words of wisdom ANYONE????

[bamair]

I go to a flight academy and I just got out of ground school. I'm feeling a little discouarged. I took my second flight yesterday and I'm scheduled for my third one tomorrow and It seems no matter how much the night before I go over the procedures I get up in the air and brain freeze. Any one got any words of advice on what to expect??? Is this normal how i'm feeling??? Also is there anyone that could tell me what I should constantly be going over besides checklist and emergency checklist and how I should start prepping my self??? any words of wisdom would help...  :-[

[Craig.]

I would say since your just starting out, to, relax and enjoy it. Dont worry about filling your brain with everything at once. The idea for the first few lessons is to go through the very basic stuff, to get you into the routine of flying itself. Checklists, emergencies and so on come a little later.

[Mobius]

I agree with Craig, just enjoy flying, that will allow you to relax more and you will be able to think more clearly and everything will come to you better.  Not to mention you only have had two flights, I didn't start with checklists and emergency procedures until much farther into my training.

[beaky]

First thing I'd like to know is if your instructor is aware of this; they need to know.
 There's no shame in feeling overwhelmed sometimes at first; it's pretty common as far as I know... there will be no black mark on your record.
 The person who's in the best position to help you right now is your instructor, and by happy coincidence, that's part of the instructor's job. Find some way to express your concerns. Suggestion: ask him or her if they ever felt that way during their primary training-  the answer may surprise you.
and here's food for thought: on my very first lesson, my CFI said "look; I'm gonna throw all kinds of facts and figures at you when we're flying; don't worry if it seems too much; you'll soak it up eventually." He did, it was too much, but in the end he was right- I learned. Passed my written with flying colors, and passed the checkride without much trouble, either (although i blew the nav portion and had to re-test, but I didn't fret over that then, and i don't now. Instead, I worked on taking great pains and great pride in my pilotage... it's now one of my favorite things to do in the air).
As for preparing for flights in a way that makes them more enjoyable as well as productive (you won't make much progress if you're not relaxed and having fun), I'd suggest doing some "chair-flying". In fact, flying the sim is a great form of "enhanced chair-flying", half the reason I got it, myself.
 Sit with your checklist and the airplane manual (or at least a list of V-speeds), plan a trip, maybe right now you're just flying out to a practice area to do turns, etc., that's sufficient, and go flying, in your head or in the sim. Take your time, and relax. It's free, and nobody's watching. You may want to do this while perusing your flight manual: read a chapter, look at the pictures, then do it in your head or in the sim. Screw up the takeoff? Start over. Forget a checklist item? Start over. Et cetera. Without the Hobbs ticking and the instructor sitting there, there's no pressure. It's good practice. If you're just sitting in your chair pretending to fly, don't worry about how silly you look; if you've ever seen aerobatic champions preparing for their routines, they look like demented schoolkids playing some weird game. But it's vital for them to think it all thru beforehand, so they can relax and just fly the plan with enjoyment and flair.
It's hard to integrate all that book-stuff that's just been crammed into your skull with the feel and rhythm of flying an airplane... many before you have had the same problem... yes, even I, who like every pilot thinks deep down inside that he's a natural "good stick", etc.
Don't be too hard on yourself, either- just note your deficiencies and calmly work on them. Don't expect it to all jell together in one flight: it doesn't usually work like that.
And don't forget: talk to your instructor. The first time I said something like "Geez, I don't know if I have this figured out yet", I was reminded quickly of everything I was doing right, then we just got down to fixing the problem. It's like a load is lifted off your shoulders.... remember, right now you and the CFI are a team.
 
 

[Woodlouse2002]

Try to keep the sky above you.

[beefhole]

You just need to relax.

But HOW?!

Take comfort that the instructor is with you.  It's only your first couple of flights, you're not expected to live up to any standard! Let the CFI do most of the work, you'll pick it up slowly but surely.  Stick with it! Like Rotty said, let your CFI know-he/she will make sure to recitfy it as best they can.

[Brett_Henderson]

Wise advice so far.. All I can add is... You've only been up twice and you've already got your head into this stuff enough to know what's important.. You'll be fine..

[bamair]

how strict was your oral exam rotty? or anyone? and I already have taken my written once ground school was over....theres no more written just a check ride and a oral correct???? i know if weather permitting i take my check ride and oral 2nd/3rd week of march....and i can barley get off the ground.  >:(

[Mobius]

Checkride middle to end of March!!? Wow.....you must fly alot everyday to be ready that fast.  I know I started in the middle of april and got licensed at the end of October and that was after ~42 hours of flight time, and I flew every other day during the summer.  

But the oral is mostly a discussion about flying rules and such.  The examiner will ask you questions and if you get one right you go on, and if you get one wrong, you discuss the right answer and move on.  I don't think you can really fail the oral exam unless you get all the questions wrong.  At least that's how my oral exam and BFR were.

[beaky]

how strict was your oral exam rotty? or anyone? and I already have taken my written once ground school was over....theres no more written just a check ride and a oral correct???? i know if weather permitting i take my check ride and oral 2nd/3rd week of march....and i can barley get off the ground.  >:(

The key thing to remember with the oral is this: you are not a parrot. You are a pilot - albeit a new one. You only need to show that you know what's necessary to fly safely and not bust any regs, and if you're unsure, you know where to look for the info needed.
For example: it's not as important to be able to say off the top of your head what psi the nosewheel tire should be inflated to as it is to know, without hesitation, what section of the POH contains that number. Do you know? Do you have your own copy of the POH for the test aircraft? You should.
It is usually an open-book test; bring your books; know where to look. The FAR/AIM is thicker than Webster's Abridged; no way will you have all that memorized. But have a clue where to start looking, and you'll do fine. Think about it;: when an airline crew has a problem, they whip out the book. Knowing where to look makes all the difference; more than having a jumble of stuff in your head.
And whatever you do, don't elaborate. This is not a cheat or anything like that...trust me; you'll get a fair test if you just let the DE probe your knowledge base as they see fit.  Start elaborating, and they will dig deeper, looking for gaps. I've told this story many times:
DE (after I rattled off a lot of impressive memorized stuff in response to a question):"Hold on a second... do you know what this is?" (holds up a pen).
Me: "Uh... it's... a pen?"
DE (shaking head): "Try again."
Me (with more confidence, although still confused): "A pen. Yes, it's a pen".
DE (sighing):  "One more time. Do... you... know... what... this... is?"
Me: "Ummm... yes, I do".
DE: "That's more like it. Let's continue..."

Get it?  ;)

The oral usually precedes the checkride. Follow the DE's lead, and you'll be in the air quickly. The oral will not end until you "pass", hence the conversation shown above. Keep your answers short and to the point, and it won't take long.
The flight portion will be a lot like a trip through the pages of whatever textbook (flight manual) you studied in ground school. Basics. Stuff you've done already. Just do it the same way you've been doing it. The DE will, at some point, try to distract you. You are PIC on this flight, BTW. Brook no nonsense. Take charge. If he wants to point out a topless sunbather when you're doing turns around a point, say "not now, I'm looking at my point." You are the PIC. The time logged will not go under "dual". Keep that thought in mind; it shouldn't intimidate you; it should  build your confidence and help you relax.
Pretend you're solo, and the DE is ATC... it's sort of like that. You are given directions, but it's your call as to how to execute them. The DE will decide if your way is good enough. He or she will not coach you.  Talk about what you're doing, and why ("Clear of obstacles, so it's flaps up, trim for Vy, blah blah...") talk about everything. Read the checklist aloud.  Don't be embarassed: it's your checkride, and the DE has probably seen worse, no matter how nervous you are or how sloppy you are.
 Results may vary; I've only done one oral/checkride and two BFRs, so I don't know for sure that your experience will match mine. Double-check the info presented here by asking an instructor; I'm not a CFI.

But you still seem kind of unsure about your basic skills: if so, talk to your regular CFI. The checkride is actually an evaluation of their instructing ability (no, really)... you owe it to your instructor (if they've done their best for you) to let them know if you feel like you're not ready. If you do, they should help you get ready. It's their job, and they will get the black mark if you blow it on the checkride, not you.
 Better to postpone than to have to re-test, although again, it won't mean much to you in the long run, as long as you eventually pass.
Good luck, and have fun!

[Staiduk]

Superb post, Rotty; I doubt anyone could say it better.

Let me throw in a couple of points:

Students are always nervous about their checkride and it weighs on them right through their training. Just keep in mind: an examiner is not there to fail you. He's there to pass you. You wouldn't be taking the checkride if you hadn't shown sufficient ability to fly the plane and believe me; he knows what you're going through. I can't speak for all of 'em of course but by and large; no-one's going to be rooting for you more than the guy in the other seat. (Not that he'll show it.)

As for relaxing; I'm not sure if this'll help but it sure helped me: you've probably already been told about not white-knuckling the yoke. Hey, who didn't have a deathgrip on that thing first few times? But here's another thing that was affecting me: relax into the seat.
I don't know about anyone else; but my first few flights I realized my back was so stiff it wasn't touching the seatback at all; save a small spot at the shoulderblades. Once I realized that (that is, once my instructor pointed it out), I forced myself to relax into the seat. Relax the body, and your mind will quickly follow. Take deep breaths and unless the lesson is on the instrument panel; look out of the aircraft - focus on the horizon; not inside the plane. You're doing a fun thing - enjoy it.

I'll leave you with one of the extremely rare pieces of good advice my late and very unlamented Grandfather left me with: "The most important part of the plane is the nut that holds the stick."

Good luck!

[Boss_BlueAngels]

Great responses everyone!  

Your first few lessons are always going to be overwhelming as you're making an instantanious acceleration from zero to 100.  You have to learn what the earth looks like from up there, how to spot planes, fly, read, THINK, fly, listen, talk, fly... all at once.  It's a steep learning curve for the first several hours, but after another week or so things will slowly start making sense.


One of the best things my first instructor told me was that the cockpit is NOT a good classroom.  When first getting used to things, it can be quite difficult to learn a bunch of new things up there, and my advice to you would be first of all, relax.  There is a very fine line between pushing yourself and suicide. lol  Just focus on what's going on NOW.  Once you start to get stressed the entire rest of the flight will end up being a negative experience.


Also, don't even think about the oral right now!  That's way too big of a thing to be messing with your mind right now.  Just study, and preparing for the oral will come with time.  

As for that... the night before my private checkride I went to a movie. lol  I've done that for all my stage checks and even my instrument rating... haven't failed one yet (knock on wood... I still have my Com. and CFI coming up!! lol) as it seems to be my good luck charm! haha

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now.  Just RELAX man!  Relax! haha  Enjoy the fact that only 1 out of 400 people in the US can fly an airplane... and YOU are one of those few!!

[beaky]

Good point about the movie thing: After all that cramming and worrying it's good to just turn all that stuff off and "defrag" the ol' "wetware".

[ryan2005]

I have 14 hours of flight time and I still screw up radio calls so dont worry after practice you will get better at it

[ryan2005]

also trim is your friend and it as much easier to use in real life than in flight sim, your arm will thank you and flying will be much more fun. Dont be mad when you fly, if you are having trouble learning how to landing just, calm down and you will do better. Just relax. Flying should be fun.