So you want to learn to fly?

Welcome to MyDATA. If you are looking to learn to fly and acquire your Private Pilot's Licence (PPL) then you have come to the right place. You will find this site informative and useful. I live in the UK and started to learn to fly in May 2004, qualifying for my fixed wing PPL in November 2005. I have posted my fixed wing PPL diary here so that you can follow the ups and downs (literally!) of my progress through the flight training syllabus. Once I gained my fixed wing aircraft PPL, more formally the PPL(A), I decided to improve my flying skills and gain a rating which would enable me to fly in not-so-perfect weather by undertaking IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions) training. You will find my IMC diary here too.

To me, helicopters are the purest form of flying machines, and once I had my PPL(A) in the bag I was tempted to take a trial lesson in a helicopter. I was immediately hooked and signed up on the spot for helicopter training so you can also read about my helicopter private pilot's licence (PPL(H)) training as well.

Elsewhere on site you will find a great deal of information and links to other sites which I've found very useful and expect you will too if you are looking to learn to fly. I've also published a couple of pages on my other flying exploits such as aerobatic, ballooning and hang-gliding. I draw the line at parachuting though - that just looks crazy to me!

As I live, train and fly in the United Kingdom this site is oriented around aviation within the UK. My flight training diaries and the syllabus and references are very much UK centric. If you want to learn to fly overseas you will still find lots of useful information here, and my flight training diaries will still provide a very good indication of what you have to go through - after all, aviation is a truly global industry and apart from a few minor local differences the principles and practice of learning to fly is the same throughout the world.

Sounds like fun! I want to learn to fly. Where do I sign up?

The first step is to make contact with your local flying school. Find them in our reference section, in the yellow pages or buy a copy of Flyer or Pilot magazine and scan the ads in the back pages. Give the flying school a call and book a trial lesson. This may be a cheaper option than booking a full lesson and will give you an immediate taste of what flying is all about. Imagine going for your first ever flight with you at the controls and flying over familiar territory, you could even wave down to friends and neighbours.

If you decided to continue with your PPL training then the trial lesson will count towards your 45 hours of fixed wing flight training - but make sure that the flying school is aware that you are looking to learn to fly, rather than simply wanting to go on a pleasure flight to see your house from the air - although you could of course combine the two.

To get the most from your trial lesson it pays to be prepared. I had a copy of the Flying Training book for two years before my first lesson - a constant reminder on the shelf that I really needed to take the first steps to learn to fly. If you click on the Flying Training link you will notice that the full title for this book is "The Air Pilot's Manual Volume 1 - Flying Training", but to everyone in the business it is simply known as Trevor Thom Book 1 - impress your instructor on your first flight by casually stating that you already own a copy of Trevor Thom Book 1 - you will be feeling like a true pilot before you know it.

I used the Trevor Thom series for my flying training and the books became a constant companion during my training. There are other books, which other student pilots swear by, such as the Jeremy Pratt series.

So you want to learn to fly?

Sounds like fun! I want to learn to fly. Where do I sign up?

Safety First