start my first lesson with CFI saturday...advice?

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muleywannabe

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Cherokee235
I start my first lesson this coming saturday and it cant get here soon enough. I get to meet my CFI for the first time. We have talked on the phone and I explained that I am learning ground school from Sporty's online. I am so glad I am learning this before and during flight training, very interesting and intriguing info for sure.

Can I get some advice on what to do, what not to do, etiquette and so on? I would really like to make a great impression as I am very easy to get along with and a likable person, or so I feel. please share your words of wisdom...


thank you.
 
muleywannabe said:
Can I get some advice on what to do, what not to do, etiquette and so on? I would really like to make a great impression as I am very easy to get along with and a likable person, or so I feel. please share your words of wisdom...


thank you.
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Just be yourself and everything else will follow. If you 'try' to make an impression you aren't doing yourself justice. If you two get along, great. If you don't, great. Move on to another. Can't please everyone, so why try. That goes with CFI's too I'm sure.
 
Enjoy the experience. If you don't come back to the board with questions.
 
Don't worry about anything at all. Just soak it all in. Take pictures. enjoy the flight.

Then come back here and let us know how it went.
 
Here's a more serious answer.

Wear the lightest shoes that will keep your feet warm. It's harder to develop a feel for the rudder and brakes with combat boots on.

Breath and body odor control. You'll be *real* close to the instructor.

No drinking the night before. I had to write off one early morning lesson because I had 3-4 drinks the night before. I was legal but I wasn't learning. Similarly, go easy on the caffeinated drinks before the flight.

Bring a logbook, notebook, pen, and checkbook. Forget the checkbook and you'll make a bad impression. Use the notebook on the ground during the pre and post flight briefing. You can buy an inexpensive logbook at the rental office or at the pilot shop at the airport. Bonus points for a VFR Sectional of the area you'll be training in.

Your instructor will need to see proof of citizenship before training starts. See this page: http://www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources...ion-Rule/U-S-Citizens-Seeking-Flight-Training

Don't be late.
 
Don't buy trinkity pilot accessory crap. Don't need any of it. Relax and have fun. Relaxing is key to learning and having fun.
 
Old Geek said:
Here's a more serious answer.

Wear the lightest shoes that will keep your feet warm. It's harder to develop a feel for the rudder and brakes with combat boots on.

Breath and body odor control. You'll be *real* close to the instructor.

No drinking the night before. I had to write off one early morning lesson because I had 3-4 drinks the night before. I was legal but I wasn't learning. Similarly, go easy on the caffeinated drinks before the flight.

Bring a logbook, notebook, pen, and checkbook. Forget the checkbook and you'll make a bad impression. Use the notebook on the ground during the pre and post flight briefing. You can buy an inexpensive logbook at the rental office or at the pilot shop at the airport. Bonus points for a VFR Sectional of the area you'll be training in.

Your instructor will need to see proof of citizenship before training starts. See this page: http://www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources...ion-Rule/U-S-Citizens-Seeking-Flight-Training

Don't be late.
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Great advice!!! thank you so much. I figured tennis shoes would be awesome!
 
Take a small bottle of water with you. Adrenaline really dries the mouth out. At least to have when you get on the ground. Have fun!
 
Relax, enjoy it.

Remember when he takes you to K81 or 1k1, students buy lunch... :)
 
Show up early/on time, and leave plenty of time for travel so you're not stressed as you get to the airport.

Think very hard about how much you like to fly with this instructor! One mistake I made was going with the first available instructor. He was fine, but in retrospect his teaching style made lessons feel pretty stressful for me. I flew with another instructor after my check ride, and maybe it's just because I had my certificate by then, but I felt like he was more laid back and I would have enjoyed training much more with him.
 
...agree with that...don't bring a bunch of gizmo's to the lesson. My CFI told me he had a student show up for his first lesson and want to mount his iPad on the yoke so he could use ForeFlight. :mad2:

You'll need to bring a clear head, ready to learn and your undivided attention. I love the advice about comfortable shoes. Just don't wear flip-flops...comfy tennis shoes are great. If the plane you are flying has toe brakes and you're wearing combat boots it will be hard to get around on the ground and certainly to 'feel' your way around on the rudders.

Your first phase of training will focus on simply flying the airplane. Taxing, checklists, taking off, right rudder, checklists, climbing, learning Vx and Vy, checklists, heading out to the practice area for steep turns, turns around a point, S-turns, stalls, etc..., checklists and learning how to get back to the airport, use the radios and land. Oh, and checklists. :)

Don't get ahead of yourself - just keep studying a little every day and be ready for each lesson. Show up on time.

Best of luck to you. As a fairly new PPL (9/2013) I can tell you that it's very much worth it. One of the, if not THE, coolest things you'll do in your life...
 
kenjr said:
...agree with that...don't bring a bunch of gizmo's to the lesson. My CFI told me he had a student show up for his first lesson and want to mount his iPad on the yoke so he could use ForeFlight. :mad2:

You'll need to bring a clear head, ready to learn and your undivided attention. I love the advice about comfortable shoes. Just don't wear flip-flops...comfy tennis shoes are great. If the plane you are flying has toe brakes and you're wearing combat boots it will be hard to get around on the ground and certainly to 'feel' your way around on the rudders.

Your first phase of training will focus on simply flying the airplane. Taxing, checklists, taking off, right rudder, checklists, climbing, learning Vx and Vy, checklists, heading out to the practice area for steep turns, turns around a point, S-turns, stalls, etc..., checklists and learning how to get back to the airport, use the radios and land. Oh, and checklists. :)

Don't get ahead of yourself - just keep studying a little every day and be ready for each lesson. Show up on time.

Best of luck to you. As a fairly new PPL (9/2013) I can tell you that it's very much worth it. One of the, if not THE, coolest things you'll do in your life...
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I love checklists...Its what I do all day, then when I get home at night, I have what they call a "honey do list" Its a form of a checklist. haha. Thank you for the info.
 
Make sure that the epaulettes on your shoulder have fewer stripes than your CFI.
 
N2124v said:
Take a small bottle of water with you. Adrenaline really dries the mouth out. At least to have when you get on the ground. Have fun!
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This is real true.

But, I'll add one bit of non-obvious advice to it.

Pee before you get in the aircraft. A 5 minute pattern seems like an eternity when your legs are crossed.

I like to point out a "Cessna lav" to my first-time passengers. It's an empty Snapple bottle. That usually gets the point across. Though I still had one time with an 8 year old in the back seat announcing he had to pee at 3500 feet, just as I started my descent. "That's good. We'll be on the ground in 10 minutes."

I have drinking water and peeing on the preflight checklist. Do make sure you aren't even mildly dehydrated when you get on board. It's substantially easier to learn physical tasks when properly hydrated.
 
After youre up there a bit just stop and look out the window. Enjoy the magic of flight, you only get one first.
 
Dress in layers since it's usually windy, but inside the plane is stuffy. My mistake on my intro flight was wearing a sweatshirt without a zipper. Try taking that off in a 152 without elbowing your instructor in the face :D

Bring: sunglasses, water, headset if you have one, notebook, pen and a zippered bag (don't want stuff falling out) to put it all in.

Definitely second wearing thin soled shoes.

The most intimidating thing on my first flight was the checklist. My near vision is a bit fuzzy and my cfi only had the small print checklist, so that was a pain to try to read on top of my nervous adrenaline buzz.

But overall just have fun, enjoy it, and if you don't like your cfi in person now is the time to switch. The first intro flight I went on, the cfi seemed super professional and courteous over the phone/email. He ended up being late for our morning flight, dressed like a slob, texted another student during preflight and in flight(he apologized but sheesh) and just didn't seem to want to be there. I had already paid so I went up, loved the flight, disliked the cfi. Found a new cfi and flying is 100x better.


ETA: If a cfi asks you a question and you don't know the answer, 9 times out of 10 the answer is "(more) right rudder." You will look like a genius :D
 
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Post here how it goes.

To date, my favorite passengers are first timers. As much as is safe, I let them participate in everything from the flight planning to the pre flight to the actual flying of my rental plane. I would not still be flying today if I didn't get to share it with others. Young eagles, non pilot passengers, and even student pilots - it's why I fly.

Good luck. I recorded (with an inexpensive hand held digital voice recorder) my ground lessons so I could play them back on the drive home. Your instructor should be OK with you doing this. In the plane, it is too distracting, but if you sit at a table in the flight school, he or she should be OK with you recording things. This is even better than taking notes. Most CFI's will brief you before you go out to the plane and conduct a post flight brief as well. You can even hold the recorder outside as you circle the plane for your inspection, at this point the CFI should be explaining to you the proper walk around.
 
Chew gum. Relax. Have fun. Don't worry. Use a go pro to film so you can chair fly later on. Soak up memories. Review the lesson soon after. Try to ask what is in store for each upcoming lesson and play the applicable corresponding Sportys video. Keep a journ of the debrief sessions.
 
Like the others said RELAX!

Also don't feel afraid to ask questions or get the CFI to clarify something. I would rather explain something twice then the student remember the wrong thing. If you see your CFI do something different then the way he taught you point it out. Ask why he is doing it that way. Sometimes it's as simple as he mistakenly skipped a step.

Today I told my student to report the altitude he is at not the one he wants people to think he is at. Well not two minutes later I made a radio call and did what I told him not to do. He very politely pointed it out and I thanked him. So realize your CFI is human WE MAKE MISTAKES. So if you have any question in your mind ASK!:D

Plus the answer 98% of the time is "Right Rudder" :lol:
 
go to the bathroom before you start. there is nothing more that ruins a fun flight than having a full bladder
 
jordane93 said:
go to the bathroom before you start. there is nothing more that ruins a fun flight than having a full bladder
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Plus don't get the volcano sauce at the x/c watering hole. You don't want it to say hello half way back.
 
NovemberZulu said:
If a cfi asks you a question and you don't know the answer, 9 times out of 10 the answer is "(more) right rudder."
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ARFlyer said:
Plus the answer 98% of the time is "Right Rudder" :lol:
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Thanks for the clarification. I'm going off sample size n=1 but I'd guess as a CFI you're closer to the true proportion
 
If the first lesson, and every subsequent lesson, doesn't enforce that every aileron input gets a rudder input then get another instructor. Same if he tells you not to use rudder in the pattern.

If you feel sick in flight, land. Your tolerance will likely go up after only a few flights. Eat a banana before you fly...it'll give you energy and doesn't taste too bad if it makes it's way back up. If you feel sick (almost like a hangover) afterwards it means you were dehydrated...don't make that same mistake again.
 
Accept the idea that this is a long process. Accept that some days will leave you frustrated at your lack of progress. Some times you will get scared, maybe bad. You will feel overwhelmed by the amount you have to learn. Accept that some days you will question whether this is rIght for you or whether you are cut out to be a pilot.

The only thing that makes it all bearable is to remember your basic joy of flight. Trust in yourself that you will figure it out with time. Try not to put a timetable for completion. Always remind yourself to have fun!

Trust that someday, not so far away, that you WILL be a pilot. You will look back on it as one of the greatest accomplishments of your life.

Did I mention to have fun and enjoy the experience.?
Gary
 
ja_user said:
What?
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I've heard this more than once recently. Apparently, a handful of CFI's believe that you can't spin in the pattern if you don't use the rudder. Sheesh...
 
Pappy said:
I've heard this more than once recently. Apparently, a handful of CFI's believe that you can't spin in the pattern if you don't use the rudder. Sheesh...
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Telling people to hold under 20 deg bank is worse, but that would be some pretty bad technique, especially in a crosswind.
 
Pappy said:
I've heard this more than once recently. Apparently, a handful of CFI's believe that you can't spin in the pattern if you don't use the rudder. Sheesh...
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That is new to me. I am not surprised though... Jeez...

Advise #1. Students buy lunch.

Advise #2. The plane flies the same up high, or down low.. .. It doesn't know how high above the terrain it is.
 
Pappy said:
I've heard this more than once recently. Apparently, a handful of CFI's believe that you can't spin in the pattern if you don't use the rudder. Sheesh...
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:mad2::mad2::yikes:

I almost made my student go around today cause he was skidding us onto final. I almost wanted to smack him and say this this isn't a drifting course YOU KNOW BETTER!!

The first thing I do with new students is rudder usage. I show them a turn with and without rudder and have them do the same.
 
Oh I forgot these rules:

1. You are the customer. If you feel you are going nowhere after a reasonable period of time, don't be afraid to get a second opinion. Take responsibility for your training.

2. Have fun.

3. If in doubt, refer to rule #1 so you can follow rule #2.
 
I would reiterate what others have said....have FUN!
but also to expect 'bumps'. the plane sometimes drops a bit or climbs a thermal. expect it and have fun with it. I think for my discovery flight I wasn't prepared for it so it shocked me a little, but now I don't even notice them, and sometimes they are fun! I am NOT trying to scare u in any way, it really isn't bad at all, I just didn't expect it so figured I'd let you know ahead of time. ENJOY!

EDIT: you know, for some reason I thought you were asking about your first discovery flight, but now I see it's your first lesson. so I'll just say again, have fun and pace yourself, it will be a long fun aggravating rewarding road.
 
Pappy said:
I've heard this more than once recently. Apparently, a handful of CFI's believe that you can't spin in the pattern if you don't use the rudder. Sheesh...
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I wouldn't be able to turn at all in the right hand pattern here without rudder, especially with a cross wind!
 
Shoes - when I was learning to fly, I always wore cowboy boots because that is what I wore back then. But that was in a little taildragger (Cessna 120) - can't say that it would have worked as well in a big airplane like a Cessna 172. :rolleyes:
 
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