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Learning to fly
Nick Hermansky - 02 ago 2016
At Air Partner, we pride ourselves on having a significant level of in-house expertise that we can call upon to deliver that bit extra to our clientele, since most of our employees have enjoyed long careers in the aviation sector. From ex-air traffic controllers, ramp agents and airline operations teams to long-serving military personnel and pilots, we are able to draw from this considerable pool of skills to deliver our charter solutions anytime, anywhere and anyhow.
In this edition, Nick Hermansky, one of our Business Development Managers and a licensed pilot, talks about his experience of learning to fly and why you might want to consider doing the same…
"For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return" - Leonardo da Vinci.
It’s a well used adage but it’s true. Given that modern humans are believed to have lived on the earth for 200,000 years, if you divide the time modern man has roamed the earth by the time that we’ve been able to learn to fly (relatively affordably and without needing to volunteer oneself as a test pilot), you end up with a very tiny percentage. 0.004% to be un-exact. That means 99.996% of modern humans never had the opportunity to fly, so what’s stopping you taking to the skies?
Most would say that the most exciting stage of learning to fly is undoubtedly your first solo flight. Flight instructors are notoriously quiet about offering up any insight as to when you might be ready to go up by yourself – much to their students’ dismay! More often than not, the first inkling you’ll get is when you’re sitting in the aircraft ready to go out on another sortie and the instructor unbuckles their seat belt, opens the door and proceeds to get out whilst muttering something along the lines of “it’ll fly much better without me…. just bring it back in one piece!”
That’s when your heart starts beating really fast and the adrenaline kicks in, but you know all the hours of study and training you’ve had will allow you to conduct a safe and successful flight. You’ll then taxi the aircraft into position on the runway, increase the revs on the engine, watch the speed rise and before you know it the aircraft will be airborne.That first solo trip will go by like a flash, but it’ll leave you thinking that Leonardo really did know what he was talking about all those years ago.
If flying sounds like it could be for you, I recommend that you find out where your local airport is and introduce yourself to the friendly folk manning the main office or one of the flight schools. I guarantee they will offer friendly, honest and pragmatic advice about taking to the skies.
If a measured approach is taken to flight training it should take less than 12 months to obtain your licence. My personal suggestion is to train at a local airport and start in the summer months if possible. That way, you have the best chance of keeping up the momentum in your training and have the best chance of good weather - both of which are really important in the early stages of learning to fly.
It really is an experience like no other so why not buckle up and give it a go?
Further information can be obtained at:
https://www.caa.co.uk/General-aviation/Learning-to-fly/Finding-a-flight-school/