Advice for a new pilot student

[trusty13]

Hello jetcareer community,
Allow me to give everyone a brief intro about myself.
Currently 25yrs old,recently left the army as a sergeant and am a corrections officer in Washington State. my job allows me 3-4 days off a week so i figured I can use the days to start building my flight hours and progress through the program i have chosen in my local community. The program is Clover Park technical professional pilot program paired with an Associates of Aviation technology. My G.I bill will cover mostly all of it and what it doesn't cover i will use my monthly stipend to cover any extra or unexpected charges.

I will be starting next September 2017, and was hoping to see if anyone has first hand experience with this program? and what can I be doing in the mean time to better prepare myself and set myself up for success . It has been a long time dream of mine to fly since my grandfather took me on my first flight but always thought it was to expensive for me until this G.I Bill benefit . thank you all and look forward to hearing some feed back

 

[Constellation]

Welcome!

I am not personally familiar with the program, but after looking at their website it seems quite similar to other combined college programs.

As far as preparing, I wouldn't go overboard with trying to learn too much ahead of time as your instructors will help you on that front. With that said, here are some great tools that I have used (and still use) when I began my initial training, although everyone has different methods.

https://www.aopa.org/ (definitely recommend joining, lots of great videos and tools for students...and you get a HAT!)
https://www.youtube.com/user/MzeroAFlightTraining (well edited and detailed videos from a well-known CFI)
https://www.amazon.com/Private-Pilo...=1477634170&sr=8-1&keywords=ASA+Private+Pilot
^ I reviewed this prior to starting my PPL and eventually used it to prepare for my written - it was very helpful
https://skyvector.com/ (helpful for reviewing airspace)
https://foreflight.com/ (Download their trial for an iOS device, great piece of software)
http://www.liveatc.net/ (handy for listening to radio communication and understanding phraseology)
http://www.pilotworkshop.com/

Best of luck!

 

[killbilly]

The MzeroA videos linked above are pretty decent.

I also like Rod Machado's Private Pilot Handbook and Instrument Pilot's Survival Manual. I am studying for CFI now and still refer back to those regularly.

 

[trusty13]

Thank you Constellation and killbilly.

Also has anyone worked a full time job 40-43hr a week and also been in a full time pilot program? granted i have 3-4days off a week which i plan on using those days for my hands on actual flight portion and the classes such as english etc will be done online . I would appreciate some feed back of other people's experience juggling both etc.

Thanks you

 

[Cessnaflyer]

Hello jetcareer community,
Allow me to give everyone a brief intro about myself.
Currently 25yrs old,recently left the army as a sergeant and am a corrections officer in Washington State. my job allows me 3-4 days off a week so i figured I can use the days to start building my flight hours and progress through the program i have chosen in my local community. The program is Clover Park technical professional pilot program paired with an Associates of Aviation technology. My G.I bill will cover mostly all of it and what it doesn't cover i will use my monthly stipend to cover any extra or unexpected charges.

I will be starting next September 2017, and was hoping to see if anyone has first hand experience with this program? and what can I be doing in the mean time to better prepare myself and set myself up for success . It has been a long time dream of mine to fly since my grandfather took me on my first flight but always thought it was to expensive for me until this G.I Bill benefit . thank you all and look forward to hearing some feed back

I've heard great things about the program. You might reach more people at https://www.facebook.com/groups/FATPNW/

 

[tcco94]

Thank you Constellation and killbilly.

Also has anyone worked a full time job 40-43hr a week and also been in a full time pilot program? granted i have 3-4days off a week which i plan on using those days for my hands on actual flight portion and the classes such as english etc will be done online . I would appreciate some feed back of other people's experience juggling both etc.

Thanks you

I did it. I worked mainly 38 hour weeks while going to school and flying. Time management will be your only friend and it really will take a hit on your social life. I worked 4pm to around 2am (I had some 2-3 hour splits in between my shift to do homework). Flew in the morning went to class, nap, back to class, nap, work, sleep and then do it all over. All depends on if you're doing online class and how your job schedule is. I preferred nights and sleeping 5-6 hours with some naps. On my days off work I used it for bigger study days to catch up. If you can't do time management it can't be done. Eventually you'll get into rhythm. I did it with 2 days off so 3-4 days off shouldn't be a problem.

Also, YouTube is great. MzeroA has great videos I still use to this day as a CFI to catch up on some knowledge I might forget. YouTube also helps teach things that certain books word very confusing.

 

[alaskadrifter]

Is there a reason for waiting a whole year to start?

 

[fholbert]

Don't pay in advance.

 

[Jdmatt]

Have you talked to the school directly about using your GI Bill? I went to a 2-yr school using the GI Bill and had zero out of pocket expenses for flying. It covered everything from private on and even reimbursed exam fees. Plus the stipend. I took a full class load (most semesters 18 hours) flew several days a week and worked 35ish hours. Do you have a wife and/or kids? I treated the whole thing as a job and dedicated most of my time to it. I was away from home from 7am to 10pm weekdays but I wanted to get it done.

It's very doable. I had class most mornings and flew before and/or after and worked 4-10pm most days. Any time I wasn't working I was flying also. I finished the program in 18 months with an AS and my CMEL &CSEL and lots of twin time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[trusty13]

Thank you everyone for such awsome feed back and input it is so dearly appreciated.

To answer a few questions, yes I am very well at time management . no i am not married or currently dating. the G.I Bill will cover all expenses however incase i need additional flight hours or want/need additional materials there might be some out of pocket expenses was how it was explained .
Reason for waiting a year is because I am currently still training as a new Corrections Officer so my schedule changes depending on what training im doin that month. By August ill have my complete stable schedule and will be able to focus better on school and flying.