What are the Prerequisites for Flight School?

Series Summary

Not everyone is meant to be a pilot. Some people may be terrified of the thought of getting inside a machine that flies more than a hundred feet up in the air. Others may suffer from severe motion sickness once their legs leave the ground. However, while flying in airplanes isn't for everyone, some have developed an intense passion for these machines. It takes a great deal of knowledge, practice, and skill to feel confident enough to fly a plane, but it is a very coveted and practical skill.

In this free video, our expert Dave Keck will teach you all about civil aviation. He will talk about getting into flight school, enrolling in flight school, the flight school tests like cross country flying and solo flights, and he'll talk about common beginner's planes. Dave will talk about inspecting the landing gear, all the instruments for flying at night, the altimeter, renting and airplane, and using the rudder, radar, and radio. He'll even tell you some small airport etiquette for airports without control towers.

Video Transcript

"So you want to learn how to fly? Probably one of the first things that you need to consider is some of the prerequisites in getting started would be to obtain your medical certificate. All this really consists of is going to an aviation medical examiner. If you can obtain a driver's license, then chances are your health is good enough to be able to qualify for a third class medical certificate. And it's usually an area a lot of people have some concerns about but it's really not much more than kind of a physical, a doctor that is designated by the FAA to conduct medical examinations. We just have you come in, they'll check your hearing, your sight, your general health and a little bit about your history and then they would issue you your medical certificate which is also your student pilot's license. Basically this is the certificate you have until such time as you obtain your private pilot's license. And then you would also have both a certificate that says you are a certificated pilot and your medical certificate. Your pilot's license never expires but your medical certificate does have to be periodically reviewed and renewed. If you're under the age of forty, it's basically a three year span that you have to keep your medical current and if you're over age forty, then it goes to two years."