The airplane is the nearest thing to animate life that man has created. In the air a machine ceases indeed to be a mere piece of mechanism; it becomes animate and is capable not only of primary guidance and control, but actually of expressing a pilot’s temperament.

—    Sir Ross Smith, K.B.E., ‘National Geographic Magazine,’ March 1921.

There are many kinds of pilot licenses that you can receive. This book primarily deals with private pilot licenses and certifications. Pilot licenses are issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA.) They are divided into two categories: certificates and training. A certificate defines the various levels of flying privileges that the pilot has earned. A rating defines the various categories and classes of aircraft in which the pilot may exercise the privileges of their certificate.

Certificates are:

•  Student pilot
• Sport pilotz
• Recreational pilot
•  Private pilot
•  Commercial pilot
•  Airline transport pilot
•  Flight instructor

Ratings primarily refer to commercial pilots, airline transport pilots, flight instructors, and private pilots. Some of the ratings that a pilot can receive are:

•       Airplane – single-engine land
•       Airplane – single-engine sea
•       Airplane – multi-engine land
•       Instrument
•       Glider
•       Rotorcraft or helicopter

Denney Kitfox (G-FOXC), built in 1991. Photographed by Adrian Pingstone in July 2005 at Kemble Airfield, Gloucestershire, England,

Sport Pilot Licenses

The exhilaration of flying is too keen, the pleasure too great, for it to be neglected as a sport.

—    Orville Wright

Sport pilots fly smaller and lighter planes. The idea is to enable a pilot to fly a light, small plane for pleasure. To fly as a sport pilot, you have to get a sport pilot license which consists of 20 hours of flight time, getting a medical examiner’s certificate, and passing a knowledge test.

A sport pilot license allows you to fly for pleasure. It does not teach you how to fly into an air traffic control strip at a busy airport like Chicago O’Hara or New York’s La Guardia airport. Many private pilots flying around today though primarily fly planes as sport pilots do and hence do not need to have taken all the certifications and flight time which they do not use.

Sport pilots are not allowed to fly higher than 10,000 feet above sea level nor are they allowed to fly more than 2,000 feet above the ground level, whichever being higher. Sport pilots do not have to acquire the third-class medical examiner certificate.

Recreational Pilot License

The recreational pilot license was created in 1987. Unlike the sport license, the recreational pilot license has almost the same requirements as a private pilot license such as acquiring the third-class medical examiner certificate, yet with more limitations and not as many benefits. In fact, currently, there are a little over than a thousand recreational pilot licenses in use today.

A recreational pilot can not fly all the planes that a sport pilot can. A recreational pilot can fly only single-engine aircraft and helicopters, with a horsepower of 180 or less, and can only fly planes with four seaters or less. At the same time, a recreational pilot can only have one passenger.

 Sincerely,

SATISH K.S

Author of “The Insiders Guide to Becoming A Private Pilot”

Learning How To Fly An AirPlane

Learning how to fly a plane involves one-on-one lessons with a flight instructor. There are numerous flight schools available. Where you choose to learn to fly can be dependent on many factors, a primary one being location. If you live in a rural or country setting, you may find that taking lessons is possible only at the local country airport. In a larger urban area, you may fly in the company of larger planes and more traffic, akin to driving a car in a busy, urban area or city.

Gaining the experience of dealing with busy traffic and a tower that is dealing with oncoming traffic, can be a good experience for you in developing your skills to deal with multiple, and varied environments. If you are able to fly in a larger setting, flying in a rural area is easier and enjoyable for you as new terrain versus if you begin flying in a small, rural area and then have to land at a busy airport, and you feel overwhelmed by the rapid nature of events.

At the same time, each area has its own strengths and weaknesses.

On the other hand, at a small airport, you generally only have one runaway which does not offer much or any protection from crosswinds,which can be very powerful and sway the plane.At larger airports, there are multiple runaways that are designed to maximize coordination and alignment between planes and winds.In general, however, it is much easier, and your learning experience is more fruitful, if you do your flight lessons in the country. You can focus then on your learning and mastering your flying skills. You can still learn how to use radios and communicate with air traffic. Also, as part of the FAA regulations, you will still have to be able to land and take off at an air strip with a traffic control tower.

There are numerous flight schools available for instruction, of which some are listed in the Resource section. In general, flight instruction can be at a large ‘approved’ school or a not approved school. The large approved schools were generally begun to support the large influx of pilots necessary for military

operations and for airlines. The not approved schools mainly catered to the private pilots who wanted to fly for recreational and small business purposes. All the schools have to go through the same certifications and the same rules. The smaller not approved schools generally have smaller budgets and teach at small airports with fewer students and have flight instructors that really earn quite minimally ($20 an hour after the flight school fees are assessed.

 SATISH K.S

Author of “The Insiders Guide to Becoming A Private Pilot”

It is natural to be afraid of flying at heights of 10,000 feet above the ground. After All, human beings are not born with wings naturally. Like any other form of Transportation, flying has its own inherent risks. However, it is the safest form of Travel, safer than driving. Apart from airplanes used in military combat and Airliners, travel by all general aviation aircraft is ten times safer than automobile Travel.

Flying a plane is not only exciting, but also a wonderful challenge. Traveling 400 Miles becomes a three to four hour trip by plane. Planning a weekend away to The beach or to mountains or to any other location can become a reality when You fly your own plane.

There are two major factors involved in determining how long it will take you to Get your pilot’s license.  

They are (1) the kind of license you are getting

                (2) Amount of flight time.

There are three kinds of licenses in general that most pilots receive:

(a)   Private pilot license,

(b)  Commercial license,

And (c) flight instructor license.

 Apart from these main licenses, there are numerous other certificates That a pilot can receive to further enhance their knowledge, experience, and skill level.

A private pilot’s license allows a pilot to fly a single-engine airplane using visual Flight rules (VFR) that require a visibility of at least three miles, even at night.rivate pilots can share operating expenses with passengers but cannot be paid For flying them. 

 To be paid for transporting people across, a pilot has to get the Commercial license.

A flight instructor license allows the pilot to teach others how to fly and an airline transport certificate allows the pilot to fly an airliner.

The amount of flight time varies for each pilot license and certificate. Some Require twenty hours, other requires forty hours, and yet others, require a Minimum of two hundred and fifty hours. The average amount of time it takes a Pilot to get their private pilot license is about six months, during which time they Acquire all the knowledge and experience, take tests, and fly a lot with their Instructor and alone. Of course, there may be variations to this depending on You’re own personal circumstances and the weather as well. Flying in the winter or in inclement weather, may take undue amount of time or may even be cancelled.

Taking classes in good weather and continuously will enable you to get your Private license in a relatively short amount of time.

The aeroplane is the nearest thing to animate life that man has created. In the air a machine ceases indeed to be a mere piece of mechanism; it becomes animate and is capable not only of primary guidance and control, but actually of expressing a pilot’s temperament.

 
— Sir Ross Smith, K.B.E.,   ‘National Geographic Magazine,’ March 1921. 

Be careful and calm and thorough and you will walk out with a prized possession:  your own private pilot license!

Wing Flaps

Wing flaps are hinged surfaces that are attached to the inboard trailing edges of the wing.

Their primary purpose is to allow the pilot to change the shape of the wing as they are lowered. This in turn, increases the curvature of the wing.

When the flaps are extended, the new shape of the wing is curvier, which results in the wing being able to produce more lift.

The Throttle

The throttle is the control that regulates the amount of fuel going into the cylinders of the engine similar to the gas pedal in a car.

Usually a large black knob mounted on the instrument panel, the throttle can also be a T-shaped handle mounted on a quadrant.

Usually during take off and climb, you will use full throttle. As you take off in a plane with a fixed-pitch propeller, you will want to leave the power at maximum throughout the climb and takeoff. When you reach the desired cruising altitude, you will level the airplane from the climb and pull back the throttle to set the desired power for cruise flight.

Most of the time you will not touch the throttle again until you have to descend.

Again, thank you for subscribing to this special 5-part mini-ecourse. Hopefully, you have read each of the previous installments in this series and are now have a better understanding of airplanes and how they fly.

You can learn much more about flying, including glider flying skills as well as how to earn your private pilot license, by buying my new ebook, “The Insiders Guide to Becoming A Private Pilot.”

Here is just SOME of what you will learn by reading this comprehensive ebook:

- How to receive your private pilot’s license in 9 easy steps – follow these simple steps and you’ll have your license in no time at all!

Plus, you will also learn:

- How long it usually takes to earn your private pilot’s license – and what you can do to make sure you earn yours as fast as possible!

- What kind of plane you will be flying – and how to quickly become an expert on it!

- The different types of pilot licenses – and how to decide which one is right for you!

- How much it usually costs to learn how to fly – and how to ensure you shave as much off this figure as possible!

- How to ace the private pilot’s licensing test – follow these tips and earn your license faster than you ever thought possible!

- How to choose your flight instructor – this is probably the most important decision you will make … find out how to ensure you make the right one here!

- The different types of flight schools – there are numerous flight schools available for instruction, discover here how to pick the best one for you!

- How to get a private pilot’s license as quickly, as easily, and as inexpensively as possible – this information, more than anything else in this ebook, will put you on the fast track to earning your license!

- How to handle the controls of a glider – especially in an emergency situation!

- The 12 main areas of aeronautical knowledge that all private pilots must have – as well as how to learn that knowledge as quickly as possible!

- And much, much more!

Sincerely,

SATISH K.S

Author of  “The Insiders Guide to Becoming A Private Pilot”