Using Your License

You’ve worked hard, studied hard, and flown countless hours with your CFI.  You may have even gone through several CFI’s or even several flight schools. You spent gone through the grueling pressure of a checkride and your Designated Examiner shook your hand and said “congratulations pilot.”  Now what?

Now that you have your pilots license, you have a lot of learning to do.  That’s right, you’ve demonstrated you know enough to flying safely, but that doesn’t mean you’re done learning.  It simply means you’ve crossed the first of many hurdles.

Destinations

Getting your private pilots license involved a lot of flying, but none of it was just for fun.  That’s all about to change.  Now you get to enjoy something pilots call $100 Hamburgers.  Many pilots spend a Saturday morning flying to different airports to enjoy a quick meal at a restaurant on the field.  The burgers don’t cost $100, but getting there does (or more).  There are also various flying clubs who will host fly-ins for training, pancake breakfasts or even just to stand around and do some “hangar flying”.  Of course, the the big fly-in at Oshkosh in Wisconsin or Sun n’ Fun in Florida.

Advanced Training

Have you ever thought about flying a tail-dragger or maybe you want to fly a more powerful aircraft or even learn some aerobatics.  There are several different endorsements you can add to your license that don’t require many more hours of training.  Of course, if you’d like to move on to Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), you’ll need to put in about the same amount of time you did to get your Private Pilots Certificate.  Most pilots agree, getting your Instrument Rating is probably the best thing you can do to increase your safety and enjoyment as a pilot.

Aircraft – Renting and Owning

Now that you can move out of your trainer, you get to experience all sorts of new aircraft.  Just remember, some aircraft require an additional endorsement in your logbook.  You may decide you want to buy your own aircraft so you don’t have hassle with scheduling at the FBO.  There are many options including partnerships, flying clubs and even fractional ownership.  Of course, you may want to be sole owner.  You’ll need to know what’s required to own an aircraft.

Time to Fly

Congratulations on passing your checkride.  Now it’s time to start flying and learning.  You’ve just become one of the elite who can take to the skies.  You’ve opened up a whole new world for yourself, your family and your friends.  Be safe and have fun.

Tagged as: $100 Hamburgers, Aerobatics, Bahamas, Canada, Fly-Ins, IFR, Live In Communities, Mexico, Tailwheel