Randy Harmon is Owner of Wings of Eagles Flight School, in Nashville, Tennessee.  He is a Certificated Flight Instructor CFII, CSIP, AGI, a retired Lieutenant Colonel with the United States Air Force and former Nashville Future 50 business owner. 

Here Randy tells us about the beginnings of flight training:

The phone call or the office visit goes like this:

New customer: “I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to fly, but just as I was about to begin lessons, I moved away/got a job/began a family, etc, now I still don’t have much time.  My children have moved out or I’m just tired of all the hassles of flying commercially and I still want to see if flying is something I can do.”

Two questions that everyone asks are: “How much does it cost?” and “How long does it take?”

Having trained pilots in the Nashville, Tennessee, area since 1997, and having flown both as a civilian and Air Force aviator since 1977, I can say with confidence that, in our market, it costs anywhere from $7,500 to over $19,000.  Those costs depend on two things: 1. the type of airplane you chose to train in, and 2. the time each week you chose to train.   I offer a spreadsheet that breaks down all the costs of training, including some that are often overlooked, such as the purchase price of a headset, kneeboard, and the cost of not only the flight examiner, but also the aircraft rental time for the check ride.

As for how long it takes, I tell new customers that if they train (both ground and flight) for six hours each week, then they can get their private pilot’s license in four to five months.  If they devote nine hours each week to training, then they can have it in less than three months.  If they train five days a week, they can have it within 30 days.  And, as with learning any new skill, it requires consistency.

The next questions usually revolve around scheduling, training materials, and instructor-customer relationships.  Any flight school or Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) should emphasize safety and customer-centered scheduling.  Training should follow a written syllabus and every lesson should end with an assignment for the next lesson.  Your instructor should ask you, the customer, how you learn best.  Some people need to read and study via a text book, some rely upon computer-based applications, and others need the “tell me, show me” approach.  We all learn differently and a good instructor should adapt to your style.

Most instructors I’ve dealt with are very dedicated, but even then, sometimes personalities clash.  If you are in a flight school environment, you should let your instructor or the chief instructor know that you’d like to experience another training style.  Your training should be enjoyable, after all, it is your money.  Most of my personal students have flown with almost all of the instructors at my flight school.  Each instructor brings a different teaching style to training, but we all teach to the same standards.  It then just becomes a matter of what techniques best fit your learning style.  At our school we share techniques frequently and formally at monthly CFI meetings.

For your next step, call a local flight school and schedule your introductory flight lesson.  A great resource for finding one is www.aopa.org.   Or you can contact us at www.jwnwings.comand we’d be glad to share the experience of flight with you and answer any questions you may have.

In my next post, we will discuss aircraft purchase or rental…..what’s right for you?

Lt Col Randy Harmon, USAF (Ret)

www.jwnwings.com

www.harmonyaircharter.com