My Aviation Journey

As a little kid I loved airplanes. But I had to wait until I was in my 50s to have both the time and money to pursue my lifelong dream. I earned my ASEL (Aircraft Single Engine Land) certificate November 11, 2009.

Once I started flying, my life was all about aviation. I scored high on my FAA Instrument written test and was working for a leading provider of private pilot training materials.

Then fate intervened. I tested poorly on a mandated eye exam. I knew my eyesight was declining, yet I wasn’t prepared for the abrupt limitation of my flying experience. I could have continued flying on a restricted basis, but I think every pilot should have 20/20 vision (correctable) at a minimum.

To ensure I wouldn’t be tempted to continue flying, I returned my private pilot certificate to the FAA. That was hard, but it was the right thing to do.

Flying an airplane requires a unique combination of knowledge, skills, and temperament. As I went through the training process I realized there were a lot of “logistical” challenges, and those were what grounded many aspiring pilots.

When I got my private pilot certificate, only 30 percent of student pilots successfully achieved this goal. These were seriously committed people. It wasn't just that it's hard to learn to fly an airplane, along with acquiring all the associated knowledge and skillsets. It was also the process itself—picking the right flight school and instructor, budgeting your time and money, and recognizing and overcoming the challenges involved.

So fresh off the experience myself, and being a technical writer for many years, I thought it would help to give an overview from a recent student's perspective. I'm not a certified flight instructor, and there is nothing in this book that tells you how to fly an airplane. Rather, it's entirely about the process of becoming a private pilot. The approach I took was that of a sophomore in school tying to help out a younger brother starting his freshman year.

So I wrote a book: "Learning to Fly an Airplane: Insider information from a student perspective." It explained the training process the way an older brother might prepare you for your first year in high school.

For a brief time LTFA became a best selling ebook in the aviation category on Amazon. I was overwhelmed by the positive response of both students and instructors (podcast and article).

Early on I made LTFA a free download from my original website — and gave permission to share the PDF freely. There were more than 5,000 downloads, and countless numbers of shared PDFs. I know this because of the emails and online mentions I received.

After I stopped flying I realized that I would not be able to keep the ebook up to date. So I issued the final version January 31, 2013.

LTFA is no longer available on Amazon but you can download it here. There are still some valuable insights. However, by downloading LTFA you acknowledge the datedness of this material and recognize it is of general informational value only.

You also might take a look at starting out the process of becoming a private pilot here.

"High Flight," John Gillespie Magee. Link to aviation's most famous poem here.

Online references: