COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT LEARNING TO FLY
This is completely dependant on the individual. Some people will have a tendency to feel air sick initially, but as time passes and you feel more confident in the aircraft the chance of feeling sick is significantly reduced.
For the private pilot licence a limited amount of study is required in your own time. A commercial pilot licence requires a serious commitment to complete the required exams.
You will normally spend around two hours at the airport – one hour in the air, the remaining hour split between classroom briefing, aircraft preparation, and a debriefing.
You need to be of good health to obtain a pilot medical. The PPL requires a class 2 medical, and the CPL a class 1. The requirements for each medical are different, with the class 1 (CPL) being more strict. If you have any known medical conditions, or any reason to suspect you may have issues obtaining a medical, you should consult a Designated Aviation Medical Examiner (DAME) prior to commencing your training. Having trained so many people over the years we have a general idea of what conditions are acceptable, and which create problems – contact us and we can try to give you general advice before making an appointment with a DAME.
Everyone who flies needs to have a medical done, and it’s easy to organise. A list of all the approved Doctors is here. Read more…
Most of our students choose to learn to fly in either Piper or Cessna aircraft. A full list of aircraft in our fleet can be found in our Aircraft section
Your first solo flight cannot be achieved until you are 16 years of age. With this, the earliest we recommend you should start flying lessons would typically be 14 or 15 years of age.
You do not need to study physics or maths at school to obtain a pilot licence. Having this knowledge certainly does help, but is in no way a requirement. If you wish to become an airline pilot you may need both physics and maths – both are typically an entry requirement. Individual airline recruiting websites will list requirements.
Generally speaking flying is as safe as you make it, there are however inherent dangers with the activity. During your training you will be equipped with all the necessary flying and decision making skills to ensure any non-normal situation is handled effectively.
For direct entry to most airlines you will require a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL), and typically theory credits for the airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL). Airlines will publish their minimum criteria for pilot applications on their website.
Your licence is perpetual – it never expires! You will however be required to pass a medical every 1-2 years, and pass a flight review every 2 years.
If you have any questions that this FAQ has been unable to answer simply call us directly.
Hanger 54 Wirraway Drive
Kippa Ring
Queensland 4021
Airport Drive
Bundaberg West
Queensland 4670
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All flight training conducted under CASA.141.FTO- .0316
All maintenance conducted under CASA.COA.078