How to Become a Pilot

Series Summary

Wanna learn to fly, but can get your feet off the ground—or your pilot’s license? Flying a plane can be a daunting task at first glance, even if you’ve racked up thousands of frequent flyer miles visiting distant parts of the globe. Yes, even if you’ve visited the cockpit and gotten your pin-on wings.

If you weren’t star struck as the captain gave you a nod and a tip of the hat, shook your hand and asked you your name, you might have noticed the instrument panel had about a gazillion knobs, dials, gauges and meters on it. Aside from all of these readouts and information about the plane, there are some very fundament principles of physics involved in getting the aircraft off the runway and into the air. Couple that with FAA regulations, common airspace traffic protocols, navigation techniques, landing…not flying into an oncoming flock of geese—let’s just say that becoming a great pilot takes commitment, determination, and (lots and lots of) training.

We here at ExpertVillage believe in the dream of man-powered flight, and we know that someday, someone will discover that promethean secret. Until then, we have jet engines and prop planes. Learn how to fly one of these with the tips from our free flight school videos. We know… it’s not the same; but, until the future arrives, it’s as close as you can get.

Video Transcript

"On behalf of Expert Village, my name is Rodney Fielitz. I am a certified flight instructor in Cottonwood, Arizona and I am here to give you the basics of what it takes to become a pilot. In the beginning, everybody want to be a pilot. What you need to do is have a physical. Without a physical, it is not any use going ton and learning how to fly. So the best thing to do is get with an instructor and he will send him over to and examiner who will do your physical for you and they will give you a student pilot certificate. After that we have different kinds of programs. You can become a pilot and fly with no restrictions in the United States. They also have a new program called Sport Pilot. Even though between the two of them you have the same minimums. Basically you are going to have the same procedures, do all the maneuvers, take the test and everything but you do not have to take a physical for a Sport Pilot. The reason they brought this on was to help with people that basically pilots are getting older and it is harder to get into the field and people are losing their medicals and then they are done flying. A lot of these pilots are still good pilots so what they did was started a sport pilot. We are going to talk today more about flying. In regular flying what you have to do is have 20 hours solo, 20 hours of dual and between those what we have to do is the different programs and I will break these programs down through the time here but bottom line is the littlest that you have is 20 hours of dual and 20 hours of solo. From there, you have to take a written exam and you have to take an oral exam and a flight test. "