When it comes to flight training, every aspiring pilot is very much excited to start their training. Backpacks are ready, leaving your home, going to the airport, boarding the flight, the complete journey itself starts from here. Once settled you finally start your training and a new chapter of your life starts. Flight training is the most enjoyable part of a pilot’s life. Be sure to make some good memories that will help you flashback your training time a few years later. To make this journey more amazing, based on my experience I have penned down 7 things one must experience at least once during the training.
Fly around a scenic location
Few locations look beautiful during a ride or a walk, but the same location looks way better and has amazing views from the air. This is a must-do thing during your training. Also parallelly make sure you are not violating any regulations and its a best advice to have a safety pilot on board your flight to enjoy the complete view. Find some good scenic locations near your city or even you can go on a cross country flight to experience some more scenic locations along the way.
Schedule an early morning flight
Keep aside your laziness for one morning and schedule an early morning cross country flight or local flight. Depart in the dark and witness the amazing twilight followed by a wonderful sunrise with some fantastic views. Check the weather for the next day, fly on a clear day or if you are instrument rated, you can fly above the ceiling for a sensational view. Evening flights are also beautiful but I feel morning flights are very refreshing. Take along your friends and create some amazing memories.
Hop inside a private jet
Not all can afford their own private jet, but at least you can have an experience of what’s inside a private jet. If your school is located on a busy airport or on an airport with some exotic private jets, you can request the pilot or the owner for a visit inside the jet. It’s truly an amazing experience to have. explore the advanced avionics and other amazing features. Also, click a picture inside the cockpit which will add up in your photo album.
Night flight over a city
On the ground, nIght is dark. but if flying over a city, the night can be lovely, scenic, and beautiful. Glittering lights, moving traffic, and dark and light composition, glowing clouds create a mesmerizing image that must be witnessed once in a lifetime. During training, we fly small and slow aircraft giving us time to explore the beauty of the night. You can fly even on a dark patch on a clear night and witness the sky full of stars. Make sure it’s a no-moon night. Also, take along with you a safety pilot as night flying comes with a lot of challenges.
Get inside a cloud
We all sat on a window seat, on a cloudy day. We all have experienced flying inside a cloud. But that’s from a passenger’s point of view. The experience and the thrill change and advance to another level while viewing from the cockpit. The clouds approaching you, and the breakout from the cloud is a wonderful experience a pilot must have during training. Take your CFII with you or file an IFR flight plan after your Instrument rating. Do not get inside a cloud on a VFR flight, else you will be violating the regulations.
Record a video
You are planning a cross country to a beautiful destination. Try to film a vlog or a video of the entire journey, edit and compile it with some suitable music. For some, this might be a boring and time taking process, but trust me, you will regret later on not filming a video. You can share your experience with your family, relatives, and friends and will enjoy watching it later on in your life. Use GoPro or even your mobile phone is enough, make sure to secure your device on a holder during critical phases of flight. A small 5-minute clip will be more than enough to recollect the experience of the full flight.
Learn
The majority of the students stop after completing their CPL and head back to their homes. Spare a few days to learn some more advanced things, maybe during the training or post-training. It will be valuable and can make you stand out from the rest of the CPL holders. Today or tomorrow you have to learn it, so why not right now when you are up to date and current with your knowledge.
To end with, here’s one bonus. Enjoy! This is the only period in a pilot’s life when he will enjoy the most. Study hard, be always current with the knowledge and clear all the exams at the very beginning so you can simply enjoy your flight training without worrying about the exam studies or checkride preparation.