 1000s of hours that get to do that. It's anyone proficient enough to be recommended for it (with a PPC). And although listening to ATC makes you used to hearing it, it doesn't make you any better at your calls. I watch a lot of baseball on ESPN, but I'm still can't throw a great cut fastball. Just some things to consider.

 

[bunk22]

I firmly believe that SNA's with a lot of flight hours will do well (I'm talking probably at least a couple hundred plus). If a student has 1,000 hours and can't hack the program, he or she wasn't going to anyway, regardless of prior flight time. It's not that hard to learn the military way. Obviously, things like CQ or ACM (BFM or whatever it's called), dropping bombs, etc, are different and could make or break someone. I'm more or less talking about primary flying.