About to start flight training late in life.

I have about 1200 hours of dual given, about 800 of it for private. My observations:
Get an older, more experienced instructor if you can, preferably one who has flown charter or at least extensively. Young CFI's are too often "see one, do one, teach one". Who can blame them? They have little experience and exposure.
Fly as often as you can. My students who flew twice a week learned and finished much faster than those with less time.
There are different learning styles and teaching styles - try to find a CFI who is compatible. Don't be afraid to switch CFI if needed. S/he works for you.
At first, it's tempting and comforting to fly "just so". This throttle setting, these flaps, this bank angle, etc. Works out most of the time. But, you are not learning systems and the breadth and width of the systems you're employing. Get your CFI to expand your horizons a bit.
 
Life doesn’t owe us a tomorrow, at any age. My advice is to stop waiting, get your medical questions answered so you don’t hit that brick wall, and then train regularly so you can always build on top of the previous lesson instead of catching back up to it. We learn differently at 50 than at 15 or 25, but it’s never too late to learn.
 
midlifeflyer said:
It’s a little about continuity (they do tend to move on in this market),
Click to expand...

For me, it was a LOT about continuity. For my Sport Pilot ticket, I went through 4 instructors. The first three went to the airlines. The school was busy, every CFI was at full capacity, and each time one left I had to wait a month or more for an opening in another instructor's schedule. Each one got me to the point of being ready to solo "as soon as we have good weather," then they left, and 4 to 6 weeks later I'd start with another CFI and spend a few lessons knocking the rust off and getting ready again. Rinse and repeat.

Finally I complained to the owner, and he was pretty good about it. He comp'd me several hours, and he worked me into the schedule of a CFI who was still in college and not going anywhere. He was young but he was very good, and I was able to stay with him through solo and all the way to my checkride.
 
markair said:
IM MARK IN SAN FRANCISCO BAYAREA AND 63 YRS OLD IN OCT.I,VE BEEN IN THE AIRLINES AND A PRIVATE PILOT NON-CURRANT FOR 26 YRS KNOW.DID RUSTY PILOTS WITH AOPA.LIKE TO ADD ON GOOGLE AI I,VE DONE FLYING EXERCIZES LIKE ATC COMMUNICATIONS AS WELL AS THE CHAIR FLYING AND YOU SHOULD TRY IT.ITS LIKE WORKING WITH A REAL CFI.ITS GREAT.
Click to expand...
Hey Mark, are you a CFI or know any good CFIs? I'm looking for a good CFI in the Bay Area.
 
jnmeade said:
I have about 1200 hours of dual given, about 800 of it for private. My observations:
Get an older, more experienced instructor if you can, preferably one who has flown charter or at least extensively. Young CFI's are too often "see one, do one, teach one". Who can blame them? They have little experience and exposure.
Fly as often as you can. My students who flew twice a week learned and finished much faster than those with less time.
There are different learning styles and teaching styles - try to find a CFI who is compatible. Don't be afraid to switch CFI if needed. S/he works for you.
At first, it's tempting and comforting to fly "just so". This throttle setting, these flaps, this bank angle, etc. Works out most of the time. But, you are not learning systems and the breadth and width of the systems you're employing. Get your CFI to expand your horizons a bit.
Click to expand...
I have about 3,700 hours of dual given, almost all of it for primary students and a fairly large number of flight reviews. I worry about the students learning from young CFIs just out of school where they were taught by other young CFIs. These folks know the requirements, and they are good at teaching, but in reality, they have very little real world flying experience.

You are right, fly often, and remember the CFI works for you. I always tell students that they can fire me anytime for any reason.
 
dmspilot said:
It's not a matter of taking longer. Flying once a week you will most likely not make progress at all. I've only seen that pace work out for people under age 18.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advice. I will probably be able to have 2 sessions a week some weeks. I plan on doing a lot of chair flying and practicing on msfs. I have that on my sons pc, and it runs great on it, so I am hoping that will help. I read the faa handbooks at least a little daily, and I watch a lot of videos about flying. I appreciate all the comments and thank you all for allowing me to be a part of this group. Happy Flying to everyone on here, and stay safe.
 
Don't bother with msfs or xplane.
 
GeorgeC said:
Don't bother with msfs or xplane.
Click to expand...
Respectfully disagree. As long as MSFS and X-Plane are properly regarded as high-tech chair-flying, they're a fantastic resource. Where people fall down is trying to use them to learn stick-and-rudder skills, where I agree that they should not be used and may instill bad habits, especially in a PPL student. The most recent cockpits (particularly the third-party add-ons) are switch-correct and can be used like an interactive "paper tiger" for running start-up and run-up checklists to develop flows. I'm very firmly in the camp that there is no replacement for being physically in a cockpit and actually flying, but flight sims can be a useful learning resource. For more advanced students, they can link to an EFB, allowing full flight planning and real EFB responses during a simulation of the flight.
 
AvNavCom said:
Respectfully disagree. As long as MSFS and X-Plane are properly regarded as high-tech chair-flying, they're a fantastic resource. Where people fall down is trying to use them to learn stick-and-rudder skills, where I agree that they should not be used and may instill bad habits, especially in a PPL student. The most recent cockpits (particularly the third-party add-ons) are switch-correct and can be used like an interactive "paper tiger" for running start-up and run-up checklists to develop flows. I'm very firmly in the camp that there is no replacement for being physically in a cockpit and actually flying, but flight sims can be a useful learning resource. For more advanced students, they can link to an EFB, allowing full flight planning and real EFB responses during a simulation of the flight.
Click to expand...
I agree, if they are used in the right way, they can help. I will not be using it to train stick and rudder for sure it will be more of chair-flying stuff like switches and gauges and things like that. Thank you for the comment I appreciate it.
 
My advice: do something aviation related every day. Study, reading, whatever. Skipping three days, because that’s when the next lesson is, doesn’t help retention, especially at the advanced age of 50 (oh to be 50 again)

Volume of info private pilot needs today is probably 50% more than 25 years ago, so daily engagement helps.

Also, if you commute, turn on Gemini voice mode and have it quiz you (or summarize FARs or whatever) while you drive.
 
sarangan said:
I would argue that some time gap between flights is actually a good thing. If one could do the entire private pilot training in one week, would you? I would say not. What you learn fast you also lose fast. Your goal is long term retention. A slower pace where you lose some of what you learned and then relearn what you lost strengthens the memory traces. It's like running 1 mile every day vs running 350 miles once a year. Your brain is just another muscle.
Click to expand...

While it may be highly unconventional for most, I have a friend that is president of a large electronics company that did just that. Since his schedule is incredibly busy, he found an instructor in California that would fly with him every day for a week. At the end of the week he passed his checkride with the DPE. He did his ground in advance. You only lose fast if you drop your frequency at that point. He bought a Cherokee, then a Bonanza, and kept the knowledge and muscle memory fresh on nearly weekly flights. Now he has his commercial and is working on his CFI to be able to teach interested students in his company. I'm sure he wouldn't recommend this path for everyone, but it shows where there's a will, there's a way ;-)

phelps4824 said:
Thanks for all the great advice. I know I need to fly as much as possible to due to my work schedule and family responsibilities I will probably only be able to fly once a week. I am not in a hurry so I am not worried about the timeframe. I will be doing plenty of studying and sim practicing between flights though.
Click to expand...
Great idea! Flight sim is a fantastic way to fill in the gaps when you can't fly. I did my PPL 15 years ago at age 50 in 3 months while running worldwide sales and marketing for a silicon-valley semiconductor company. Even though I was traveling 250K miles per year commercially for the job, I would fly an actual plane at least a couple of hours per week, sometimes after a 14-hour flight home from Asia. I could never sign up for a formal ground school as my travel schedule was far too irregular and hectic, I did it all through self-study and missed only one obscure question on the exam. But I also did flight sim extensively - sometimes at home, sometimes on long 747-800 flights, sometimes in hotel rooms halfway around the planet. You cannot get the same feel as a real aircraft, but sim worked great for me helping me gain and improve a flying mindset. At home I had a full yoke, throttle quadrant, and rudder pedals. Traveling I used a Logitech Rumblepad. Just getting the additional reps on setting up and executing nav, especially with VOR's, was incredibly helpful. It helped again when I went for my instrument rating a year later. I wish I had had MSFS2024 15 years ago! At the time I started with FSX, but it was still invaluable. Practicing the buttonology on G1000's etc on the ground made me a safer pilot and saved me thousands of dollars when I was renting, and helped my proficiency even after I bought my Diamond.
 
@DoubleD

How are things going? If you haven't already passed the written, I'd get the Gleim or Sporty's (depending on your learning style) and get that done. FWIW, I was 55 when I started PPL training.
 
WDD said:
@DoubleD

How are things going? If you haven't already passed the written, I'd get the Gleim or Sporty's (depending on your learning style) and get that done. FWIW, I was 55 when I started PPL training.
Click to expand...
Going well so far. I'm about halfway through the online ground school and just started the flight training lessons last week. That first time in the plane was an amazing feeling that you just can't replicate. I can't wait to get back in there.
 
phelps4824 said:
Going well so far. I'm about halfway through the online ground school and just started the flight training lessons last week. That first time in the plane was an amazing feeling that you just can't replicate. I can't wait to get back in there.
Click to expand...
Very cool to hear! If you can swing it, I'd follow everyone's suggestions to get back in the air as reasonably soon as you can, so your experience builds. But if you get stuck and find that some time has slipped by - don't sweat it. Get back in and start flying.

The other thing is, your progress will likely go up very quickly when you start, and it'll be fun and rewarding. You may hit a point where you seem to get a bit stuck, or even regress a little bit in skills. That's absolutely OK, it's normal. As I understand it, it's roughly your brain figuring out new pathways to do things more efficiently, and there's some up and down there. You'll get past it and be fine.

I started a bit late in life, too, and I've enjoyed it a great deal.
 
I'm pretty sure 50 is a youngster in the GA world nowadays.
Being 33 myself, that probably makes me a fetus.
 
Albany Tom said:
Very cool to hear! If you can swing it, I'd follow everyone's suggestions to get back in the air as reasonably soon as you can, so your experience builds. But if you get stuck and find that some time has slipped by - don't sweat it. Get back in and start flying.

The other thing is, your progress will likely go up very quickly when you start, and it'll be fun and rewarding. You may hit a point where you seem to get a bit stuck, or even regress a little bit in skills. That's absolutely OK, it's normal. As I understand it, it's roughly your brain figuring out new pathways to do things more efficiently, and there's some up and down there. You'll get past it and be fine.

I started a bit late in life, too, and I've enjoyed it a great deal.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I appreciate all the advice. It is truly amazing and there is nothing like it.
 
There's a pretty good group on FB called "Student Pilots Over 50". It's another resource you might add in. Here's the link:

Facebook

www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
I think I'm the oldest student at my flight school (been flying for a long time, but lost my medical, just got it back, and I'm rusty as heck.)
Edit: I'm just about two decades older than the "late in life" OP.
 
Last edited:
The oldest student I had over the years was in his early 80s. Unfortunately, he developed a serious illness and was never able to finish. I am now in MY early 80s, still working as a CFI.
 
phelps4824 said:
I'm about to be 50 and will be starting training next week. Been a dream of mine for my whole life, but life has always been in the way. I guess it's kind of a midlife crisis. I work 5 days a week, so the training will take some time; I understand that. I am currently doing the ground school online and will start the actual flying lessons next week. Just wondering if anyone has any advice for me on things that I can do to help improve my success. Anyway, thanks for allowing me to be a part of this page, and I look forward to communicating with you in the future.
Click to expand...

My advice would simply be to stay as disciplined as possible on your training timeline and avoid lapses wherever possible. Gains quickly turn to losses and you'll have to fly the previous lesson over again. Otherwise, just enjoy it. 50 ain't that old! I'm about to be 52!
 
phelps4824 said:
I'm about to be 50 and will be starting training next week. Been a dream of mine for my whole life, but life has always been in the way. I guess it's kind of a midlife crisis. I work 5 days a week, so the training will take some time; I understand that. I am currently doing the ground school online and will start the actual flying lessons next week. Just wondering if anyone has any advice for me on things that I can do to help improve my success. Anyway, thanks for allowing me to be a part of this page, and I look forward to communicating with you in the future.
Click to expand...
im 63 in october and had my ppl&instr/asel/amel since.i lewft in 1992 after some politices and nonense for a flying club and now after 35 yrs returning too the left seat.congradulation and the best in your training and your never too old to start whate you always want to do.Stay consistant and find an instructor/cfi closer to your age with at least 1200 hr,s.i,ve been thru this alot and i know this typr of cfi will be best for you.Good luck. mark n.calif.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top