My Flying Life

Learning curves vary greatly depending on frequency of flights  and student aptitude. For most people, it is realistic to think in terms of a one-year training timeline. The fastest student I've worked with completed his training in 7 weeks, working at it 6 days a week for 6-8 hours a day - this student was a professional athlete with exceptional memorization and coordination skills.

This also depends on an individual's learning curve. As a rule, you'll solo when there is no doubt in your instructor's mind that you are competent to handle any expected or unexpected situation safely. I've had students who made me feel that way in as little as 14 hours. Most people solo in the 20s to 30s. Sometimes it takes longer. This can happen for a variety of reasons.

No. Everyone brings a different skill set to the training process. Some people learn the flight skills quickly. Some are great at the book work. Some have good organizational skills. The key is to learn to recognize your strengths and be willing to work harder in the areas in which you are weak. It's a very rewarding process.

I think the truthful answer to this question is no. Flying is not for everyone. You'll have moments of pure joy, and moments when it just feels like work. You'll learn to appreciate strengths you may not even know you have, and you'll learn to overcome weaknesses you may not want to admit. Most people, when they finish, say it was a lot more work than they thought it would be. It is, however, true to say that most people who are willing to put in the required effort can learn to fly.

Yes. People who begin their training over the age of 40 generally take longer to learn, but are statistically less likely to have accidents. People under the age of 20 tend to learn the flight skills quickly but may take longer to develop mature decision-making skills.

No, but in the post-9/11 environment there are additional requirements to be met for non-US citizens. Do not attempt to negotiate the application process alone. Use the administrative support available at your flight training organization to ensure that your application is filled out quickly and accurately.

Some of flight training involves the development of muscle memory. The more frequently you fly, the less likely you will be to forget things between lessons. Another way to think about it is, the more frequently you fly, the fewer total hours you are likely to need to complete your training. In other words, the more frequently you fly, the less it's going to cost you. Many people can only fly twice a week and complete their training in about a year. Three times a week is ideal and is likely to shorten that timeline. More than 3 days a week would be considered intensive.